Archos 104 User manual

1
1
ARCHOS
ARCHOS
™
™
104
104
MP3 & WMA Digital Music Player / Photo Viewer / USB 2.0 Hard Disk
English user manual
Version 1.0 - Please see the Archos web site (www.archos.com)
for the most recent manual and software updates for your Archos™ 104.
2
2
An introductory note from ARCHOS
Dear Customer,
Archos thanks you for choosing our new ultra-smallArchos™ 104. 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 Archos™ 104 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 Archos™ 104 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. TheArchos™ 104
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.
With your Archos™ 104 you can also view photos on the built-in OLED screen. Just transfer them from your
computer, and you’ll be able to look at them wherever you take your Archos™ 104.
Finally, you can always use theArchos™ 104 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 youall the information you need toknow on using yourArchos™ 104. Read throughit 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.

3
3
T
T
able of Contents
able of Contents
1 Ports, Buttons, and Connections 5
2 First Time Usage 6
2.1 Charging the Battery 6
2.2 Turning the Archos™ 104 ON and OFF 7
2.3 Changing the Interface language 7
2.4 Caring for the Archos™ 104 7
2.5 Foreign Character Sets 7
3 Playing Music 8
3.1 Playing a Music File 8
3.2 Play Screen and Button Control 9
3.3 Playback Menu Items 11
3.4 ARCLibrary Specifics 11
3.5 ARCLibrary Updating 12
3.6 Setting a Bookmark 12
3.7 The Resume Function 12
3.8 Locking the Archos™ 104 Buttons 13
4 Putting Music onto your Archos™ 104 14
4.1 Synchronizing Music from Windows Media®Player (WMP) to the Archos™ 104 14
4.2 Comparison of Windows Media Player 10 to Windows Media Player 9 15
4.3 Transferring your CD collection to the Archos™ 104 15
4.4 Installing Windows Media®Player (WMP) 9 16
4.5 Installing Windows Media®Player (WMP) 10 16
5 Playlists 17
5.1 Creating a new Playlist 17
5.2 Loading a Playlist 18
5.3 Playing a Playlist 18
5.4 Playlist Menu Options 18
6 Settings 20
6.1 Changing the Sound Settings 20
6.2 Changing the PlayMode Settings 22
6.3 Changing the time & date settings 23
4
4
6.4 Changing the Display Settings 24
6.5 Changing the Power Settings 25
6.6 Changing the System Settings 26
7 Using the Browser 27
7.1 Inside the MUSIC Folder 27
7.2 Navigating the Directory Structure 28
7.3 File and Folder Operations in Browser Mode 29
7.3.1 Contextual Menu on a File 29
7.3.2 Contextual Menu on a Folder 29
7.3.3 Contextual Menu while in the Double Browser 30
7.4 Using the Virtual Keyboard 30
8 Viewing Photos with yourArchos™ 104 32
8.1 Using the Photo Browser 32
8.2 Photo Browser Contextual Menu 33
8.3 Transferring Photos to your Archos™ 104 34
8.3.1 Transferring Photos in Hard Disk Mode 34
8.3.2 Transferring Photos in Windows Device Mode 34
9 Connecting the Archos™ 104 to a Stereo system 35
10 Connecting the Archos™ 104 to/from your Computer 36
10.1 USB Connection Type (‘Hard Drive’ or ‘Windows Device’) 36
10.2 Connecting the Archos™ 104 36
10.3 Disconnecting the Archos™ 104 from your Computer 37
11 Using iTunes™ with your Archos™ 104 40
12 Updating the Archos™ 104 Firmware 41
12.1 Download the Update_Archos104.AOS file 41
12.2 Copy to Archos™ 104 root and Update 41
12.3 ‘Hard Drive’ or ‘Windows Device’? 42
12.4 Activate the Update 42
13 Troubleshooting 43
13.1 USB Connection issues 43
13.2 File issues, corrupted data, formatting, and partitioning. 45
13.2.1 Windows®ME Running Scan-Disk (Error Checking) - Hard Disk Mode only 46
13.2.2 Windows®XP & 2000 Running Check Disk Utility (ChkDsk) - Hard Disk Mode only 46
14 Technical Specifications 47
15 Technical Support 48
16 Legal and Safety Notices 51

