Full User Manual ARCHOS GminiTM 200 series MP3 & WMA Player / Audio Recorder / Photo Wallet / USB 2.0 Hard Disk Please see our web site for the most recent manual and software updates for your GminiTM200. Full User Manual Version 1.21 1 Table of Contents 1 Ports, Buttons and Connections 2 First Time Usage 2.1 Plugging in the AC Adapter 2.2 Turning on the Gmini 2.3 Changing the user interface language 2.4 Shutting off the Gmini and Battery saving features 2.5 Caring for the Gmini 7 7 7 8 8 6 Using MusicMatchTM 4 7 6.1 Installing MusicMatchTM 6.2 Creating MP3 files from your Audio CDs 6.3 Getting purchased MP3 files to your Gmini 6.4 The ARCLibrary and MusicMatchTM Playlists 6.4.1 ARCLibrary Updating 6.4.2 Creating and Using Playlists with MusicMatchTM 35 36 33 33 34 35 35 7 Using iTunes® 4 with your Gmini 37 38 38 38 38 8 Updating your Gmini Operating System (OS) software 9 8.1.1 Downloading the .AOS file 8.1.2 Read the History Text File 8.1.3 Copy to Gmini Root Directory 3 User Interface Overview 3.1 Main Menu 3.2 Familiarizing yourself with the interface 3.2.1 Main menu 3.2.2 Browser 3.2.3 Settings screen 3.2.4 Contextual Menus 3.2.5 Message boxes 3.2.6 Using the Virtual Keyboard 3.2.7 Locking the Gmini Buttons 9 9 10 10 11 11 11 9 9 9 Troubleshooting 9.1 USB Connection issues 9.2 File issues, corrupted data, formatting, and partitioning 9.2.1 Windows® 98SE & ME Running Scan-Disk (Error Checking) 9.2.2 Windows® XP & 2000 Running Check Disk Utility (ChkDsk) 42 42 39 39 41 10 Technical Specifications 12 12 43 44 4 Using the Gmini 200 4.1 Playing music 4.1.1 Selecting a song 4.1.2 Playing a song 4.1.3 Using Playlists 4.1.4 What is an .m3u file? 12 12 14 15 11 Technical Support 4.2 Changing the Gmini Settings 4.2.1 Changing the Sound Settings 4.2.2 Changing the PlayMode Settings 4.2.3 Setting the Clock 4.2.4 Changing the Power Settings 4.2.5 Changing the Recording Settings 4.2.6 Changing the System Settings 16 17 18 19 20 21 16 4.3 Using the Browser 4.3.1 Inside the MUSIC Folder 4.3.2 Navigating the Directory Structure 4.3.3 File and Folder Operations in Browser Mode 22 22 23 22 4.4 Recording MP3 Music 4.4.1 Microphone Recording 4.4.2 Line-In Recording 26 26 25 4.5 Using the photo wallet 4.5.1 Using the photo browser 4.5.2 Copying Files from a CompactFlashTM Card 4.5.3 Displaying Photos on the Gmini 27 27 27 27 Table of Contents 5.1 Making the USB Connection 5.1.1 Windows® ME/2000/XP and Macintosh® 9.2 or 10.2.4 and better 5.1.2 Windows® 98SE 29 29 29 5.2 Using the Gmini as an external drive 5.3 Disconnecting the Gmini from your Computer 5.3.1 Windows® 5.3.2 Macintosh® 31 32 31 31 2 Table of Contents 3 5 Connecting the Gmini to your Computer 29 1 Ports, Buttons and Connections A Power button - Hold down for a few seconds and the Gmini will start up. Ports, Buttons and Connections B Contextual Menu - When the menu icon available. C Move Left - also decreases recording gain D Move Up - also, increases playing volume E Move Right - also increases recording gain F Play/Pause/Enter - Play current item, pause, play again. Enter value. appears in top left of screen, a menu is A Built-in microphone B Multi-connect Adapter Plug - allows for Line-In and Line-Out connections C Headphone Multi-connect jack - To connect headphones, FM remote control, or adapter plug. D Photo Wallet Port (CompactFlashTM type I & II) Ports, Buttons and Connections 5 G Stop/Esc button - Stop playing current file or escape from current screen. H Move Down - also decreases playing volume 4 2 First Time Usage Please understand that this device has a CPU, hard drive, and Operating System (OS) and thus it is more like a computer than a CD player, cassette player, or radio. If you are not familiar with using a computer, it would be particularly useful to read through this detailed User Manual. 