Sansa m250 is frozen on initializing screen (by 4 users)

I have the same problem; I called the company, and they told me to update the firmware, but now, when I turn it on, it just gets stuck on the screen that says 'Firmware update in progress'.

Have invested over a full day's worth of time and effort trying to get around problem. At first, I simply could not transfer more than one music file - when I was lucky. Now, the Sasas c240 is frozen and causes my computer to crash. The Sansa is NOT on hold. I have tried both MSC and MTP settings.
Have tried downloading drivers from SanDisk, including firware. Have plugged in to rear USB port. Started with Windows Media Player 11, then backed off properly to WMP 10. Seem to be moving backwards - Windows Media Player used to recognize Sansa, but now also hangs up when Sansa is plugged in. The only way I can move ahead on other computer use is to shut the power on my computer (Alt CRTL delete does not work after Sansa Plug-in) and pull battery on the Sansa.

My SanDisk Sansa m200 is brand new. I've been able to get my computer to recognize it once, but the computer hasn't recognized it since then. I've tried connecting the player to another computer and that computer does not recognize it. Both computers acknowledge that something was pluged into the USB port [meaning I hear the sound], but when I search for it, the player is nowhere to be found. Is it possible that it's just my USB cord or could it be something else?! I really would like to put some music on there!