Zen V Plus 4GB dead, tried every fix I could find

[spleenharvester]

hi,
I haven't even had the player very long, but I have no warranty or receipt so can't return it. It does nothing, however when plugged in it flashes blue at me. Sometimes it switches on, docks, flashes 'low battery', then goes into a reboot loop. details:

-It's plugged in at the back of my PC
-I've tried every usb port on 3 PCs
-None of the fixes in the sticky thread worked, it just randomly turns off after about 5 mins of being plugged in
-I've tried 2 cables
-I can't replace the battery because it is soldered straight onto the mainboard - no connector
-I've tried recovery tools, mediasource etc with no luck
-I managed to boot into recovery mode once then it froze
-Reset doesn't work
-I've tried putting a piece of paper between the battery and the mainboard in case it's a short circuit
-I can't see any burn marks on the mainboard
-there are a couple of faint dark lines on the screen at times
-I've tried it on Xbox USB ports
-It hasn't been dropped
-The charger slot doesn't look damaged

Once I got from XP 'The USB device at port 0 has malfunctioned, windows cannot identify this device'... I am completely out of ideas - I'm starting to think it's past repair. Any help would be appreciated! thanks.

[BobbyRS]

Welcome spleenharvester. It sounds like you need a new battery. See this post. Is there any reasons why your battery is soldered? The Zen V/Plus should have a connector for removing the battery and replacing.

[spleenharvester]

there seems to be no reason why it's soldered, I have not altered it in any way. it seems to be soldered the same way as in this thread: http://www.anythingbutipod.com/forum...6&postcount=10 however, that battery shouldn't be dead already? It's only about 5 months old. Earlier I started formatting it and it froze halfway, and stuff I delete always comes back again I'd try and get some pictures but all my camera does is flash a red light at me.... I'm really starting to lose my patience with it, I had a Sansa Clip about a week ago which looked really nice but froze about 5 times per day, so that went back within a couple of days.

[BobbyRS]

The Zen V/Plus has been out since the middle of 2006. Just because you only may have had your Zen for 5 months, doesn't mean the battery is new. Lithium-ion batteries will age from the date of being manufactured whether they are used or not. 3 years is the average lifespan of a lithium-ion battery. Seeing how your Zen V's battery is soldered to the mainboard leads me to believe you have an early version of the Zen V Plus, so it can easily be having battery issues.

[spleenharvester]

hmm... I guess I'm going to end up buying another player then oh well, they're fairly cheap nowadays anyway.

[BobbyRS]

There is always buying a replacement battery and having someone solder it on for you. Cheap fix.

[spleenharvester]

I suppose, I can't find one to replace it on any UK sites... there are sansa 1gb players for about £12 though.

[BobbyRS]

Besides eBay....

Here
Here
Here
Here