HD formatting:

When I select this option I am asked for a password.
First I tried 1234 and that threw me right back into the main list.
Then I tried 0000 and that seemed to work, I got the question "HDD formatteren?"
BUT..... I cannot find any form to confirm this.
The center button brings me back to the main list, other buttons like select or confirm have no function.
Checking the online manual is very cumbersome because the manual is based on an older version of the firmware so at times excessively difficult to interpret.
What a misery..... To me it sounds like this company is trying to commit suicide by being so chaotic in it's consumer instructions. Good, I am inexperienced but to show a question if the HDD should be formatted but nowhere any indication HOW to confirm that question is pure negligence.
I have been an author in the field fo satellite receivers (both reviewing and producing manuals) and honestly, I have never encountered such a mess.

Evert, could you please tell me how to respond to the question "HDD formatteren?"

Vanhal:
Thank you for your advice, I followed the instructions on
viewtopic.php?f=41&t=2269
which in fact brought the directory selected for sharing onto the list of the ACRYAN player.
I was already beginning to feel hope, but when I selected that directory the player asked for the user name and password.
I entered my user name on the pc and the password for filesharing. Result: Logon Failure.
Then I entered my user name and left the password empty because I don't use any password to start Windows 7. That didn't work either.
Conclusion: the player is able to see the presence of a shared directory on the pc via the network connection but so far I cannot find any way to make a valid login.
While I am writing this I realize that perhaps Microsoft Security Essentials blocks my entry so I will try that and then restart the computer. But I still don't know how to get through the HDD formatting obstruction so it all seems rather useless at this point. What a machine, what a lack of clear instructions! Are all players so cumbersome?

Nope, also when turning off Microsoft Security Essentials I cannot log into the shared directory on the PC.
Logon Fail no matter what I try.

My suggestion is to add permission to the shared folder. Try adding Guest, Guests, Everyone and Administrator and monitor again.

Thank you Roger, that is exactly what I have done. But still can't log in.

On the subject USB not working I might have found the cause, however not the solution. When I went searching on the internet for the error notice in Unknown Device Properties "Windows has stopped this device because it has reported problems (Code 43)" I found a score of comments like:

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/3235- ... -code-plug

and in some cases it appeared that Microsoft sees it as a problem for which not they but the manufacturer of the hardware (in this case A.C.Ryan) should come with a solution by means of a special driver for Win 7 64 bits.

So it seems apparent that to get this thingy functioning I'll have to find an old PC on which to run either Vista, XP or 32-bits Win 7 for lack of proper support with 64-bits Win7.

At first I sought all faults with myself but by now I am beginning to wonder.

Still have no idea how to get the disk formatting thing going though....

Hi there It might also be a case of a faulty USB port or a Hard drive. As we, here, are using Win7 64bit and so far so good, we did not have any issue at all using the said OS. You can try any other OS as you suggested, but just in case you might want to check first if you can find any updates regarding your PC hardware specially for USB.

For the other issue, you can try creating again or set another sharing folder from scratch and saved it from a different directory or different partition and see if there's going to be any changes. Sorry for any inconvenience.

Hi Roger,

Thanks for your reply and suggestion. As far as the USB ports on the computer is concerned: I use the ports that I tried on a daily basis for things like printers, external harddrives and USB sticks so that's out of the question.
Furthermore I tried at least 5 different ports among which two USB3 ports which doesn't only exclude the possibility of a faulty port but also of a faulty driver: for the two USB3 ports a special driver was installed and is known to work perfectly well.
To exclude the possibility of mutual interference, once I started realizing that it wasn´t possible to access the player via USB all further attempts are made without any USB ports in use except for the one for the mouse and keyboard.

