The processor of the Sansa also controls the USB interface, so if you hace a Clip that goes blank while playing a music file, it has “frozen”. The player isn’t “dead”, per se, it’s literally “frozen” in execution. Since the device has halted, it won’t respond when plugged in to the USB port. At first glance, it’s easy to assume that the device is dead. No worries!
The soft reset is the solution in this case. Press and hold the power button for about 20 seconds to reset the device. Release the button, and then power it up as usual. Every time the device is powered off normally, it saves the end position (which music file was being played). After resetting, the player will revert to this last played file.
Bob 
