Going insane trying to figure this out

Hello. I’m having problems with computers recognizing the Sansa Clip (2gb - not sure the exact model number.)

I bought it not even a year ago, and haven’t used it much. I was able to get it working on my Vista laptop just fine, but I recently had to reformat my laptop and now it can’t recognize it. I’m having the same problem on a XP (sp3) machine too. Both have WMP11 installed.

This is what happened:

I plugged my clip into the new XP computer to charge it.

It lit up and displayed the Connecting / Writing animation, and I left it, figuring it had worked.

I unplugged it to take it with me and when I tried to play something, I ran into the ‘Refreshing Database…’ freeze problem. I found the solution for that and then tried to connect the clip again to fix it.

This time, I noticed XP couldn’t recognize the device – a warning popped up saying it found a USB device, but couldn’t recognize it. The Clip acted as though it were connected, though after a few moments it stopped playing the Connecting / Writing sequence and just went to a screen that said ‘Disconnected’.

I got the firmware updater and the Sansa recovery device application, and neither were able to detect the disk.

Giving up, I went to try my Vista laptop, figuring that since it had worked on it before it would again. No such luck. Same sequence of errors, though Vista gives me the ‘MTP can’t start’  error. Same thing on the clip’s end – acts as if it’s connected and everything’s fine. 

In all of this I cannot access the menu to change any of the settings (for instance, to put it in MSC mode), since it’s stuck on either the Connecting / Writing screen, the Disconnected screen, or the Refreshing Database screen.

I have tried:

+Plugging it into different USB slots

+Using different USB cords

+Holding down the power button so that the orange part is revealed while pressing down the middle button before, during and while connecting it to the usb cord. No matter what I do I can’t force it into MSC mode. 

+Running the firmware updater and the Sansa recovery device application

+Looking for drive conflicts.

Neither computer can recognize it no matter what I do. Since windows refuses to recognize it, I never see the drive letter or an icon in ‘My Computer’ that would allow me to explore, reformat or run chkdisk.

I’m really getting frustrated and I don’t want to write off a player I’ve barely had for a year and have until now barely used. Needless to say, it’s probably too late to return it to Bestbuy.

Nevermind - managed to fix it by redownloading and installing WMP11 and trying some random new combination of new plug / slot / holding mode. Sheesh!

you know what? you’re giving me some really good reasons not to try WMP ever again.

Message Edited by Paul-Willy on 05-25-2009 03:05 PM

We bought the Sansa Clip for my stepson a while back, and his does that “writing…connecting…disconnecting” thing every time I try to do anything with it.  Do I need to format the disk from the Menu screen?  Or will downloading the MP11 fix it?

We can’t find his original USB cable (that was only about 5 inches long), but we were able to purchase a USB 2.0 cable with the correct 5-pin connection on one end and the regular USB connection on the other end.  Seems to me as long as it connects enough to start that sequence, it’s connecting.  And it charges it, too.

Message Edited by Gamblinp on 05-25-2009 06:26 PM

@gamblinp wrote:

We bought the Sansa Clip for my stepson a while back, and his does that “writing…connecting…disconnecting” thing every time I try to do anything with it.  Do I need to format the disk from the Menu screen?  Or will downloading the MP11 fix it?

 

We can’t find his original USB cable (that was only about 5 inches long), but we were able to purchase a USB 2.0 cable with the correct 5-pin connection on one end and the regular USB connection on the other end.  Seems to me as long as it connects enough to start that sequence, it’s connecting.  And it charges it, too.

Message Edited by Gamblinp on 05-25-2009 06:26 PM

The Cable is not important as long as its the miniUSB connector like you described. I would start by installing WMP11. If that doesnt work Format it from the menu. If the problem continues switch to MSC USB mode, and try that. 

Still won’t recognize the player.  It’s a Sansa Clip 1GB.  I’m running Windows XP, Service Pack 3, and installed Media Player 11.  Can’t get the thing to stay connected to the PC long enough for MP11 to do anything to it.

@gamblinp wrote:
Still won’t recognize the player.  It’s a Sansa Clip 1GB.  I’m running Windows XP, Service Pack 3, and installed Media Player 11.  Can’t get the thing to stay connected to the PC long enough for MP11 to do anything to it.

Ok put it in MSC Mode, then make sure the cable is plugged into the back of the PC. Did you do this? Did it make a difference? Try doing a soft reset, by sliding the power switch up and holding it for 15-20 seconds.