HELP!! My Sansa Clip+ is no longer recognized by my PC when connected by USB port!!

Device readout, as of late, says, “Writing” only when connected. Normally, it alternates between “Reading” and “Writing” when connected to the PC and therefore it USED TO BE recognized by the PC under those conditions. The device’s memory is not recognized in Windows Explorer as a device or drive as normal. I use Windows 7. The device is not recognized by Windows Media Player for Sync purposes: I cannot sync music playlists any longer.

Trying to reset by holding power button down for 20 seconds doesn’t help.

Using different USB ports does NOT help.

Using different USB cable does not help.

A different computer was NOT tried.

Have you tried a different USB port?

And similarly, a different USB cable, in case the current just has “gone bad”?  I recall that having happened to a poster once.

RESOLVED BY TECH SUPPORT CHAT: Here is the conversation with restorative troubleshooting steps as follows:

Jonathan Bailey is me:

Kyle Ahmed is the SanDisk tech support man:


Troubleshooting Information for ‘Not Recognized by PC’
************************************************************************* **

Kyle Ahmed: Please tell me the exact model, color and capacity of your Sansa player?
Jonathan Bailey: black, Sansa Clip +
Kyle Ahmed: Please provide me the capacity as well?
Jonathan Bailey: I think it is a 4 GB
Kyle Ahmed: Please tell me when and from where did you purchase this player?
Jonathan Bailey: Citrus Heights, CA, Target, Jan 2012
Kyle Ahmed: If I have understood you correctly, your player is not getting recognized by the computer?
Jonathan Bailey: No, it is not when connected by USB.
Kyle Ahmed: Please tell me, are you using Windows 7?
Jonathan Bailey: Windows 7
Kyle Ahmed: I understand. Please connect the player to the computer.
Jonathan Bailey: Normally, it should say READING and WRITING.
Kyle Ahmed: Alright. Please right click on Computer and select Manage.
Kyle Ahmed: Click on Device Manager on the left pane.
Kyle Ahmed: The Sansa player will show up on Device Manager’s right pane as:1. USB Mass Storage device
(if the player is set to MSC) 2. Portable Device (if the player is set to MTP mode)
Jonathan Bailey: it is showing up as a Portable Device Sansa Clip+ 4GB
Jonathan Bailey: a yellow exclamation point icon
Kyle Ahmed: Right click on the drive with the error mark and select Uninstall.
Jonathan Bailey: done, icon gone
Kyle Ahmed: On the top menu, click Action then select Scan for hardware changes.
Jonathan Bailey: device still says WRITING in readout
Jonathan Bailey: balloon says driver software not succesfully installed
Kyle Ahmed: Alright. Please disconnect the player from the computer.
Jonathan Bailey: ok, done, still says WRITING
Kyle Ahmed: Please press and hold the power button for 20 seconds to turn it off.
Kyle Ahmed: Then, press and hold the center button while connecting the device to the PC.
Kyle Ahmed: It’s on the on the face of the player between the Up/Down/Left/Right button.
Kyle Ahmed: Doing so allows the computer to recognize the player as a removable storage device so
you should see it under Devices with removable storage in Computer.
Jonathan Bailey: it says CONNECTED then it says SAN Disk alternately
Kyle Ahmed: Check if the player is recognized by the computer.
Jonathan Bailey: there is now a SANSA CLIPP (F): in my Windows Explorer navigation pane
Kyle Ahmed: It seems that the MTP drivers of your computer has gone corrupt due to which your
 player was not getting recognized earlier. In this case, what you have to do is reinstall Windows Media Player or
change the USB mode of the player to MSC permanently to resolve the issue. But MSC mode will not allow you to
 transfer songs to your player by creating playlists using Windows Media player.
Jonathan Bailey: Windows Media Player Sync now recognises “SANSA CLIPP”
Jonathan Bailey: I DO need Windows Media Player sync capability or the Sansa is no good to me.
Kyle Ahmed: Jonathan, please check if the player is showing under Portable devices or Devices with
Removable Storage under Computer( Explorer )?
Jonathan Bailey: It is showing under Devices with Removable Storage under Computer( Explorer ).
Kyle Ahmed: Please disconnect the player from the computer.
KKyle Ahmed: Please turn on the player.
Kyle Ahmed: Then go to Settings> System Settings> USB mode.
Kyle Ahmed: Then from the Main menu of the player, go to  Settings> System Settings> USB mode.
Kyle Ahmed: Select MTP and press the Center button to confirm.
Kyle Ahmed: Alright. Now connect the player to the computer and check if it gets recognized or not.
Jonathan Bailey: OK now recognized like its old self again.
Kyle Ahmed: So the player is getting recognized now and alos showing up in Windows Media player, am I correct?
Jonathan Bailey: I have not checked media player yet
Jonathan Bailey: it is recognized in Explorer
Kyle Ahmed: Please disconnect the player from the computer.
Kyle Ahmed: Lets check the Firmware version of the player.
Jonathan Bailey: ok, it says REFRESHING YOUR MEDIA
Kyle Ahmed: Alright. Let me know once you are in the main menu of the player.
Kyle Ahmed: Go to Settings> System Settings> Info.
Kyle Ahmed: Provide me the firmware version of the player please.
Jonathan Bailey: Version V01.02.16A, is that it?
Kyle Ahmed: It seems that the version version is up to date.
Kyle Ahmed: The reason why it took longer to refresh media earlier must be because of the large quantity
of songs that were transferred which may take time to read.
Jonathan Bailey: OK, for 2,500 songs it takes about 15-20 minutes usually
Kyle Ahmed: I understand.
Kyle Ahmed: You were facing a temporary issue which was resolved by resetting the player and refreshing the drivers of your computer.
Kyle Ahmed: You should not face any issues further.

@jonmyrlebailey wrote:

 

Kyle Ahmed: Please tell me the exact model, color and capacity of your Sansa player?
Jonathan Bailey: black, Sansa Clip +

 

I’ve only got 1 question . . . what does the color of the player have to do with anything? :confounded:

If it were read or blue would he have refused to help? :laughing:

@jonmyrlebailey wrote:

 

Kyle Ahmed: Please tell me the exact model, color and capacity of your Sansa player?
Jonathan Bailey: black, Sansa Clip +

 

I’ve only got 1 question . . . what does the color of the player have to do with anything?

If it were read or blue would he have refused to help?

Glad you got it up & running at any rate!

I kept these chat room instructions in a text file for future reference. I will know exactly what to do

should this ever come up again.

I do not have the usb choice in my settings…now what