Did you try a system reset? Hold the on button down for 20-30 seconds or more, until the player shuts down, and then restart.
Many people avoid the Updater, as it sits on your system consuming resources and only is needed on the few occasions when a firmware update is available. Instead, just check the firmware upgrade sticky thread at the top of the forum every now and again, as to whether an update is available, and then manually upgrade–easy to do.
