Microsoft Zune will not recognize my Nokia Lumia 800...

[emcee47]

Previously used this phone with Zune on my now-deceased PC with Windows XP (although even that took a while to establish). Now have an HP laptop with Windows 7 but Zune consistently refuses to recognize it and just comes up with the usual 'disconnect, turn off and reconnect'. I have downloaded both Microsoft Fixes and neither of them find anything wrong; I have uninstalled/reinstalled countless times; I have been into my certificates and made changes and/or deletions - and I m now simply running out of options ...and patience if I'm honest.

Almost all the internet advice suggests the fix is easy. Would the fact I've worked on this for over a month now suggest I am a one-off?!!!

A Google search revealed that there are many people who have had the same problem still unresolved after two years or so - just as often with other Windows Phones rather than Nokia. Can anyone help please?

 

[Tmagic650]

Any luck with this?

 

[emcee47]

Yes and no 'Tmagic'.
It was suggested that I try opening a new User account on this same machine and then go through the process of downloading Zune/attaching the phone, etc., again. That worked for the first time on this machine with the new account - as did exporting/importing the Zune certificate to my usual User account (should maybe be noted that I had previously found no way to import the certificate by 'normal' methods).
But - and this is where it all grinds to a halt - since then, every attempt to get the Nokia recognised by Zune results in the usual 'Connection Error' again. It certainly seems to be recognised by the laptop, but not by Zune.
Microsoft SkyDrive, on the other hand, recognises everything - so, if nothing else, I can still get photos out of the Nokia onto the laptop that way.
Where I'm at at the moment is that I've tried clean boots and things such as going into msconfig and gradually taking out various programmes from both Services and Start-Up, none of which changed anything.
So ... it seems pretty obvious to me, as a dummy, that there is something lurking in the original User account files which is blocking Zune or its connection with phones (I don't miss much!). A registry issue maybe?

 

[Tmagic650]

I don't know if this will help:
http://www.zuneboards.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12839

 

[DelJo63]

How are you connecting to the PC; USB or Bluetooth?

I found it a pain to get my Nokia to use BT while the USB was a snap. I found with the BT as mt laptop has limited USB slots and one already as the BT dongle so why not use it.

 

[emcee47]

Thanks for your interest Tmagic. I don't know when you last tried that link, but (even given my layman's experience) so many of the requirements told me they were no longer accessible or I had no rights to access them. I rather gathered from reading so many posts now that this latest version of Zune is causing a lot of problems to a lot of people. On that basis, I uninstalled 2.2 and then tried to download an earlier version to see if that would work. But Microsoft don't make that easy either do they?
So ... back to square one I'm afraid.
And, for the benefit of jobeard, it's a USB connection and I've tried all of them now.

 

[andypandy]

Dont know if this helps, but may help somebody in future.
I just had the problem with zune and my lumia 800 phone. even though zune would start up when I connected the phone it couldn`t detect my phone and said there was no device connected. after several hours of installing/uninstalling/reading 100s of forums I ended up in live chat to microsoft support.
my problem was caused by another programme I had on my pc, fujifilm software for my camera, basically when I connected the phone the fuji software would open up and this prevented zune from detecting my phone.
uninstalled the fuji stuff and turned the phone off and on, connected it and instantly zune picked it up perfectly.

hopefully this might save somebody else from going nuts in future.

 

[emcee47]

I think that this is almost certainly the sort of problem I have with my connection andy pandy - but, as I don't have any Fuji programs, it's obviously another one. Question is: how did you decide it was the Fuji files causing the problem? A I mentioned above, I've tried clean boots and things such as going into msconfig and gradually taking out various programmes from both Services and Start-Up, none of which changed anything - so how did you arrive at your own conclusions...if you don't mind me asking?

 

[andypandy]

Hi emcee

you sound like you know a lot more about computers than me, in my case every time I connected the phone via usb my fujifilm software would start up. I mentioned this to the microsoft support man and he said something along the lines of " the fujifilm software is recognising the phone as a camera, before the zune software can locate it. so the zune software can`t see it."
advised me to remove the fuji stuff and hey presto. maybe you can have a live e chat with microsoft support?

spoke to a friend yesterday who has lumia 800 and he couldn`t understand all the fuss, his phone just shows up as a storage device and he can drag stuff straight onto it..........difference is he doesn`t run his pc with windows software, I told him I felt such an *****, trying to connect a windows phone to a windows pc, and expecting it to work

 

[emcee47]

Thanks for getting back andypandy - that's the first time anyone's 'accused' me of having a knowlledge of computers! I s'pose it's like cars inasmuch that you learn so much from starting off with cheap ones and graduating!
I think the frustrations of having noticed that this has been rattling on for a couple of years now - with Microsoft, Zune and Nokia all failing to cure it - also means you have to start doing it yourself...much the same as life in general?
Nevertheless, it seems increasingly obvious to me that the fact that some of the forums are suggesting an uninstall of Zune 2.2. altogether, due to the fact that they know that something contained within it is blocking some peoples' connections, speaks volumes.
Problem is though that they're suggesting a download of earlier Zune programs (like v1.1 or 1.4) as a cure....but you just try finding them!
Have to say, overall, that TechSpot's guys seem to be the only ones who are prepared to persevere with this - everyone else seems to have abandoned it. Hard to believe when we're talking about some of the biggest companies in the world deserting their own products - or, maybe more-to-the-point, being totally unable to solve major problems with them!!!

 

[andypandy]

Was driving me insane, after only a day or two. with my old phone it just showed up as a drive and I could drag stuff into it. I think windows are copying the apple model, whereas you buy a product from them, and they tell you what you can and cant do with it.
for zune read I tunes............................main reason I dont touch apple stuff.

bit like buying a car from ford and then they tell you not to drive it on tuesdays and thursdays!

 

[emcee47]

Had to laugh at that one AP...the car manufacturers ARE just as bad, aren't they?
Anyway, back to business:- can I ask the TechSpot gurus where they suggest I go from here (polite answers only please)? You guys really do appear to be the only chance of solving this ongoing problem for everyone.

 

[jolyrojr]

I found a fix that works for me every time.
unhook the phone
close zune
use task manager to make sure all zune processes are closed
start zune
hook up phone

 

[emcee47]

(n) Unfortunately, this didn't work either for me jolyrogr - still came up with the dreaded 'Connection Error'. Unfortunately (2) it also seems to have baffled everyone else too...all the forums dealing with it (including Microsoft Community) just seem to have simply given up on it. For what I need it for (uploading/downloading photos), I can use Microsoft SkyDrive. Overall, I think the level of interest shown in this problem by Microsoft and the 'powers-that-be' means I know where I'm going next time for my purchases! Not knowing the answer is bad enough - but just leaving you hanging without any answers at all says it all about their products.

 

[Hankx]

Already years ago Nokia did not try to help with problems related to their phones. I guess that was the first signs of what was to follow. Lets see how Microsoft will behave.
Having now, for a couple of days tried to get my Nokia Lumia to connect to Zune and reading your old questions about the problem connecting, and having tried some of the suggestions suggested elsewhere too, I decided to try to help.
I found out that when trying to uninstall the Zune it replies "disconnect the phone before uninstalling" - although it had not found my phone when I tried. I cancelled the uninstall and started the Zune, and the phone was found!
I am not sure this applies to all cases, but it did with mine.

So fake uninstall and re-start Zune!

Additional comment.
..and the reason for trying to use Zune is that it is needed if you want to test your phone app development project on a real device, (in Eclipse).