Quantum Concepts

The Problem

I’ve been a Windows Mobile user for about 5 years now and what first attracted me to windows Mobile was the fact that I could make phone calls, send and receive email, surf the web and listen to music, all from a single device.

When it comes to listening to music, I love the fact that windows mobile displays the album art of the track you’re currently listening to in Windows Media Player Mobile. The album art is first downloaded onto your PC by the desktop version of Windows Media Player, which is then copied across to your mobile device when you synchronise. However, I have at times found that when I play music on my device from an SD card, the album art is missing. Even if I go through the whole procedure of synchronising the SD card with Windows Media Player on my desktop in the same was as I would with my device, the album art is still not displayed when listening to tracks.

After googling the subject I found that I was not alone. Many users have experienced the same thing. However, I eventually found a solution, which I’d like to share with you in my usual altruistic fashion.

The Solution

The reason why the desktop version of Windows Media Player doesn’t transfer album art when synchronising with an SD card is because it recognises the fact the card is storage media rather than a device with a screen. So logically (albeit annoyingly) it doesn’t transfer the image because it “knows” that it can’t be viewed.

The way around this is to initially set up a sync profile with for your SD card with Windows Media Player while the card is inside your device. This will in effect trick Windows Media Player into “thinking” that your SD card is a device with a screen and it will then transfer the album art for the tracks you synchronise. After doing this for the first time Windows Media Player will continue to recognise your SD card as a device and thus transfer your album art. However, if your SD card’s sync profile is deleted you’ll have to start over again.

I hope you find this information helpful. Please feel free to contact me if you have any queries related to this article.

Disclaimer

_{The information in this article is provided without warranty of any kind; either expressed or implied.}

Acknowledgements

_{Windows™, Windows Mobile™ and Windows Media Player™ are trademarks or registered trademarks of the Microsoft Corporation in the United States and other countries. All other trademarks and/or service marks remain the property of their respective owners.}