I seem to be stuck in a cycle. It started one day when I disconnected my Clip Zip from the computer. I had shut down the computer first. When I removed the Clip Zip, it got stuck in the screen indicating it was still connected to the computer. None of the buttons would do anything, and I had no choice but to let the battery drain out and then plug it back into my computer. It became usable again, but I discovered a new problem. It was no longer detecting the songs stored on the 32 GB MicroSD Class 4 card (I mention the class of the card because I’ve read there is a problem with Class 10 cards, which I do not have). When I plugged the device back into the computer, it would not load the separate drive for the card. However, upon a 2nd try of shutting it off and plugging it back into the computer, it detected the MicroSD card, with all the songs still safely intact on it. I was even able to have the computer load up a song from it and play it without a problem. But when I ejected the device, it got stuck again just like before… can’t get it to do anything until it runs out of battery.
Have you tried resetting it by holding the power button down for 20 - 30 secs? Release, then press it again momentarily to power it on.
(Note: Do this with the player dis-connected from the computer)