5
5
1
1
Ports, Buttons, and Connections
Ports, Buttons, and Connections
A Power jack – to connect an optionalAC adapter/charger
B USB 2.0 port – To connect to your computer to transfer files to Archos™ 104 and
to charge its battery
C Headphone Jack
D On button (hold 3 seconds) & Menu options
E Off button (hold 3 seconds) & Stop/Escape*
Navigation pad
F Move Up & increase volume
G Move Down & decrease volume
H Move Left (decrease value) or audio rewind
I Move Right (increase value) or audio fast forward
J Play/Pause/Enter
1 CHG – Battery charging indicator
2 HDD – Hard drive activity indicator
3 ON – ON/OFF indicator light
* Hardware reset: in the event that your Archos™ 104 freezes operation (due to electrostatic phenomena for example), you can
reset the Archos™ 104 by holding down on the STOP/ESC button x for 15 seconds.
6
6
2
2
First Time Usage
First Time Usage
2.1 Charging the Battery
2.1 Charging the Battery
Before using your Archos™ 104 for the first time, completely charge the battery for two hours.
• The Archos™ 104 is charged through its USB connector. Connect the included USB cable to a running
computer and plug the other end into the Archos™ 104 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 CHG indicator starts blinking.
CHG indicator is on: CHG indicator is blinking:
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 theArchos™ 104 while the AC adapter is plugged in.

7
7
2.2 Turning the Archos™ 104 ON and OFF
2.2 Turning the Archos™ 104 ON and OFF
• Press and hold the ON/Menu button until the screen comes on.
• TheArchos™ 104 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 theArchos™ 104 shuts off.
2.3 Changing the Interface language
2.3 Changing the Interface language
• EnglishisselectedasthedefaultlanguageforyourArchos™ 104userinterface.Youcanchooseanotherlanguage
by going to Setup > Display (press the MENU button, then the ENTER button to access the Setup menu).
2.4 Caring for the Archos™ 104
2.4 Caring for the Archos™ 104
The Archos™ 104 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 Archos™ 104 away from water and excessively humid areas.
• Keep the Archos™ 104 away from high electromagnetic fields.
2.5 Foreign Character Sets
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 Archos™ 104 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 Archos™ 104 . Shut down and restart the Archos™ 104 . 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.
8
8
3
3
Playing Music
Playing Music
Once the Archos™ 104 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.
• Photo: Browse through and view all the pictures on your Archos™ 104.
• Browser: Browse through and manage all of the other files on yourArchos™ 104.
• Resume: Resume playing from the last place you stopped.
You can also access the Setup menu by pressing the MENU button and then the ENTER
button to set the parameters of your Archos™ 104 to your personal taste.
3.1 Playing a Music File
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 yourArchos™ 104. Here you can look at all your
music files and the folders on your Archos™ 104’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.

9
9
3.2 Play Screen and Button Control
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) Status: playing
(6) Play Mode: Folder
(7) Play Order: Repeat
(8) Volume (0-99)
(9) Battery level
(10) Real time clock
(11) Song elapsed time
(12) Song remaining time
(13) Album cover (if it is available)
*If the file contains these tag data
10
10
A Play/pause/resume song
B Increase the volume
C Click once: Play the next song in the folder or playlist.
Hold: Fast forward through the song.
D Decrease the Volume
E Click 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.
F Stop Song
Play Status Play Order
Play Status Play Order
Stopped (no icon) Play once
Playing a track Shuffle (Random) track selection
Current track is paused Repeat playing
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.
A
B
B
C
C
D
D
E
E
F
F
A

11
11
3.3 Playback Menu Items
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 yourARCLibrary 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
3.4 ARCLibrary Specifics
TheARCLibrary 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>.
A
B
C
D
E
F
12
12
3.5 ARCLibrary Updating
3.5 ARCLibrary Updating
If you paste unprotected audio files from your computer to theArchos™ 104, they go directly to theArchos™ 104
hard disk without the ARCLibrary knowing about the new song. This is why the ARCLibrary is updated when
you disconnect your Archos™ 104 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 [UpdateARCLibrary] and press ENTER. Amessage screen will appear indicating that it is updating the
ARCLibrary contents.
3.6 Setting a Bookmark
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
3.7 The Resume Function
When you turn on your Archos™ 104 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
Archos™ 104 can resume the last played audio file.

13
13
3.8 Locking the Archos™ 104 Buttons
3.8 Locking the Archos™ 104 Buttons
You can prevent theArchos™ 104 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.
14
14
4
4
Putting Music onto your Archos™ 104
Putting Music onto your Archos™ 104
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 Archos™ 104 *.
TheArchos™ 104 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 yourArchos™ 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®Player 10.
4.1 Synchronizing Music from Windows Media
4.1 Synchronizing Music from Windows Media
®
®
Player (WMP) to the Archos™ 104
Player (WMP) to the Archos™ 104
The Synchronize button in Windows Media® Player (WMP) is a one way ‘sync’ button.
That is, it will add music and photo files to your Archos™ 104 so that you have the
same digital media on yourArchos™ 104 as you have in your Windows Media® Player
media library. Of course, you can choose to sync only certain songs or photos, 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 Archos™ 104 to your PC, Windows Media® Player
will automatically start up and check to see if there is any new music or photos in your media library, and if so,
will then copy them to your Archos™ 104. 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 Archos™ 104 to your
computer.
Note for WMP10 users: Files added to your Archos™ 104 from another computer cannot be added to the
Windows Media® Player Library when you connect yourArchos™ 104 to the computer. Songs which have been
added, will however, be listed in the device’sARCLibrary.

