So I’ve had my Sansa e280 for almost a year now. I just recently wiped my entire mp3 because I want to start fresh again, and after doing so, my mp3 is reading that I have 5.1gb when there is absolutely nothing on it. What’s wrong here? It won’t let me add more than 5.1gb, too.
How exactly did you ‘wipe’ it? If you just deleted that volume of files, it could have left remnants behind. If you want to clear it completely and start over, it’s best to format the player.
If you have a v2 unit, there’s an on-board Format function. With a v1, use Windows or Recovery Mode and the ‘sansa.fmt’ trick.
I just deleted all the music in my mp3 player by using windows media player. My version of my mp3 is V03.01.11A. I have a total memory of 7792MB but it saying I have 5127MB free… that is impossible when there is nothing on it. What is the ‘sansa.fmt’ trick?
The ‘sansa.fmt’ file method tells the player to format itself. However, according to your firmware version you have a v2 device. That only works on v1’s.
You’ve also got the original ‘oldy-moldy’ firmware on your player. You need to update it as this version that came out on the players from the factory was missing a few minor points; like the ability to change USB modes. I can’t remember, but the Format option might not have been included in that one either. By using the on-board Format function, it will assign the proper allocation table bits for optimum performance.
Follow the instructions to manually install the latest firmwware (03.01.16) in this post. The link to the download is also here (dont’ forget to un-zip the file after downloading). I would suggest though to start with the player OFF , not ON as the instructions indicate. Then once updated, you can simply go into SETTINGS > FORMAT and it will do it itself in a few seconds.
Your player should then be clean as the proverbial whistle, as well as now having some tasty enhancements. 
The ‘sansa.fmt’ file method tells the player to format itself. However, according to your firmware version you have a v2 device. That only works on v1’s.
You’ve also got the original ‘oldy-moldy’ firmware on your player. You need to update it as this version that came out on the players from the factory was missing a few minor points; like the ability to change USB modes. I can’t remember, but the Format option might not have been included in that one either. By using the on-board Format function, it will assign the proper allocation table bits for optimum performance.
Follow the instructions to manually install the latest firmwware (03.01.16) in this post. The link to the download is also here (don’t forget to un-zip the file after downloading). I would suggest though to start with the player OFF , not ON as the instructions indicate. Then once updated, you can simply go into SETTINGS > FORMAT and it will do it itself in a few seconds.
Your player should then be clean as the proverbial whistle, as well as now having some tasty enhancements. 
That fixed the problem! Yahoo, thanks for the help and input!
