Creative Zen V Reviewed
Posted on: July 26, 2006
- In: Uncategorized
- 260 Comments
It’s been a day since I got my hands on the Creative Zen V. It’s been quite an experience using the Zen V. The whole player is small in size, smaller than my palm. Shorter but fatter than the iPod nano however my Samsung X300 is still fattest among the three. Each player can have their own name. I named mine “Waffle!” at first, but subsequently remembered “V for Vendetta” and renamed it “Vendetta!”.
The User Interface is easily understandable. The 5-way joystick isn’t giving me any trouble despite my big thumb and browsing around isn’t a chore. The glossy black casing is a fingerprint magnet. The casing is sturdy enough for minor drops because I accidentally dropped the player while removing the fingerprints. I experienced difficulty viewing when the OLED screen is under direct sunlight.
Sound-wise, I would recommend users to get better earphones because the Zen V is definitely capable of better sound. I tried both my Sony MDR-E828 and the packaged earphone from Creative. I would give my Sony a 100 and Creative a 0. There was so much difference. By the way, my Sony earphones cost me only $18.
Pictures are clear, crisp and can be set as wallpaper. 
Multi-tasking is available, you can view picture slideshows while listening to your favourite music. There’s an Organiser tool that can remind you of events, tasks and to-dos. However, it doesn’t really help unless you often sync it with a computer. Other than time and date, there’s also a Alarm feature that I have not tried yet.
Transfer speed is good for me although it’s considered slow for a USB 2.0. Battery life is rated 15 hours but reviews reported 20 hours. It’s been playing for 5 hours and the battery has only gone down to 3/4. I guess that should conclude the Zen V has longer than 15 hours playback time.
Overall, it’s a excellent lightweight MP3 player that I have not regret purchasing. All I need to do now is learn how to handle it with care and concern to prevent it from dying like my Creative MuVo Micro N200. “Vendetta” has already died on me once. It just shut off and could not be turned on until I reset it. It’s back working again…
To all Zen V users, please note that there’s a fireware update from 1.05.02 to 1.11.01. Please do frequently update your firmware.
Also, I certainly apologise for being so narcissistic…
Purchase Creative Zen V
~-~-~
FAQs
How do I change my Time?
1. Go into Time and Date
2. Press and hold on to Back button for a while
3. An extended Menu will come out and “Set Time” is in it.
How do I change my wallpaper?
1. Go to your Photos folder from the main menu
2. Select picture to be wallpaper.
3. Press and HOLD onto “Back” button. A menu will come out with an option, “Set as Wallpaper”.
What should I do if my Zen V hangs, is unable to power up properly after resetting, screen goes black etc.?
Please send it to the Service Center to get it serviced if within warranty period. Else consider getting a new mp3 player.
260 Responses to "Creative Zen V Reviewed"
July 27, 2006 at 7:24 am
Yes, the clock is preset to be GMT.
You can change it. Just go into Time and Date then press on the Back button for a while. A Extended Menu will come out and “Set Time” is in it. 🙂
August 1, 2006 at 9:42 am
Dude,
I just got a Zen V for my wife so she can use during her jogs. I agree that the included earphones really can not make it.
So far so good… the colours are vibrant, but the quality of picture display should have been a tad bit less pixelated IMO.
August 1, 2006 at 4:21 pm
I am not sure about the Pixelated display. What I did is, I turned on the feature so that during the transfer of pictures, the pictures will be resized to the optimal size on the player…
Maybe that will help…?
August 8, 2006 at 7:56 am
I am thinking of buying this player – would you recommend it over the ipod Nano? Because I’ve had a tough time deciding. Thanks for any advice.
August 8, 2006 at 11:03 am
Hi Kara,
If you have the capability of purchasing a iPod nano, I think you would have the capability to purchase the Samsung YP-Z5F instead.
I am not saying this player is not good but Creative just don’t last for me. My last Creative player died straight after the 12-month warranty ended.
However if you want to get this, I will definitely recommend it over the nano because of features. Of the many features, the only features I use are only the music playback, time and photo viewing which are the same as the nano. However, price wise, Creative is a better buy.
The decision is yours. I would say the Samsung then Zen V then nano.
August 15, 2006 at 9:40 am
My Zen V’s display just died on me… argghhh!! Most ridiculous part is that the replacement will come 2 weeks later…
http://fugs.blogspot.com/2006/08/fucked-up-zen-v.html
August 19, 2006 at 2:40 am
Not sure if the software installed wrong for me but how do you guys disconnect yours from the pc? if i just unplug mine it sticks on the docked screen requiring a reset to get working again, the only other way i have found upto now is to go into my computer and unistall the driver before unplugging it. Thanks
August 19, 2006 at 4:27 am
Hi jon,
For me, I just plug out from the USB port. Remember only when there’s no dotted lines on the screen and you are not transferring anything.
August 19, 2006 at 11:18 pm
Just reinstalled all the software and updated the firmware on it and now it works fine.
thanks for the reply.
August 25, 2006 at 4:42 am
@Dickson – Thanks for the clock suggestion, that worked just fine and it finally displays the local time 🙂
So far, my Zen V has been working almost perfectly – the exception is that I’ve had to do frequent resets (using the paper clip in the hole method) to get it unstuck.
This often happens while disconnecting the USB connector from Zen to PC. And before anyone suggests, yes, I have both the latest firmware for the Zen and software update for the Creative software on the PC :).
August 25, 2006 at 9:42 am
Mike,
did you have do a ‘Safely Remove’ the player as a USB device before unplugging? It could have been loaded into Windows as a removable storage device.
AND, I’m still missing my Zen V… sux BIG TIME!!! 😦
August 25, 2006 at 9:42 am
I guess the safest way to disconnect the player is after you shut off your computer…
I have heard many many people asking me about the player getting stuck. Mine got stuck only once. I guess it’s a player problem…
August 26, 2006 at 10:41 am
@moe – Thanks for the suggestion. Actually, that’s never happened (WinXP never asks that I do a Safely Remove, which I do need to do for other portable devices) and I’ve never tried mounting it as a disk drive/removable storage device. I try to keep my semi-multifunction devices to what they do best 😉
@ Dickson – I do as you do, just disconnecting the player after files transfer via WMP10 or using the Creative Media Explorer.
I try to have a paper clip on me when I’m out using the player to do a reset…it happens often enough, and if you don’t have one, it’ll just remain on and eventually drain the battery completely.
August 26, 2006 at 10:44 am
Something I didn’t mention before is that I’ve got a fair amount of DRM protected files on the Zen V, and perhaps that makes the thing a little more flaky.
If you guys are only using it with non-DRM’ed files, you might not have any probs.
September 9, 2006 at 12:13 pm
Love the zen, so far its been working great for me, i read your review and in it, you mentioned something about being able to set your pictures as a background. So far, anything i tryed had pretty unsatisfying results. Any ideas?
thanks.
September 10, 2006 at 9:41 pm
Hi Pierre,
When you select a custom background, the colour contrast indeed isn’t very impressive. But when selecting, you can actually adjust the colour contrast by the Up and Down buttons, to make the picture darker and perhaps the Captions will be easier viewed.
September 11, 2006 at 1:34 am
Alright, that would be great if only i could even change the wallpaper, i’ve tryed almost anything i could think of, but nothing will work. Any pointers?
September 11, 2006 at 10:05 am
I see.
OK, to use a picture as a custom background, go look for the picture in your Zen V first.
After finding and viewing it, press and hold onto the Back button. A menu will come out and an option to Set as Wallpaper will appear.
Hope this helps.
September 12, 2006 at 6:54 am
thanks for the tips all u guys -_- thought it was broken when i forgot how to turn it on lol it pretty good mp3 but the made from CHINA PART!!!!! bad quality control there all they want is money so do i lol:)
September 16, 2006 at 5:04 am
Hey, I just got my player today and so far love it, gotta get some new earphones though – although these ones are adequate too. I have a question…does anybody know how to display album artwork please? Sure i read it’s possible. Cheers.
September 16, 2006 at 4:04 pm
Hi Davey,
I am not sure about how to do this.
When transferring the whole folder of music files and the album artwork, a dialog box will appear asking you whether to transfer the artwork to Picture Folder or not.
I think it might be there that Album Artwork can be displayed.
September 19, 2006 at 6:16 am
Hey My name is Johnny I just bought taht Zen V yesterday And I cant figure to get my phto for my background plz help me Dickson.=D
September 19, 2006 at 10:54 pm
Hi Johnny,
It will be 3 simple steps.
1. Go to your Photos folder from the main menu
2. Select picture to be wallpaper.
3. Press and HOLD onto “Back” button. A menu will come out with an option, “Set as Wallpaper”.
From there you can press up and down for different colour contrast of the wallpaper so that text can be visible.
September 28, 2006 at 3:23 pm
Guys,
Just so you know, it is the 2nd month that I got my Creative Zen V and I am on to my third set already!
Original piece had OLED problem: whole screen went dead
First replacement piece had OLED problem: one fugly line of dead pixels on screen
Second replacement piece no problems so far…
So, question is… the OLED technology / hardware used by Creative got problem is it?!
*bleah*
October 6, 2006 at 2:59 am
OLED trouble here to. got mine today and a line almost at the centre of the screen. seems less visible when i use green background and colors… strange, might be some sign of tough handeling at the production site? anyway, i want to thank people that are writing here for hints and tips. would never had a chance to figure out that clock setup thingy on my own… or anyway.. im a bit of a manual guy so i would mabe have got it to work sooner or later…
October 22, 2006 at 12:02 pm
I have had mine now for bout a month, it has stuck a couple times requiring me to reset. But I did not lose any info reseting. I too was woundering if better quality head phones would inprove the fine quality sound already there, just not loud enough. But by others reply I see it would be worth the small investment for some better headphones, but hey, I have never bought a player and used the factory head phones anyhow!