15
15
4.2 Comparison of Windows Media Player 10 to Windows Media Player 9
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
Auto-synchronize the WMP library
to Archos™ 104 on connecting to PC no* yes
Can synchronize subscription music
(‘to go’ services) to your Archos™ 104 no yes
Carefree USB disconnection
(no special green arrow unmount procedure) no yes
PlaysForSure™audio content
* Must use WMP9 manual sync function to copy purchased music to the Archos™ 104.
4.3 Transferring your CD collection to the Archos™ 104
4.3 Transferring your CD collection to the Archos™ 104
The process of transferring music from a CD into files for your Archos™ 104 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 Archos™ 104 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 Archos™ 104 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 yourArchos™ 104. It will then transfer that album to yourArchos™ 104.
Note: Some music CDshave a special copy protection systemthat will notallow Windows
Media®Player to make music files from them.
16
16
4.4 Installing Windows Media
4.4 Installing Windows Media
®
®
Player (WMP) 9
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.
4.5 Installing Windows Media
4.5 Installing Windows Media
®
®
Player (WMP) 10
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.

17
17
5
5
Playlists
Playlists
APlaylist is a list of songs that theArchos™ 104 will automatically play one after the other. TheArchos™ 104 can
handle one Playlist at a time. You can create new Playlists, add or delete songs from a Playlist, or Save a Playlist
as a file (file type.m3u) to be used another time. There is no limit to the number of Playlists you can save on the
Archos™ 104 hard drive. A Playlist can have a maximum of 1000 songs in it.
5.1 Creating a new Playlist
5.1 Creating a new Playlist
To create a Playlist, press the RIGHT button while you are in the Music browser.Asecond
panel is opened on the right side to display the Playlist contents (shown empty in the
picture). You can now start adding songs to the current Playlist.
Note: If tracks are displayed in the right panel, this means a Playlist is already open. To
create a new Playlist, close the current list first (see the Playlist Menu options) and click
RIGHT again.
In the left panel, search for the songs you would like to add to your Playlist. Once the
song is highlighted, click on the ENTER button to add it to the Playlist. The song will be
added to the Playlist and a small mark is placed next to the music note icon to indicate
that it is now in the Playlist. You can also add all the music files of a complete folder in one
operation by highlighting the desired folder and choosing ADD or INSERT on the menu.
Be careful about which panel you are in since the left panel menu has different options than the right panel menu.
Continue searching and adding songs in this manner until you are satisfied. You can jump back and forth anytime
between the two panels by clicking LEFT/RIGHT on the navigation pad.
We recommend that you save your Playlists to theArchos™ 104 hard drive (see Playlists Menu Options below)
to use it again later.After saving a new Playlist, use the menu of the left panel to update the ARCLibrary in order
for it to appear in your Playlists folder. The menu also offers you the option INSERT: The track will be added
before the track which is highlighted in the Playlist.
18
18
5.2 Loading a Playlist
5.2 Loading a Playlist
You can load a previously saved Playlist or add the files it contains to the current Playlist.
Use the music browser to select the Playlist of your choice (Playlists are indicated by a
special list icon) and then press OK. If there were already some items in theArchos™ 104
Playlist, then the songs of the loaded Playlist will be added to the end of it. You can then
check or modify the Playlist as usual in the Playlist panel.
5.3 Playing a Playlist
5.3 Playing a Playlist
After loading a Playlist, press the RIGHT control on the navigation pad to go into
the Playlist edition panel. Then use the UP and DOWN controls to select a song.
Click on ENTER, and your Playlist will start playing from that song according to
the current PlayMode settings.
5.4 Playlist Menu Options
5.4 Playlist Menu Options
While in the Playlist screen (right side) you have the following options.
• Save: Saves the current Playlist onto theArchos™ 104 so that it can be reloaded
later. It will be saved into the directory Playlists.
• Close: Closing the list enables you to create a new Playlist by using the RIGHT
control of the navigation pad whilst in the Music folder or any of its sub-folders.
• Rename: Changes the name of the current Playlist using the Virtual Keyboard.
• Shuffle: Randomly changes the order of the items in the loaded Playlist.
• Clear: Removes ALL tracks from the loaded Playlist.

