I think it's a defective product. I've had 2 freeze -- the original and the replacement. Nevertheless here is an email from their technical support: Thank you for contacting SanDisk Technical Support, and for your recent inquiry into our product line. We do apologize for any inconveniences that this issue may have caused you. We recommend that you perform power recycle on your m200. This is to drain the MP3 player of excess power, thus making it work again. The procedures are as follows: 1. Take the battery out of the Sansa m200 player. 2. While the battery is out, plug the Sansa m200 player into a USB port, preferably a rear one or a self powered USB hub, on the computer. 3. If the screen is blank, try a different USB port. If the computer is a laptop, try this procedure on a desktop before moving on to the next step. 4. If the screen reads "USB Connected" when the Sansa m200 player is plugged in with no battery, unplug the Sansa m200 player. 5. Hold the "Menu Button" (Power Button) for 45 seconds. 6. Connect it to the computer again (still without the battery). 7. If the screen once again reads "USB Connected," disconnect the Sansa m200 player and insert a new battery which has never been previously used. 8. Try powering on the Sansa m200 player. If it didn't work, please repeat the process again but now hold the power button for 2 minutes and wait for at least 5 minutes before plugging in new set of batteries. You can also format the player. This issue may be due to some sort of file or system corruption on the m200 itself. We should try formatting the m200 as a possible solution as this correct all possible corrupted files in the player, thus, making it usable again. NOTE: Please be aware that formatting is a normal and necessary method of drive maintenance and repair, and simply NOT formatting periodically can cause a drive to slip into failure due to the backup, and clutter of residual data. The firmware update enables your product to fix bugs, software updates and functionality enhancement of the device. Caution: Formatting will erase all information on the Sansa mp3 player. Please be sure to have a back up of all the information before proceeding. Please note: The Sansa m200 mp3 series are supported ONLY on Windows XP as the MTP (Media Transfer Protocol) mode will function, only on Windows XP and it requires Windows Media Player version 10 in order to function properly. Also, MTP mode will not give you the FAT or FAT32 option. As soon as you select format, it will begin the operation, and format it accurately. Before formatting, please set your m200 to MSC (Mass Storage Class) mode. When in MSC mode, the player will shop up as a Removable Drive under My Computer window. Setup Mode to MSC 1) Tap your menu button and select "Settings" > "USB". 2) On this screen, make sure that there is a check next to "MSC" and NOT "Auto Detect". If you cannot access your m200 to convert to MSC mode, please have the "HOLD" button "ON" so that you can have your m200 in MSC mode. To format the m200 on your PC, let us connect the m200 to your computer on an USB port preferably located near the power hub or to an external self powered USB hub, go to "My Computer", single right click on the "Removable Disk" associated with your m200, and select "Format". On Windows XP, let us please make sure that, under FILE SYSTEM, we change FAT32 to FAT, and then single left click "Start". This will erase all data off the m200 and correct errors on it, which should make the m200 usable again. We also recommend formatting the m200 another way. Please be advised that formatting will erase all data. It requires Windows XP: Please right click on my computer and select "Manage". When "Computer Management" comes up, please click on "Disk Management" on the left hand side. After clicking on "Disk Management" you should now have a list of drives in the right side panel. On the right, look for the m200, it may show up as Disk 1, 2, 3... Removable Disk. Right click on the larger "Volume" rectangular icon to the right of the Removable disk and select "Format" choosing FAT. If you do not have the format option, please select "New Partition" and just keep clicking next through the Wizard that appears. After formatting the m200, please do try your m200. If applicable, please go the link below to download the firmware update for your m200. Updating the firmware will enhance the functionality of the player as well as will get rid of all the bugs and errors. The link is: Sansa m200 Firmware: http://sandisk.com/Retail/Default.asp... or http://www.sandisk.com/Retail/Default... If formatting and firmware update in your computer is not possible, please do try the process again on another Windows XP computer. Please reply with the results. If all else fails, the player is defective and needs to be replace. Kindly return the player from place of purchase, it is still under the 30 day return policy. Should you have any further inquiries or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us via Email. Best regards, Anthony John Miles G. SanDisk Technical Support

I had same prob. Nothing worked on the tech support end so I called them at 1-866-726-3475 and they are replacing it. Rumor is that they had a batch of bad players they shipped out in Dec.

please please please someone help me.. i've been attempting to fix my Sandisk Sansa m240 mp3 player.. it freezes right at the beginning. it reads "sansa m240 1.0GB" the little blue light turns on for not even two seconds... everything i read has not helped me at all. and i have tried just about everything to fix this little problem. please someone help me. i just want some music to listen to... =[

I have a Sansa m240, and I am out of ideas as well. It's been tempermental at best, and now it seems to have died completely. When I turn it on, it displays the splash screen, but will not do anything else, other than turn off if I hold menu down long enough. I can't access the menu, and I can't even access it through my computer to try the power cycling mentioned above. I effectively do not have an MP3 player at the moment, but when I can afford a new one, you can bet it won't be from Sandisk.

man, i feel bad, i just plug mine into a winXP and use explorer or WMP 10 to do everything without issue. 'Cept that one time i deleted all the music on it. I would definitely talk to people about buying them if they don't want 'em.

THAT HAPPEND TO ME AND I WENT TO CUSTOMER SERVICES AND THEY HAD ME SEND IN MY MP3 AND THEY SENT ME A NEW ONE I HOPE THAT HELPS!!!