October 27, 2006 at 7:42 am
hey i connect my zen v 2 my pc and then after a couple of minz its disconnects itself.tried re-installing software but din work HELP
October 27, 2006 at 3:37 pm
hey i just wondered if n e 1 can tell me the exact steps to change the time and date on my mp3 coz its becoming irritating having it at 3am when its 2pm lol……
October 27, 2006 at 5:11 pm
Gemmsy > You can change it. Just go into Time and Date then press on the Back button for a while. A Extended Menu will come out and “Set Time” is in it.
lennon > I have no idea how can I help. Perhaps updating your Zen V’s firmware will help. Give it a try while waiting for some others to reply here…
October 29, 2006 at 5:40 pm
hey i have another question…i have changed my wallpaper and am having trouble reading the words…is there any way of changing the colour of the words other than goin on ‘theme’?
October 29, 2006 at 8:44 pm
Gemmsy > From what I know, there’s no other way to change the Font colour.
October 30, 2006 at 5:23 pm
🙂
So far, my third set from Creative working fine except for occasional hangs…
*keeping fingers crossed!*
How are u Dickson? It’s been long!
October 30, 2006 at 5:25 pm
oh.. and for tips…
Hold your PLAY button when switching on… you should get a menu for you to ‘Clean up’ (whatever that’s for?!?!) and to reformat the piece, and two other options I think…
🙂 Not too sure now as my wife’s the one using the set more…
October 30, 2006 at 5:38 pm
moe > Life’s been good other than being short on cash.
Gadgets are all working fine and I haven’t regret them.
I started semester badly and haven’t been able to start my engine…
That’s about it, I guess…
November 5, 2006 at 9:52 am
Can some body telol me the good news of how to update the
ZEN V player system to an new version please…
I try google but didn’t find nothing.
INFO:
creative zen v
version : 1.05.02
total space 926MB
November 5, 2006 at 8:44 pm
Yellow_yackets >> Go to the Creative website, http://www.creative.com.
Click Support > Downloads > Choose your country and region.
In the long list, select MP3 player, Zen and Zen V.
Select Language and Operating System and click OK.
You will now see 2 sections, Firmware and Applications.
You will be able to see the latest Firmware update, 1.10.03.
Download it, USB plug in your Zen V, then click on the .exe file you downloaded from Creative.
It will automatically update your Zen V via USB.
Regarding playing videos, you cannot play videos on Zen V but on Zen V Plus. However, I believe the V has the capability of playing if a particular physical internal setting is turned on…
So in short, you cannot play video on your Zen V.
November 8, 2006 at 6:02 am
hi
got the 1gb zen v+ for my daughter for a birthday present.
Within 12 hours 2 vertical lines appeared on the screen either side of the ear jack.
sent player back as faulty got my money back.
Little time i had it it was very good other than the above.
Nervous bout getting another one in case problem recurrs.
November 8, 2006 at 9:20 am
Hi Simon,
Since you have already experienced the Zen V +, then perhaps you can try other players like iPod, Samsung or iRiver…
Creative wasn’t my first choice but I didn’t regret it…
November 28, 2006 at 11:08 am
I just got my zen V. Love the little thing, but… it ALWAYS gets stuck!!!
Is anyone else experiencing this problem? Is there anything i can do to eliminate this problem? it happens quite frequently and i had to reset it everytime. this is bugging me very much, and i am considering taking the player back.
November 28, 2006 at 4:21 pm
Hi Ellen,
I have no fix for your Zen V except perhaps updating the firmware…
Other than that, you have to bear with the resetting…
Till now, I only had to reset thrice…
If it’s a bother, do bring it back before its warranty ends…
November 29, 2006 at 4:00 pm
Well thanks anyways Dickson.
I have just another question, if i just pressed pause and didn’t switch my player off whenever i stop listening to it for a long period of time, will it be more battery consuming than switching the player on and off everytime?
November 29, 2006 at 5:01 pm
Hi again Ellen,
I am not sure about this…
But I know if you pause and let it idle for a long period of time, it will automatically switch itself off to conserve battery. 🙂
So I guess it will still be the same thing as it will switch off eventually…
December 1, 2006 at 12:38 am
heya guys~ i have a major problem i juz got my player today as a advance christmas present for my little brother and ever since i finish transfering the mp3s and etc the player;s been hanging. i tried to reset it with a paperclip but no response. Anyone suggestions anyone? Help?
December 1, 2006 at 9:11 am
Hi Frost,
Do you mean the player cannot be resetted?
If it is, you have to poke the paperclip in the hole for a while until the player reboots…
If you mean it doesn’t stops hanging, then please do bring it to your nearest service centre and ask for a replacement or something…
December 2, 2006 at 12:42 pm
Hi Jassa,
Firmwares are softwares embedded in a hardware device.
So in our the hardware is the Zen V while the firmware is like the Operating System of the Zen V. It will determine how the Zen V works. Like the User Interface, the ability to shuffle songs to play etc…
December 8, 2006 at 4:48 am
Just got my Zen V yesterday and the first thing I ran into was the clock having the wrong time. As far as I can tell the Creative documentation says nothing about how change it. Thanks for having that FAQ on your page.
Second problem: I’ve only loaded 5 songs on it to test it out and every song when “Now Playing” shows a graphic of the album cover for Natalie Merchant Retrospective. I don’t even have a Natalie Merchant song loaded on it. Is there someway to get rid of the album cover art or prevent it from displaying? It’s annoying to have it showing this same Nat. Merchant cover for every song. Thanks for the help.
December 8, 2006 at 11:00 am
Hi Jay,
No problem for that FAQ.:)
As for the Album Art, I never got any Album Art to display on my player before, so I cannot solve you problem… Maybe we can wait some answer here or go to your nearest Creative Store and make a query?
Sorry about that.
December 10, 2006 at 4:10 pm
I just got my Zen vplus and tried transferring images to it via usb, all images are view dithered. Any ways to come over this problem?
Pl.help…..Thnks in advance
December 10, 2006 at 10:56 pm
If it’s Album art you are looking for, try this.
1. use windows media player to load the songs (in library).
2. for tracks you are transferring, use the WMP to search the web for information on the track. This usually ends up with some album art included.
3. transfer the song, together with the album art to the player.
🙂
Dickson, christmas plans?
December 10, 2006 at 11:04 pm
Jay> Hi Jay.
Go to Creative Media Explorer>Settings (the last button beside Home)>Picture>Resize pictures
That’s the only way I know that can help make pictures look better.
moe> No Christmas plans yet leh…
Why want to invite me over? 🙂
I will be glad to go over…
December 18, 2006 at 6:24 pm
Hi,sorry my inglish,I am Portuguese,I have the zen v 2 gib and I lost the installation cd,I try in creative.com but they haven`t.how I do?I don`t find the drivers anywere.help-me,thanks.
December 21, 2006 at 6:29 pm
Nice review,i spended a lot time 2 know how to set my backgroubd and time,
gratz
December 26, 2006 at 11:15 am
hi, my name is Amelia… i have no clue how to put one of my pictures as wallpaper. when i click ” Reset Wallpaper ” it says, ” No Wallpaper Active” I’ve searched and searched, but cant find ANYTHING of ANYWHERE to set or ” activate” my pictures as wallpaper!! can you please email me how to do it? my email address is pwersenvokedchick130@yahoo.com THankyou!!!
December 26, 2006 at 1:17 pm
Amelia D> 1. Go to your Photos folder on your player from the main menu
2. Find and go view the picture to be wallpaper.
3. Press and HOLD onto “Back” button. A menu will come out with an option, “Set as Wallpaper”.
December 27, 2006 at 12:10 am
I’ve juste got an a ZEN V for xmas.. how long does it take to rechearge the batterie?.. its been a long time i’m waiting..
December 27, 2006 at 1:59 am
AmY> It takes 6 hours for a full charge via USB and it can last you 20 odd hours at optimum performance.
December 27, 2006 at 5:01 pm
I Just Got The Zen V Plus, And Havent Had Any Problems Unplugging It From The Computer. I Think The Freezing Is A Glich Only In The Zen V That Has Been Fixed In The Plus Version.
December 28, 2006 at 2:18 am
I don’t know if you can help, but I have no idea what I’m doing with my Zen V. After figuring out how to convert my itunes music onto my zen, it froze last night. I’ve heard I need firmware, but I don’t know where to download from, or how often… Please advise, as I am severely technology-impared.
December 29, 2006 at 5:56 am
does anyone know how to remove album art, pleeezzz!, a picture of a ja rule album keeps appearing on most songs , and i didn’t even put it on, if you can help me please do! thanks
December 29, 2006 at 6:21 am
Dickson,
Thanks for taking the time to put up the FAQ on the time and wallpaper. I was getting kinda frustrated at not being able to figure out the wallpaper thing. It never occurred to me to hold the back button down and wait for a seperate menu to pop up…
One would think that Creative would put that in big bold letters somewhere… I searched all thru the docs but came up bupkus…
Thanks again dude!
December 31, 2006 at 4:07 am
Just got the Chistmas present and when I went to rip a CD it would only go 10 of 14 tracks then get a message “music device has changed” and OK below that is only choice the get message “unable to continue ripping and transfering–application will stop” OK is tha only choice. Then MTP media player pops up. Exit that and Zen V media player pops up with message “updating your player..please wait” At that point waiting tell_____freezes over and that message will still be there. The only way to fix it at that point is turn the computer off and back on. Any ideas. I am semi concious as far as computer skills. Thanks
December 31, 2006 at 1:05 pm
Lee> If the Creative program gives you problems, I suggest you use 3rd Party CD Rippers. Get the songs into MP3 on your computer then transfer it into your Zen V.