19
19
• Move: Allows you to change the order of songs in the Playlist by moving them up
or down using the UP/DOWN buttons of the navigation pad.
• Delete: Removes the highlighted track from the playlist.
Note: To delete a Playlist, navigate to Browser > Playlists. Highlight the Playlist, the menu
button, highlight Delete and press ENTER.
(Moving a music track)
Important: Once you save a Playlist it is important that you do not move the actual files as the
Playlist searches in the original file location. If you need to move your files to a different folder,
you’ll have to recreate your Playlists.
20
20
6
6
Settings
Settings
There are a number of parameters you can set on theArchos™ 104 to make it operate
accordingtoyour particular needs. To access theSetup menu,press the MENU button
and then the ENTER button from the main screen.
Within the menus, you will find different parameters. In order to modify a parameter,
click LEFT or RIGHT on the navigation pad. Note that once you have reached the last
option, clicking further will not normally take you back to the first item in the list.
6.1 Changing the Sound Settings
6.1 Changing the Sound Settings
If you would like to customize the sound quality, go to [Setup > Sound].

21
21
Parameter Description
Parameter Description
Volume Range: 0 to 99 Controls the current volume.
Balance Range: -10 to +10 (left to right)
Sound effect Rock, Techno, Jazz, Classic, Live or Custom
Change this parameter to select an equalizer setting to the style of music you are listening to.
Select Custom to set your own equalizer levels.
[Set Equalizer] To customize the equalizer. See below.
[Reset] Sets all your sound parameters with default or flat values.
Customizing the equalizer
To set the equalizer, highlight the [Set equalizer] line and then click on ENTER. You will now be able to adjust
theArchos™ 104’s five band equalizer. Use the LEFT/RIGHT buttons to select a specific frequency range (Bass,
Medium-Base, Medium, Medium-Treble, Treble) and then use the UP/DOWN buttons to increase or decrease
the response for the given frequency range. Modifying these settings changes the sound in real time. Thus it is
best to change these values while listening to a song.
1. 2. 3. Change values 4. Exit screen.
22
22
6.2 Changing the PlayMode Settings
6.2 Changing the PlayMode Settings
If you would like theArchos™ 104 to play through an entire folder of songs, play songs at random (shuffle), or any
of the other playing options, you can set these parameters in the Playmode settings. Go to Setup > Playmode.
Parameter Description
Parameter Description
Current Folder Play all tracks in the current directory
All Play all tracks on theArchos™ 104
Single Play a single track then stop
Queue User can queue the next track to be played †
Scan Archos™ 104 plays first 15 seconds of each track ††
Repeat and shuffle This parameter allows you to choose the order of play of your songs
(no icon) Normal: the music sequence is played once
Repeat: the music sequence is played in a loop
Shuffle: the music sequence is played randomly

23
23
ARCLibrary Off, On. Automatic (default)
The ARCLibrary feature enables you to see your music organised by Artist, Album, Title, Genre and Year. Select
Off to disable the feature or On to enable it. OnAutomatic, the library will update itself when disconnected from the
computer.
ARCLibrary Update Scans through all music and playlists in the folders Music and Playlists and indexes these into theARCLibrary. You
need to do this only when you have copied new music to yourArchos™ 104.
†Queue Mode: While the current song is playing, simply click on the menu button and select Browser or ARCLibrary
(depending on the current folder), find the next song you want to play, then click ENTER. This is your queued song. The
lower arrow of the Queue icon will turn black. You can only queue one song at a time. See the Playlist section to prepare
multiple songs to play. Once the current track has finished playing, your queued track will be played. If you do not queue
another track at this time, the Archos™ 104 will play the next song in the original directory.
††Scan Mode: Each track in the directory is played for 15 seconds. This allows a quick sample of each song. If you want
to play the whole song, click on the Play button during those first 15 seconds. TheArchos™ 104 will then revert to single
directory mode and play the rest of the songs in the directory without scanning.
6.3 Changing the time & date settings
6.3 Changing the time & date settings
In order to set the time and date or to change the time format, go to Setup > Clock.
24
24
The Time format can be set to a 12 hour clock (0:00 to 12:59) or 24 hour clock (0:00 to 23:59).
The Time is expressed in Hours, Minutes and Seconds, although seconds are not displayed. The date is
expressed as Day, Month and Year.
Having modified all necessary parameters, be sure to set them. To do this, highlight the [Set] line and then
click ENTER. Wait a moment for the Archos™ 104 to save the new values before clicking the STOP/ESCAPE
button.
6.4 Changing the Display Settings
6.4 Changing the Display Settings
In order to change the operating language, the brightness of the display or the appearance of theArchos™ 104,
go to Setup > Display.
Parameter Description
Parameter Description
Language Use this option to set the operating language of the Archos™ 104. Options are English, Français, Deutsch, Español and
Рчсский.
Brightness Adjusts the brightness of the screen. Be aware that a high level of brightness can affect battery life.
Wallpaper Choose the background image that will appear on your Archos™ 104.
Appearance Choose the color of yourArchos™ 104’s icons.

