# Having problems with Linux tryout



## swee'pea99 (16 Aug 2021)

Ok, so I have an ancient mp3 player that windows 10 can't even see. I know from past experience that Linux actually does better, but I'm having difficulty getting it to run. I downloaded an ISO file (Mint) and used it to burn a DVD, reset the bios, restarted, and got "default cd-rom boot selection no emulation image found". Just for the hell of it, I then burned the ISO onto a memory stick, tweaked bios, and tried again, only to get "No operating system found". I'm currently downloading another ISO file - Ubuntu this time - but if anyone has any bright ideas, I'm all ears. Many tas.


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## DCBassman (16 Aug 2021)

Either you're not burning the stick/dvd properly, or something's faulty. What software did you use to burn the stick? If the latest Rufus, did you make sure it was set to either "MBR and BIOS" or "GPT and UEFI". if an older PC, it must be the former, and if a more modern machine with a UEFI bios, it must be the latter. Not quite so certain why the dvd didn't worl, however.


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## swee'pea99 (16 Aug 2021)

Thanks for responding. To answer your question, I used this:

http://www.isotousb.com/

...which at least seemed to work fine. 

I just retried using Ubuntu, and like I say, the contents of the stick look kosher:







But the PC's still reporting 'no operating system found'.


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## DCBassman (16 Aug 2021)

Looking at that software, it doesn't give the options mentioned above, so may not be suitable. Try again with Rufus. Which system does the machine use? A simple way to tell: can you use a mouse with the BIOS settings? If yes, GPT/UEFI, if not, MBR/BIOS.


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## HMS_Dave (16 Aug 2021)

Second rufus. Never had an issue with creating a bootable iso with that.


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## si_c (17 Aug 2021)

ISO to USB doesn't work with Linux, only Windows - which explains the latter problem, doesn't explain the DVD issue though.

I've heard good things about rufus, but never used it, I create all my images using Linux, which I appreciate is less than helpful. I've had Arch installed on the desktop since 2007 and the last time I installed it was when my laptop HDD died.


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## DCBassman (17 Aug 2021)

si_c said:


> ISO to USB doesn't work with Linux,



Does with Rufus, done this many, many times.


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## si_c (17 Aug 2021)

DCBassman said:


> Does with Rufus, done this many, many times.


I'm talking about the specific applications the OP is using


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## swee'pea99 (17 Aug 2021)

Thanks - Rufus came up trumps! Computer still can't see the player, but ho hum. Appreciate your help.


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## si_c (17 Aug 2021)

swee'pea99 said:


> Thanks - Rufus came up trumps! Computer still can't see the player, but ho hum. Appreciate your help.


Which player is it? Some of the older ones needed to be connected using software that understands them - they don't necessarily appear as a portable drive you can drag and drop music on.


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## swee'pea99 (17 Aug 2021)

si_c said:


> Which player is it? Some of the older ones needed to be connected using software that understands them - they don't necessarily appear as a portable drive you can drag and drop music on.


Thanks but I suspect the player's beyond help - it's an ancient Creative Zen Touch - an excellent machine, but the firmware often does go a bit wonky after a time, and this is probably 15 years old. I have others of the same model that can be seen, no worries, but this one, no. I've seen it before, and there's really no cure, because any such would involve software transferred from a PC, but if the PC can't see the machine...

Thanks anyway.


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## si_c (17 Aug 2021)

swee'pea99 said:


> Thanks but I suspect the player's beyond help - it's an ancient Creative Zen Touch - an excellent machine, but the firmware often does go a bit wonky after a time, and this is probably 15 years old. I have others of the same model that can be seen, no worries, but this one, no. I've seen it before, and there's really no cure, because any such would involve software transferred from a PC, but if the PC can't see the machine...
> 
> Thanks anyway.


Ah, I remember those! They use MTP to transfer data between the PC and the device, which is an old protocol no longer used. You could try Gnomad2 to see if that works, but you need to put the Zen into MTP mode.

Also worth checking on Linux is if you open a terminal and type "lsusb" - this will list all the USB devices that the system detects, it should include the Creative Zen in that list but you'll need to see.


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## swee'pea99 (17 Aug 2021)

si_c said:


> Ah, I remember those! They use MTP to transfer data between the PC and the device, which is an old protocol no longer used. You could try Gnomad2 to see if that works, but you need to put the Zen into MTP mode.
> 
> Also worth checking on Linux is if you open a terminal and type "lsusb" - this will list all the USB devices that the system detects, it should include the Creative Zen in that list but you'll need to see.


Thanks. I suspect the firmware's knackered beyond recovery. I have two others of the same model that talk to the computer quite happily, but that one just doesn't want to know. There comes a point, even when you're as cheap as I am, where you have to accept defeat with as much grace as you can muster. Thanks anyway.


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## DCBassman (18 Aug 2021)

swee'pea99 said:


> Thanks - Rufus came up trumps! Computer still can't see the player, but ho hum. Appreciate your help.


Knew it would, great little programme.


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## Ming the Merciless (18 Aug 2021)

si_c said:


> Ah, I remember those! They use MTP to transfer data between the PC and the device, which is an old protocol no longer used. You could try Gnomad2 to see if that works, but you need to put the Zen into MTP mode.
> 
> Also worth checking on Linux is if you open a terminal and type "lsusb" - this will list all the USB devices that the system detects, it should include the Creative Zen in that list but you'll need to see.



MTP still in use in this household. Windows 10 supports it. I guess someone has written a MTP module in Linux as well.


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## DCBassman (18 Aug 2021)

Ming the Merciless said:


> MTP still in use in this household. Windows 10 supports it. I guess someone has written a MTP module in Linux as well.


Still in use quite often, between PCs and USB-connected phones, certainly Androids.


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## Ming the Merciless (18 Aug 2021)

DCBassman said:


> Still in use quite often, between PCs and USB-connected phones, certainly Androids.



and my Canon DSLR uses it as well


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