How to Reset My Creative Zen Media Player
The Creative Zen portable media player may seem like a piece of music playback equipment, but it's really a small computer. Like any small computer, it periodically gets overloaded or runs into a bug in its internal programming. This causes it to crash, lock up, or behave erratically. To help you fix the Zen when this happens, Creative built in a small reset switch that you can use to restart the Zen's processor and, hopefully, fix the glitch that caused it to act up in the first place.
Rebooting the Zen
-
1.
Unbend a paper clip so that one end sticks straight out.
-
2.
Push the paperclip into the small hole marked "Reset" on the side of your Creative Zen media player.
-
3.
Remove the paperclip and watch your Zen reboot. If the reset doesn't fix the issue, you may need to reformat it.
Reformatting the Zen
-
1.
Connect the player to your computer using the included USB cable.
-
2.
Start Windows Media Player.
-
3.
Click the File menu, click CDs and Devices and then click Synchronize.
-
4.
Click the entry for your Zen in the Device pane on your screen and highlight it.
-
5.
Click the Format storage media button, which has a picture of a diagonal pencil on a blue background. Wait for the reformatting to finish.
Writer Bio
Steve Lander has been a writer since 1996, with experience in the fields of financial services, real estate and technology. His work has appeared in trade publications such as the "Minnesota Real Estate Journal" and "Minnesota Multi-Housing Association Advocate." Lander holds a Bachelor of Arts in political science from Columbia University.