25
25
6.5 Changing the Power Settings
6.5 Changing the Power Settings
To help you get the most battery life out of your Archos™ 104 before having to recharge it, you can adjust the
power settings. Go to Setup > Power.
Parameter Description
Parameter Description
Power Off Range: 1 to 9 minutes or Never.
Number of minutes of user inactivity before theArchos™ 104 automatically shuts off.TheArchos™ 104 will not shut
off during the playback of music files. Never (on DC Power) indicates that theArchos™ 104 will not do an automatic
shut down.
Backlight Backlight shut down time: Off, 10 to 90 seconds, Never.
The time of user inactivity (no buttons pressed) before theArchos™ 104 turns off the backlight. Never indicates that
the backlight will always stay on. Keeping the backlight on will reduce the battery time.
Hard drive 10-90 seconds. The number of seconds from the time of the last file access before the Archos™ 104 tells the
internal hard disk to stop spinning. The longer this time, the more often the hard disk is turning and the quicker the
response time when accessing files. However, as it is set longer, it will quickly consume your battery. Caution: This
setting should only be changed by experienced users. The default setting is 10s.
26
26
6.6 Changing the System Settings
6.6 Changing the System Settings
To change the system parameters or get information about the system, go to Setup > System.
Parameter Description
Parameter Description
Show all files If “Off” is selected, files are filtered so that only music files are shown. The “On” setting lets you see other file types
as well as music files.
USB Port Windows Device, Hard disk.
When set to Windows Device, your Archos™ 104 will use the MTP (Media Transport Protocol) whenever it is
connected to a Windows XP (SP1 or higher) operating system with Windows Media®Player 10 installed. It will
be seen as the Archos™ 104 ‘Device’ in Windows®Explorer. WARNING: This will not work for earlier Windows®
operating systems or Macintosh® computers.
When set to Hard Drive, your Archos™ 104 will act as an external hard drive (mass storage device) when connected
to a computer. Use this mode for all non-Windows® XP operating systems
.
OS Version Displays the current version of the Operating System (OS).
Prod key Display the product key of yourArchos™ 104 . EveryArchos™ 104 has a unique product key number.
Hard Disk Displays the amount of free and used space on the Archos™ 104’s hard disk. Reported number of megabytes
is binary based counting (1kb=1024 bytes). Thus each reported MB represents approximately 1.05 megabytes
(decimal). Formatting also takes up space.
[Update Firmware] Used to update the Archos™ 104 to a new version of the Operating System. See the chapter
Updating the Archos™ 104 Firmware.

27
27
7
7
Using the Browser
Using the Browser
The browser is used to navigate the file system on the Archos™ 104. The file system
is the same type of file system that is found on Windows®based computers. This way,
transferring files from your computer to yourArchos™ 104 is as easy as ‘drag and drop’.
The file system is a hierarchical system which includes folders and subfolders. Because
you will be putting hundreds of files onto yourArchos™ 104, it is STRONGLYADVISED
that you keep a neat and orderly file structure. We suggest that you keep the predefined
folders: Data (to carry miscellaneous data files with you), Music (all of your music files),
and Playlists (to hold all your music Playlists).
7.1 Inside the MUSIC Folder
7.1 Inside the MUSIC Folder
The top level of yourArchos™ 104 includes the folder Music. Most people who create neat file structures for their
Archos players make the following hierarchy within the Music folder.
Level 1 – Artist (Dire Straits, Madonna, Stravinsky, etc.)
Level 2 – Album (Brothers in Arms,American life, etc.)
Level 3 – Song (Money for Nothing, etc.)
The folders Music and Pictures are special folders in that the Music and Photo icons on the main screen lead
to these folders directly. They should not be deleted or renamed.
28
28
7.2 Navigating the Directory Structure
7.2 Navigating the Directory Structure
Just below the top status bar, you can see the directory you
are currently viewing. To navigate the directory structure
you will use the UP/DOWN controls of the navigation pad
to move through the files in a directory. Press ENTER to
enter a highlighted folder. To go back up one
level in the directory structure, you can either
use the contextual MENU button (select Parent)
or click on the LEFT control. The contextual
MENU button allows you to create new folders,
delete folders, rename a file or folder, or display
information about a file.
Button Controls
Button Controls
Button Action
Button Action
Up Highlights the previous file or folder in the current directory
Down Highlights the next file or folder in the current directory
Right Open double-browser or gives the focus to the right panel.
Left Goes to parent directory if single panel view. Gives the focus to the left panel when in double-browser mode.
ENTER Folder highlighted: enters this folder.
File highlighted: Plays the file if it is a music file, displays the picture if it is a JPG file.
Off/Escape Exit Browser mode.
Menu Displays the contextual menu.

