When I turn on my MP3 I get the message and my Sansa turns out automatically. When I look on my PC to see the files on my Sansa, all files are empty. What can I do?
If you can see it in My Computer or Computer, right-click on it, Properties, Tools tab, Error-Checking. Have it fix errors and if it asks you to save bad chains, don’t.
From the FAQ on the first page:
11. I am getting an error message to free 90mb of space but I have heaps of room.
The internal database that tracks all of the music on the Fuze has become corrupt and the Fuze can no longer refresh that database. Format the Fuze using the internal function (Settings -> System Settings -> Format -> Yes) and reload your music.
If Error-Checking doesn’t work, and you can’t get to Settings, then connect the Fuze, right click on it in Computer or My Computer, choose Format… and FAT32
This is going to erase all your music.
My fuze isn’t turning on even when it’s connected to the computer…i even tried re-installing the software and it didn’t work
Establishing a USB connection, when connected to the computer, requires the Fuze to control the USB link. It cannot do this if the device is frozen. Try sliding the power switch to the ON position, and hold it there for 20 seconds, or a little longer. This will reset the Fuze, then you can connect.
Bob 
Message Edited by neutron_bob on 02-28-2010 07:29 PM
There was a time where I made a mistake and spilled some liquid on my Fuze. It still works but the wheel continues to stick. It won’t let me scroll through songs or anything. I’m not sure if this is a problem that can be fixed or do I need to buy a new MP3 player.
Cleaning the scroll wheel following a spill is possible, but you must be careful. Check out this threadfor details.
Bob :smileyvery-happy:
Thank you for the great suggestion to format the Sansa from Vista - Computer! I’m still not sure what happened, but after the Sansa hung while writing a 16GB sdhc chip last night, when I disconnected, nothing happened (the Sansa screen still showed as connected). Nothing I did changed anything, so I let the Sansa run its display overnight until the battery powered down. After reconnecting this morning, all I could get was the “free 90mb” message. Reset didn’t work (at least not after holding the switch for 15 seconds – several times) and reconnecting to my laptop showed a blank Sansa main memory – I couldn’t access it at all.
After a lot of angst including looking into what I could get to replace my MP3 player and even prying the Sansa apart (interesting, but no cigar), I finally remembered a link to this FAQ that I had stored when I first got the player about 18 months ago. The format from my computer got me started again and I’ve now restored the main memory and the 8GB chip and am ready to try the 16 GB again.
Something I surmise and some things I found out:
– It’s possible the original “hang” was caused because I left my Sansa sitting on the front “wrist rest” area of my Sony VAIO while doing a LOT of transfers (hours of syncing). The VAIO tends to run hot and when the hang occurred, I discovered that both the laptop and the Sansa were hot because I had set the VAIO down where it just wasn’t getting good air circulation. Possibly the overheating just bollicksed the Sansa operation. Alternatively, maybe there was a continuing small magnetic field being generated under the Sansa that caused an unintended erase (remember, the main memory was blank). Or who knows?
– I also found that it doesn’t pay to cram a maximum amount of content into main memory. Remember the 90mb message? Believe it! In fact, consider that a minimum. This appears to be memory management space or perhaps directory space. Once I got everything started again, I filled up the main memory, but left about 60mb free. The Sansa was able to do it’s organization after the sync, but then popped up again with the 90mb message. I reconnected and deleted an album – fine, more than 100mb free and everything is hunky dory. But then I filled up the 8GB chip – 90mb message again. Deleted a couple more albums (now 330mb free) the directory organization ran fine and the Sansa is working. Now it’s time to try to refill the 16GB chip. I’ll let you know how it goes, but I think it will be ok. The directory info from the SDHC appears to all be in the main memory (duh…) – the amount of free space just depends on how many albums and songs it must store.
Rich
richlife wrote:
– I also found that it doesn’t pay to cram a maximum amount of content into main memory. Remember the 90mb message? Believe it! In fact, consider that a minimum. This appears to be memory management space or perhaps directory space. Once I got everything started again, I filled up the main memory, but left about 60mb free. The Sansa was able to do it’s organization after the sync, but then popped up again with the 90mb message. . .
- The “Not Enough Space” message doesn’t just occur as a result of the available memory being too full. You’ll also get this if you have any corrupted files on the player and/or card. Sometimes formatting the player is the only way to clear it.
- It’s possible this is the reason your player hung up on you during the transfer in the 1st place.
- The player only needs this extra head-space room when using the stink sync method of file transfer and MTP mode.
- Proof? I only use MSC mode and drag & drop transfer method, and there have been times when I’ve had less than 100kb worth of free memory space available with no ill effects.
Ok, thanks tapeworm. Drag and drop I understand – I’ll look up with MTP and MSC are all about. I actually like the Media Player (maybe for lack of using anything else), but I’m willing to explore a better way. I only do this occasionally (like to load my music) and so don’t have constant interaction to make it worth exploring for the h*** of it. But I am trainable! Rich
OK, NOW I see what you mean. MSC it is! When I first got my Sansa Fuze I needed it RIGHT NOW. Days before leaving on a long trip and no room for cds and cd player. Got a steal on my 4GB Fuze for $45 and free shipping. Added an 8GB sdhc and was off. Used Media Player because it knew what it was and only had a few nits. After that just had to use the Fuze and no real issues until now.
And now the issues is that I’m a week away from an even longer trip and I want almost all of my music library. So got a 16GB chip and, since I read about unreliability of them, I put my special favorite artists on the main memory, all my blues and most of my library on the the 16, and have the blues and specific favorites backed up on the 8 (just in case). Then I had the 90mb error and THEN finally notices the MSC vs MPT modes. Ok, it’s back to the races, but I WILL have all my music in MSC format (the way I really wanted it – Media Player is ok, but that’s not how I look at my music – gotta be my way).
Thanks again, tapeworm! Rich
sigh. i did a firmware update, and a format, and messed and examined and “troubleshot” according to the manual, and it was HERE i found out that it sounded like ■■■■ because i needed to wiggle the headphone plug. you guys are brilliant. my son thanks you.
will’s mom who set this up for him, lol
Message Edited by willinomaha on 07-28-2010 09:12 PM
ok so i got my sansa fuze last christmas and had the original software that came with it on our computer. a few weeks ago there was some kind of virus and my dad got rid of it by deleting everything on our computers memory. i can’t find the disk that came with my sansa fuze and the computer won’t even let it charge because it doesn’t recognize it and i can’t find any thing to download for it. can anyone help?
sincerely,
desperate
Go to Settings/System Settings/USB and change it to MSC. Connect it and it should charge.
If you can’t turn it on because it is completely discharged, slide the on-off switch down, which is in the Hold position–you’ll see an orange dot in the slot. Plug the USB cord into your computer. Hold down the << side of the wheel and connect it. That should force it into MSC to start charging.
The only software you need on your computer for the Fuze is Windows Media Player 10 or 11 if you want to use it in MTP mode. You can get that from support.microsoft.com . But you don’t even need that to use the Fuze in MSC mode, where it works like any other USB drive.
If you want to reload the Fuze’s own firmware, the software inside the Fuze:
http://forums.sandisk.com/sansa/board/message?board.id=sansafuse&thread.id=38046
ok i tried your suggestions and i don’t know about them…
the way you said to get it to charge may work (the screen broke and is just blank white soo idk yet) but i can’t do the instructions correctly that that website showed because the second i plug it in my computer sends me a message that says to download software and i cant get it to open my already downloaded thing. i could be totally incompetent and doing it wrong or idk but any extra help you may have up your sleeve?
