it wont go past the eax screen so i pressed reset and still the same problem im outside of my warranty so if the answer needs me to take it apart to attempt to fix it i can do that also before it would freeze it would take me to the rescue mode but it wouldnt let me do nothin in there cause it saide harddisc error any help would be great

kenneth, September 2005

after 12 months you mayas well trough it away they won't repair them

alan, January 2010

The smack-the-hell-out-of-the-upper-right-hand-corner technique works very well! Thanks Mark!

q tipzta, July 2009

Can anyone help me figure out how to fix my Creative Jukebox Nomad Jen 30gb please? it sticks at the EAX audio screen and i cant do anything to get it past there;-(

JimmyD, November 2008

I followed Mark Crowne's reply. and I love him for it. It works. Takes some nifty timing on the reload firmware bit but actually WORKS.
Thanks

Rick, March 2008

I TRIED THIS METHOD (from Roger). IT WORKED PERFECTLY ON THE FIRST TRY. I AM SO ELATED. I LOVE MY ZEN AND HAVE BEEN AT WITS END TRYING TO FET IT TO WORK AFTER ATTEMPTING TO UPGRADE TO THE NEWEST FIRMWARE.
ROGER, I LOVE YOU!

IKE, December 2007

This may be good news ...
I too upgraded my firmware and landed up with just the rescue screen
Here is what I did
A) Go to control Panel->add remove programs->Remove all Creative applications and drivers you
B) Reboot your PC
C) Download the latest Drivers (Not Firmware) and Install them
d)Reboot and Ensure Your device manager shows Windows Portable Device and does contain Zen Xtra
e)Download and Install ZENZ_PCAPP_LB_1_40_03_MTP.exe
f) While Installing - The program will complain that It still cannot see your zen..Keep Clicking OK to retry
g)After the 3rd (OK Clicks) attempt - It proceeds to install the balance of the software
h)Reboot your PC - after the reboot you should notice that ur ZEN shows the USB SYNC is ok- it shows the circular arrow
I) Run the Firmware Upgrade ZenXtraP4SAudible_PCFW_LB_2_10_03.exe

Vola...

Roger, October 2007

Here's how I fixed my Zen Xtra with a similar problem, using the following instructions from Creative Support

According to your email, it seems that you are having difficulty with your Zen Xtra after attempting to upgrade its firmware, apologies for having such difficulties. We will try to resolve this by following step by step procedure to get your player up and running again.

Here are several steps that you may need to try to be able to resolve the issue.

Please do take note that it is necessary to perform this whole operation on PC running on Windows XP and with Windows media player 10.

1. Uninstall all creative software & drivers.

2. If you have Windows Media Player 11 installed, i will need you to uninstall Windows Media Player 11 and Media Player 11 runtime (will require a reboot for each thing). This is done by going to add/remove programs and uninstalling (this will put your pc back to wmp10).

3. Re-install the Zen Driver from the creative website and reboot. The driver can be downloaded via link: Creative ZEN and Jukebox Driver 2.01.00 (1.86 MB) - JB3MV2_PCWDRV_US_2_01_00.EXE

http://files2.europe.creative.com/manualdn/Drivers/PDE/9758/ENG/Bin/0x529B87A2/JB3MV2_PCWDRV_US_2_01_00.EXE


4. Plug Zen in.

5. Make sure you have the firmware update ready, run it but don't click the language bit yet), leave the mouse hovering over your language selection. The firmware can be downloaded via link: Creative Zen Xtra firmware - ZenXtraP4SAudible_PCFW_LB_2_10_03.exe

http://files2.europe.creative.com/manualdn/Drivers/PDE/9092/0x4F2D1A07/ZenXtraP4SAudible_PCFW_LB_2_10_03.exe

6. On the Zen - select "reload OS", from the recovery menu. You may refer to this link for more information on accessing the recovery mode under 'ZEN series of player':

http://uk.europe.creative.com/support/kb/article.asp?l=3&sid=4794

NOTE: If you are not able to access recovery mode, please install the firmware update directly.

7. As soon as it flashes up "reload new firmware now via USB" click the language button

8. Now the pc should find it and allow you to re-load the firmware. (it may take a few attempts)

9. Once complete, click close and restart the pc.

Mark Crowne, September 2007

This happened to me too and when I found this answer I almost passed out b/c it worked. Turn it on to when the EAX menu comes on. I think I had to take the battery out and put it back in. As the EAX screen comes on smack (and I mean SMACK) the upper right hand corner above the menu button and you should hear the hard drive grind on and it should play fine. Good luck.

Heather, September 2007

Mine has slowly beed deteriorating over the past month to the point where it cannot get past the rescue mode either. I suspect the hard drive is dead.

Bemuddlement, June 2006

Well, I will add another of the same issue...one day I was in the middle of a song and it just froze, I reset it and it will not move past the recover menu, no matter what I do. Has anyone found a fix, and does Creative even care??

TSmith, March 2006

I got the same problem on my zen extra 30gb. It is dead. it will not light up with anything. I think hd is dead.

chandra, November 2005

mine has also done this, i think we should all send a joint email or something?

chris, November 2005

This seems to be a common problem - my daughter's Zen has the same defect. It would seem, therefore, that the problem is one which is inherent in the equipment and therefore a manufacturing defect. The law states that you are entitled to receive goods which are of "merchantable qulaity". If Zen's regularly do this, then they are not of merchantable quality. The warranty period is irrelevant under the law - your rights cannot be curtailed by the manufacturer or the retailer.

You should go back to either the retailer or the manufacturer (you may need your receipt if it is the retailer but not the manufacturer as it cannot have been made by anyone else and has not been made for long enough to be outside of the protection of the law) and ask for it to be repaired or replaced. If they refuse to do either within a reasonable amount of time, you would have a right to proceed against the retailer/manufacturer in the Small Claims Court (see http://www.bbc.co.uk/crime/law/smallclaimscourt.shtml for more information).

Hope this helps

Dunc, October 2005

I have the same problem - did you ever get this fixed?

Claire, October 2005