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Gmini™ XS100 
MP3 & WMA Digital Music Player & USB 2.0 Hard Disk
English user manual
Version 2.1 - Please see the Archos web site (www.archos.com) for the most recent manual and software updates for your Gmini™.
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An introductory note from ARCHOS
Dear Customer,
Archos thanks you for choosing our new ultra-small Gmini™ XS100. Check out our web site www.archos.com to find the available accessories for this product (car adapter, carrying cases, etc.). Also, while at our web site, check for free downloads of updated and improved software for your device.
The principal function of the Gmini™ is, of course, to play music. Because it has a real hard disk inside of it, you can store hundreds of songs. Using a standard audio cable, you can also play your music through a home entertainment system. You can bring your entire CD collection with you anywhere and play it over anyone’s sound system.
Putting music onto your Gmini™ is as easy as ‘drag and drop’ for your unprotected music files. And for protected purchased music from PlaysForSure web sites, it is as easy as clicking the Sync button in Windows Media® Player. Plus, with its USB 2 high speed port, transfers are finished before you know it. The Gmini™ is also ID3 compatible. This means that the ARCLibrary will sort your music so that you can listen to it by artist, album, title, year, or genre. Click on Shuffle, and listen to your music at random.
Finally, you can always use the Gmini™ as a portable hard drive to carry your important files with you. You can even use the Archos double-browser to rename, create, copy, move, and delete files and folders.
This manual gives you all the information you need to know on using your Gmini™. Read though it carefully, you just may find out it can do some neat things that you didn’t expect. If you are stuck, you can always call our help line or e-mail support to get a friendly Archos agent to give you a hand.
Wishing you the best music listening experience,
The Archos Team
__________
As our engineers are always updating and improving the software, your device’s software may have a slightly different appearance or modified functionality than presented in this manual.
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Contents
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Ports, Buttons, and Connections |
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2 |
First Time Usage |
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2.1 |
Charging the Battery |
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2.2 |
Turning the Gmini™ XS100 ON and OFF |
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2.3 |
Changing the Interface language |
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2.4 |
Caring for the Gmini™ |
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2.5 |
Foreign Character Sets |
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3 |
Playing Music |
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3.1 |
Playing a Music File |
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3.2 |
Play Screen and Button Control |
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3.3 |
Playback Menu Items |
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3.4 |
ARCLibrary Specifics |
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3.5 |
ARCLibrary Updating |
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3.6 |
Setting a Bookmark |
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3.7 |
The Resume Function |
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3.8 |
Locking the Gmini™ Buttons |
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4 |
Putting Music onto your Gmini™ XS100 |
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4.1 |
Synchronizing Music from Windows Media® Player (WMP) to the Gmini™ XS100 |
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4.2 |
Comparison of Windows Media Player 10 to Windows Media Player 9 |
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4.3 |
Transferring your CD collection to the Gmini™ XS100 |
15 |
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4.3 |
Installing Windows Media® Player (WMP) 9 |
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4.4 |
Installing Windows Media® Player (WMP) 10 |
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Playlists |
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5.1 |
Creating a new Playlist |
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5.2 |
Loading a Playlist |
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5.3 |
Playing a Playlist |
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5.4 |
Playlist Menu Options |
18 |
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Settings |
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6.1 |
Changing the Sound Settings |
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6.2 |
Changing the PlayMode Settings |
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6.3 |
Changing the time & date settings |
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6.4 |
Changing the Display Settings |
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6.5 |
Changing the Power Settings |
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6.6 |
Changing the System Settings |
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Using the Browser |
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7.1 |
Inside the MUSIC Folder |
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7.2 |
Navigating the Directory Structure |
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7.3 |
File and Folder Operations in Browser Mode |
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7.3.1 Contextual Menu on a File |
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7.3.2 Contextual Menu on a Folder |
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7.3.3 Contextual Menu while in the Double Browser |
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7.4 |
Using the Virtual Keyboard |
30 |
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Connecting the Gmini™ XS100 to a Stereo system |
32 |
