Mp3 player device cannot be initialized

Substitute REC fo volume + in the following:
These are the most common methods for recovering Sandisk's Sansa Mp3 Players. I have been almost universally successful in recovering Sansa players using one or a combination of these methods. These methods do not work if you are having synchronization or music format issues - they are for recovering a player that will not power up, freezes, flashes, is not recognized by the computer, and a host of other issues.

Reset the Sansa Player first. On most models, restart is done by holding the power button in for 15 seconds or longer. Check your specific manual to be sure. The manuals are available from the Sansa website if they have been misplaced.
Download the Sansa Recovery Tool from the Sansa website.
Format - Erases Everything: Connect your Sansa player to the computer and open Windows Media Player. Click on the Sync tab. Pull down the drop down menu underneath the Sync tab by moving your cursor over the Sync tab and left clicking on the little black arrow underneath the Sync tab. Highlight "Sansa 1GB" (wording may vary slightly), and then select "Format." - this should erase everything.
Firmware Upgrade- Erases Everything: Get the latest firmware upgrade from Sansa - it updates the firmware and erases every song in the player all at once. Note: this method doesn't work if already have the latest firmware. Go to this website and click "Firmware Updater" to find out: http://www.sandisk.com/DriverDownload/driverList.asp
If these fail, then:
Try this: disconnect the player from the computer, turn it off, hold in the volume + button, and reconnect the player to the computer while holding the volume + button in. Keep holding the volume + button for an additional 5-50 seconds. Windows should eventually go into recovery mode and revive the player- it will pop up a window that says Found New Hardware Wizard.
If you get the problem where MTP Device keeps popping up continuously, uninstall the “MTP Device” by going to Start à Control Panel àSystem à Hardware à Device Manager (you computer may vary slightly, depending on Windows Version).
You may have to restart your computer after each of these methods to get them to work properly. Disconnect your Sansa player BEFORE shutting down your computer.
-Tha Mp3 Doctor

Set the device to MSC mode (default is Auto) in the USB properties on the Sansa device. This worked for me with a Sansa Fuze on Windows XP running Sansa Media Converter 1.0. Hope this helps.

These are the most common methods for recovering Sandisk's Sansa Mp3 Players. I have been almost universally successful in recovering Sansa players using one or a combination of these methods. These methods do not work if you are having synchronization or music format issues - they are for recovering a player that will not power up, freezes, flashes, is not recognized by the computer, and a host of other issues.

Reset the Sansa Player first. On most models, restart is done by holding the power button in for 15 seconds or longer. Check your specific manual to be sure. The manuals are available from the Sansa website if they have been misplaced.
Download the Sansa Recovery Tool from the Sansa website.
Format - Erases Everything: Connect your Sansa player to the computer and open Windows Media Player. Click on the Sync tab. Pull down the drop down menu underneath the Sync tab by moving your cursor over the Sync tab and left clicking on the little black arrow underneath the Sync tab. Highlight "Sansa 1GB" (wording may vary slightly), and then select "Format." - this should erase everything.
Firmware Upgrade- Erases Everything: Get the latest firmware upgrade from Sansa - it updates the firmware and erases every song in the player all at once. Note: this method doesn't work if already have the latest firmware. Go to this website and click "Firmware Updater" to find out: http://www.sandisk.com/DriverDownload/driverList.asp
If these fail, then:
Try this: disconnect the player from the computer, turn it off, hold in the volume + button, and reconnect the player to the computer while holding the volume + button in. Keep holding the volume + button for an additional 5-50 seconds. Windows should eventually go into recovery mode and revive the player- it will pop up a window that says Found New Hardware Wizard.
If you get the problem where MTP Device keeps popping up continuously, uninstall the “MTP Device” by going to Start à Control Panel àSystem à Hardware à Device Manager (you computer may vary slightly, depending on Windows Version).
You may have to restart your computer after each of these methods to get them to work properly. Disconnect your Sansa player BEFORE shutting down your computer.
-Tha Mp3 Doctor

Mine won't read it in MTP mode. It works for me in MSC mode though.

Besides the Media Converter, you will need other software which is available for download on the Sansa website - the media converter is just one part of the total package.

If that still fails,
Try this: disconnect the player from the computer, turn it off, hold in the volume + button, and reconnect the player to the computer while holding the volume + button in. Keep holding the volume + button for an additional 5-50 seconds. Windows should eventually go into recovery mode and revive the player- it will pop up a window that says Found New Hardware Wizard.

