The fix worked for me. Bought my m230 from Stop&Shop grocery store just today, they were in the close-out bin for $35. Got it home & immediately overloaded it with MP3s, and it choked rebuilding the library. Searched for fixes but everything I found said that when the lockup on the screen logo happens, the unit was dead. Decided to take a chance and open it up, couldn’t see any obvious way of resetting the device … returning to the internet, I found this forum and read this thread. Thanks to this fix, my m230 is happy again. Major props for figuring this one out, dude!
Glad to hear that doctec I owned also several Sandisk devices but some of them may not be fix by troubleshooting but we have to think also that all electronic devices may not last for a while that is why they have Tech support and warranty, it depends also on usage of the device, goodluck in your M230 doctec and happy listening. 
hi the thing is iu have a sansa 4gb mp4 that is completly dead and wont respond when i try to charge it or when i plug it on to the computer plzzz tell me whati should do
What exact model of your player? is it a fuze or view? try to do a reset by holding down the power button for 30 secs and try to turn it on again.
there is someone who try this method? i dont understand it verry good. i ve bloked in open case part, didnt see what cip is able to be replaced, can sone1 help me? memory cip at my m250 isnt in a slot like in m200
First of all, THANKS to Buttreport and Eduardo for enlightening us to the “trick” to fix the frozen Sansa. I don’t remember exactly how I did it but it was a combination of the steps they used. I was able to get my m250 to “format” and accept a sample mp3. Once disconnected from the USB and with the “library rebuilt” I was able to listen to the aforementioned file. :smileyvery-happy: I caused my problem because I removed the .pla files (playlist?) from the Sansa in Windows Explorer and the next time I went to listen to it, it would hang on “updating” or whatever it said.
The only “issue” was that I had to change the USB setting in the Sansa to MSC instead of MTP. In MTP I was not able to view the sample mp3 in Windows Explorer–it was “hidden”. Disconnect, change the USB setting, reconnect and there was the mp3. I then added more music and I am listening as I type…
I would like to add some tips for other m200-series users as my kids and I have a “fleet” of these things: 2 m250s (2GB) and 2 m240s (1GB). I like them because they are easy to use and take a AAA battery. And they are durable–my daughter accidentally let hers fall out of the car and it was held by the headphone cable and bounced and scraped for about a mile until noticed. Some minor scuffs on the cover and housing and it still work perfect! :robotvery-happy:
First of all, I don’t use Windows Media Player to add files–I don’t know if this is a good or bad thing but I consider MP to be another piece of Bill Gate’s bloatware always trying to “update” or “synch” with the Sansa. No thanks, Bill! I use Windows Explorer and simply drag and drop my mp3s. I don’t use WMAs, especially “protected” files…
Secondly, make sure you have a good battery when you load music from your computer. That way, you won’t have it shutting down on you after you unplug from the USB and it “rebuilds the library”. If it does shutoff because the battery is spent you will most certainly corrupt some files–ask me how I know! :mantongue:
A couple tips to use while disassembling is that first you remove battery and cover, unplug any cables, then remove the screw at the battery cover with a small phillips jeweler’s screwdriver, then using a small flat jeweler’s screwdriver carefully pry the two black (or whatever color your Sansa is) halves apart beginning at the wide side at the white cover. Be careful and patient as you do this and you won’t break anything. Don’t insert the screwdriver too deep past the cover or you’ll damage internal components! You might have to pry a little bit more at the small end near the white piece and the front face should “tilt” up and off. You will have to help the battery contact springs out of their slots then the bottom should come off leaving you with a circuit board thingy. The removable memory chip is at the wide end and is rectangular. Remove by gently rocking side to side as you pull up and out.
I held my battery in for the “repair” procedure with a twist-tie around the outside and used a small rubber band to hold the contact springs against the battery.
When reassembling, be sure to wipe any fingerprints from the LCD screen and window. You will also need to “help” the battery contact springs back into their slots in the bottom cover. If you did everything correctly and didn’t break anything, your Sansa should appear the same as you began with the exception that it will work now! 
Good Luck!
Message Edited by Bobster on 02-09-2010 11:51 AM
Nice post, Bobster! Like you I had all kinds of problems with my m250 until I changed it from MTP USB mode to MSC. And like you I don’t want to use WMP (or Winamp or any utility) to load MP3s to my player. I want to copy/paste or drag/drop in Windows Explorer, and that’s what is impossible in MTP but works perfectly in MSC.
I’ve taken to using tags with the m250, since it could care less about directory structures. I only use one tag, the album. I think you can only use one tag at a time, anyway, so why bother with artist, title, blah.
Good tip there about not having a run down battery when doing your file transfers. Hasn’t happened to me yet, but yeah, seems like the unit shutting down while it’s restructuring its library after disconnecting from the USB is a prescription for a bricked unit.
