when UNplugging dongle, display switches to AV out.. eh?

[cactusmelba]

yeh, you could well be right... anyways, it's still doing the same, it hasn't healed itself this time, and I'm not about to rummage around in its internal workings not having a clue as to what to prod, so i think it may well be time to sell the cats and get myself a new mp3 player.....

thanks everyone for the advice.....

[CrowdAds]

[BobbyRS]

It's your call really. Personally, I think the ZVM is too good of a player to give up on; even compared to the other player available today.

[cactusmelba]

so , basically, is it now a doorstop?

[BobbyRS]

Yes, if you let it be...... or no if you decide to fix it.

[cactusmelba]

right then, then i decide to fix it, it IS too good a player to give up on, but where the poop do i start? does anyone know of any walk throughs of disassembling the ZVM and what to look for when it's guts are spilled?

[BobbyRS]

Ahh, good to hear! I would try out a mainboard swap first since that is what the data port is soldered too.

These should help:
Here is the ABI disassembly guide.
Here is a video of a disassembly.

[cactusmelba]

heh heh , EXCELLENT!!!

as soon as i get chance i'll rip it apart (gently) and see what ails it..

hang on.. mainboard swap? where the poop do i get a new mainboard from?

(and thanks for the instructions! VERY helpful!)

[BobbyRS]

where the poop do i get a new mainboard from?

EBay is a great place to find as-is ZVM's for parts.

(and thanks for the instructions! VERY helpful!)

No problem.

[cactusmelba]

hHAHhhAHAhHAhahhAhAhahhahAhhHAhaHAhAHHAA, it's WORKING again!!!

I've done NOTHING to it, it obviuosly just needed a few weeks off....

I've NO idea what's going on, but I'm VERY grateful to all you good good people for your advice, but most importantly to my good friend, the creative zen, for resurrecting itself and making my working day go a little easier!

(you'll no doubt be hearing from me again in a couple of months complaining about my STOOPID zen and how it's playing up again, but, until then, Adios my compadres!

[BobbyRS]

Wow. That is weird, but good to hear no doubt. Maybe it will stay working like it should this time. Intermittent problems like that...... I wonder if the hard drive may be beginning to have issues.

[cactusmelba]

maybe so.... whatever's happening, I'm happy for it not to happen for a LONG time yet!

[BobbyRS]

Yeah, I hear ya. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you.

[ZenChick]

I also agree, it sounds like a pending hard drive issue, like the heads are occasionally sticking.

It's good that you've got it working again, but you should probably use this time to search out a new hard drive for when your existing one finally fails.

[BobbyRS]

Yeah, check out these threads for ideas on replacement drives:

Here is the hard drive replacement thread.
Here is the new tested hard drive swap thread.
Here is the hard drive connector type thread.

[cactusmelba]

hey, you guys are the BEST!!

I'll check out these links right now and make a plan of action!

thanks again..

(still running smoothly for some reason... bizarre!)

[BobbyRS]

Thanks. Let us know how it goes. Thanks for the update and good luck.

[selection7]

I know it's been two years but I thought I'd take 5 minutes and post that this also happened to me. However, it happened right at start up. I did something I usually don't do, which is to hit the lower left button well before start up had completed (upon turning the zenV:m on). That may not have caused it of course.

So then the screen says switching to A/V out display and goes black, even though all I've got is headphones plugged in and they were in before the player was turned on. I hooked it up to the PC, and the PC recognizes it like normal, but still no lcd display. Then I turned the player off while it was connected to the PC (of course I had already tried turning it off and on before connecting it to the PC), disconnected it from the PC, turned the player back on and the screen's lcd was finally working again. Strange.

But I appreciate the suggestion to just turn the a/v out function off in the photo/video options menu...I don't use that feature anyway and that may stop the problem from reoccuring.

I've had this player for probably 4 years now and I still love it (though my next one will be smaller). Drag and drop functionality and no proprietary "you'll do it our way" Apple stuff.