So Mum got an MP3 Player for her birthday...

[awesomeap88]

... and she magically assumes that I can just read the manual and understand everything and just install the software on the computer and leave her to go on her merry way after giving her an extensive lesson in how to use it. Obviously she doesn't realise that never having any experience with MP3 Players in my life means that I have no idea what I am doing. I am not a computer expert and I wish my parents would stop assuming that!!!! :bang: [/RANT]

OK, now that is out of my system, I will get to the topic. I was reading the manual for the MP3 player (it's a Samsung) and some of the system requirements to install Samsung Media Studio include Windows XP SP2 and Windows Media Player 10.0 or higher. Our computer runs on Windows 2000 and we have Windows Media Player 9. My experiences with updating to Media Player 10 on this computer in the past have ended in frustration because I can't upgrade due to running Windows 2000. I haven't tried installing Samsung Media Studio yet because of these compatibility issues.

So, before I try anything stupid, my question is this: do I have to install Samsung Media Studio to put stuff on the MP3 player? Would I be able to install it despite running Windows 2000 and Media Player 9? The manual for the MP3 player is really vague. It doesn't say you don't have to install it but it doesn't say you have to either.

[beyondken]

You could try installing Samsung Media Studio and seeing if it runs without a hitch. It might do a pre-check, though and stop you completely at some point in the process (probably a very inconvenient point).

It's quite conceivable that you can just plug the mp3-player into the computer, wait a minute or so, and have it recognised as an external drive. If this is the case, to put music on it, use Windows Explorer or My Computer to copy mp3 files from the computer's hard-drive and paste them onto the mp3's drive as if it was just another directory on the computer.

Come to think of it, Windows Media Player 9 might, if you're lucky, recognise the mp3 player itself, in which case you can consult its (presumably more informative) help files to find out how to use it to put music on an mp3-player.

I think you should try the above first. If those approaches don't work, I'd see if your mum can ask whoever got it for her where she can return it and exchange it for something more compatible with your computer.

Good luck!

[beyondken]

If you need any more specific help, just ask. :) I hope I, or somebody else here, can be of assistance.

[Kenko]

It's quite conceivable that you can just plug the mp3-player into the computer, wait a minute or so, and have it recognised as an external drive. If this is the case, to put music on it, use Windows Explorer or My Computer to copy mp3 files from the computer's hard-drive and paste them onto the mp3's drive as if it was just another directory on the computer.

I'd look into this route. The manual might refer to running Mass storage class MSC.

What model is the player?