I am using JetAudio 6.
http://www.cowonamerica.com/products/jetaudio/
January 1, 2007 at 11:00 pm
Ive had mine zen for a bit and just figured out how to set the clockgo to dat and time and hold the back button till a menu pops up and click reset clock or somethin
January 2, 2007 at 6:47 pm
Hi! I have had the Zen V for just over a week now, and guess what? It died..
I see that quite a few of you have experienced it before me. My problem is that restarting it manually does not help, nothing happens at all…
What to do?
Thanks in advance!
January 2, 2007 at 6:55 pm
Robin> Can it be charged through the USB port? With that answer, go to the Creative Store and tell them your answer and your problem.
Hope it gets admitted into “hospital” and get well soon…
January 4, 2007 at 2:48 am
just got a zen v (little late to the party but got there all the same!) and was dismayed to learn mine won’t transfer downloaded audiobooks of more than 200 MB. i heard this was a problem with the micro firmware, but nothing about the zen v. anyone else have that trouble? i’ve emailed creative and hope they say updated firmware will be out ASAP.
January 4, 2007 at 10:01 am
lisa> I think I heard about this problem before but I do not know of any solution. I think it’s a limitation. Perhaps updating the firmware might help but I don’t know. If Creative replies you, I hope you can write here to share the solution with others. Thanks alot!
January 11, 2007 at 12:58 am
Sorry Megham but I’ve got a week old Zen V plus and thats just frozen on me. I think I’ve understood correctly in that i’ve downloaded the new firmware – on the way home now to see if that works. Cross fingers it does
Meghan Said:
>I Just Got The Zen V Plus, And Havent Had Any Problems Unplugging >It From The Computer. I Think The Freezing Is A Glich Only In The >Zen V That Has Been Fixed In The Plus Version.
January 15, 2007 at 1:42 pm
HI ,
I got a zen v plus and its only 1 day old. When i used the usb to connect to pc it displayed the docked screen and after some time the led truned off. I used the reset procedures and everything i can do…but it stills not turning on …its dead i think .. what should i do . Any one of you please reply…i am frustrated its only 1 day i have used it…
January 16, 2007 at 6:14 am
I bought my creative zen v couple months ago.It was working fine until one day my screen went dark and now its getting darker and darker >.>.I checked the contrast and its at 100%.Anyone know what’s the problem?My warranty is done so can’t get a remplacement 😦
January 17, 2007 at 5:29 pm
Saravanan and Leil> Send it to the Service Centre right away!
P.S Leil, if they quote a very high price to repair the player, don’t bother. Get a new player. Creative goods are famous for breaking down after warranty period. Get a Korean/better brand next time. 🙂
January 23, 2007 at 8:26 am
umm…i have a problem with my screen…
apparently my screen is getting darker everyday; it’s so hard to read even at night
is it an OLED problem?
i looked at the contrast: it was still 100 percent
so i’m really stumped
i really don’t want to pay for another one
don’t have the money to pay for another one
please HELP!
January 23, 2007 at 9:44 am
Hi Chris,
If your warranty has not finished, please bring it to the Service Center ASAP.
If it is finished, maybe I suggest you purchase a iPod or Korean brand MP3 player next time… Whichever player has more physical support in your country.
February 11, 2007 at 6:54 pm
hi dickson, hi
my name is melvyn n i own a zen v plus u know right i wanna ask u something
how do u find the driver for the zen v plus? cuz after i install everything from the cd when i plug it in the computer it cant detect the player
i look in at it at my computer and found out i need a driver for it
so please tell me what i should do so that my computer can detect my player and be able to transfer music into it please tell me howmy hotmails melvyn_lai@hotmail.com ok?thanx for everything
February 11, 2007 at 7:04 pm
Hi Melvyn,
Since you have installed the driver already, there shouldn’t be a problem with detecting the player…
You might want try reinstalling the CD or check if your USB port is alright…
February 11, 2007 at 7:17 pm
hi dickson,
i think u misunderstood wat i said,i said i cant find the driver for the player,n i am hoping that u know where and which website where i can find a compatible driver for the player
February 11, 2007 at 7:56 pm
Hi again,
If you installed everything on the CD, the driver should have already been installed so there doesn’t seems to be a problem there but elsewhere…
I did a bit of search and found a thread on Creative Forums which seems to have the same problem as you…
http://forums.creative.com/creativelabs/board/message?board.id=dap&message.id=179806#M179806
You might want to consider reading it through…
In short, from what I understand, you will need to update Windows XP to SP2 and install Windows Media Player 11.
February 21, 2007 at 2:26 am
my zen v was awesome at first but now its really hectic
it keeps freezing and i keep reseting
now its stuck on frozen
everytime i reset it it turns on and is just frozen again
im really mad
anyone help?
February 21, 2007 at 1:59 pm
Hi 312,
My friend had a similar problem. There wasn’t anything I could do to help but advice her to send it to the Service Center and get it fixed…
February 23, 2007 at 6:56 am
Hey! I recently got a creative zen V (just 5 days or so) and then it froze upon me! Im sure it had atleast half the battery or more, so i wanted till it shut down.. and then realised there was a reset button, but when I did, it froze again =(
now im just charging it hoping it wont freeze >_
February 25, 2007 at 3:51 am
Thank you for all the tips you have.
My question is: How did you convert IPOD, Itune music files to Zen V mp3s?
February 25, 2007 at 11:36 pm
Has anyone here use the Zen V to listen to podcasts ? I want to buy one, but it has to be albe to play podcasts
February 25, 2007 at 11:47 pm
Luis > I don’t use iTunes so I am not sure about that.
Henk > I would say to use Creative softwares for podcasts won’t be as easy as using other softwares like iTunes. Creative call theirs the ZenCast and I don’t think it’s really very podcast-friendly at all…
February 26, 2007 at 12:18 am
Hi, recently my cousing give to me a zen V, I liked very much..so I start to serch about it..i don like the fact it cant play radio or video..is there anything i could do..like change the firmeware or something…
February 26, 2007 at 12:25 am
Marko > As to date, no one has done so or found out how to.
I believe that bother V and V Plus have the same capabilities but the V has some restrictions though.
So if you want radio and video, get a V Plus or something else… Video on 1.5′ screen is just too small…
March 27, 2007 at 8:03 am
Thank you so much for this website! I can finally set the time!
April 1, 2007 at 6:03 pm
Hello
Great job on this page! I figured out the clock!!!
Question: I’ve read in a couple of reviews on other sites that u don’t really need to install the media explorer and all that stuff and that it’s really just clogging up my pc..is that true? email me back please if u can =) Thnx
April 1, 2007 at 9:00 pm
Hi P,
Yes, that’s definitely true!
As long as Windows recognises your Zen V as a Removable Disk, then you can freely transfer songs, pictures etc onto your Zen V’s different folders.
April 7, 2007 at 7:00 am
I lost my installation cd and book. Is there a way I can get it? Thank you.
April 7, 2007 at 1:41 pm
Juli>
Most of the Installation CD applications:
http://us.creative.com/support/downloads/download.asp?MainCategory=213&nRegionFK=&nCountryFK=&nLanguageFK=&sOSName=Windows+XP®ion=1&Product_Name=ZEN+V&Product_ID=15283&modelnumber=&driverlang=1033&OS=10&drivertype=0&x=31&y=4
April 11, 2007 at 9:39 am
hello
i got a zen v plus, whie and orange one rcently for my birthday. it was working perfectly until one morning wen i turned it on, te coours had an orange shade to it and where the names of te songs and menus are supposed to be white, it was orange.
please help me.
April 11, 2007 at 1:42 pm
Abi, I have never come across such a problem as described by you. If you think you have not made any changes to the Settings, I think it’s best you bring it to the nearest Creative store to fix it.
April 15, 2007 at 6:00 pm
Hi. I got a Zen V Plus for my birthday but it says i cant use it with iTunes. Is there any way to get my music on it using itunes? Heeeeeeeeeelp.Thanx.
April 15, 2007 at 11:46 pm
Dahlia J>
Logically, being hard competitors, I would say it’s impossible that you can use iTunes for Zen V Plus. Or at least, not that I know of…
April 17, 2007 at 7:38 am
ok, ive been wanting a new mp3 player now, i lost my old ipod mini,and i dont have that much money so today i was thinking of gettin a zen v…but after reading about how it has problems with the screen, im scared to get it…should i get one?
April 17, 2007 at 9:17 pm
aj>
If you cannot wait to get a MP3 player and is low on cash, I would say Zen V would be satisfactory.
But if you can save up a little and be patient, maybe you would like to consider getting another iPod or Samsung or iRiver player?
Honestly, I use Creative but am no fan of it… I gave the player to my sister and mom and now I am using my new Samsung YP-K3…
April 18, 2007 at 2:24 am
OMG my creative is 4 months old and the display is totally gone.. its still playing the music but its not dispaying anything… its such a head-recker.. i wonder if i reset it (which i dont know how).. Is der any chance it mite restore the display??…
Need help…
ANY ideas Dickson.. (u seem to be an expert)??…
April 18, 2007 at 6:09 am
well i just got one today, nothing bad, i was worried about some glitches but nothing has happened.i just need to dload the software on, and get songs..
April 18, 2007 at 9:54 am
oh and i am having a problem installing the cd on to the computer.its pissing me off! it says it dloaded it, but it took like 2 sec to dload, and i searched for the files, but i could not find any.
April 18, 2007 at 11:56 am
Lorna>
Many have had this problem and the only thing that can be done is to bring the player to the Service Center and have them resolve it for you.
