No charge available

Make sure that the USB cable is properly plugged in and use the original cable that came with your player.

Computer in Hibernation mode
Make sure the computer isn't entering hibernation or sleep mode while the device is connected. The computer must be ON in order to charge your player.

USB Port 2.0
Make sure the player is connected to a USB 2.0 port (1.1 occasionally causes charging problems).

USB Port location
Try plugging into different USB ports (i.e. USB port in the back of the computer); occasionally the front USB ports have limited power to charge up the device.

Battery
Make sure the battery is fully charged. It takes approximately 3 hours to fully charge the battery.

Latest firmware
Depending on what Sansa player you have, make sure it's up to date with the latest Firmware.

AC charger (optional)
AC chargers (sold separately) have a 500-1000 milliamp max output, which provides much better charging ability than a USB port. These accessories are available at SanDisk web site.

Not all computer USB ports put out enough current to charge the battery. If you're plugging the Sansa into a USB hub, try plugging it in directly. If there's another USB port available, try that.

If that doesn't work, you may have to get a separate USB charger, as used for some cell phones.

Also, bear in mind that when the Sansa is connected to a computer, you can't listen to your music on it.

USB Cable Make sure that the USB cable is properly plugged in and use the original cable that came with your player. Try a USB plug o the back of the computer. These plugs have more power available.
Computer in Hibernation mode Make sure the computer isn't entering hibernation or sleep mode while the device is connected. The computer must be ON in order to charge your player. Check you screensaver and power settings.
USB Port 2.0 Make sure the player is connected to a USB 2.0 port (1.1 occasionally causes charging problems).
Battery Make sure the battery is fully charged. It takes approximately 3 hours to fully charge the battery.
Latest firmware Depending on what Sansa player you have, make sure it's up to date with the latest firmware.
AC charger (optional) AC chargers (sold separately) have a 500-1000 milliamp max output, which provides much better charging ability than a USB port. These accessories are available on our online store.
Next try and reset the player. Resetting the player: 1. Slide and hold the Power switch up for approximately 20 seconds. 2. Release the Power switch. 3. To turn the player on, slide the Power switch up then release instantly.
Once it is back working, go to the SanDisk support site and get the updater program and update your firmware.

Below are some things to check for when your Sansa player does not charge..
USB Cable Make sure that the USB cable is properly plugged in and use the original cable that came with your player. Also try ports on the back of your computer, these ports have more available power. Some computers have limited power to charge up the device...
Computer in Hibernation mode Make sure the computer isn't entering hibernation or sleep mode while the device is connected. The computer must be ON in order to charge your player.
USB Port 2.0 Make sure the player is connected to a USB 2.0 port (1.1 occasionally causes charging problems).
Battery Make sure the battery is fully charged. It takes approximately 3 hours to fully charge the battery.
Latest firmware Depending on what Sansa player you have, make sure it's up to date with the latest firmware.
AC charger (optional) AC chargers (sold separately) have a 500-1000 milliamp max output, which provides much better charging ability than a USB port. These accessories are available on our online store.

Below are some things to check for when charging your Sansa player:
USB Cable Make sure that the USB cable is properly plugged in and use the original cable that came with your player. Make sure the computer isn't entering hibernation or sleep mode while the device is connected. The computer must be ON in order to charge your player. USB Port 2.0 Make sure the player is connected to a USB 2.0 port (1.1 occasionally causes charging problems). USB Port location Try plugging into different USB ports (i.e. USB port in the back of the computer); occasionally the front USB ports have limited power to charge up the device. Battery Make sure the battery is fully charged. It takes approximately 3 hours to fully charge the battery. Latest firmware Depending on what Sansa player you have, make sure it's up to date with the latest firmware. AC charger (optional) AC chargers (sold separately) have a 500-1000 milliamp max output, which provides much better charging ability than a USB port. These accessories are available on our online store.
To Remove the Battery... 1. Remove the back on the e200 by removing the 4 screws. 2. Lift off the back by using a finger nail or a small flat head screw driver. It will not take a lot of force to remove. NOTE: When replacing the e200 battery be sure that the contacts on the battery line up with the contacts on the player. 3. The battery has three gold contacts on one end of the battery, which is near the words SanDisk Sansa. Be sure these contacts match up with the three gold contacts on the back of the player. 4. Lightly push the lined up battery up against the contacts of the player until the bottom end of the battery can be pushed into place. 5. Replace the lid to the back of the player and then plug the player into the computer using the Sansa cable. 6. Once the player has connected to the computer and is ready to be used or says "Connected", unplug the device.
NOTE: If the device goes directly to a black screen after unplugging it, then the battery has been replaced incorrectly. Take the back off the player once again and flip the battery around and the e200 device should work properly.

