Possible Fix for Sansa not turning on

[wanqu]

My sansa express wouldn't turn on. When I plug in on my computer, it says: your device malfunctioned and Windows does not recognize it. Does anybody know how to fix this problem? Thank you very much.

[CrowdAds]

[yuluo2]

Same thing just happened to mine. When I turn it on, "Sandisk" displays and the SE shuts off. Hard resetting helps nothing and the SE doesn't show up in explorer anymore.

I think it's about time for a return

[happyneverafter]

same thing happened to my express today. When I was trying to turn it on, it shut off after "sandisk" logo. At first I thought it was low battery but after I fully charged it, when I turn it on, after the "sandisk" logo, it shut off.

Do not know whats going now(but it is strange that when i charging it, everything looks normal even the charging graphs were there).

anyone know where can I return my express? I tried to find product return address on sandisk.com but found none.

[HappyIsBrian]

You should first try a Soft Reset, When it's on press and hold the center select button and press the Volume Up key. It should shut off. It can be exchanged but u need to call in for Technical Support before a replacement can be made. 1-866-726-3475 (SanDisk Technical Support)

Good Luck

[rodrix79]

Hi. Got the same issue last week. I solved it by borrowing a Micro SDCard, booting the device with the card in it and once it booted, I formated the internal memory (not the external or you will wipe out all the memory card data).

Hope this helps.

Rodrigo

[kld]

Booting with a MicroSD card world like a charm! I can finally use this player again.

Thanks again, Rodrigo.

Perhaps this fix should be a sticky.

[goov3r]

I had the exact same problem as happyneverafter.

So I bought an microsd card by sandisk. I didn't wanna risk with another brand after reading some posts here. I plugged the card in and turned it on and voila! It works! I still had all my songs in there but I formated the internal memory just to make sure it wouldn't screw up again.

Try out this fix before you chuck out your sansa express.

[chrisjs162216]

Well, after three success stories, it's stickied

[Mr Bug]

Thanks for posting this fix. My 1gb express stopped working after less than a week. I bought a 2gb SanDisk MicroSD card. I put it in and it started up straight away and all is good again.

[Nora]

mine does the same thing but then i just let it sit and plug it in at intervals until the computer recognizes it

then it just charges and works again

do you think this is non-sustainable? it's happened about 3-4 times

should i get a little microchip?

[JohnKH]

Failed on me TWICE in this manner...

First time - it just started working again about a week later. I thought it had become soaked through sweat in the gym... I put it on the side, forgot about it - kept trying it every now and again - eventually, one day - it just worked!

Second time... over a week and no luck. It switched on - flashed up Sandisk for about 2 seconds then switched off. Tried hard resets - plugging into computer over and over - Nothing. And then, when researching the express's replacements (Samsung, Creative or Sandisk E260) - I found this thread... I took delivery of an E260 this morning (annoyingly no radio - I'm in Sheffield, England - I'd been reading US reviews!!!) but went out and bought a mini SD anyway.

Plug the mini SD in and - hey presto... she works! Take the min SD out - doesnt work! Put the MiniSD back in - she works... I do my 3 hours in the gym listening to my Sansa Express... Come home - plug her in, download the firmware updater, load updated firmware. Take out the MiniSD - SHE WORKS!!!!!

Fault solved... and now I have a 1GB Sansa Express, a 4GB Sansa E260 and nice little 1gb Mini SD card...

[xprlt]

mine stopped working too, but I dont even get a logo or anything, just a black screen and nothing else. do you think it would work on mine too then? Id have to buy a mini sd card so if it stil doesnt work then Im screwed even more...

[xprlt]

okay this moring, its working normal again. wtf...
I formatted it but im guessing this will happen again? so is teh internal memory bad or something? seems like it, if yall can solve it by getting a micro card.

[tris]

...same here.....after 1 day(actually in 1st day) of use........after few retrys(plug-unplug) , ....soft restart helped...

[Yas]

I put a microSD card in and it worked!!! BRILLIANCE!!!!!!!

[avantgardeo]

I had this problem and tried to solve it with the "micro sd card trick". The card was already inserted into the player when the "not turning on" problem occured but I'd not uploaded any files into it. So I pushed the card out and some graphics appeared but it went off again. So I inserted the card back in again and pushed it out again, and it booted up and worked!

I just hope that this problem isn't a fatal one, that it can always be solved in this way or another. Hope the next firmware update can solve it as well.

[advcomp2019]

Can you try one of the MSC mode ways and see if that will work?

[bilalzq]

is there a way to do this without the Micro SDCard?

[williamt1688]

w00t! thought i'd bricked my sansa! *propz*

[rexking33]

Well, I Had This Problem On My Sansa Too And One Day I Just Inserted A Micro SD Card From My Nokia 6233 And It Started Up.So To Fix It Try Inseriting A Micro Sd Card From Any Phone.When You Take It Out It Will Still Work!!!The Problem Is Sopposed To Be That The Database Fails To Startup

I Have My Sansa Express In My PC Now And It Is Working. It Says "Charging"

And Now It Says "Charged" WOOT!!!

Im Thinking To Get A Micro SD Card