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Connecting/Disconnecting the Gmini™ to/from your Computer |
33 |
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9.1 |
USB Connection Type (‘Hard Drive’ or ‘Windows Device’) |
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9.2 |
Connecting the Gmini™ XS100 |
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9.3 |
Disconnecting the Gmini™ from your Computer |
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Using iTunes™ with your Gmini™ XS100 |
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Updating the Gmini™ XS100 Firmware |
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11.1 |
Download the Update_GminiXS100.AOS file |
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11.2 |
Copy to Gmini™ root and Update |
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11.3 |
‘Hard Drive’ or ‘Windows Device’? |
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11.4 |
Activate the Update |
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Troubleshooting |
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12.1 |
USB Connection issues |
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12.2 |
File issues, corrupted data, formatting, and partitioning. |
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12.2.1 Windows® ME Running Scan-Disk (Error Checking) |
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12.2.2 Windows® XP & 2000 Running Check Disk Utility (ChkDsk) |
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Technical Specifications |
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Technical Support |
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Legal and Safety Notices |
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1Ports, Buttons, and Connections
APower jack – to connect an optional AC adapter/charger
BUSB 2.0 port – To connect to your computer to transfer files to Gmini™ and to charge its battery
CHeadphone Jack
DOn button (hold 3 seconds) & Menu options
EOff button (hold 3 seconds) & Stop/Escape
Navigation pad
FMove Up & increase volume
GMove Down & decrease volume
HMove Left (decrease value) or audio rewind
IMove Right (increase value) or audio fast forward
JPlay/Pause/Enter
aCHG – Battery charging indicator
bHDD – Hard drive activity indicator
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2First Time Usage
2.1 Charging the Battery
Before using your Gmini XS100 for the first time, completely charge the battery for two hours.
•The Gmini™ XS100 is charged through its USB connector. Connect the included USB cable to a running computer and plug the other end into the Gmini™ while it is off. This will charge its internal battery. The CHG indicator will also light up to show that its battery is charging.
•The battery is fully charged when the full battery icon appears.
Animated battery: |
Full battery: |
The battery is currently being charged. |
The battery is fully charged. |
•You can purchase an Archos charger/adapter to charge the battery from a wall outlet. The blue CHG indicator lights up to indicate that the external adapter is connected. The battery will charge automatically when it is plugged in.
•After the first initial full charge, you may use the Gmini while the AC adapter is plugged in.
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2.2 Turning the Gmini™ XS100 ON and OFF
•Press and hold the ON/Menu button until the screen comes on.
•The Gmini will automatically shut off after a given amount of time if no buttons are pressed. To conserve battery energy, the backlight will automatically shut off. You can change these parameters in Setup > Power.
•Press and hold the Stop/off button until the Gmini shuts off.
2.3 Changing the Interface language
•English is selected as the default language for your Gmini user interface. You can choose another language by going to Setup > Display.
2.4 Caring for the Gmini™
The Gmini is an electronic product that needs to be treated with care.
•Do not subject it to unnecessary shock or vibration.
•Do not subject it to heat. Keep it ventilated (especially when connected to a computer).
•Keep the Gmini away from water and excessively humid areas.
•Keep the Gmini away from high electromagnetic fields.
2.5 Foreign Character Sets
You have the possibility to display your file names, folder names, and MP3 ID3 tags in various character sets (ex: Korean, Japanese, Simplified Chinese, etc.). You can find the language files CodePage_name.4fz in the font folder under /Data on the Gmini XS100 hard disk or on the Archos website under the heading Software.
If, for example, you would like to have the Japanese language display, you would copy the file Cp932.4fz into the folder /system on the Gmini XS100. Shut down and restart the Gmini XS100. File names, folder names, and ID3 tags written using the Microsoft® codepage for the language will now be displayed in that character set. Only one.4fz file can be used at a time, thus you should only put one.4fz file into the /system folder. When an.4fz language file is used, the interface language will be set to English.
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3Playing Music
Once the Gmini has been turned on, the following screen is displayed. You can select the major functions from this main menu.
•Music: Browse through the folder Music or use the ARCLibrary music selection system.
•Browser: Browse through and manage all of the other files on your Gmini.
•Resume: Resume playing from the last place you stopped.
•Setup: Set the parameters of your Gmini to your personal taste.
3.1 Playing a Music File
By clicking on the Music icon in the main menu screen, you will enter into a ‘music only’ mode. File types other than WMA, WAV, and MP3 that may be in those folders will be filtered from view.
There are two ways to access your music, by selecting Browse hard disk or by searching the songs’ tag information, Artist, Album, title, etc. In the case of Browse hard drive, you will be sent directly to the Music folder of your Gmini. 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. The other way is to browse your music by tag information, artist, album, song name, year, or genre. The Unknown category indicates that the file has no tag data.
