Creative Zen Vision M

Just to the left of the charger port is a very small hole. Push lightly with a paper clip - this is the reset button. These devices have an issue of getting stymied and locking up. This is the fix.

check the hold button...is it set to on position..?

Support for Zen Vision M on this site:
http://support.creative.com/Products/ProductDetails.aspx?catID=213&CatName=MP3+Players&subCatID=214&subCatName=ZEN&prodID=14331&prodName=ZEN+Vision%3aM
Enter the word "hold" in the bar Knowledgebase Solutions.
This will give you access to various answers.
One answer could be to do a recovery:

1. Slide the power button towards the power icon and hold it in the Power ON position
   
2. While holding on to the power button, Gently push the end of a thin object (such as a pin or straightened paperclip) into the Reset hole.
   
   The reset button for your player is located at the bottom of the player, to the left of the sync adapter port.
   
3. Release the power button when the Creative logo appears.
   
4. The Recovery Mode screen appears, and four menu items are shown: Clean Up, Format All, Reload Firmware and Reboot.
   
5. To clean up your player's memory, select Clean Up.
   
   
6. When the cleanup is complete, select Reboot. Your player restarts and starts rebuilding its music library.
   
   
7. Should the above solution is unable to resolve the issue, please install the player's latest firmware. To obtain further instruction on getting the firmware reload into the player, you can refer to the following article:
   
   SID 63033 - Reloading Firmware / Formatting your Player

If your player stops responding, you can reset it. To reset the player, push the end of a pin-like object (for example, a pin or straightened paperclip) into the Reset hole. This should not cause you to lose any data or audio tracks, unless you were in the middle of transferring an audio track.

To reset Zen Vision:M to factory default settings:

Press on the Menu/Back button on your player, and select System, and then Reset.

To Format or Clean Up Zen Vision:M

1. Detach the Zen Vision:M player from your PC , and ensure that the unit is off.

If the battery is too low, charge the battery fully before continuing
2. Slide the Power switch towards the Power icon and hold the switch in the Power On position.
3. Push the end of a pin-like object (for example, a straightened paper clip) into the reset hole, press gently and remove.

4. Release the Power switch when the Creative logo appears. The Recovery Mode appears:
* Clean Up (Performs a disk scan on the player's hard disk, it will not affect music files)
* Format All (Formats the players hard disk - Note: all contents will be lost)
* Reload Firmware (Reloads the Operating System on the Zen. Select this option ONLY if there is a firmware available to reload.)
* Reboot (Reboots the device).
5. Select Clean Up or Format from the Recovery Mode, and then select Reboot.



hope this helps you

had same prob to the T...found this post and it fixed it...it's the computer not the zen...once I did the two steps my zen started charging and turned on...go figure...the flashing blue light doesn't mean it is charging.
posted on Feb 25, 2009 abeales
If you have windows set to do automatic updates, you most likely had a windows update installed that caused this conflict with Win Media Player 11. No fix has been posted by Microsoft yet, so the only workaround is to Uninstall/Rollback Windows Media Player 11. Goto <Control Panel<Add/Remove Programs and remove Windows Media Player 11. Follow prompts, restart computer when prompted to. Also uninstall Windows Media Player 11 Runtime application following same procedure above.
This will roll your Windows Media Player back to version 10 or 9, whichever you had installed prior to version 11. You will need to re-configure Windows Media Player again.

Your Zen should now be recognized by WMP and Creative software. You probably need to upgrade your firmware at this point, follow the instructions on upgrading your firmware, and you should be good to go.

This is a windows problem, not a creative problem. Dont blame Creative for the screwed up hotfixes that Microsoft puts out on a regular basi

You tried these yet? 
Reset, Format or Clean Up a Zen Vision:M

If your player stops responding, you can reset it. To reset the player, push the end of a pin-like object (for example, a pin or straightened paperclip) into the Reset hole. This should not cause you to lose any data or audio tracks, unless you were in the middle of transferring an audio track.

To reset Zen Vision:M to factory default settings:

Press on the Menu/Back button on your player, and select System, and then Reset.

To Format or Clean Up Zen Vision:M

1. Detach the Zen Vision:M player from your PC , and ensure that the unit is off.

If the battery is too low, charge the battery fully before continuing
2. Slide the Power switch towards the Power icon and hold the switch in the Power On position.
3. Push the end of a pin-like object (for example, a straightened paper clip) into the reset hole, press gently and remove.

4. Release the Power switch when the Creative logo appears. The Recovery Mode appears:
* Clean Up (Performs a disk scan on the player's hard disk, it will not affect music files)
* Format All (Formats the players hard disk - Note: all contents will be lost)
* Reload Firmware (Reloads the Operating System on the Zen. Select this option ONLY if there is a firmware available to reload.)
* Reboot (Reboots the device).
5. Select Clean Up or Format from the Recovery Mode, and then select Reboot.

http://dmzweb4.europe.creative.com/...com:80,Case=obj(14048),Kb=ww_english_add
pls rate it, thanks

Go to the Creative website and D-load the firmware renewal utility for your player. It should detect the player via USB automatically and find the firmware for it via the Internet connection. No buttons required. 

i finally fixed it!!!

//To format zen = 1.Detach the player from the PC and power the unit off.
2.Slide the Power switch towards the power icon and hold the switch.
3.Push the end of a pin-like object (for example, a straightened paper clip) into the reset hole, press gently and remove.
4.Release the Power button when the Recovery Mode appears.
5.Select Format (All) and select Yes to format the player.
6.After the player has finished formatting, select Reboot.
7.Retransfer the tracks to the player.

after formatting it again press reboot and pkug into comp and it works!!!

1. I'd try a system clean up first (instructions below)
2. definitely upgrade your firmware (http://us.creative.com/support/downloads/)
3. If all else fails, back up all your music on your PC and format it (instructions below)

.... from Creative's site

Reset, Format or Clean Up a Zen Vision:M If your player stops responding, you can reset it. To reset the player, push the end of a pin-like object (for example, a pin or straightened paperclip) into the Reset hole. This should not cause you to lose any data or audio tracks, unless you were in the middle of transferring an audio track.
To reset Zen Vision:M to factory default settings:
Press on the Menu/Back button on your player, and select System, and then Reset.
To Format or Clean Up Zen Vision:M

1. Detach the Zen Vision:M player from your PC , and ensure that the unit is off. If the battery is too low, charge the battery fully before continuing
   
2. Slide the Power switch towards the Power icon and hold the switch in the Power On position.
3. Push the end of a pin-like object (for example, a straightened paper clip) into the reset hole, press gently and remove.
   
4. Release the Power switch when the Creative logo appears. The Recovery Mode appears:
   • Clean Up (Performs a disk scan on the player's hard disk, it will not affect music files)
   • Format All (Formats the players hard disk - Note: all contents will be lost)
   • Reload Firmware (Reloads the Operating System on the Zen. Select this option ONLY if there is a firmware available to reload.)
   • Reboot (Reboots the device).
5. Select Clean Up or Format from the Recovery Mode, and then select Reboot.

have you download the latest firmware from creative?
http://www.creative.com/products/mp3/MP3PlayerRecoveryTool/welcome.asp?region=1