All
credit card orders are processed by CCNow. Customers can be sure that all information
supplied are secured and will not be used for any other
purpose other than this sale transaction. MN customers
in USA are recommended
to use paypal
Please
note that credit card order (minimum order $11.50 excluding postage) can only
be sent to card holder at his/her registered address. We may not be able to process
credit card orders for card issued by some countries. In that case or if you do
not have a credit card, please see other methods of payment
including paypal MN
customers in USA are
recommended to use paypal
Zen Vision:M is supplied
with a sync adapter, with 3 ports: 1. Mini-USB
port (for connecting to PC for data transfer and charging, with supplied USB cable)
2. DC port - for charging from
external power source - 5v, AC adapter for this is optional. 3.
AV port - for connecting to external AV with optional
AV cable.
The mini-USB and DC charging circuits are separate,
the use of mini-USB is conditional (see below) but the use of DC circuit is unconditional.
So the sync adapter is really an integral part of the player,
without which you will not be able to charge the player, thus rendering it useless.
So be careful not to lose it, or get a spare just in case.
Zen
Vision:M used to be supplied with an AC charger, which plugs into the
DC port (round) of the sync adapter. That is the proper/better way to charge the
player than using the mini-USB port. In around August
2006 Creative stopped shipping the player with any AC charger, leaving the customer
no option but to charge via the mini-USB port with the supplied USB cable. And
that is when many problems start with many users.
Though
Zen Vision:M accept charge through the mini-USB
port, provided (conditional):
1.
The player must be connected and recognised
with software - Creative software, or Windows Media Player 10 or later, which
includes MTP driver (Zen Vision:M is a MTP
device). 2. The player
is connected with the PC with the above software running. Without the above software
or driver, the player cannot be connected to the PC, thus the player
will not be charged. 3. The
player battery is not depleted. USB power
from PC may not be enough to charge the player
with depleted battery.
If you have got a new Zen
Vision:M, with only USB cable, and it does not seem to charge or power
when connected to PC, this is what you should do:
1. Install
the Creative software. 2. If you do not want to install
Creative software, Media Player 10 or later with MTP driver installed is OK. The
problem is that MTP driver may not be installed by default. When you connect the
player Windows (XP/SP2) will start installing the driver, but that is only if
the player can be turned on. If the player does not even have enough battery power
for it to be turned on, Windows will not find it thus not able to install the
driver.
The problem with many users is that the player
cannot be turned on when it first arrives. In that case you should install the
Creative software and leave the player connected to PC and leave it charge overnight,
with PC running. It should have enough power the next day. -------------------------------------
So are there other ways to get round
it? Yes, there are
plenty.
The best and proper way to charge the
player is with an AC charger (or
USB power) via the DC port. You can use any other charger other than the
Creative ones as long as it has 5v output with the appropriate DC tip (4.0/1.7-diameter/internal
pin- in mm). There are many electronic devices, PDA, DC Camera, MP3, etc etc using
the same 5v and DC plug. You may have it even in your junk drawer left from a
previous device which you no long have/use. If you are not sure, try plugging
it into the DC port, if it fits then look at the adapter label, if it says output
5v (or 5.2v) - 2A (or 2000mA, or 1A, or 2.4A, this is not too important), then
it is OK to use, provided that it is in safe working condition (do not use if
it has been left in humid condition for a long time). If you want to buy a new
one other than a Creative one because it is expensive or it is not readily available,
you can get one for PSP, if you do not know what to look for. -----------------------------------------
Other than giving a lengthy explanation,
we have compiled some FAQ:
Can
I use a Creative AC charger for Zen Micro, which has mini-USB? NO. As mentioned above, to charge via mini-USB port, the player
must be connected to a PC with relevant software/driver installed. The player
can be charged only when it is recognised by the PC. With an AC charger, the player
does not know it is connected, thus will not open the circuit for charging.
Having said that, there is a way to get round it. See explanation
below.
I want to charge the
player in another
PC, I do not want to install any software or driver, I only have the USB cable,
what can I do? As mentioned before, the
player player open the circuit for charging
only if it knows it is connected to a PC. The way round it is to set the player
as an UMS (Universal mass storage) device so any
PC (with ME or later) will recognise it without any additional driver.
Go to menu and select Extras
> Removable Disk > (assign a portion of the
harddisk as portable storage if you have not yet done so) Removable USB disk icon
is displayed. It is not in Removable Disk
mode. Connect to PC and the PC will recognise it as an external harddisk. Since
the player and the PC are now CONNECTED, the
player can be charged with USB power. The same trick can also apply to using AC
adapter with mini-USB plug. But not all such AC adapters will work as some devices
use custom circuit in their chargers. A STANDARD mini-USB charger should work.
What do you mean "(or
USB power) via the DC port" above? It means powering with USB power through the DC port, not the
mini-USB port. It does not matter what is the power source, as long as it is 5v
(current output is not too important) and through the DC port. One good example
is our dual-purpose cable - PU2MD (PR2MD)
- it is a mini-USB sync cable as well as DC power cable. You can charge the player
connected to a PC with the DC tip, even with the player battery depleted, with
any PC, any OS, or connected to a USB adapter - car or AC. Remember that charging
through the DC port is "unconditional".
I
want to charge the player connected
to PC but I also want to use/play it. But the player
is always "Docked" when
I connect it to PC, thus preventing me from using it. What can I do? The player is "docked" when
the player software (Creative/MP) is running.
If you have installed Creative software, open Media Source >
Tools > Settings > Detector > uncheck enable Detector This
will "undock" the player so that you can use
it, but still keeps it powered/charged. Other software may have similar settings.
Please note that if you run Windows Explorer (which automatically
connects the player if MTP driver is installed),
the player will be "docked".
How
can I charge the player
in car? You can use any 5v charger with
the appropriate DC plug (4.0/1.7) that plugs into the DC port of the sync adapter.
As mentioned before, there are many devices with similar power
requirement so you should be able to find one easily. If
you are looking to buy from this site. these are the options: 1.
CK203 + PU2MD - this
plugs into the sync adapter DC port. 2. CK203
+ ZVUSC - this plugs directly into the player sync port, sync adapter
is not required.
How does
ZVUSC charge the player? As mentioned above, there are 2 ways to charge the player,
mini0USB and DC, which have different circuits. ZVUSC
is multi cable and sync adapter built in one, It is equal to USB cable + sync
adapter (USB cable connected to USB port of sync adapter) and DC cable + sync
adapter (USB DC cable connected to sync adapter). So you can use it to sync with
a PC, or charge (via the DC circuit) with a PC, without any software/driver, or
with a car USB adapter (CK203) in car. or with an AC USB adapter. Many
other after market sync/charge cables may be built this way but we can only speak
for ours.
How long does it
take to fully charge the player? It depends on the current input (or current output of your charger).
Creative quoted 2-3 hours using Creative AC charger (2.4A) and
6 hours with USB (0.5A). It is not important what current
output your charger has. Smaller (less A) means it takes longer to charge.
To sum up: you
will not have any problem if you charge your player
through the DC port, whatever the power source.
If you have questions
about the above products please write to pcm-info @ pc-mobile.net