2.1 Plugging in the AC Adapter Before using your Gmini 200 for the first time, completely charge the internal batteries. · Use ONLY the included ARCHOS charger/adapter. The ARCHOS charger/ adapter has a special USB tip which you will plug into the USB port. Charging will start automatically when it is plugged in. The batteries are fully charged when the full battery icon appears. · Empty battery: The battery is uncharged. It must be charged. Animated battery: The battery is currently being charged. Full battery: The battery is completely charged and the AC adapter can by unplugged. · Ports, Buttons and Connections After the first initial full charge, you may use the Gmini while the AC adapter is plugged in. 2.2 · · A Mini USB 2.0 port (USB 1.1 compatible) B USB Power Adapter C Power ­ To power the unit and charge the internal batteries with the AC adapter. · Turning on the Gmini Hold down the POWER button until the screen comes on, then let off. If your Gmini is charging, click the PLAY button to turn it on. First Time Usage 7 If the Gmini shows an empty battery icon or if the Gmini displays nothing at all, you will have to plug in the Archos adapter/charger to make sure the batteries get charged. 2.3 Changing the user interface language 6 English is selected as the default language for your Gmini user interface. You can choose another language as explained in chapter 4.2.6. 2.4 · · Shutting off the Gmini and Battery saving features To shut off the unit, press and hold the POWER button for 3 seconds. If left idle, the screen's blue backlight will shut off after 20 seconds in order to save battery power. After 30 seconds, the screen display will shut off, also to save energy. Finally, the Gmini will shut itself off completely after 3 minutes if left idle and no music is playing. You can change these settings under [Setup Power]. 3 3.1 User Interface Overview Main Menu Once the Gmini has been turned on, the following screen is displayed. This is the main menu screen from which you can select the main functions. · · · · · Music: browse through your music files or use the ARCLibrary music selection system. Browser: browse through and manage all the files on your Gmini. Photo: display photos (JPEG) and view photo information. Recorder: record from any music source (Stereo, portable players, etc.) or from the built-in microphone. Setup: set the parameters of your Gmini to your personal taste. 2.5 · · Caring for the Gmini Do not subject it to shock. You may however go jogging with it or do sports. Do not subject it to heat. Keep it ventilated. Be careful that the surface it is on, is a flat clear surface. Placing the Gmini on a pillow, blanket, carpet, or wrapped up to protect it will restrict the necessary ventilation that it needs. This increase in operating temperature may cause damage to the device. Keep the Gmini away from water and excessively humid areas. Keep the Gmini away from high electromagnetic fields. Keep it plugged into the Archos AC adapter/charger when it is connected to your computer. The Gmini is an electronic product that needs to be treated with care. · · · 3.2 Familiarizing yourself with the interface 3.2.1 Main menu Each icon corresponds to a mode. Use the LEFT, RIGHT, UP and DOWN buttons to navigate from one icon to another. Press OK to select the icon and start the action. Press Esc to exit. 3.2.2 Browser Use the UP and DOWN keys to highlight the item of your choice. If you keep pressing UP or DOWN, the list will scroll for you to see the other items. The vertical black indicator on the right shows your relative position in the entire list. Press OK to start the action corresponding to the highlighted item. 8 User Interface Overview 9 First Time Usage 3.2.3 Settings screen Selectable items: use the LEFT and RIGHT keys to change the parameter value. The new value is immediately taken into account so there is no need to press OK. Click on ESC when done. 3.2.5 Message boxes From time to time a message box is displayed on the screen. This may be a warning or an error message, or a question to confirm an action. Message boxes may have up to 3 buttons (for instance yes, no and cancel). If there is more than one button use the left and right keys to highlight the button you want. In all cases press OK to validate your choice which will then exit the message box. Check boxes: each checkbox corresponds to a different parameter value but only one parameter can be selected at a time. Use the UP and DOWN keys to highlight an item and then press OK to validate it. Click on ESC when done. 3.2.6 Using the Virtual Keyboard It is recommended that you create folders and rename files or folders from your computer when it is connected to the Gmini. The computer keyboard is easier to use. Often times, however, you are not near your computer and you would like to enter the text directly with the Gmini. For this, you will use the virtual keyboard. You will be taken to this screen when you rename a file or folder or when you name a recording. Contextual Menu Current text being typed Cursor Back Space* Clear the entire line* Actions: in the settings screens you sometimes need to perform some actions. Actions are shown enclosed with [ ]. Press OK to start the action. 