Anyway, you will need a pin to reset your Zen V on the left of the player. There’s a tiny hole below the Power and Hold slide button.
aj>
You need to chill… Haha!
Actually you do not need the software on the CD to transfer songs into the Player. You just need Windows to detect the player as a removable storage drive. Open it up, find the folder and throw your music in.
April 18, 2007 at 12:12 pm
haha i know i was so pissed…wait so you dont need the cd stuff?? i can just put in the mp3 to the computer,put the songs in, and thats it??
April 18, 2007 at 12:21 pm
wait, so how do you make it shoe that it is a removable player? cuz when i put it in it says its the zen v
April 18, 2007 at 3:42 pm
aj>
That’s very much all you need to do. Now open up “Zen V” and browse around what’s inside.
This should be the directory that you should be putting your music in.
My Computer\Zen V\Storage Media\Music
April 18, 2007 at 11:57 pm
finally got it last night! now lets just hope it doesnt suddenly die on me!
May 13, 2007 at 4:52 pm
you can get the creative zen v installation cd here
http://xxmycreativexx.blogspot.com/2007/05/creative-zen-v-plus-installation-cd.html
May 14, 2007 at 2:24 pm
i also got dead pixel problem. there are several vertical and horizontal line on the display. how do u solve those problem guys? did u send it back to the shop 2 get the warranty?
May 14, 2007 at 2:31 pm
lu-c> Yes, go straight to the shop/service centre and ask for an exchange. It’s a hardware problem and cannot be solved by our own.
May 14, 2007 at 8:45 pm
hello!
i got a real problem with my player…
it was in the laudry…i thought it will be dead but thank god it still works…HOWEVER 😀 when i stick it to my pc it automatically turns on and doesnt load…when i try to turn it off it turns on again! i tried to reset it but nothing happens…what should appear on the screen when i reset it? and do you think that will help?
thanks for any help!
May 14, 2007 at 8:50 pm
amy> You should see the player rebuilding its library.
Resetting won’t help I guess, the system should have been drowned and malfunctions…
May 24, 2007 at 6:18 am
Hey thanks for the tips on whats up with my OLED screemn. Even if there’s mnothing i can do about it but take it to a repair centre. I did not bother to read thge entire message board so if there is something i missed abou that problem plz tell me bcuz im not sure if my warranty is up. Can you also tell me how long the waranty period is.
Thanks a ton. all i need to know is is theres anything i can do bcuz i live way out in the midle of nowhere and i have no idea WHERE a service centre is.
May 24, 2007 at 2:33 pm
phatass> You might want to bring it back to where you bought your set at.The warranty period is 1 year. The problem is a hardware problem so it can’t be solved on our own.
May 25, 2007 at 7:51 am
hey! i just got my creative zen, and it froze multiple times. . my dad had to fix it for me. He says they “are like computers. they have to be reset and formatted once in a while”. However, i recently accidentlly damaged the screen while it was im my bookbag. The screen ended up getting crushed. I now have 3 lines. But now, the words on the screen are barely visable, and the contrast is set to 100%! HELP! this is my 3rd mp3 player, and my last.
~Ms. Confused
May 25, 2007 at 9:31 am
Ms Confused> As the screen is broken due to your own misuse, Creative’s warranty doesn’t covers that. So you either pay to get it repaired, live with it or let it be your last mp3 player…
June 5, 2007 at 9:58 pm
Quick question. My Zen V just froze when i turned it on and I don’t know how to get it to turn off or get it to start playing. I don’t have the book with me at this time can you tell me how to reset it. If it is using a pin on the little hole in the top or side I did that. Anysuggestions?
W
June 5, 2007 at 10:04 pm
Wendy>
The only way to get it out of “frozen mode” is indeed through the hole at the side.
That reset hole doesn’t work unless you poke and hold your pin in it for awhile. Maybe around 10 seconds.
You have to keep trying because you might miss the button that’s inside. 🙂
June 13, 2007 at 4:01 am
hello. how can i change the removable disk size in zen V plus creative?
June 13, 2007 at 1:01 pm
Maryam> I don’t think there’s a way for you to do that… The size is limited to the capacity of your zen V plus. If it’s 2GB then the size would be slighter lesser than 2GB…
June 14, 2007 at 5:44 pm
hi. i have the zen v plus 2gb as well. im not sure if im turning it off the safe way or is there a safe way to turn it off after playing some songs? i dont see any stop button only the pause and so what i do is i pause the song and then turn it off. how do you guys do it? please advice. im thinking this might be the reason why it freezes sometimes..
and also, is it not advisable to keep on skipping tracks, if so.. why? when you are charging the zen v plus.. is it okay to add/remove tracks? and if not, when is the right time to add tracks, after charging perhaps? me confused..
how often is it okay to reset the player and is this the only way to resolved the issue of freezing? thanks
June 14, 2007 at 6:23 pm
dobby> You turn it off the way you turn it on. Slide the button to the Power side and hold it there until it turns off.
You may skip your tracks as much as you want but too much will shorten the battery life and you might not be able to listen to your music for as long as 20 hours.
You may transfer music and file as you charge. There won’t be any problem with that.
Resetting the player is the only way to resolve the freezing.
June 15, 2007 at 3:37 am
I have a problem regarding to my Zen VPlus… You see… The last time I used my MP3 was like 2 weeks ago… Why??? Because its not working properly… I dont know what I’d do wrong but its keeps on “Rebuilding Library” everytime I open it… and everytime I turn it on.. I change the settings then when I turn it off then turn it on again everything I made changes isnt implemented… something like a problem in caching or somewhere on a temporary storage for setups… This really sux big time… I love VPlus(Also iRiver) because of the sound quality(Though the tremble isnt really good enough)… still I want this mp3… Can anybody help me out here??? I’m having a hard time finding the solution for my mp3… =(
June 15, 2007 at 1:26 pm
John> Have you tried resetting the player? If this carries on, I think you should let your retailer know or bring it to the service centre and get it fixed. This is the first time I am coming across such problem.
June 15, 2007 at 8:51 pm
hello there,
the problem that john also occured on my ZEN. Also while it was rebuilding it’s library, a power loss occured. That accident led to unrecognizing my ZEN on my pc whenever i’m charging it. Can I still manage to repair the software of
my ZEN? please help..
June 15, 2007 at 11:19 pm
Riskbreaker182> Have you tried resetting the player? If you have done that and it still doesn’t work, maybe you want to uninstall and reinstall everything related to Creative Zen V. The softwares and drivers. Then try plugging in your Zen V again to see if your computer recognises it now…
If it still doesn’t, send it to the nearest service centre… I wonder how many times have I said this, seems like the Zen V/ V Plus has so much problems with the freezing thing…
June 24, 2007 at 4:47 pm
I have a zen plus. Is it possible to delete line in recordings? I recorded two tracks from my hi fi to get the volume level correct but when I select “Fill Up Player With Music” and check the box “Delete all tracks in the player before transfer” it only deletes tracks installed from the computer and leaves the line in recordings intact.
Recording from a hi fi is a good feature but if any mistakes are made I don’t want to fill up the player with dud tracks.
June 24, 2007 at 8:46 pm
allan> Yes you definitely can.
After connecting, use Windows Explorer or the Zen Explorer, explore around the contents of the player and I think there is a folder for Line-In recordings. You should be able to delete from there. I am sorry I can’t give you direct instructions because I have uninstall all my Creative softwares…
June 25, 2007 at 3:47 am
Dickson
Thanks for the quick reply. I’d been looking for the files in My Music but they were in My Recordings and I’ve deleted them. As Homer Simpson would
say – Doh!
June 27, 2007 at 10:28 pm
I JUST recevied a Zen V Plus as a gift. It worked great for a whole day, but it is totally not doing anything! I read the sticky and tried to reset, but nothing happens. I tried using a straight pin and an earing in the reset button hole and, still, nothing. All I get is a black screen.
It worked fine this morning. All I did was plug in a USB cable and connect it to my PC at my office, that was when I noticed the screen had gone black. I wanted to see if the player would be recognized. It wasn’t.
I am not near the computer where the software is installed. I hope someone can help. I can’t bear to tell the person who gave this to me, my spouse, that the gift they were so proud of keeled over!
June 28, 2007 at 10:21 pm
cameragnome> The only method that I know of solving this problem is resetting it. To reset, you will have to insert your sharp pin into the reset button hole for approx 5 seconds. Remove it and try power on the player. If it rebuilds the library, it’s good. If not, I think you will have to bring to the retailer or the nearest Creative service center. 🙂
June 29, 2007 at 12:59 am
Thanks for the suggestions. It turns out it was a battery issue and the player needed to be reset. It has a solid charge now and we’ll see what happens.
July 2, 2007 at 12:24 am
I Have had My Creative Zen V Since last Christmas and It Has Been Working Fine. I Have Had To Reset It a Couple of Times but Other Than That It Was Great. Untill Today when I Cut It On, My Screen’s color is starting To Disappear. I Cant really See Anything. I’m Hoping It Doesnt Turn Out Like My Brothers because his screen is totally black. He Can still listen to music but he cant see it on his screen. Its really hard to find the right music with your screen being totally black. Is There anyone who can help me please, because my birthday is tomorrow and i don’t want my screen to go completely black on my birthday.