To select a music file, use the navigation controls UP and DOWN to move upwards or downwards and ENTER to enter a highlighted subfolder or tag category. Click ENTER to play the highlighted song. Use LEFT to leave a folder and go back to the previous level.
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3.2 Play Screen and Button Control
(1)Menu available
(2)Artist* or parent folder
(3)Album* or current folder
(4)Song title* or file name
(5)File format and recording information
(6)Status: playing
(7)Play Mode: Folder
(8)Play Order: Repeat
(9)Volume (0-99)
(10)Battery level
(11)Real time clock
(12)Song elapsed time
(13)Song time remaining
(14)Song length
*If the file contains these tag data
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APlay/pause/resume song
BIncrease the volume
CClick once: Play the next song in the folder or playlist. Hold: Fast forward through the song.
DDecrease the Volume
EClick once: Play the previous song in the folder or playlist (during first 10 seconds of song) otherwise go to the beginning of the song.
Hold: Fast reverse through the song.
FStop Song
Play Status |
Play Order |
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Stopped |
(no icon) |
Play once |
Playing a track |
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Shuffle (Random) track selection |
Current track is paused |
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Repeat playing |
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A |
C |
F D
The top status bar indicates the status and play settings that you have given. See the Settings chapter for a description of the Playmode options.
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3.3 Playback Menu Items
When the menu icon appears, you have certain options. During song playback, press the MENU button for the following options.
•Setup: Enters the Setup screen (same as selecting the Setup icon in the main menu) which allows you access to parameters such as bass and treble.
•Info: Show file information such as the file name, number of kilobytes of hard drive space used, date created, file format, etc.
•ARCLibrary: Allows you to browse through your ARCLibrary while listening to the current song.
•Edit Playlist: Enters the playlist editor (see below how to use Playlists).
•Set Bookmark: Set a bookmark at the current position within the audio file. See the Bookmark section below.
3.4 ARCLibrary Specifics
The ARCLibrary is a system for choosing your music by its characteristics. It can be turned On or Off in the settings from Setup > Playmode. As shown in this screen capture here, you can select your music by Artist, Album, Song Title, Genre, or Year. MP3 and WMA music files have internal data tags to hold information about the song. For MP3 files, these are known as ID3 tags. Not all MP3 files have all this information filled in. If you purchase a song from a music download service, the song will have this information. If you have an MP3 or WMA file without this tag information, then you can add or change it by going to the properties of the file in Windows® Explorer. Once you update the ARCLibrary, you will have access to all newly copied music via the ARCLibrary. The ARCLibrary indexes all the music and playlists that it finds in the folders Music and Playlists by using the tag information in each song. Thus, you should never delete the folders Music or Playlists. If a song does not have tags, it will be put into the category <unknown>.
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3.5 ARCLibrary Updating
If you paste unprotected audio files from your computer to the Gmini, they go directly to the Gmini hard disk without the ARCLibrary knowing about the new song. This is why the ARCLibrary is updated when you disconnect your Gmini from the computer. Alternatively, you can set up the ARCLibrary to update only when you choose to, by setting it to “On”, not “automatic”. You can find the information on how to do this in the section Playmode in the Settings chapter. You will then have to go to the Setup > Playmode screen, highlight [Update ARCLibrary] and press ENTER. A message screen will appear indicating that it is updating the ARCLibrary contents.
3.6 Setting a Bookmark
If you are listening to a song, or perhaps a long recording, and would like to place a bookmark in it in order to pick up from this point at another time, you can use the Bookmark function. While listening to the audio recording, simply click on the MENU button, then choose Set Bookmark. This will set a bookmark in the audio file at the current position. You can only set one bookmark per file. When you look at the file in your
browser, it will have a small mark on its icon indicating that this file has a bookmark set within it. You can have a maximum of 16 files bookmarked. Setting more bookmarks will erase existing bookmarks, starting with the oldest. The next time you play the audio file, you will be presented with three options:
Resume: Start playing from the bookmarked position.
Ignore: Keep the bookmark but start playing from the very beginning.
Clear: Clear the bookmark from this file and start playing from the very beginning.
3.7 The Resume Function
When you turn on your Gmini you will sometimes notice that the icon which is highlighted on the main screen is not the Browser but rather the Resume icon. This icon is highlighted when the Gmini XS100 can resume the last played audio file.