29
29
7.3 File and Folder Operations in Browser Mode
7.3 File and Folder Operations in Browser Mode
While browsing the directory structure, you will have the option to manipulate files and folders. When you use
the Browser mode, you will be browsing through the Archos™ 104’s hard drive as if browsing via a computer.
In Browser mode, you can create folders, delete files or folders, rename files or folders, and copy or move files
from one place to another.
7.3.1 Contextual Menu on a File
Info: Show file information such as song length, number of kilobytes used of hard drive
space, date file was created, etc.
Rename: Allows you to change the name of the highlighted file. You cannot change the
file extension type for file types that are playable by the Archos™ 104. You will be sent
to the virtual keyboard (see the next section) to enter the new file name.
Delete: Delete the file permanently from the Archos™ 104. (Before it is deleted, the
Archos™ 104 will ask for confirmation: “Delete file? -Yes/No”). Press ENTER to confirm
or STOP/ESCAPE to cancel.
Create Folder: Create a new folder in the current level of the directory. You will be sent
to the Virtual Keyboard to enter the new folder name. There is a limit of 1000 files per
folder.
7.3.2 Contextual Menu on a Folder
Info: Show file information such as number of kilobytes of hard drive space used, date
created, number of files and folders the folder contains etc.
Rename: Allows you to change the name of the highlighted folder. You will be sent to
the virtual keyboard (see the next section) to enter the new folder name.
Delete: Delete the file permanently from the Archos™ 104. (Before it is deleted, the
Archos™ 104 will ask for confirmation: “Delete folder X? - Yes/No.” Press ENTER to
confirm or STOP/ESCAPE to cancel.
Create Folder: Create a new folder in the current level of the directory. You will be sent
to the Virtual Keyboard to enter the new folder name. There is a limit of 1000 files per
folder.
30
30
7.3.3 Contextual Menu while in the Double Browser
By using the unique Archos double browser system, you can copy or move files
from one location in the file structure to another (caution: there is a limit of 1000
files per folder). While in the Browser mode, you simply click the RIGHT control
and a second browser panel will open. You can jump between the two panels
using the LEFT/RIGHT buttons. When the title of the folder is highlighted, this is
the active folder. The file highlighted within this active folder will be copied, that is
to say, it is the source for the copy. The other panel will be the destination folder.
Once you have decided on the destination folder, move to the source browser panel,
highlight the file to copy, and then click on the MENU button. You can now choose
Copy to copy the highlighted file, Copy All to copy all the files in that folder to the
destination folder, or Move to move it to the destination folder. Other options such as
Info, Delete, Rename and Create Folder are addressed above.
Source Destination
7.4 Using the Virtual Keyboard
7.4 Using the Virtual Keyboard
If you want to create folders and rename files or folders, it is recommended to do so from your computer when it
is connected to the Archos™ 104. The computer keyboard is easier to use. At times, however, you are not near
your computer and you would like to enter the text directly with theArchos™ 104. For this, you will use the Virtual
Keyboard. You will be taken to this screen when you rename a file or folder or create a new folder. You will use
the LEFT, RIGHT, UP, and DOWN controls to move around the keyboard. Click on ENTER to enter the character
that is highlighted. Once your text is entered, select Enter on the bottom right.

31
31
1 Contextual Menu
2 Text being typed
3 Cursor
4 Upper/Lower case*
5 Delete character*
6 Clear entire line*
7 Enter*
* These items can also be found in the contextual menu
Tip: use the STOP/ESCAPE button to cancel any changes you made
and exit the virtual keyboard.
32
32
8
8
Viewing Photos with your Archos™ 104
Viewing Photos with your Archos™ 104
With your Archos™ 104, you can view pictures in the JPEG format* on the built-in
LCD screen. They will be automatically resized by the Archos™ 104 to fit on its
screen.
By clicking on the Photo icon in the main menu screen, you will enter into the
Photo browser. File types other than JPG that may be in the ‘Pictures’folder and its
subfolders will not be displayed.
* please note that the progressive JPEG format is not supported.
8.1 Using the Photo Browser
8.1 Using the Photo Browser
To select a picture for viewing, use the navigation controls UP and DOWN to
move upwards or downwards and ENTER to view the highlighted picture or open
the highlighted folder.
When the picture is displayed on the screen, you can use the navigation controls
LEFT (or UP) to view the previous picture and RIGHT (or DOWN) to view the
next picture. Once you reach the first or last picture in the current folder, you will
be sent back to the photo browser.