July 2, 2007 at 12:37 am
My daughter’s Creative Zen V’s screen has gone completely black. She’s tried to deal with it, by guessing her music, but it’s obnoxious. She’s only had it a few months. I’ve tried resetting, and plugging it into the computer, and it’s recognized, but the screen is still black. Can’t tell contrast of anything, because we can’t see anything. Would be nice if they had something in the software that tests the product, plus shows the the settings in the Zen. Anyway, are we out-of-luck with this one? Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks, Anne
July 2, 2007 at 1:12 pm
Andrice> You and your brother really have to get it fixed. It’s not The End when the screen goes black. Bring the players to your retailer or Creative Service center. Tell them the problem and ask for a servicing or replacement. I believe the players are under warranty, do it quick.
Anne> Same thing for you like how I answered Andrice above. It’s not The End just get it to the retailer or service center. It’s a player with a screen and it’s supposed to work! 😛
July 3, 2007 at 1:27 am
Hello Dickson
I have the same problem this melvyn fellow had looong ago (commented on february..), my pc doesn’t recognise the Zen V unless it’s on removable disc mode. I’ve tried everything posted in every forum I’ve found to try and fix it but it’s useless; I reinstalled my windows media player so I could get the windows portable device drivers, I have the sp2, I’ve reinstalled the zenv cd several times. When I open driver manager it keeps showing Zen V as a question mark with an exlamation mark…
Do you know of any other way to do this, or maybe a forum that works?
Thanks
July 3, 2007 at 1:28 pm
Tariq> Does your WMP recognises the Zen V and can you sync the player through WMP?
Honestly, I am not too sure about this aspect of technical problems… All I can say is, if you can assess the player as a removable disk, then you can still transfer songs in and out of the player. Just open it and you see several folders. Throw your music in accordingly.
July 6, 2007 at 9:01 am
No, the WMP doesn’t recognise it.
I don’t see the folders inside the removable disk, when I open it it’s completely empty.
July 6, 2007 at 12:53 pm
Tariq> Hi again, I don’t think I can help you on this… You might want to head elsewhere for some help or get some from the local service centers or retailers… Sorry.
July 7, 2007 at 3:44 am
hey. i bought a creative zen v about 3 months ago and everything worked great. but just recently (like a week ago) all my songs, pictures, and videos deleted themselves off of the player. and now when i plug it into my computer the program says that the player is still not connected but the player says docked. i’ve uninstalled and reinstalled the software a couple times now and nothing seems to help.
July 8, 2007 at 12:46 am
eric> You might want to update the firmware of the player on the Creative site.
http://us.creative.com/support/downloads/download2.asp?MainCategory=213&Product=15283&dlcentric=9953&Product_Name=ZEN+V&filetype=4&OSName=Windows+XP
July 14, 2007 at 10:27 am
Thanks for your reply, i know its a litle late to thank you but THANKS.
when i ask you if i can see video clips on a zen v i didn’t realise that my Zen didn’t supported that feature. want to know what happend???
TIP:
I let my Zen V (first release/version) drop from a high place and because i had guarranty the store gave me a brand new one but not only it was new it was the update which is the zen v PLUS 2.0gb. Now i can see video clips. .
I am happy.
END OF TIP:
But thakns anyway for your reply now i am heading for a PSP, which i heard is better because not only supports gamming but also access to the web and other features.
THANK YOU.
PLEASE BE CAREFULL TRYING MY TIP, IT DOESN’T ALWAYS WORK.
July 29, 2007 at 4:22 am
Hola Dickson. you seem to be an expert and my Zen V player is being retarded. 😦
When I’m just listening to my Zen V player, the recorded kics on automatically even when I haven’t touched the the recording button! its drving me insane and i have like 50 new recordings on my Zen player because the recorder always randomly kics on and when i try to get out of it..it saves what was being recorded! ugh! please help! what should i do? what can i do?
July 29, 2007 at 10:15 am
sarah> The player ain’t supposed to be in recording mode when you didn’t switch to that Mode. There’s something wrong with your player so please send it to the Service Centre or retail store.
July 30, 2007 at 11:26 pm
Uh, I did change the wallpaper, but how will I change it back to the default? the water drop thing. 😦
July 31, 2007 at 2:49 am
Alright. I figured. So, how would I get my ZEN player off of recording mode?
July 31, 2007 at 1:58 pm
laznzeamp> System> Player Settings> Theme:
Change your theme and the background will change accordingly. 🙂
If this doesn’t work, go to Photo Settings and Reset Wallpaper.
sarah> If you are listening to your music, it cannot be in recording mode. So there’s no way you can get your player to off the mode when you are not even in that mode… So if it’s recording stuff while you listen to your music, something is wrong with your player and that’s why I asked you to send it to the Service Centre or retail store… 🙂
August 3, 2007 at 5:47 am
Dickson, i see your helping people with their zen v i have the biggest problem ever my zen v was working fine until i looked at the new firemware and right away installed it thinking its good and i use my zen and the button paths have changed for example the + volume button is now the play button, the recording button is now +volume, – volume just displays the volume and so on any idea? and my warranty has expired so long ago ive had my zen v for a long time and i dont think i should have to pay to fix it if i installed their recommended firmware any ideas?
August 3, 2007 at 6:02 pm
gr-armybrat> Yes, I don’t think it should be that way. I think if you explain to them that you have installed their recommended firmware and the player screwed up, they will take responsibility and reset it for you… However, I won’t know how their policy will work out. I will say you won’t have to pay but they might not think so…
August 4, 2007 at 1:50 am
mm i see.. if im gonna pay id rather buy the new one zen v plus so yea thanks for the idea
i’ve sent them my problem i’ll post here what they reply…
August 6, 2007 at 12:29 am
Yeah they want me to pay $25 USD 😐 I Just feel like buying a zen v plus now.. pointless to pay $25 for that old thing to be fixed. Thanks For Your Suggestions Really Appreciate it. Good Luck With All Other Zen V Problems.
August 8, 2007 at 6:55 pm
well my mp3 was going great untill it froze but it gets worse, i reset it it was back to normal nut i couldn’t see the screen and i charge it and now no music playing and screen is pitch black !!!!!!!!!!! i really angry what shall i do?
August 8, 2007 at 11:02 pm
lucy> Why do people always ask questions that will always lead to the same answer… When you gadget is spoilt, and it’s under warranty, please bring it to the service centre or your retailer for an exchange or repair.
August 9, 2007 at 3:17 am
Hi. thanks to you Dickson! I have one question!
Is there any chance to download new themes for Creative Zen V Plus
from the net?
August 10, 2007 at 12:09 am
thanks! for the answer! Please let me know if that would be possible in the future!
August 11, 2007 at 2:26 pm
OMG! It hanged when I turned it off, it displaying that “Shutting down…” thing, uh, how do I fix this?
August 11, 2007 at 5:58 pm
lanzeamp> Reset it. On the left, there’s a pin hole, take a pin and insert into it for 5 seconds to reset it…
August 12, 2007 at 5:46 am
I use my zen v almost exclusively for audio books. I cannot figure out the bookmark feature. Has anyone actually tried it? Tried 1. Now playing menu-pause-menu- ?????.
August 12, 2007 at 3:22 pm
Hi
You seem to be a ZEN V genius
I need a little assistance.
first, here’s my story.
i had a gorgeous pink Ipod nano and loved it dearly until one day i went for a bike ride, and stuffed my ipod in my jacket pocket. i went home and washed the jacket. ipod included. since i’ve spent over 500 dollars in ipod materials, and ipods, my parents let me get a ZEN V until i can get an ipod again. its pretty good, but theres ot music on it yet
HELP! How can i get my iTunes music onto my ZEN V ?
i’m going crazy here. I’m an actress/music artist and i need my music in between breaks on set and my music to inspire my song writing! I’ve gone 3 weeks without any sort of music player which is NOT good for me.
So, any ideas on how to get my iTunes onto my ZEN?
August 12, 2007 at 9:20 pm
BT> I am sorry but I have never used Audio Books on my Zen V before and can’t really help in this aspect…
Miley> That must have sucked… iPod in the washing machine… People often ask how can get iTunes to work with ZEN V.
Honestly, I don’t know… I know nuts about this because I use Windows Explorer mostly to transfer my music into the player.
I understand that your songs won’t be able to be transferred out except through the iTunes and that’s what’s rigid and bad about iTunes…
I am really sorry about your plight but I think you would have to find the answer somewhere else but from what I know nothing can be done about it… You need to get an iPod back, that’s how Apple monopolize their market…
August 13, 2007 at 6:42 am
haha yeah it was horrible :[
well thanks for the help anyways.
peace out
August 13, 2007 at 8:40 pm
dude i have zen v but unfortunately have lost the software….where can i get it and where can i update it
August 13, 2007 at 10:49 pm
akki>
Manual Book: http://us.creative.com/support/downloads/download2.asp?MainCategory=213&manualID=9791&Product=15283®ionID=1&Product_Name=ZEN+V
Most of the Installation CD applications: http://us.creative.com/support/downloads/download.asp?MainCategory=213&nRegionFK=&nCountryFK=&nLanguageFK=&sOSName=Windows+XP®ion=1&Product_Name=ZEN+V&Product_ID=15283&modelnumber=&driverlang=1033&OS=10&drivertype=0&x=31&y=4
August 15, 2007 at 2:13 pm
Dude I ve a Zen V .I used it for 2 weeks.One day i found that some files are not found including my play lists.I have installed my software .I am using Xp sp2.
My PC is detecting my device as MTP device and this message will be displayed
Device maynot work properly. But on my device it’s docked.I deleted all the contents of my player when i look into information of my player it shows that 430 mb is used out of 960 .I cant see any device detected in my computer & creative media explorer.Need help………………..its urgent Icant do anything without connecting with pc I have tried all with my friends pc too but same result ………………….Need help
August 15, 2007 at 3:01 pm
Vimal> Try resetting your player totally and let it rebuild its library then connect it back to the computer to try again.
