Firmware Update (April 2012) - Killed my Sansa Player!

It is very unlikely that the upgrade killed the player–I’ve never heard of that happening before, ever. Did you try resetting the player? (With the original Clip, hold the on switch uppermost for 20-30 seconds or more; with the Clip+, hold the on button down for 20-30 seconds or more.) And just to be sure, in case you upgraded manually, did you install the correct firmware for your player? There is a separate firmware for each of the original Clip, the Clip+, and the Clip Zip; and for the original Clip, there is a version 1 and a version 2 firmware. The firmwares are not interchangeable.