Yesterday when I typed in the phrase `Windows has stopped this device because it has reported problems (Code 43)` in my Ixquick search engine I found among the first responses a reference to the chipset of my computer in combination with 64 bits Win7. Today funny enough I found another reference mentioning my exact video card model and number so I seem to be in double trouble.
However, I also found as a solution (in this case about a Sony tablet) that the if the manufacturer of the product supplies a specific driver the problem would be solved automatically.
I tried other possibilities like Microsoft Fix-It but that resolved absolutely nothing. Some of the solutions suggested involved messing with the registry for a solution but to be honest that´s too risky for me because I am not knowledgable at all about such things and it can immobilize my computer if I try.

Of course a direct solution would be great but if that can´t be achieved in a simple way, it would be just as good for me if I could connect an external hard drive to the player on which the desired files are present in order to get them moved onto the 2 TB harddisk of the player. But for this I need to know two things very badly, being
1. How to format the factory-built-in 2 TB harddisk to be sure that that one is all as it should be
2. How to proceed after having marked the files I want to transfer (I get the marked files into the right box so apparently ready for transfer but then I have no idea to get the transfer procedure started. Anything I do makes me leave the copy frame. Which, by the way, would be understandable in case the built-in harddisk is somehow not able to receive files without having first been reformatted. Like I said, attached to the PC I see just one main directory, no sub directories anywhere.

If you could help me to the answers to these two questions first I´d be able to make the first steps in the right direction, Like I said, if I can transfer files from an external harddisk onto the player´s harddisk that would be fine for me and it would save any further hassles with the computer.

@ paulvr


- For your case, its either you have to transfer the HDD to another HDD Enclosure then connect to your PC or slave the HDD directly to a Desktop PC. After the PC detects, you can go to your computer disk management to delete all the partition then try to format.


- The steps of copying files is depending on the firmware version you are using. But you must make sure first the destination HDD is working properly. Meaning you have to fix first issue number one (formatting the HDD).

Dear Roger,

This is really getting messy. I realize this thread has become huge but the reason that I spoke of formatting is the reply that Duivels - Evert gave me here above. He wrote

One essential thing I do not find in your long posts, is whether your Playon's internal hard disk has been formatted with the Playon and not with your PC. During the formatting process the Playon creates an NTFS partition for your data and a Linux swap and an Ext3 partition for system use. Without these sysyem partitions the Playon will not work correctly.

I have checked the harddisk on my PC after he wrote this. It seems to be fine. It had already several films on it which I put on via USB last year when I still used XP and I just added all the rest I wanted.
However, the player just doesn´t seem to see those files. Why I don´t know.

That, and only that is the reason why I assumed I needed to format. In my PC I saw no subdirectories on this harddisk. Just a main directory in which a list of films plus one little file of which I don´t recall the name. No partitioning of any kind. But, I repeat, the HD was already factory mounted in the player and last year when I entered the films I also was able to play them. Why not now I can´t understand. Perhaps the latest firmware from your site that I entered successfully changed something? I did nothing else to the HD or player.

You can check if your Playon's hard disk has been formatted correctly by inserting it into your PC.
Right click on This computer, select Manage (Beheren), select Disk Management (Schijfbeheer) and check if there are two non-Windows primary partitions, one of 128 Mb and one of 512 Mb on the disk.
If these are not present, you did not format the hard disk with your Playon.

Given your problems and your random attempts to resolve them, I recommend that you make a fresh and systematic start anyway.

First execute this recovery procedure to the letter and check if your Playon is working correctly. Do this before reinstalling your hard disk in the Playon.

Second delete all partitions on your hard disk, either with Windows Disk management or with a partition manager, e.g. the Gparted Live CD or the MiniTool Partition Wizard.

Reinstall your hard disk and format the hard disk again with your Playon.

Do not use Windows 7 Home groups, because these are not compatible with the Playon (and not compatible with any Windows XP computers in your network either).

And finally when posting on the forum, refrain from unnecessary details like mother's day presents. I suppose you did not marry your mother. Just stick to the essentials without circumstantial irrelevant stories. This will make finding a solution for your problems much easier.