Top 10 RCA M4204 MP3 Player Questions & Answers

i was in the same boat of dispair UNTIL!!!!!!
I held the Play button WHILE inserting the USB cable that was already connected to the computer. After a bit, it revived!!
That little heart attack scared me. I'm like, " I treated you like royalty, and THIS is how you repay me?"
lol. there literally is like no scratches on it cuz i leave it in the little sleeve thing it came in all the time.

Hope this helps!

ok lamar230990 to turn your mp3 player to msc mode disconnect it from the computer and turn it on. once it is on go to settings and scroll down to protocol and click on it with the play/pause button. this should turn it to msc mode then connect back in to the computer and go to this site to download the software www.rcaaudiovideo.com

Go to "http://voxrightnow.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/voxrightnow.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=2559"
To update the firmware of the M42xx mp3 player click here and download the firmware. start the firmware and when it is runnin plug the M42xx in at the same time holding down the PLAY BUTTON (center) until a white screen with a small computer with a line going to your M42xx is displayed and then release the PLAY button. You can then click on start and the firmware update will complete,,, DO NOT DISCONNECT DURING THIS UPDATE... it may take 2 times to complete this but it will work.... YEA!!!!


CARL

Go to "http://voxrightnow.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/voxrightnow.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=2559"
To update the firmware of the M42xx mp3 player click here and download the firmware. start the firmware and when it is runnin plug the M42xx in at the same time holding down the PLAY BUTTON (center) until a white screen with a small computer with a line going to your M42xx is displayed and then release the PLAY button. You can then click on start and the firmware update will complete,,, DO NOT DISCONNECT DURING THIS UPDATE... it may take 2 times to complete this but it will work.... YEA!!!! WORKS with 2, 4 or 8 GB Models.....


CARL

I had this SAME problem.
Killed during an upgrade.
This will work with M4204/M4208 and probably any in between, if you need directions with yours and it is not this brand call the number at the bottom of the email and ask for instructions to Hard-Start your mp3 player.

Here is the solution. It DOES work, took me two tries because I was unsure whether to hold the buttons down, or release one when pressing the next. (I let one go, pressed the next one etc and it finally worked)

Anyways.. START by charging the ipod, whether it is turned on or not, plug it into your pc it WILL charge. They recommend at least 8 hours.
Here is the email they sent me...

Dear RCA customer,

Please follow the steps below tocorrect the problem you are experiencing with the M4208

1. Goto www.audiovox.com
2. Click on Customer Service
3. Clickon FAQ’s and than in search, enter M4204 ( I know you have a M4208 butthey both use the same firmware)
4. Downloadfirmware upgrade
5. Holdplay/pause button for 15 seconds
6. Holdmenu button for 10 seconds
7. AttachM4208 via USB cable while holding play/pause button
8. Thisshould start the firmware upgrade
9. Possiblean error message of “cant write to disk” will pop up
10. Firmwareupgrade will end with error do not close
11. Goto My Computer find the drive that holds the MP3 player
12. Rightclick scroll down to format, format the player
13. Runfirmware upgrade again

After you have completed these stepsplease install the latest version of the easy rip software.

If you need any further help, pleasecontact us back at 1-800-645-4994. Our hours are Monday - Friday 8:30am- 5:30pm Eastern. Do not reply to this email because we will not receiveit.

Sincerely,
Audiovox Customer Service

I had the same problem too. I was about to give up and throw this RCA player away but I it is only 5 weeks old, I got it for christmas and would feel terrible letting it go because of this stupid problem. I noticed soo many other people had this same problem, and since I spend over an hour and got it fixed, I had to share my solution and hopefully help others. I must have tried bwelliver's solution 10 to 20 times before I finally figured out the pattern to doing it. Unfortunately, i should have gone down and noticed what clklause has recommended, which was to ensure that the power is turned off before plugging in the RCA mp3 player.
All I did was download the firmware from the link that bwelliver linked to, unplugged and turned off my RCA M4208GR-8 player, then 1) I ran the firmware software 2) held down the Play(center button) on the RCA mp3 player that the power is still TURNED OFF, and 3) plugged in the player to the USB plug right after starting the firmware program. I watched the firmware program on the screen and noticed it would go from "searching" to "initializing" and I immediately released the Play(center button) on the RCA player and sure enough, the RCA player would begin initializing, and I was able to click Start on the Firmware program from the PC.

Hope this helps

The TV set itself will probably have a button that is marked either "Video," "Input" "Source" or "TV/VCR" - I would need to have your exact television model # to be sure. Make sure the cable box is on. Press the Video/Input/Source/TV/VCR etc button and see if your cable picture reappears on one of the source channels. If your television is connected to the cable box with a standard coaxial cable, then Ch.3 or Ch. 4 would be the right choice. If you have a digital cable box, however, the cable is probably going to be on an auxillary channel. If you give me the exact model # of your TV, and the type of wires that run from your cable box to your TV, I can give you more precise instructions. Good luck!

-Tha Mp3 Doctor

go on to www.rca.com and download the firmware

I can't do anything with my MP3 player. I've used it once and now the screen displays "Key Locked!" Can you help?

Restoring RCA M4304A Recorder Firmware

Symtom: recorder shows OPAL splash screen, then shows "profiling requires20mb of free space, shutting down" and then shuts down. Recorder cannot be accessed by windows or the RCA easyrip software.

Solution: Use the firmware update found here: http://www.voxxsupport.com/images/downloads/OPAL_066F_85A4_85A5_0_1140_SIG.EXE

This update needs to be ran on an xp computer running 32 bitOS. It was tested in a Win 7 64bitmachine and proven to not work.

Necessary steps taken to get the firmware to properlyrestore were as follows:

1. Hold in the power (menu) button for 10 seconds(the splash screen will show and it will give the error message, ignore it)

2. While still holding the power button, press theplay/pause button and hold down.

3. Release the power button while still holdingdown the play/pause button and wait 5 seconds.

4. While still holding the play/pause button plugin the usb cable to the recorder. Continue to hold the play/pause button foranother 5 seconds after plugging the cable in.

5. Release the play pause button then launch theEXE for the firmware update. Minimize the instruction screen so you can see thefull update screen.

6. Leave the format checkbox checked (check it ifit isn't checked) formatting is crucial to this working.

7. Once the status in the update window changesfrom initializing to ready click start to update the recorder. It will go through formatting, then updating.

8. Once the status shows complete disconnect therecorder and with any luck the recorder is usable again. The media files will obviously have to bereloaded, but the recording is functional at least.