Use the supplied cable. Plug one end into the slot on the bottom of the Sansa, the other end into an available USB port. As long as the computer is supplying power to the port, the Sansa should charge.

Solutions are in order of increasing probability of data loss AND device recovery.
Screen messages are loose approximations

A Soft Reset
1. Hold Power switch up for 5 seconds.
2. Screen displays "Goodbye".
3. Restart

B. Hard Reset
1. Hold Power Switch for 30 seconds
2. Restart

C. Recovery Mode
1. Hold Power Switch for 5 seconds to switch device Off
2. Move switch to Hold
3. Press and hold Home button
4. Connect USB cable to device
5. Screen displays "USB" in small type and "16 MB Format" shows up in My Computer
6. Copy firmware files to "16 MB Format" drive letter
7. Disconnect USB cable
8. Screen displays "Firmware update"
9. Restart device

C. Force Format (This one wipes the data partition. Make sure all needed music/pictures/video exist elsewhere)

1. Hold Power Switch for 5 seconds to switch device Off
2. Move switch to Hold
3. Press and hold top/North/up of Scroll Wheel
4. Connect USB cable to device
5. Screen displays "Format and lose data"
6. Press right/East on Scroll Wheel to confirm
7. Screen displays "Formatting"
8. Restart device

D. Manufacturing Mode (included for completeness only)
1. Hold Power Switch for 5 seconds to switch device Off
2. Move switch to Hold
3. Press and hold centre of Scroll Wheel button
4. Connect USB cable to device
5. Windows detects a new hardware device
6. ???
7. ???
8. ???

Try a different usb cable or mabey the actual usb port

http://www.sandisk.com/media/175960/clip_um_0608_eng.pdf

Windows XP SP2
• Windows Media Player v10
• Intel Pentium class PC or higher
• CD-ROM drive
• USB 2.0 port for hi-speed transfers and charging

Make sure HOLD button is not on.

Battery
The Sansa
®
Clip player comes with an internal rechargeable battery. To use the player for
the very first time, remember to fully charge the battery. You can charge your Sansa
®
player through the USB port of your computer, a car adapter (not included) USB port, or AC
adapter (not included) USB port.
Charging
To charge the battery, please follow these steps:
1. Connect the larger end of the USB cable into an available USB port on the
computer.
2. Connect the smaller end of the USB cable into the Sansa
®
Clip player.
3. The computer must be on for most USB ports to charge your battery. Your
Sansa
®
will show connected and the yellow charging indicator will appear.
The battery level indicator will blink while charging. You will not be able to
play while connected to the computer USB.
4. To stop recharging, simply disconnect the cable.
The battery can also be charged using an AC adapter (not included) or a car adapter
(not included) and you will be able to play your device while charging with one of the
adapters.
NOTE: Some low-power USB ports may not be able to provide enough charge
power. Also note that the rechargeable batteries are not replaceable.

Try the firmware upgrade first

Either the device is bad, the pc port is bad, or the software is faulty. Try connecting to different usb port, then a usb port on a different pc with a compatible os. If still not recognized, then there is physical damage to player.

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.