Hey

I hope this may help you, as it did for me. You can usually use Google to find older versions of the firmware (this is the stuff that makes the player function correctly when you power it on) at least that is the best definition I can give you! You can save the firmware to your PC, then connect the player to begin reloading the firmware that way, I would suggest going to SanDisk's website (sandisk.com) but for older units, they may not have the firmware available for that model anymore. Anyway, no you do not have to have the unit hooked up (unless you want to) and having the SD card in the player will not effect nor mess up so long as you make sure that you download the firmware to the Sansa, and not onto the removable disc. Good Luck, and I hope it works for you!