Hi, (I am using Linux for all this.) A crash of my Sansa Clip ZIP leaves the internal flash in a inconsistent state. I run the filesystem checker ‘fsck’ to check the filesystem and to repair it. Fsck did its work…and brings back the filesystem to a consistent state – from the logical point of view. Sectors, which were marked as ‘used’ but cannot be assigned to certain files anymore were gathered and summed up in a new file, which was created by fsck. (This is the normal case fsck handle thos data…) This data are now missing from original files, which cannot be identified anymore. Best thing in those cases is *not* to fsck the filesystem again and again to receate a state which is logical ok but creates more and more orphaned data and crippled original files but to reinitialize the internal flash with the command mkfs.fat/mkfs.vfat. This will erase ALL files on the internal flash though. Question: Are the system-files like the Sandisk firmware and the bootloader located on a (hidden?) partition/part of the internal flash which will not be affected by a reinitialization of the internal flash as it is visible to the user? Am I allowed to reinitialize the internal flash without risking a ‘bricked’ Sansa Clip ZIP? Thank you very much in advance for any help !
@mcc01 wrote:
Question: Are the system-files like the Sandisk firmware and the bootloader located on a (hidden?) partition/part of the internal flash.
Yes.
@mcc01 wrote:
Am I allowed to reinitialize the internal flash without risking a ‘bricked’ Sansa Clip ZIP?
No. Unless you are referring to a “format”, and then yes, you can do it without any repercussions. The Zip will format itself; that is the vest way to do it (Settings > System Settings > Format).
Hi Tapeworm,
thanks for your reply! 
…problem is…
I got stcuk in “refreshing your data”…
So I cannot reach the point where I could
activate “format yourself”.
But
I can mount (I am on Linux) the internal flash partion in
USB-stroage mode and do a mkfs.vfat or such.
OR (better): Is there a way to skip “refreshing your data” ???
Best regards
mcc
If your player is getting stuck on the database refresh, you have one or more ID3 tags that it cannot read and it therefore choking on them.
Hi Tapeworm,
I fixed the problem by deleting MTABLE.SYS from the internal flash.
I did not change any ID3 tag.
After this the database was build successfully.
Best regards,
mcc
@mcc01 wrote:
I fixed the problem by deleting MTABLE.SYS from the internal flash.
I did not change any ID3 tag.
After this the database was build successfully.
Good. That file is the database file. There must have been something corrupted in it. Upon re-starting, the player then rebuilds it from scratch.
