I've got a Sony NW-E005 USB stick/MP3 player

It has up until recently been an absoulte dream; however it has recently malfunctioned somehow.

All the rgualr functions worked and it played/searched/changed settings/charged by USB perfectly however when I connected it to my PC to charge or to transfer differnet music on to it I got this error

I've tried deleting the drivers and software and cleaning the connectors but to no avail.

I can't change any settings or format it via the PC as Windows refuses to recognise it and it doesn't even appear in "My Computer" as a USB device.

As a last resort I used it's internal menu's to do a "format" but all that did was delete the music; essentially reducing it to a very small but very effective brick.

Is there anything I can do?

Are there any super USB recovery tools out there? Although given Windows won't even recognise it I'm not sure i could actually use any of them on it!

Have you tried a different USB socket on the PC?

Have you tried connecting it to another PC?

Has anything got into the USB socket? (dirt etc) That could cause a dodgy connection.

Have you tried a different USB socket on the PC?

yes no change

Have you tried connecting it to another PC?

yes no change

Has anything got into the USB socket? (dirt etc) That could cause a dodgy connection.

possibly - i've ben using it in the garage while I was refurbing my alloy so i could be full of dust.

However i have blown it out with an air duster and nothing has changed

If you can get it apart, without damage, then electrical circuit cleaner will probably help.

I'd be guessing a small short somewhere from metalic dust.

I've had this problem before with some cheap brands of USB memory stick. I've never found a way around the issues described above and have always had to bin them.

Why Sony don't manufacture these small factor MP3 players with SD slots is beyond me.