Comments on Using A Sandisk MP3 Player On A Linux Desktop

> Use a tag editor like, for example, Easy Tag, included in most distributions, to edit the mp3 files

> so that they will appear as you want them on the player. 

I have just bought a E280 and found that unless I use Id3v2 tags they are not recognised and all my tracks are dumped in unknown. I have not found easytag useful for this. What I have been doing is checking that I at least have artist, album and name set in amarok then from the command line navigating to the directory and id3tag -2 *.mp3

So I've just got my Sansa e260 on http://go.shopsansa.com/ and I want to download my music. Since I have linux, I believe it will work

I am using a Sansa m240. Since I upgraded to SuSE 10.3 the player is recognized as a USB drive.  Loading and removing content are straightforward.  One caution: before disconnecting, I always use the 'safe disconnect' feature.  It seems to have protected my Sansa from getting confused.  The 'safe disconnect' is located on the drive interface. It can be accessed by right clicking on the drive listing.

Having lots of fun.

Mr. Grumpy

Thank you tjhanson  for posting this article!

My wife and I want an MP3/4 player, but didn't want to have to use Windows or Mac, since I run Fedora Core linux.  Linux has the ability to mount almost any file system, and I can fix any problem that I encounter.  We don't want some proprietary interface preventing us from enjoying our music on the road.  We have a large library of music and don't want the added hassle of using another OS just to use a music player, or juggling machines using a KDB.

I called the Sandisk/Sansa folks at 866-744-1444 and they recommended the purchase of the Fuse or the View, as they have the same MSC (Mass Storage Class) mode available to mount this device as a flash drive.

 http://go.shopsansa.com/

And to think, we were going to purchase an iPod and deal with it.

I'm going to purchase a Fuse and find out how well it works.  Wish me luck!

An update:

It turns out that the Sansa View does not have MSC mode, so don't buy it.

Called Sandisk and told them how disappointed I was about being told that this unit did have the MSC mode for USB devices.

On the plus side, the Fuse works fine, as expected.  I just mount it like a flash drive and drag and drop my music onto the Music directory.  No problems.

I too have a Sensa MP3 player which I can't get to work in Linux.  Unfortunately the advise given that you select the USB mode wont work for me as my Settings don't include this option.

you have to update the firmware of your sansa @Cozzie

Try Settings > System Settings > USB mode 

 (at least that's what it is for the Samsa Clip + )

I have the sansa e250, and couldn't figure out why it wouldn't mount in linux (btw, I am using fedora 13).  I searched and found this article right away, and now it works! 

 Thank you for this excellent tutorial.

I was about to rage over this, but your post saved me.

Thanks much,

:D 

Thanks!

got linux to recognize my sansa, no problem - thanks!

i have one track lurking in there as 'unknown' though & having trouble getting rid of it -  where do i type in 'mkdosfs -F 32 [directory]'?

guessing it might rid me of this 'unknown' track ...?

cheers!

I assume that since that command makes a file system like ms dos, you have to do it where the music actually is.  So in /media/samsaclip or whatever.

Thanx. I have a SanDisk Sansa Clip+ 4GB and article this worked great on my Fedora 13 system.

That was easy, thanks.

I love my little mp3 player but I couldn't get it to mount Ubuntu versions later than 12.04.
Now I can.. thanks!

P.S.
Clementine player works very well with Sansa.
thanks again!

What a mess.  Followed the directions and gained access to Sansa on Linux.  Added music.  But the music already on Sansa does not show up in Linux.  Nor does it show up on Windows.  Only the music I added after the MSC reset.  So all that I can see on either computer is the music I just added.  The music is still all there on Sansa, but I can't see it on either computer.  So now I have a mess. 

Thank you so much! Found my old sansa e250 from 2008 and thanks to your effort to share your experiences in this homepage I can still use it, although I'm a linux user these days. Greetings from Berlin, L