Besides the Media Converter, you will need other software which is available for download on the Sansa website - the media converter is just one part of the total package.

If that still fails,
Try this: disconnect the player from the computer, turn it off, hold in the volume + button, and reconnect the player to the computer while holding the volume + button in. Keep holding the volume + button for an additional 5-50 seconds. Windows should eventually go into recovery mode and revive the player- it will pop up a window that says Found New Hardware Wizard.

Try this: disconnect the player from the computer, hold in the volume + button, and reconnect the player to the computer while holding the volume + button in. Keep holding the volume + button for an additional 5-50 seconds. Windows should eventually go into recovery mode and revive the player- it will pop up a window that says Found New Hardware Wizard.

From pp. 19-20 of the manual:
You can use the Sansa Media Converter to transfer photos and videos to your
Sansa player (available for download at www.sandisk.com/support/sansa).
The Sansa Media Converter supports the following import media types:
• Still Image Files: JPEG, TIFF, PNG, BMP, and GIF.
• Video Files: AVI, MPEG-1 & MPEG-2 in MPEG, MPG, MPE or VOB
(unprotected) formats. MPEG-4 in AVI format, DAT, ASF, QuickTime MOV,
and WMV.
Loading Content 20
NOTE: QuickTime 6.5 or higher and Windows Media Player 9 or 10.0 are required
for QuickTime MOV file. Error message will appear if not installed.
Sansa Media Converter software lets you convert photos and videos as appropriate,
and then transfer them to your Sansa player. Sansa Media Converter offers
features such as cropping, rotating, and resizing before transferring them to your
player as well as the ability to transfer photo and video files to your microSD card.
Refer to the Sansa Media Converter software for file formats supported.
To transfer photos and videos to your Sansa player, follow these steps:
1. Connect the Sansa player to your computer.
2. Select Converter using Sansa Media Converter on initial connection.
3. Click Add Media to select photo or video files to be converted.
4. The Sansa Media Converter will store all converted files in My Album. Click
the Album Name box and type in the name you want.
5. Click to start the conversion process. A status box will appear
showing which file(s) are being converted.

TRANSFER PHOTOS
To transfer photos to your Sansa c240:
1. Open Sansa Media Converter on your PC
2. Connect Sansa c240 to the computer.
The detected Sansa c240 will list the available space and total space on the device. If more than one
device is inserted, only the first device will be supported.
3. Add the media files to be converted and transferred to the device.
4. Press “Convert” button to start the conversion process and transfer all of the files in the selected
media window and output them using the parameter setting for each media type. A convert status
box will appear showing which file(s) are being converted and the percentage of that file along with
all of the files.

Use volume + method listed below to get converter torecognize device

These are the most common methods for recovering Sandisk's Sansa Mp3 Players. I have been almost universally successful in recovering Sansa players using one or a combination of these methods. These methods do not work if you are having synchronization or music format issues - they are for recovering a player that will not power up, freezes, flashes, is not recognized by the computer, and a host of other issues.

Reset the Sansa Player first. On most models, restart is done by holding the power button in for 15 seconds or longer. Check your specific manual to be sure. The manuals are available from the Sansa website if they have been misplaced.
Download the Sansa Recovery Tool from the Sansa website.
Format - Erases Everything: Connect your Sansa player to the computer and open Windows Media Player. Click on the Sync tab. Pull down the drop down menu underneath the Sync tab by moving your cursor over the Sync tab and left clicking on the little black arrow underneath the Sync tab. Highlight "Sansa 1GB" (wording may vary slightly), and then select "Format." - this should erase everything.
Firmware Upgrade- Erases Everything: Get the latest firmware upgrade from Sansa - it updates the firmware and erases every song in the player all at once. Note: this method doesn't work if already have the latest firmware. Go to this website and click "Firmware Updater" to find out: http://www.sandisk.com/DriverDownload/driverList.asp
If these fail, then:
Try this: disconnect the player from the computer, turn it off, hold in the volume + button, and reconnect the player to the computer while holding the volume + button in. Keep holding the volume + button for an additional 5-50 seconds. Windows should eventually go into recovery mode and revive the player- it will pop up a window that says Found New Hardware Wizard.
If you get the problem where MTP Device keeps popping up continuously, uninstall the “MTP Device” by going to Start à Control Panel àSystem à Hardware à Device Manager (you computer may vary slightly, depending on Windows Version).
You may have to restart your computer after each of these methods to get them to work properly. Disconnect your Sansa player BEFORE shutting down your computer.
-Tha Mp3 Doctor