33
33
8.2 Photo Browser Contextual Menu
8.2 Photo Browser Contextual Menu
Just like in the browser mode, you can rename files and folders and delete
them if needed, and you can create folders to sort your picture files. You
simply need to press the MENU button to display the contextual menu. See
the instructions given in chapter 7 on using the browser.
Info
Another feature of thephoto browser is the possibility
to view picture information such as the size of the
picture file, the date and time it was created, and
the image’s resolution. If a photo contains EXIF
information, it will also be displayed. You will then
see information such as the brand and model of the
digital camera that took the digital photograph, the
exposure time and aperture, whether the flash was
used or not, etc.
Save as Wallpaper
You also have the possibility to save one of your own pictures as the wallpaper for your Archos™ 104. Simply
select Save as wallpaper in the contextual menu while viewing a picture or when the picture file is highlighted.
Standard Info screen Info screen with EXIF data
34
34
8.3 Transferring Photos to your Archos™ 104
8.3 Transferring Photos to your Archos™ 104
There are three different ways of transferring photos to yourArchos™ 104 from your computer. The most suitable
method for you will depend on your Archos™ 104’s USB port setting (see section 6.6 of this manual): Hard Disk
or Windows Device.
8.3.1 Transferring Photos in Hard Disk Mode
If your Archos™ 104 operates in Hard Disk mode, you can simply copy your pictures onto it:
connect your Archos™ 104 to your computer (see chapter 10 of this manual).
on your computer, locate the pictures you want to transfer, select them and copy them (right click > copy).
open ‘My Computer’ and double click on the Archos™ 104 hard drive.
open the Pictures folder of yourArchos™ 104’s hard drive and paste your pictures there (right click > paste). Note that your photos must
go in the Pictures folder if you want to be able to view them directly on your Archos™ 104.
8.3.2 Transferring Photos in Windows Device Mode
If your Archos™ 104 operates in Windows Device mode, choose one of the following methods.
Copy Photos to the Media/Pictures folder
connect yourArchos™ 104 to your computer (see chapter 10 of this manual). If an ‘MTP Media Player‘ window pops up asking what you
want to do, select ‘take no action’ and click on OK.
on your computer, locate the pictures you want to transfer, select them and copy them (right click > copy).
open ‘My Computer’and double click on the Archos™ 104 device.
open the Media folder, and then the Pictures folder of yourArchos™ 104 device and paste your pictures there (right click > paste). Note
that your photos must go in the Pictures folder if you want to be able to view them directly on your Archos™ 104.
Sync with Windows Media® Player 10
If you use the Windows Media®Player library to manage your photos, you can synchronize your Archos™ 104
device to your computer’s library. (see section 4.1 of this manual to learn how to use Windows Media®Player to
synchronize your pictures and music automatically).
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

35
35
9
9
Connecting the Archos™ 104 to a Stereo system
Connecting the Archos™ 104 to a Stereo system
Connecting yourArchos™ 104 to a stereo system allows you to listen to yourArchos™ 104’s music on it without
a headset. You will need a standard (mini headphone to RCA) audio cable for this which is not supplied with the
Archos™ 104. The diagram below illustrates the setup. Plug the audio cable into the headphone jack and into the
auxiliary jacks on your stereo. Note that this is only a schematic representation of a stereo. If in doubt, the manual
of your stereo will enable you to identify the auxiliary inputs.
36
36
1
1
0
0
Connecting the Archos™ 104 to/from your Computer
Connecting the Archos™ 104 to/from your Computer
10.1 USB Connection Type (‘Hard Drive’ or ‘Windows Device’)
10.1 USB Connection Type (‘Hard Drive’ or ‘Windows Device’)
Your device comes configured as a Windows® Device and will be immediately recognized by your computer
if you are running Windows®XP (with Service Pack 1 minimum) and Windows Media®Player 10. If you have
another version of Windows®, not sure what version of Windows®XP you have, or if you are using a Macintosh®,
then you will need to change the USB (Universal Serial Bus) Port setting on the Archos™ 104. You will do this
by going to System and USB Port and change it to ‘Hard Disk’.
10.2 Connecting the Archos™ 104
10.2 Connecting the Archos™ 104
Connection order: See the sections below for your particular computer’s operating system.
1) Turn on the Archos™ 104.
2) With your computer running, plug the USB cable into your computer.
3) Plug in the other end of the USB cable to theArchos™ 104 USB Device port (if your computer asks to install a
new driver for the new hardware, then you must unplug it and change the USB Port to Hard Drive.)
Windows®XP
Please verify* that you have Windows® XP and it is updated it to at least, Service Pack 1. You must also
have Windows Media® Player 10 (WMP10) installed on your computer. This way, you can take advantage of
connecting it as a ‘Windows Device’. Connect it to your PC as enumerated above and you can then see the
Archos™ 104 in Windows® Explorer and WMP10. Without Windows® XP Service Pack 1 (a free update) or
Windows Media® 10, youcannot use it as a Windows®recognized ‘Device’and will have to follow theinstructions
for Windows® ME & 2000 below.
* Right-click on ‘MyComputer’ select‘Properties’, and then look in thetab labeled ‘General’.It should say “Service
Pack 1” or higher.
Windows™ME and 2000
Attention: Before connecting theArchos™ 104 to your computer with the USB cable, go to Setup>System>USB
Port and change it to ‘Hard Disk’.

