Formatting the player is a good idea. I think some of the sample files that came on the player may be corrupted.
Another thing to try is downloading the firmware again and reinstalling it.
Do a Google search on Windows permissions. There are many pages on the subject.
“Can’t stress how important it is to have backups of all your music on the PC…”
I suggest putting backups of your compressed music on DVD-R disks as well. Many ask why they should make DVD backups when they have the original CDs, but making mp3 files again from hundreds or perhaps thousands of CDs can be very time consuming. DVD-R disks may now be the cheapest form of long term backup storage. I recently paid $11 for a 50 spindle for TDK CD-Rs. At 22 cents a disk for around 4.4 GB of storage, that is only 5 cents per GB.