September 10, 2007 at 8:33 am
If I had the chance to trade my Zen for a Nano, I’d do it in a heartbeat. On paper these things look good, but using it on a daily basis, you start to notice where these things fall short. For example, I listen to a lot of audiobooks while I drive, and it’s a pain to have to power down the device in order to keep my place in the audiobook. If I pause the zen and it powers off, the track returns to the beginning. WTF? That becomes more infuriating when loading times for this thing is like 20 seconds. I miss the Nano’s instant start times and automatic bookmarking.
September 11, 2007 at 4:48 am
i need help from you .any body! ever body help plz and i will be glad if somone help me..plz email me back the solution of solving Zen w hardware probelm?..
if i on my zen w if will just show hardware problem and have try and remove the battery,even place it back till the same what can i do?
help me
September 11, 2007 at 10:08 am
ft> Bring it to the Service Center or Retail shop.
We cannot solve hardware problems on our own as it might void the warranty.
September 14, 2007 at 2:46 am
wooweeee thankyou, i never could work out how to change the time/ date and background/theme :]
awsome, thanks 😀
x
September 19, 2007 at 12:41 pm
i has just received my creative zen v plus 4GB but it has spoilt. the moment i plug in my usb port in my mp3 and to the computer it has stripes at my mp3 screen. how can i resolve it or really it had spoilt and cant repair?
September 19, 2007 at 7:00 pm
candy> Yes, most probably spoilt so bring it to the service centre or retailer for exchange or repair.
September 23, 2007 at 7:15 am
Hello, I’m writing from Spain.
I’m terribly dissappointed of my Zen V.
The screen went dark overnight for no apparent reason and now I can barely see anything making the device useless.
If it was only me I could think it was a problem of my particular device. OK, that can happen.
The problem is that I see MANY PEOPLE with this same problem on many forums and that means Creative devices are just no reliable.
My device is still under warranty and I hope I have any problem in getting a new one display but… How long will this last this time?
Reading so many people with this same problem I just cant trust Creative Labs technology anymore.
Next time I’ll buy an IPOD.
September 23, 2007 at 10:09 am
Jerrycantrell> Yes, start saving up for a Non-Creative player…
September 28, 2007 at 8:03 pm
Is there any way to create custom themes or modify the default ones?
September 29, 2007 at 2:47 pm
Rosy_Crystal> What I know is only changing of the wallpaper and the colour tones of the player but not any about Custom Themes…
October 12, 2007 at 11:59 am
Hey Dickson umm this was a huge problem with my zen i got it abot 3 months ago and for some reason the screen is completly black now.What can i do to fix this??
October 13, 2007 at 6:11 am
Just wondering why my zen v plus wont reset when i stick a pin in the reset hole… my player got stuck in the FM radio mode, and I cant do anything… it wont turn off, or anything! — Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
October 13, 2007 at 6:58 am
heze_fo_shezzy> Bring it to the Service Center or Retail store you got it…
JJ> You might want to try poking the needle for mayhbe 15 seconds before pulling it out. Also, you might want to feel if the needle feels like pushing on a button in the player…
You can let the player run out of battery then charge it and try again or bring it to the the service center to service or retail store for a refund or exchange.
October 22, 2007 at 12:28 am
hey i just got my zen v plus a few days ago its super cool but i wanted to know a few thing 1.one of my relatives has the same zen as me and she dose not have the option to change the time what should i doo? (we never upgraded) 2.is there a place on the internet where i can get wallpapers for my zen? 3.is there a way to set tasks on the callender because i cant figure it out
October 22, 2007 at 7:03 pm
phil> Your 1st and 2nd questions are in the FAQS of my post…
1)
1. Go into Time and Date
2. Press and hold on to Back button for a while
3. An extended Menu will come out and “Set Time” is in it.
2) Just upload any picture into the Zen V and follow the instructions below:
1. Go to your Photos folder from the main menu
2. Select picture to be wallpaper.
3. Press and HOLD onto “Back” button. A menu will come out with an option, “Set as Wallpaper”.
3) Not that I know of that you can set tasks on the player itself but you can do that using the Zen V attached softwares.
October 31, 2007 at 9:02 am
ruben> You just have to connect your Zen V and drag and drop pictures into your Pictures folder in Windows Explorer.
November 8, 2007 at 8:06 am
Hey Dickson my name is Andre and i live i Sweden.
I’ve got a really messed up situation.
I just bought my Zen V and i’ve installed all the sofware from the cds and done everthing i should, but still, when i plugin my Zen V, it Says “the player is not connected” but the computer detect its, but nothin more.
I’ve tried to do everything i know, re-install all software (including media player) enable some “USB for all” shit that i’ve read on another site, and i still dont work..
and i cant update the firmwire because my computer dont find the player.. Plz help me with this
November 8, 2007 at 12:37 pm
Andre > Really seems complicated…
It might be something to do with your computer’s Operating System (OS)…?
Does your Windows Media Player detects the player and enable you to sync songs into it?
This is the first time I am seeing this and I am not sure how to go about it…
November 9, 2007 at 12:18 am
hey, no media player dont respond at all.. but I’ll re-install windows and then se if it works.. Thnx anyway man
November 10, 2007 at 2:59 pm
I can’t figure out how to use the line-in encoding to record a cd track directly into my v-plus and there is nothing in the instructions manual to help me. Do you have any suggestions?
November 10, 2007 at 10:37 pm
Lee> I have never done it myself but I believe it’s something like this…
You plug in your CD player to the Zen V Plus. Set your Zen V to the Line-In function. Play your song and press the RECORD button. The button with a red dot on the side…
November 12, 2007 at 7:31 am
hey, just one Question: if i make my Zen V into a removable Disc and put music into it.. is there any way i can listen to that music at my player ?
November 12, 2007 at 9:17 am
Andre> Yes. Remember put your music into the Music folder.
November 19, 2007 at 3:07 am
ok nice, but where’s the music folder? when i open removable Disc (H:) its just empty?
November 19, 2007 at 2:10 pm
Andre> I am sorry but I really can’t forget how it works… I haven’t been using the Creative Zen V for quite some time and it’s no longer with me as well…
I think you might need to consult somewhere else…
November 20, 2007 at 8:09 pm
Hi!
I love my Zen V+, I’ve only had to reset it once. I’ve had it for about two months now. I’m very happy with it. One gripe – album art. Do you know how to get rid of it? At the moment the same picture displays for EVERYTHING. Very confusing.
Thanks,
LacciMacci
November 20, 2007 at 8:59 pm
laccimacci> I think you might want to consider format/deleting everything in your player and reload your music… That was the only way I know of… Or else you might want to go to the folder which that Album Art is in and delete it…
November 22, 2007 at 1:08 am
hey please help.. i bought zen V AND i always have to connect to my pc to use it .. as soon as i disconnect it from usb .. it always turns ofF.i have charged it sufficiently.. but it doesn’t works..
could you plz help in this regard..
November 22, 2007 at 8:28 am
Hey…
I’ve had my Creative Zen V Plus (4 g) since May’07, and all of the sudden the screen is getting darker and darker every time I turn it on. I almost can’t see anything anymore. And what I can see has an orange-ish purple-ish tint to it.
Help??
Thanks.
November 22, 2007 at 9:22 am
Hidayat & Amanda > I cannot do any magic on hardware problems. You have to certainly bring it to the retailer or Creative Service Centre.
November 24, 2007 at 1:14 am
Hey dickson, i can get myself a creative zen v plus 4gb player if i wan’t…just a few questions before i do…the way you put music onto it…everyones been confusing me with the talk of “software”…is it like itunes or what? a quick walkthrough of it would be awesome lol…i know the player itself seems nice…everything i need, just a bit hazy on that one subject…thanks Mitch Mitch!
November 24, 2007 at 10:53 am
mitch mitch > Software is included in the package together with your Zen V Plus. It’s pretty easy to learn it. Just play around and you will know. It’s more like a drag and drop software. So you drag songs from your own folders and drop it into the Player.
December 13, 2007 at 2:41 am
HELP needed!
I accidentally removed my zen v 4gb whilst transferring a file. Now my zen is in docked mode and is locked with an evident lock sign. How do I undock my zen so I can get it back to the way it once was?
All help and advice is much appreciated.
Thanks
December 16, 2007 at 6:53 pm
Hello, theres been a problem like this before but I just wanted a detailed resolution. I would like to know how to undock my Zen 8GB Creative properly, coz whenever I pull out the cord it freezes on the Docked screen and I have to keep resetting it and i feel like im damaging it. Plus I use it with a MAC which is a whole set of new problems:D
December 17, 2007 at 7:34 am
Thanks for the review. I would like to let everyone know that there seems to be a recurring problem with the Zen V where the screen display dies. Some people have mentioned it here, and if you search the web you will find many people with this problem. It just happened to me at my 10.5 month of owning my Zen. I am within warranty, but Creative requires a $25 LABOR charge (apparantly the warranty is just for parts) plus the cost of shipping it to them. This seems unacceptable to me given that this is a recurring problem among owners. Just my $.02 for those who haven’t bought this yet…
December 17, 2007 at 7:02 pm
Mina> Rather than pulling out the cord, maybe you want to switch off the host first? I never had such problems and can’t help much…
Kristi> Thanks for adding this for others to consider before purchasing it.
December 18, 2007 at 6:35 am
Bought a Zen V Plus to listen to audio books. Player freezes while listening to book. When I restart, it goes back to beginning of book. If I need to ff to get back to my place, it often freezes as well. What do you recommend?
December 18, 2007 at 2:04 pm
Sherry Day> Read reviews for other brands of MP3 players… Get a new MP3 player… LOL!
