SanDisk Sansa E260: How do I reset the WHOLE thing?

I had the same problem, I dis almost evething for one week.
For me the solution was this:
After entering the recovery mode (turn off the player, move the hold button to the right, and press the on and rec button, then conecting to the computer).
when the 16 mb folder opens create a NEW FOLDER (not a text document) called "Sansa.fmt". then disconec the usb and it was fixed.

So my memory was bugged and i used only 200mb but it said i used 2gb.Do these steps to fix and reset your sansa models very quickly!
Step1: Open "My computer".
Step2: Plug your mp3 in.
Step3:Right click on your mp3 hard drive on your computer
Step4:Click on "format..."
Step5: a screen will pop up and say "Quick format" Then click quick format then hit the start button. Then it will say stuff about completly reseting and and warning you.
Then BAM fixed.
Hope it helps!
Hasith

I just had this same issue with my Version 1.0 e260. Upon contacting customer support, they walked be through the reformat process. It is similar to the above solutions, but a executable file is not required.

Make sure that the player is disconnected from the computer.

1) Double click on My Computer so that you can see it on your screen.

2) Turn the player off. You might have to hold the power button down for up to 20 seconds to force the player off.

3) On the top of the player is a Hold switch, move it to the right (toward the headphone jack) so you see Orange.

4) On the left hand side of the player is a Record button, press and hold it while connecting the player to the computer. Continue holding the Record button until you see a new icon under My Computer called 16MB FORMAT. Once you see that icon you may release the Record button.

5) Double-click on the 16MB Format icon on your computer.

6) Create a new text file by clicking on the File Menu-->New-->Text Document.

7) Rename the new file to 'sansa.fmt'.

8) Disconnect the player from your computer and it will reformat your player. You will lose all your content, but your player should be back to working order.

Hope this helps!

1. First you must format it by going to windows media player
   
2. under the sync tab press format.
   
3. Then disconnect and do all that recovery stuff in the above postings.

thank you so much for your help. After two tries I was able to bring my mp3 back to life from a wavy line refresh database error

"You need to reset and restore your player"
by dc2772 (See profile) - November 12, 2006
Enter recovery mode by doing the following (start with the player turned off):

1) Turn on the "hold" function (move slider on top of the player so orange is showing).
2) Hold down the "Rec" button on the left side of the player.
3) Power the player on.

The player will enter recovery mode and ask you to connect it to your PC via the USB cable. Do this. The player will then display "Enter USB2.0 MSD mode." Disconnect the player, let it reboot, and reconnect the player.

Your player may now be OK at this point, or it may show up in Windows Explorer as a 16MB removable disk. If the latter occurs, try using the Sansa Updater tool (http://www.sandisk.com/Retail/Default.aspx?CatID=1376) to reinstall the player firmware. If this does not work, copy the firmware .mi4 and .rom file from http://ez-files.net/download.php?file=83... copy them to the 16MB removable disk, reboot your player, and try the updater tool again.

someone gave me this it really works
i had tried everything
thank GOd
im so happy
___________________________



I have the EXACT same problem and my device is stuck in MSD. Which two files are you talking about? My sandisk support rep did not send me any attachment.

Thank you for contacting SanDisk Technical Support.

We should be able to fix your player. Disconnect the player from the computer if it is connected.

Please copy and paste the following link into your web browser address bar, and then click Go or hit your Enter key. When prompted, choose the option to Save the file to your Desktop.


http://www.sandisk.com/Assets/File/Downl...


Once you have downloaded the file, please follow these instructions.

1) Double click on My Computer so that you can see it on your screen.

2) Turn the player off.

3) On the top of the player is a Hold switch, move it to the right (toward the headphone jack) so you see Orange.

4) On the left hand side of the player is a Record button, press and hold it while connecting the player to the computer. Continue holding the Record button until you see a new icon under My Computer called 16MB FORMAT. Once you see that icon you may release the Record button.

5) Double click the file you downloaded earlier and run it. Follow all of the on-screen instructions, and when you get to the prompt where it asks you whether you would like to Format it, choose Yes. Once it is done, click Finish.

6) Disconnect the player and look at the screen. Several things will be displayed, and when you see Key Lock, System Shutdown, move the Hold switch on the top back to the left.

7) Turn the player on and watch the screen. If you see a Refresh Database Fail error, you will need to follow steps 1-7 again until you do not get the error. If it does not work the first time, it could take up to 3 times for it to work.

thanks so much socker it worked!

OK, this is how i did it. if u want to start over w/ music, copy the music folder when u plug it in. then paste it on ur desktop. then go back 2 ur sansa and delete the music folder and all its contents. the u make changes u want on the music folder on ur desktop then copy the music folder on the desktop and paste into sansa where it shows VIDEO ,PICS ,RECORDINGS as folders. it should be back to normal


do not know if it will work w/ windows XP because i have vista home premium and the sansa firmware updater from the sandisk site. no gurantees but it worked for me.

hey zombie the link of ez files is invalid downlink....can you give me the exact link??im new to these things..no idea..really...

I've been having the same refresh database freeze problem for several days. All was well until I transferred a folder containing .mp3, .jpg and .txt files. I think that was the problem. The player was in MSC mode as I was dumping files on a Mac. The exact sequence of steps to get the player out of the freeze were:

1. Open My Computer.
2. Switch Sansa to Hold (top switch toward headphone jack).
3. Hold record button and connect to computer thru USB cable.
4. The player should say Recovery Mode and USB connected.
5. In My Computer you should see 16MB FORMAT J: (or another drive letter)
6. Double click the drive
7. Drop down the file menu and create a new folder
8. Name that folder: sansa.fmt
9. Disconnect the USB (either end) and Sansa will format and reset system.
10. Haven't gotten any further than that but may need firmware,software or drivers reloaded/updated.

jellybeann's solution worked for me... and believe me i was in deep... after trying MANY of the other posted solutions i finally got my sansa to reset, emptying all the 'bad tracks', and i can now add new songs again.... i never thought i was going to see the end of this one... THANK YOU!!!!!!!!

When you hook up your mp3 in either mode, go to my computer then right click the icon its represented by. Hit format.

Turn your sansa e260 on and go into the settings, and down to the USB mode then change it to MSC. Plug your sansa into the computer and it will show up as a drive rather then a device. Open your start menu on your computer and go to "computer" and right click the drive that either says Sansa or (J:) and then go down to format, click, then on the popup hit start, then OK to the next pop up stating that it will erase all data and your sansa will reformat its self. Then unplug your sansa, turn it on and switch the settings back to MTP and your good to go!

My problem its more complicated.

When I turn on my sansa, I goes directly to the Settings menu to change language (to english), then a message appears saying - not enough space for musicDB. Please free3 6mb.
But there's is no music to play. another message appears when trying to play music -- no song

Now, I've tried formatting it, about 7 times now.
The other problem is that when it's plugged to the computer, the sansa says it's connected, but my compuer doesn't seem to find it, neither with windows media, sansa updater nor My computer (folder).

any ideas? help, please.

PS. my pc runs with Vista

Try this link . . . http://www.sansa.com/e250MP3player

To find your best solution.

9

I've tried all these steps and can't even get the player to appear in "my computer." any other ideas?

Well I tried all of these solutions, and I even called tech support and although the guy was very nice, nothing worked. He walked me through all these same steps. Start the system in safe mode, reformat it, download the firmware, etc. But every time it goes back to the refresh datbase endless loop. He informed me it's worthless now. And it's not even 2 years old. I will be buying a zune.

It worked!! Thanks so much!

BTW sansa updater only works for windows xp not VISTA had me going nuts for a few minutes