How do I reformat my Zen creative MP3 player?

I don't know because I don;t know how to

Kelven
February 2011

Thank you Pet Lawson...still works in 2010!!

Carol
February 2010

My zen mp3 player wouldnt let me play any songs because it was "corrupted" or somthing, but i just pressed the reset button on the bottom and it started working fine, idk if im magic or its just that easy, so w/e gl fixing ur zen

me
November 2008

u r awesome pete lawson! u just fixed my zen!! many thanks

lauren
July 2008

I face the same situation, but how do I take out the battery please?

Darren
April 2008

hi, im having trouble with my player, it fell and got an playback error, its now stuck on recovery mode, and it just comes up with clean up
format all
reload firmware
reboot
ive tried all these and its not working.
ive also tried updating the firmware but it just keeps failing help please!!!!!

nin
December 2007

Direct from an email conversation I had with Creative technical support:

"If you are experiencing difficulties during the play back of your music files (drop outs, random pauses, etc), then we would recommend that you use the unit's built-in diagnostic Recovery Mode:

In order to enter your Zen Micro's Recovery Mode, take out the battery, press and hold the ON/LOCK button in the ON position (far left) and put the battery back in the player. The player will then switch on - wait until Recovery Mode appears on the
display and then let go of the ON/LOCK button.

- When entering the Recovery mode in the Zen Micro, be aware of the sensitivity of the touch pad. Make sure that you only select the option that you want, as some of them may affect the usability of the player.

- The options on the Zen Micro Recovery Mode are:

1. Clean Up (Performs a disk scan on the player's hard disk. Clean Up will not remove any files from the player).

2. Format All (Formats the player's hard disk - Note: all contents of the MP3 player will be lost).

3. Reload Firmware (Reloads the Firmware on the Zen Micro. Make sure you have downloaded a new firmware for the player, as this option erases the current firmware on the device and the player won't work without the firmware loaded on it).

4. Reboot (Select the Reboot option once you have completed the recovery operations, in order to restart your player).

As an initial troubleshooting step, the "Clean Up" process is recommended. You should refrain from using the remaining options."

Hope this helps :)

Pete Lawson
August 2006