December 26, 2007 at 7:02 am
I just got a V Plus, and was playing aroung with the menu, saw the removable disk option, and accidentely set it on 2Gb on a 4Gb player, i have no idea how to disable the removable disk! please help me!!
Dickson – Sorry but I can’t help you with this. I never done that before. How about resetting the player?
December 29, 2007 at 5:14 am
I HAVE NO IDEA how to get music from itunes onto my Zen V. It’d be really helpful if you could tell me how to 🙂
Dickson – I have no idea how to do that too… You should have gotten yourself an iPod… They are certainly better than Creative products although more expensive.
December 29, 2007 at 6:38 am
Hi i just got the creative zen v (video) better than v! it’s 4gb and it’s just the plus w/o fm radio know i used to have a rca lyra 512 mb mp3 the max volume on my lyra is SOOOOOO much louder than the zen! I was very dissapointed when i heard the volume on the zen i turned it up to the max and it wasn’t loud enough! do you suggest anything for me to do? if i change headphones will it be wayy louder or.. just tell me what i should do.
Dickson – Do not use the headphones given in the Creative’s package. They simply suck. Get any cheap Sony headphones and they are way better. The volume will definitely be better.
December 31, 2007 at 8:34 pm
Hey
you should start charging for advice lol as the zen customer support is so rubbish!
thanks for letting me know how to set things as wallpaper
x
Dickson – You’re welcome. Start charging? Haha! I wished I could!
January 2, 2008 at 5:30 am
If anyone can help I’d be grateful. My son’s ZenV+ 2gb loses its USB link at random. I plug it in and all is well, then while looking through the Media Explorer the songs in the folders disappear and the message to “drag and drop music here” appears instead. When I go back to the opening screen of the software all is greyed out and it says the player is not connected.
I’ve tried the usual USB ports as well as a PCMCIA USB port on this laptop. I don’t think the problem occurs on my PC, just on this laptop.
I’ve uninstalled and reinstalled the device through Device Manager to no avail. On first plugging in, all is well, then at random it disconnects.
unplugging the USB gives the usual healthy “bip-bop” sound then reinserting the USB creates a good connection, only to be lost randomly later.
Any ideas?
Dickson – It might be something to do with the USB wire or the USB port on the player. Enquire at Creative Service Centre. Maybe ask for an exchange of the wire.
January 2, 2008 at 2:42 pm
hi dickson,
can i download more color themes from the net for my player.. it is in white and green. 2gb. do you know a website where i can download some? thanks a gazillion
Dickson – I am not sure if you can do it. You can change the wallpaper though…
January 5, 2008 at 2:39 am
hi, my brother bought me and my sister a 2gb zen vplus. but on the 3rd day after he gave it to me, dead lines started appearing on the screen. i don’t know how to fix it. when i was browsing the menu i saw the removable disk option and selected at random, afterwards i realized i cannot undo the usb disk configuration. i don’t know how to change it to higher gigbytes. another problem i have is that my zen cannot be detected by my computer so i can’t use the “ZEN V Series Media Explorer” program. it’s only detected when at removable disk, but there’s nothing there. i want to format the whole thing but i don’t know what to do.
Dickson – You can try resetting the player. You can do that by using a pin and poke it into the minute hole on the right (or left) of the player.
January 11, 2008 at 11:27 pm
my V plus turned off but when i turned it back on it rebuilds the library but it stops half way every time even if i push the restart button its the same every time i tried letting the battery drain and when i plug it to the computer its the same crap. do you know what to do?
Dickson – I certainly have no idea about this. It seems like a software problem and you will need to bring it to the Service Centre or Retailer for further diagnosis.
January 12, 2008 at 2:45 am
Hi everyone, i have a Zen V 4GB mp3 player with video function, and so far it hasnt had any problems whatsoever, seems that i got a better brand.
Dickson – Lucky you. I am sure many of us here are jealous about that… Ha!
January 20, 2008 at 3:51 am
Hey… I read through most of the replies and saw a LOT of people are having the same issue as me. My screen is black and I’ve only had my C.Z.V. + for 3 or so months….very irratating…you said go to a service center (which isn’t in my area) or the retailer…I bought mine at Wal-Mart so do you think that will work? and the whole warranty deal..I kept EVERYTHING from my Zen V + and there is NO warranty paper…and I lost the receipt….so I don’t know if they will accept it….what do you think?
Dickson – You can give it a try but I have got a feeling that high chance they won’t take responsibility for it since you lost the receipt and have no evidence of making the purchase at Walmart…
January 23, 2008 at 4:05 am
hi i have my zen v and it works great for me the problem is that i los the disc and my problem that my computer broke and i don’t have the software and i thaies to get a new one and i cant can some one please help me
i alsow tried to transfer music from some media pleyer and it semes to work but it only uses all my memorie but i turn on and no track apper and i don’t want to thow it away
Dickson – Installation CD applications
Actually you do not need a media player to transfer songs into the Player. You just need Windows to detect the player as a removable storage drive. Open it up, find the folder and throw your music in.
January 31, 2008 at 9:19 pm
Hey.. i have the creative Zen without the V on it.. i was wondering if there is a way to get the sound a little bit louder.. mine was purchased in europe and they have restrictions for the sound.. i know on the 80GB zen-M u can download firmware for make it the american settings which works well.. what about the Zen??
Dickson – If you are using the headphones provided in the Creative package, get another one. I used a Sony and a Samsung headphone on Creative products and the sound quality and volume is so much better… As for the firmware, I believe newer versions will have the volume limit… I am not sure about old ones…
March 11, 2008 at 6:45 am
Hey I got my Zen for Christmas and the screen is completely gone the music still works and I can still add music on it but I can’t see anything. How can I fix this? Please help me.
Dickson – You should go exchange a set at the retailer or send it to the service center.
March 11, 2008 at 6:54 am
Its passed the warranty to its a 4GB is it worth getting repaired?
Dickson – I certainly do not think so. Flash MP3 players are getting cheaper by the day, you can find 8GB and above for the same price you paid in the past with newer and better features. Consider getting a new MP3 player.
April 17, 2008 at 6:50 am
HELP!!! I NEED HELP! WHEN I TURNED ON MY V PLUS ONE DAY, IT SUDDENLY SAID FIRMWARE PROBLEM…THEN I DID SOMETHING STUPID LIKE PRESS RELOAD FIRMWARE AND PLUG INTO MY COMPUTER AND IT SAYS IT IS IN RECOVERY MODE, AND I TRIED GOING TO CREATIVE.COM AND DOWNLOADED A RECOVERY TOOL AND A FIRMWARE UPDATE, BUT WHEN I TRY TO MAKE IT WORK, IT SAYS THAT MY COMPUTER DOESNT DETECT MY VPLUS…I AM VERY ANGRY RIGHT NOW AND PLEASE HELP MEE!!!!!!!! ** cries
Dickson – BRING IT TO THE SERVICE CENTER PLEASE!
April 26, 2008 at 5:22 pm
My 8gb creative zen v plus malfunctioned recently and even when plugged in with the provided chord the ‘zen v series media explorer’ page no longer recognised it as connected, whereas it was recognised as connected a few minutes before.
The screen had gone off, the play/pause and back buttons were lit up blue (no flashing) but no buttons worked. So i left it to run its battery down till the blue lights were off (for it to automaticaly turn itself off because the off button wouldn’t) plugged it back into my computer the subsequent day, to be met with a ‘rebuilding library’ load bar. i kept checking but after loading it just went back to its previous unco-operative state. Should i reset it? Does this delete my whole music library? Is my music library already depleted to 0? If so i’m not very happy at all coz i spent practicaly 3 days uploading my cd collection onto the dammned thing. If i have to do that again i’m sending it back for a full refund and creative can compensate me for 3 days of my life.
April 26, 2008 at 7:22 pm
After letting it run out of charge for the second time, i connected it to the computer and the ‘re-building library’ load bar returned, only this time it barely made it past 1% before crashing again. Now it is substantially charged, but again no buttons respond and the screen is stuck on the ‘re-building library’ menu. I’m genuinely upset because i’d hardly used it at all and having only just completed uploading my music, was looking foreward to enjoying it.
April 27, 2008 at 12:43 am
i tried again and a warning sign flashed up too quick for me to read which is so helpful, then it proceeded to re-build library till it stops near the end before the bar is completed, which was also nice. Ive downloaded a firmware upgrade but of course my mp3 player isn’t recognised as connected so i can’t upload that (incidentaly it’s not the USB chord because i tried with another one) I’ve had a basic packard bell mp3 player for a couple of years now, with no problems or complications whatsoever, no random wiping of music files, no crashing. Nothing. Never mind within the first week. it seems that the more advanced and complicated a products digital makeup, the more that goes wrong. Creative Zen sucks.
Dickson – If it’s within warranty, get it fixed at the service center. Else, get a new MP3 Player seriously…
April 27, 2008 at 6:30 am
I have the issue JJ reported in Oct 2007. My Zen is locked up in FM Radio mode – not only am Iunable to vavigate OUT of FM Radio mode, I am unable to navigate within FM Radio mode. I am unable to power off or do anything. I have reset three times so far. Definite CLICK of the reset “button”, device powers down. When I power back up, the Zen “Rebuilds Library” then returns to the inoperable FM Radio mode (and there is never any audio when locked up in the FM radio mode). I have also let the Zen run down to Low Battery twice, then fully recharged before doing ANYTHING. Nothing changes. Inoperable. Help, please!!!
Dickson – Please send it to the Service Center.
April 29, 2008 at 3:41 am
I have a Zen V player.. and it’s screen went black. First it was a really dark red and black, then 10-20 minutes later went completely black… yesterday it had some white vertical lines from the top to bottom, and before that I did not notice it at all.