37
37
Whenconnectedtoyour computer,theArchos™ 104will be recognized asanexternal
Hard Drive and display automatically within a few seconds of being connected. You
will see a new drive letter, such as E: in My Computer. You can now use the hard
drive called Archos™ 104 like any other external hard drive. Simply access it using
Windows™Explorer to drag and drop files to and from theArchos™ 104’s hard drive.
If theArchos™ 104 is not automatically recognized and displayed as an external hard
drive, please refer to the troubleshooting section at the back of this manual.
Macintosh™OS X
If you have OS X, you must update to version 10.3.9 or newer. You must also change
the Archos™ 104’s USB Port setting to ‘Hard Disk’. From the main menu, go to
Setup>System>USB Port and change it to ‘Hard Disk’.
You will now simply plug the Archos™ 104 into your Macintosh®as enumerated above, and
within a few seconds, the Archos™ 104 will be recognized as a mass storage device (Hard
Disk) and mount on the desktop. You can now use the hard drive called Archos™ 104 like
any other external hard drive.
10.3 Disconnecting the Archos™ 104 from your Computer
10.3 Disconnecting the Archos™ 104 from your Computer
Windows Device Mode
If theArchos™ 104 is connected to your computer as a Windows Device, verify that no data is being transferred
between your Archos™ 104 and your computer (the HDD light on yourArchos™ 104 is not flickering). You can
now safely unplug the USB cable from your Archos™ 104 and/or computer.
Hard Drive Mode
If the Archos™ 104 is connected to your computer as a hard drive, DO NOT SIMPLY PULL OUT THE USB
CABLE ATANY TIME! WARNING: You must properly remove (unmount) yourArchos™ 104 from the computer
before disconnecting the USB cable to avoid loss of data or freezing the computer and/or the Archos™ 104.
38
38
Hard Drive Mode & Windows™
To safely disconnect the Archos™ 104 hard drive, click on the system tray remove icon (green arrow as shown
below) and follow the instructions. Wait until you get a message saying that you can safely unplug the device
before disconnecting the USB cable.
Attention: The operating system will not allow you to safely disconnect the Archos™ 104 if you have an open
file from it in a running application. You will have to close all open Archos™ 104 files in any running application.
Sometimes, even when files are closed in an application, you will have to shut down the application. Using the
green disconnect arrow in the system tray will then allow you to safely disconnect the Archos™ 104.
1. The safe remove icon is in the system tray near the system clock.
Windows®XP Windows®2000 & Windows®ME
2. Click on the icon to Eject (unmount) theArchos™ 104 from your computer and then select the ‘Safely remove’
message.
3. There will be a message indicating that it is now safe to disconnect theArchos™ 104. You can now go ahead
and unplug the USB cable from the Archos™ 104.

39
39
Hard Drive Mode & Macintosh™
First, close all programs that are using files from your Archos™ 104. Drag the
Archos™ 104 hard drive icon towards the trash can, and the trash can will become a
big arrow as shown in the screen image. Drop the hard drive icon onto the arrow. The
hard disk icon will disappear from the desktop. You can now safely unplug the USB
cable from your Archos™ 104 and/or your computer.
40
40
1
1
1
1
Using iTunes™ with your Archos™ 104
Using iTunes™ with your Archos™ 104
The easiest way to transfer music files between a Macintosh®computer and your Archos™ 104 is to
use the Macintosh Finder™ to drag and drop the files to and from your Macintosh®.
However, for Macintosh®users who do want to use the Archos™ 104 with iTunes®, Archos has
developed a special i-Tunes®plug-in. You will find it in the folder /Data/i-Tunes Plug-in on the
Archos™ 104 hard disk or from the Archos website. In this folder you will find a .sit compressed file.
Uncompress it and open the folder for your operating system. You will find a JPEG image illustrating where you
need to copy the plug-in to. Once this is done, iTunes™ will recognize the Archos™ 104 as a ‘Device’. Currently
there is no plug-in for the PC version of iTunes™.
To make your user experience easy as possible, please keep in mind the following.
1) Music purchased at Apple’s on-line music store are copy protected with a proprietary encryption system. The
ARCHOS device will not be able to play this purchased music or files inAAC format which you might have created.
It will happily play MP3 format files without problem.
2) When you create your Playlists with iTunes®(you can only create Playlists from songs that have been copied
to your Archos™ 104 ), your Macintosh®will save these Playlists to the root directory of your Archos™ 104.
It will not save them to the Archos™ 104 Playlists directory. It would be best to use the Archos™ 104 itself to
make Playlists and then save these Playlists in your Playlists folder.
3) When you drag and drop MP3 files from your iTunes
®
library to your Archos™ 104, the i-Tunes
®
program will
look at the ID3 tag information of the MP3 file, and create a folder on the root of your Archos™ 104 using the
name of theArtist as the folder name. Then it will take theAlbum name ID3 tag, and create a subfolder with that
album as its name. Finally, it will take the MP3 song itself and place it into that album subfolder. Thus, although
it is a clean structure of artists and albums, i-Tunes
®
does not follow theArchos™ 104 convention of placing the
music into the Music folder first.