Misleading message in Verizon LG env3-land

Remember when I left the rotary club? At the time, I said the following about my next phone:

...as I advance to a 2010 phone (note: I won't be getting an iPhone, and probably won't even be getting a top-level smartphone at all)...

My statement proved to be correct. I couldn't justify the expense of a smartphone service plan, so I ended up getting a not-so-smart phone with basic Internet access My Internet access plan is capped at 25 MB per month, which pretty much means that I'm not surfing from my phone continuously.

Which probably doesn't make Verizon happy.

You see, as I previously noted (although I didn't name the provider by name), Verizon's sole purpose in life is to have me use as much bandwidth as possible so that I'll move up to their unlimited data plan from the 25 MB plan that I currently have. They want me to check my email via my phone - and considering the amount of mail that I get on my Empoprises Gmail account alone, that could use up bandwidth fairly quickly. And if you're not using up bandwidth, you're using up app fees and other fees.

So anyways, I wanted to put my music onto my phone. I got a microSD card as an Easter present, the microSD card is compatible with my LG env3 phone (no, I didn't get a Motorola phone), and the card was begging for music.

Obviously, if you check the Verizon documentation for the env3, Verizon has a way to fill my musical needs.

Each time you buy a song directly from your phone, you also get a high-quality version at no additional charge. Rhapsody Software lets you pick up your duplicate tracks, manage all the music on your Verizon Wireless phone, and shop for MP3s.

And the unlimited access plan is only $14.99 per month!

Uh, no thanks. I have music files sitting on several computers, and I just want to copy THOSE FILES to my phone.

The only problem is, when I connected my phone to the computer via the USB cable, the computer wouldn't recognize the phone.

Obviously a driver is what is needed, and if you go to http://www.lg.com/us/mobile-phones/LG-VX9200-Blue.jsp and click on "Resources," you will find a link under "Downloads" entitled USB Cable Driver. (Note that this link goes to version 4.9.4, so if you're reading this blog post 100 years from now, there may be a newer driver.)

I downloaded the exe file, started the InstallShield process...and got a component transfer error. (Specifically, one that said "The filename, directory name, or volume label syntax is incorrect.") I started searching, and found some tips that suggested that InstallShield may be the problem:

This issue occurs if either of the following conditions is true:

* The InstallShield installation is incomplete.
* The InstallShield installation data is corrupted.

To resolve this problem, follow these steps:

1. In Windows Explorer or in My Computer, open the following folder:
Drive\Program Files\Common Files\InstallShield\Professional
2. Rename the Professional folder. Or, delete this folder. When you do this, InstallShield will not use the corrupted data in this folder.
3. Install Groove again.

I didn't have a "Professional" folder, but I did have an "Engine" folder, so I renamed it...and ran into the same component transfer error.

Needless to say, other hints regarding getting a new CD didn't help, since the file was on my hard drive. (I did try copying to a CD, but no change.)

But then I ran across another message that offered a possible solution:

The problem was found. The person installing our product did not have local
admin rights to their machine. Once this authority was given, the install
worked correctly.

This error message is very misleading, however.

This appeared to offer a solution, since I happened to be on a computer for which I didn't have local administrator rights. I went to another computer, successfully downloaded the driver, and successfully copied my own music to my own phone via Windows Media Player.

At this point I just did a test run of 14 songs, but since I have an 8 GB microSD card, I could transfer many more songs to my phone.

All without paying Verizon 15 bucks a month.

Now perhaps my title itself is misleading, since neither LG nor Verizon were probably responsible for the misleading nature of the message; that could probably be pinned on Microsoft. However, Verizon didn't exactly provide complete documentation regarding how to copy your own music to your own phone, nor did they provide a direct link to the driver download, instead preferring that you download Verizon software that happened to include the driver.

But all's well that ends well, and now I can listen to "Destroy Everything You Touch," "The Girl and the Robot," "Sweet Sixteen," and 11 other songs anywhere I want. (But I can't scrobble them.)