Apparently I have to get a new screen, but I’d REALLY like to avoid this.
Dickson – There’s no way you can avoid this because it’s a MANUFACTURING problem and not a problem with the user.
May 10, 2008 at 11:20 am
I am not getting option to remove my zune safely from computer. Please help me.
Dickson – This is a CREATIVE ZEN V entry. Not Microsoft Zune. I don’t know anything about the Zune but I guess you can just unplug it if there’s no activity between your computer and the player…
May 19, 2008 at 6:28 pm
Hey, when i turn on my creative v plus it atuomatically goes to re building library however it freezes when it gets near the end.
Anyone know what is going on here. i think i pulled out the lead when i was transferring folders which caused it, do i need to re install drivers? when i plug my mp3 player in it isn’t even recognising it?
Dickson – If even a Reset by poking the small hole on the player doesn’t work, you have to bring it to a Service Centre.
[…] album artwork, a dialog box will appear asking you whether to transfer the artwork to Picture …https://waffle.wordpress.com/2006/07/26/creative-zen-v-reviewed/windows mediacenter portable Zen Vision: M and MCE 2005 Recorded …Although I&39ve noticed that […]
June 13, 2008 at 2:32 pm
i bought a zen v (video) and when i plug it into my freinds computer it works but when i use mine it doesnt recognise it unless its on removable disk mode
Dickson – Have you installed the driver? Even if you have not and it’s recognised as a removable drive, you still can upload your music into the “Music” folder.
June 14, 2008 at 11:09 am
HELP.
I was trying to download some music recently, but my player got stuck (which has happened before, I know it happens a lot) and froze. I unplugged it and pressed the “reset” button, and it started rebuilding my library. It has gotten about 90% of the way to rebuild my library, but now it has stopped and is just stuck there. I’ve reset it twice since then and each time it stops. This is my second Creative Zen V Plus, my first one broke as well. It has not been dropped, scratched, stepped on, etc. It’s about two months old. It still responds when I push the play/pause, back arrow, or analog stick buttons, but it will not finish loading my library. I have been waiting for about thirty minutes now. Any ideas?
Dickson – Get a new Non-Creative MP3 player or get it to the service centre…
June 23, 2008 at 7:11 am
i didnt know how to change the wallpaper and it was stressing me out bigtime. cheers!!!!!!!
Dickson – Check the FAQ.
How do I change my wallpaper?
1. Go to your Photos folder from the main menu
2. Select picture to be wallpaper.
3. Press and HOLD onto “Back” button. A menu will come out with an option, “Set as Wallpaper”.
June 29, 2008 at 9:51 pm
hey plzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz help me outttttttt
i got dis player frm my frnd as gift ……. i hav used it once i loaded almost 1 gb songs in it …..
i dunt know what happened to it ?
it got stuck….when i was listening to a song …..al of sudden no switches ver working ……..not able to operate it ..im not able to switch it off also what to do?? plzzzzzzzzzzz a humble request tel me how could i set my player plzzzzzzzzz tel me as soon as possible ……it wud be gr8 help if u tel me how do i relase dat stuck …thanks in advance
Dickson – You can try resetting it first through the very small hole on the left of the player with a pin… You have to poke the paperclip in the hole for a while until the player reboots…
If you mean it doesn’t stops hanging, then please do bring it to your nearest service centre and ask for a replacement or something…
July 4, 2008 at 2:33 am
Hi there. I have just got a creative zen which I love but I have 2 problems when connecting it to my laptop (it works on my Mum’s):
1) My computer recognises the zen and has software on it but does not recognise it saying either:
‘there may be a problem with the hardware’
‘An error occured during the installation of the device. the specified service does not exist as an installed service.’
I looked on the net and downloaded windows service pack 2 and took off media player 11 as others suggested but to no avail.
2) I took it out of the USB assuming it was not connected, it blacked out and I had to reset to sort it out. I did the same thing the next day assuming there was no connection (only batt was charging, it wasn’t docked) and it blacked out again, once again needing a reset.
I’ve only had the zen for four days and am concerned that it may be a problem with the player altho to be honest it works FAB everywhere else AND on my Mum’s laptop.
Could you please offer me some advice? It’s driving me mad!!
Thank you
Dickson – Try installing the Zen V’s CD driver provided with your package.
August 19, 2008 at 1:06 am
can you change audio speed/pitch on a 4 gb creative zen??
Dickson – Not that I know of.
August 19, 2008 at 5:57 am
nice review, I have a zen V and it’s absolutely wonderful except that you’re right about looking at the screen in direct sunlight, and I forgot the ‘effing usb lead when I went on holiday! Which was really realy really annoying because it was a three week holiday involving lots of long car journeys and I was musicless 3/4 of the time! If it had a battery as well that would be good because I don’t always have acess to usb ports on holiday to recharge.
But rant aside, I love it, though it’s driving me crazy trying to find a new background & colour combination where I can see the title of the song too. :]
September 16, 2008 at 1:23 am
This zen player really sucks. Just designed to stop working when the warranty expires. Bad customer support too. Don’t buy any of their products and go for an other brand.
October 20, 2008 at 4:47 pm
i’d posted once(177).I,ve resetted it. Nothing matters. Whenever i start my player it shows rebuilding library.Then the same as earlier occurs.MTP device you’ve plugged is not workin properly. Hope you can help me.
November 26, 2008 at 4:47 am
I’ve had my Creative Zen V Plus for almost 2 years with heavy usage: from just watering my lawn, to washing my car, to using it at the gym. I haven’t had one problem with it. Controls still work fine, screen is as bright as when I first bought it. Earbuds still work great. The only complaint I have is with the software for managing my music, pictures, etc. While I’m using the Creative software to browse or drag music, etc. to my Zen, the software will crash at least once while using it. Very buggy software. Other than that, the Zen is solid, at least for me.
January 11, 2009 at 8:09 am
i have a VPLUS. But, everytime i turn it on, the recovery mode screen comes up. i accedently deleted my firmware. and i don’t know how to replace it? can you help me?
January 22, 2009 at 5:37 pm
Select “Removable Disk” from the menu. When the hard drive icon appears, hold the back button. A context menu will pop up. Select “Set Capacity” and then “Disable”. About the FM radio, aren’t you using an EU version firmware? (the version number usually ends with a letter “E”). If so, I guess reloading the US firmware version should bring the FM radio back.
Almoxil
Moderator
June 6, 2009 at 4:51 am
Hey!
I bought a zen v. Couldnt figure out hw 2 get a pic as background and it wassnt in the users manual. U helped lots. Thnx!
Dutch Girl
Dickson – How do I change my wallpaper?
1. Go to your Photos folder from the main menu
2. Select picture to be wallpaper.
3. Press and HOLD onto “Back” button. A menu will come out with an option, “Set as Wallpaper”.
July 1, 2009 at 6:53 pm
omg thks so much for the solutions !! it really helped me out A LOT.
cus my Creative Zen was kindof docked even after i plugged it out of my pc, and it didn’t react to anything including switching it off but after i tried a go at poking in the paperclip in the reset button it really went back to normal. thanks 😀
July 16, 2009 at 8:16 am
Hi guys i have had the zen v for a while now and after a few hours it freezes up. How do i prevent this?
Dickson – There isn’t a way to prevent freezing up, at least not that I know of.
Maybe you want to try upgrading the firmware if available or bring a pin around with you to reset it everytime it freezes.
May 24, 2010 at 6:31 am
My Zen V Series has been stuck in recovery mode for days now. I have tried re-installing the software disc it came with, I tried formatting the drive, rebooting (every option I have). Even tried the tiny reset pin hole, still in recovery. It has been working fine till now.
Any suggestions?
June 9, 2010 at 12:08 pm
If anyone sees this… Creative players aren’t worth a damn. One died from being fragile and my other the screen pixelated streaks down the center (ok fine I can still see) and then 2 days later the danm thing is pure black and no longer works. These players suck!
October 31, 2011 at 1:13 pm
Greetings to you,i gave a frend of mine my zen v and he tampered with the settings now the screen does’t show when i turn it on and i cant play any music.please help me on this.Thanx.
November 4, 2011 at 5:41 pm
I have the original Creative Zen 32 Gig model. I’ve had it for 3.5 years and it still works great. This thing has been dropped and taken a beating. I use it all the time to listen to DRM audiobooks (something ipods couldnt do when I bought it). The battery life is still great! I can listen to a book for most of the day (like 10 hrs sometimes) and it still has life left in it. I love my Zen. Only thing that has given me problems is the clock will set itself 5 hrs fast. I change it and it stays for a while then goes back to the wrong time. It isnt a big deal though as the time doesnt really matter as it isnt my watch. I wish creative would put out a new firmware to fix the time zone problem though. Other than that, I have had no problems with it. BTW, I purchased one of those clear hard protective cases that cover everything except the buttons and connection points. maybe that is what saved it. If you want to listen to audiobooks from your libraries online service (oneclickdigital, overdrive, netlibrary, etc) this is a great player as it can play DRM protected WMA and MP3 files.
Waffle 
July 27, 2006 at 1:24 am
nice review on the new Zen V! I just got one the same day as you did (July 25th, East Coast USA). Have you figured out how to set the time zone? It seems that mine is tied to GMT (Greenwich Mean Time) – which makes sense, considering that it never changes during daylight savings. While the clock *should* be non-user settable (otherwise, you could keep resetting the clock to extend the time for subscription-based music tracks), it should be able to *display* a time different from its internal GMT time it uses for those music subscription services.
BTW, if I am correct, then your clock (assuming you are in Singapore) should also be offset in relation to GMT, and not any other time zone (such as California – Apple’s iPod defaults to Western US time zone when doing a full reset).