3.2.4 Contextual Menus When the menu icon is present on the top-left corner of the screen you can press the MENU button to display a popup menu with actions related to the current mode. Pressing MENU again or ESC closes it. User Interface Overview Use the UP and DOWN keys to highlight the action you want to start and then press OK to validate it. Toggle between uppercase and lowercase characters* * these items can also be found in the contextual menu Enter* You will use the LEFT, RIGHT, UP and DOWN buttons to move around the keyboard. Click on OK/PLAY to enter the character that is highlighted. Once satisfied with your text entry, click on the MENU button and select Enter. Tip: use the ESC key to cancel any changes you made and exit the virtual keyboard. User Interface Overview 11 3.2.7 Locking the Gmini Buttons You can prevent the Gmini from executing unintended functions by locking the buttons. To lock the buttons, hold down on the MENU key until the "lock" icon appears in the top-left corner of the screen. Now all buttons except the MENU key are disabled. To unlock the buttons hold down again on the Menu key until the "lock" icon disappears. 10 4 4.1 Using the Gmini 200 Playing music Menu available Status: Paused Play Mode: One Directory Play Order Volume Time of Day Artist* or parent folder Song title* or file name Album* or current folder File format and recording information Battery level 4.1.1 Selecting a song There are two ways to access your music. You can either access your songs by browsing through the folders, where you keep your music files, or you can choose from Artist, Album, Genre, or Song. Right and Left VU Meters Song elapsed time Song time remaining Song Length *If the MP3 file contains these ID3 tag data Browsing through the folders Click the OK/PLAY button on the highlighted "Browse hard drive". You will be sent directly to the Music folder of your Gmini. This is a filtered access to browse the hard disk. Here you can look at all your music files and the folders on your Gmini's hard drive as if you were browsing files with a computer. You will only see audio files types that are playable on the Gmini (MP3, WMA, WAV). To select a file you can use the UP and DOWN keys to move upwards or downwards and OK to enter a highlighted subfolder. See chapter 4.3 for more information about using the Browser. Using the ARCLibrary System You can search your music by artist, album, song name, genre. Use the UP/DOWN buttons to scroll to your selection and then click on OK. Once one of these is chosen, you will see an alphabetical list. You can now choose the Album, Artist, or song Title (depending which search type you started) that you desire. If you add music to your Gmini, you will need to use MusicMatchTM to update the ARCLibrary in order for it to take into account the newly acquired music. See section 6.4.1 for details. Play Status Stopped Playing a track Current track is paused Recording a track (no icon) Play Order Play once Shuffle (Random) track selection Repeat playing Play Mode Playlist: Gmini is currently playing from a Playlist Folder: Play all tracks in the current directory All: Play all tracks on Gmini Single: Play a single track then stop Queue: User can queue the next track to be played Scan: Gmini plays first 15 seconds of each track Using the Gmini 200 · 4.1.2 Playing a song When you get to your desired song, click on PLAY/OK. If you hear nothing at first, make sure you have adjusted the volume control on the headphone cord. · · Setup: displays the setup screen (same as selecting the Setup icon in the main menu) Edit Playlist: enters the playlist editor (see below for how to use playlists). Browser: allows to browse through your files while playing. 12 Using the Gmini 200 13 Playback ...