Frozen on Rebuilding...Clean Didn't Work

[NoFate007]

Ok, this is driving me nuts.

Yesterday, when I plugged in my Zen and used Windows Media Player to sync a few songs with it, it was working fine. I unplugged it when it was done. Later on, I plugged it back in, opened up Winamp, and was planning on sending those new songs to playlists, rating them, etc. I noticed that for some reason, 10 out of my 17 playlists weren't showing up. When I unplugged it, those 10 playlists were totally empty. The songs were still on the Zen, but somehow, they were removed from the playlists.

So I went through all the freaking trouble of redoing the playlists.

Now, today, I'm listening to it - no problems whatsoever - and I click to go to the next song and it freezes. Its happened before. So I reboot.

And it gets stuck on Rebuilding, around the B just before the U.

I try it again...same thing. I try it again, same thing. At least 6 times.

So I tried a Clean.....then a reboot......still gets stuck on the same spot in Rebuilding.


What can I do to make it so I don't lose my 2400 songs? I don't have a record of them anywhere. I don't have a list of them, I don't have backups....I sure as hell can't remember all 2400 of them on the spot!!

Is there any way I can get them back? Is there any way I can get this to work again? I don't even care if I have to buy a brand new mp3 player, just as long as I can keep the 2400 songs. I'll ship it somewhere if I have to...I'll take it to a computer place if I have to....I just need to keep the songs.

Even if there's a way to just get a LIST of the songs on it, that'll be better than nothing...despite how I probably won't be able to find many of the songs again.

[CrowdAds]

[BobbyRS]

And it gets stuck on Rebuilding, around the B just before the U.

I try it again...same thing. I try it again, same thing. At least 6 times.

So I tried a Clean.....then a reboot......still gets stuck on the same spot in Rebuilding.

How long have you left it on Rebulding? Sometimes, rebuilding can take a while if you have a large library.

Yesterday, when I plugged in my Zen and used Windows Media Player to sync a few songs with it, it was working fine. I unplugged it when it was done. Later on, I plugged it back in, opened up Winamp, and was planning on sending those new songs to playlists, rating them, etc. I noticed that for some reason, 10 out of my 17 playlists weren't showing up. When I unplugged it, those 10 playlists were totally empty. The songs were still on the Zen, but somehow, they were removed from the playlists.

Also, I would not use multiple sync programs. You usually end up with issues like yours (corrupt database/filesystem) when you do.

What can I do to make it so I don't lose my 2400 songs?

Boot into Recovery Mode and do a Cleanup again and then a Reboot. Let it do a Rebuild. Let it sit for a while to see if it eventually finishes or errors out.

I don't have a record of them anywhere. I don't have a list of them, I don't have backups....I sure as hell can't remember all 2400 of them on the spot!!

No backup?

[NoFate007]

Originally Posted by BobbyRS

How long have you left it on Rebulding? Sometimes, rebuilding can take a while if you have a large library.

I left it on for almost an hour at one point and still it didn't even go past the B.

Originally Posted by BobbyRS

Also, I would not use multiple sync programs. You usually end up with issues like yours (corrupt database/filesystem) when you do.

I never sync with Winamp, I just use that to listen to the songs and edit the playlists and stuff, but I've never had a problem with it at all until now. Every time I tried to use the software that came with the Zen, it would freeze and lag so much that it was pretty much useless.

Originally Posted by BobbyRS

Boot into Recovery Mode and do a Cleanup again and then a Reboot. Let it do a Rebuild. Let it sit for a while to see if it eventually finishes or errors out.

I tried doing a few cleanups and letting it rebuild again, and it still gets nowhere. Do I need to let it sit until it says an actual error message so as to keep it on for like half a day? Or is it just going to keep staying frozen like it has been?

Originally Posted by BobbyRS

No backup?

Not enough space on my computer. And you know what really pisses me off? I was planning on making a list of all the songs TODAY, which would've cut out my "re-find and re-transfer if it gets fixed" time by a ridiculous amount.


If I take it to a computer repair place or the Geek Squad at Best Buy, do you think they'll be able to figure out a way to extract the files or get a list of them or anything? Or am I totally 100% screwed to lose them all no matter what?

[NoFate007]

K, I left it on Rebuilding for the entire time I was asleep, so it had several hours and it did nothing. Didn't move anywhere, didn't pop up with an error message...nothing.

[BobbyRS]

Every time I tried to use the software that came with the Zen, it would freeze and lag so much that it was pretty much useless.

Yeah, that's not suprising. It really isn't good at all.

I tried doing a few cleanups and letting it rebuild again, and it still gets nowhere.

Do the Cleanups complete ok and with no errors?

I was planning on making a list of all the songs TODAY, which would've cut out my "re-find and re-transfer if it gets fixed" time by a ridiculous amount.

Yup, if it was going to happen, that is when it would.... Murphy's law.

If I take it to a computer repair place or the Geek Squad at Best Buy, do you think they'll be able to figure out a way to extract the files or get a list of them or anything?

No. You will most likely end up without your files and spending money.

Or am I totally 100% screwed to lose them all no matter what?

It is possible. It sounds like you may have a corrupt file system (if the drive is not having problems itself) which would mean a Format would be needed to correct. One thing you can do before being forced to format, is to reload the firmware. Before you do, make sure you have a good connection with the ZVM and the computer and download the latest firmware from Creative's site to have it ready to go. If this is a firmware issue, reloading it from within Recovery Mode should resolve it. <!-- / message -->

[NoFate007]

Yeah I had no connection to the computer at all. It wouldn't even tell me that it couldn't recognize the device. It was just not popping up at all.

I took it to the Geek Squad and the guy told me the same thing I knew would happen, so I chose Format All and it seems to be working fine now....but that means I have to find 2400 songs by memory all over again, and at least 700 of them were utterly impossible to find the first time around Figures, right? The day I plan on backing stuff up is the day that it shorts out on me. I'm probably just going to buy another mp3 player of another kind and use this one as backup storage from now on and use the other one for daily use.

Thanks for your help, Bobby. I appreciate it.

[BobbyRS]

Originally Posted by NoFate007

Thanks for your help, Bobby. I appreciate it.

No problem. Good luck in your hunt for a new player.

[Mr Moley]

This is my exact problem. Looks like im fucked then with my 5000+ song library?

[NoFate007]

Yeah, I was just fucked in the long run. 2400 files, completely gone, and what sucked is that I hadn't been able to back up most of them, nor did I have them written down, so even after all this time, I'm still discovering some every so often lol.

Sorry to hear it happened to you too man.

[Mr Moley]

Ahhh ballls!!!!!!! I was hoping for a fix to the problem or a way to get the files off the zen but i suppose im gunna need to get all the music again! Ill still buy another zen though, i think 4 years without it breaking is bloody brilliant!