Member Avatar for piikea

I'm still "managing" with Windows Me on my pc and just now trying to find an mp3 player but all of them seem to require Windows XP and above. Can anyone steer me to any mp3 players that will work with Windows Me?

btw - also considering a Blackberry but unsure if it will function with Me either?

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by jbennet

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Building on observations from and , here is a compact, practical guide focused on finding an MP3 player that will actually work with a Windows Me PC and on simple workarounds when a device refuses to talk to that OS.

  • Buy for USB Mass Storage (MSC/UMS): look for wording like "appears as removable drive" or "drag-and-drop file transfer" in the spec sheet. Avoid devices that list only proprietary sync software or mention Media Transfer Protocol (MTP)/requires Windows Media Player X.
  • File system: the player’s internal storage or card should be FAT/FAT32 formatted. Devices formatted as NTFS or exFAT will not mount natively on a Win9x/Me machine.
  • Removable card option: players that use microSD/SD let files be copied with a standard card reader — this is the most reliable workaround.
  • Driver check: before buying, check the manufacturer’s download page for explicit "Windows 98/Me" or 9x-era driver support. If none is listed, expect problems.

Quick troubleshooting workflow when testing a player on a Me machine:

  • Plug directly into a rear USB port (avoid hubs). Wait for a new drive to appear in My Computer.
  • If nothing appears, open Control Panel -> System -> Device Manager and look for an unknown USB device or "USB Mass Storage". Uninstall any failed driver entries, then replug.
  • If the device uses MTP or requires vendor software with no Me drivers, transfer files on a different PC and use the player as standalone, or move files via the removable card.

About phones (BlackBerry): most handset sync tools target NT-based Windows. A BlackBerry that exposes its storage as a removable disk or accepts a microSD card is the safest choice; otherwise verify the official system requirements for the desktop software before purchasing. Final note: Windows Me is long out of support, so driver availability will usually dictate feasibility — when practical, transferring via card reader is the simplest and safest solution.

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Member Avatar for slowlearner

T.sonic 630 (2 GB) is compatible, I just started loading it up for one of my sons, i also bought an iriver E100, but it will be back-burnered as a certain dll file is preventing the software from loading properly, also it made my puter crash when I hooked it up to my USB bus, I still run Me and it's growing more frustrating each time I want to buy something I usually have to buy something really old.

The i river manual says it's compatible with windows 2000/XP and vista, Linux, so until I buy a more recent computer with XP, (I've heard that vista is more problematic and that XP is better?) or the dredded vista, I'm going to look for at least a 4GB MP3 player so I won't have to maintain my son's music downloads as much, especially if recording with the T.sonic 630 through a line-in jack off the TV works for him.

Member Avatar for jbennet

yeah the usb support in ME isnt that great

you wont have much luck if any with any flashy players like sonys, irivers etc.. but the cheapo ones that are basically memory sticks may work fine as ME has basic support for USB mass storage devices

Dont think the blakckbery will work.

Most drivers are for NT Based systems (2000/xp/vista) not old DOS based ones so not much will run on ME anymore.

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