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3.8 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 button until the “lock” icon appears in the top-left corner of the screen. Now the buttons are disabled, but you can still use the UP and DOWN controls on the navigation pad to change the volume. To unlock the buttons hold down again on the Menu button until the “lock” icon disappears.
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4Putting Music onto your Gmini™ XS100
Your Archos™ product is a certified PlaysForSure™ digital device which means that wherever you find music for sale or for subscription on the Internet with this symbol, you can be certain that they will ‘Play for sure’ on your Gmini XS100*.
The Gmini XS100 is designed to work seamlessly with Windows Media® Player (WMP) versions 9 and 10. The Windows Media® Player software is used to download digital media content from the Internet to your computer and organize it. You will also use it to synchronize (copy) the
contents of your Windows Media® Player media library to your Archos™ device. See the comparison chart below for an explanation of the different features available when running Windows Media® Player 9 and 10 or check out the Web site www.playsforsure.com.
* Subscription services require you to be running Windows Media® Player10.
4.1 Synchronizing Music from Windows Media® Player (WMP) to the Gmini™ XS100
The Synchronize button in Windows Media® Player (WMP) is a one way ‘sync’ button. That is, it will add music files to your Gmini™ so that you have the same digital media on your Gmini™ as you have in your Windows Media® Player media library. Of course, you can choose to sync only certain songs or sync your entire library. On WMP10,
you can click the button Set up Sync in the Sync tab and then check the box labeled Synchronize Device Automatically. This is the auto-sync advantage of WMP10. If this box is checked, then each time you connect your Gmini™ to your PC, Windows Media® Player will automatically start up and check to see if there is any new music
in your media library, and if so, will then copy them to your Gmini™. On the other hand, with Windows Media® Player 9, you have to tell it what you want to sync, WMP9 cannot synchronize automatically when you connect your Gmini™ to your computer.
Note for WMP10 users: Files added to your Gmini™ from another computer cannot be added to the Windows Media® Player Library when you connect your Gmini™ to the computer. Songs which have been added, will however, be listed in the device’s ARCLibrary.
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4.2 Comparison of Windows Media Player 10 to Windows Media Player 9
Windows® Media Player 10 is only available for Windows® XP (service Pack 1) and newer operating systems. It is worth your while to upgrade to Windows® XP (home or professional) and to Windows® Media Player 10. The list below shows the advantages.
Functionality |
WMP9 |
WMP10 |
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Auto-synchronize the WMP library |
no* |
yes |
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to ARCHOS™ Gmini™ on connecting to PC |
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Can synchronize subscription music |
no |
yes |
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(‘to go’ services) to your Gmini™ |
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Carefree USB disconnection |
no |
yes |
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(no special green arrow unmount procedure) |
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PlaysForSure™ audio content |
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* Must use WMP9 manual sync function to copy purchased music to the Gmini™.
4.3 Transferring your CD collection to the Gmini™ XS100
The process of transferring music from a CD into files for your Gmini XS100 is known as ‘ripping’. It is actually a transcoding process, taking the CDA (CD Audio) format and converting it to WMA or MP3 format which the Gmini can read. There are many music ripping programs on the market, but the easiest thing to do is to use Windows Media® Player to do it. In fact, when you place a music CD in your computer, Windows® will ask you if you would like to rip it. Depending on the power of your computer, to rip a 60 minute CD, it will take anywhere from 10 minutes to 60 minutes. Once this is done, the album will become part of your music library. Connect your Gmini to your computer with the supplied USB cable. Now, you go to the Sync tab and tell Windows Media® Player to synchronize that album to your Gmini. It will then transfer that album to your Gmini.
Note: Some music CDs have a special copy protection system that will not allow Windows Media® Player to make music files from them.
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4.4 Installing Windows Media® Player (WMP) 9
If you have Windows® ME or 2000, you should use Windows Media® Player 9. The easiest way to install this software is to visit the Microsoft® Website and download the very latest version, or install the version found on the Gmini XS100 itself.
4.5 Installing Windows Media® Player (WMP) 10
You must be running Windows® XP (Service Pack 1 or higher) in order to install Windows Media® Player 10. Please visit Microsoft’s PlaysForSure website (www.playsforsure.com) and download the very latest version of Windows Media® Player 10.
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