Clip worked fine then that's all she wrote

Imself wrote:
I guess…
To force the MSP mode seems to be a great way to get out troubles. Just hold the middle button and plug the sansa. Since it’s like you plugged an USB key for windows, it should work for almost any case.

That’s “MSC” mode.  Also, you have to slide the hold/lock switch to hold, in addition to holding down the middle button when you plug in the Clip.