Incorrect format my mp3 player keeps saying "incorrect format reformat the player" everytime i switch it on. i have recently downloaded some songs on the mp please help

It sounds like a firmware issue. Send an email to [email protected] and they will email you back a fix.

There are two ways to format an Mp3 player - one on the computer itself, and one in Windows Media Player. Both methods will end up erasing all the songs on the player, but the player will be "good as new" after that. Sometimes reformatting in this manner will override the player's native formatting and cause problems - this can be reversed in most cases by updating the player's firmware. Firmware upgrades are available from most manufacturers' websites.

WARNING: The following procedures will erase all songs on the player.
Check if the file system is NTFS. If yes, format it to FAT or FAT32. - Connect player to computer, double-click my computer, right click on icon of mp3 player and select format. This only applies to Windows-based computers.
You can also format the player in Windows Media Player itself:
Connect your Mp3 player to the computer and open Windows Media Player. Click on the Sync tab. Pull down the drop down menu underneath the Sync tab by moving your cursor over the Sync tab and left clicking on the little black arrow underneath the Sync tab. Highlight "name of Mp3 player here 1GB" (wording may vary slightly), and then select "Format." - this should erase everything.
-Tha Mp3 Doctor

There are two ways to format an Mp3 player - one on the computer itself, and one in Windows Media Player. Both methods will end up erasing all the songs on the player, but the player will be "good as new" after that. Sometimes reformatting in this manner will override the player's native formatting and cause problems - this can be reversed in most cases by updating the player's firmware. Firmware upgrades are available from most manufacturers' websites.

WARNING: The following procedures will erase all songs on the player.

Check if the file system is NTFS. If yes, format it to FAT or FAT32. - Connect player to computer, double-click my computer, right click on icon of mp3 player and select format. This only applies to Windows-based computers.
You can also format the player in Windows Media Player itself:
Connect your Mp3 player to the computer and open Windows Media Player. Click on the Sync tab. Pull down the drop down menu underneath the Sync tab by moving your cursor over the Sync tab and left clicking on the little black arrow underneath the Sync tab. Highlight "name of Mp3 player here 1GB" (wording may vary slightly), and then select "Format." - this should erase everything.
-Tha Mp3 Doctor

There are two ways to format an Mp3 player - one on the computer itself, and one in Windows Media Player. Both methods will end up erasing all the songs on the player, but the player will be "good as new" after that. Sometimes reformatting in this manner will override the player's native formatting and cause problems - this can be reversed in most cases by updating the player's firmware. Firmware upgrades are available from most manufacturers' websites.

WARNING: The following procedures will erase all songs on the player.

Check if the file system is NTFS. If yes, format it to FAT or FAT32. - Connect player to computer, double-click my computer, right click on icon of mp3 player and select format. This only applies to Windows-based computers.
You can also format the player in Windows Media Player itself:
Connect your Mp3 player to the computer and open Windows Media Player. Click on the Sync tab. Pull down the drop down menu underneath the Sync tab by moving your cursor over the Sync tab and left clicking on the little black arrow underneath the Sync tab. Highlight "name of Mp3 player here 1GB" (wording may vary slightly), and then select "Format." - this should erase everything.
-Tha Mp3 Doctor

Reformat in Windows Media Player instead.
Format - Erases Everything: Connect your Sansa player to the computer and open Windows Media Player. Click on the Sync tab. Pull down the drop down menu underneath the Sync tab by moving your cursor over the Sync tab and left clicking on the little black arrow underneath the Sync tab. Highlight "Sansa 1GB" (wording may vary slightly), and then select "Format." - this should erase everything.

Reformat the player.

There are two ways to format an Mp3 player - one on the computer itself, and one in Windows Media Player. Both methods will end up erasing all the songs on the player, but the player will be "good as new" after that. Sometimes reformatting in this manner will override the player's native formatting and cause problems - this can be reversed in most cases by updating the player's firmware. Firmware upgrades are available from most manufacturers' websites.

WARNING: The following procedures will erase all songs on the player.
Check if the file system is NTFS. If yes, format it to FAT or FAT32. - Connect player to computer, double-click my computer, right click on icon of mp3 player and select format. This only applies to Windows-based computers.
You can also format the player in Windows Media Player itself:
Connect your Mp3 player to the computer and open Windows Media Player. Click on the Sync tab. Pull down the drop down menu underneath the Sync tab by moving your cursor over the Sync tab and left clicking on the little black arrow underneath the Sync tab. Highlight "name of Mp3 player here 1GB" (wording may vary slightly), and then select "Format." - this should erase everything.
-Tha Mp3 Doctor

Have you tried looking in the manuel? maybe that helps. I hope it helps ;)

There are two ways to format an Mp3 player - one on the computer itself, and one in Windows Media Player. Both methods will end up erasing all the songs on the player, but the player will be "good as new" after that. Sometimes reformatting in this manner will override the player's native formatting and cause problems - this can be reversed in most cases by updating the player's firmware. Firmware upgrades are available from most manufacturers' websites.

WARNING: The following procedures will erase all songs on the player.

Check if the file system is NTFS. If yes, format it to FAT or FAT32. - Connect player to computer, double-click my computer, right click on icon of mp3 player and select format. This only applies to Windows-based computers.
You can also format the player in Windows Media Player itself:
Connect your Mp3 player to the computer and open Windows Media Player. Click on the Sync tab. Pull down the drop down menu underneath the Sync tab by moving your cursor over the Sync tab and left clicking on the little black arrow underneath the Sync tab. Highlight "name of Mp3 player here 1GB" (wording may vary slightly), and then select "Format." - this should erase everything.
-Tha Mp3 Doctor

I had the same problem when I first bought one of these. The only solution I could find was to return the device and get a new one. Ron

I just repaired/reformatted my 1.0 GB Ilo following the instructions below with no problems:

1. Please connect the player to a rear USB port on the computer. The display should show “USB Connected”. (If not, please press the power button.)
2. Please make sure that all unused programs and applications are closed. You can close the applications by closing as many of the icons in the lower right hand corner (by the clock) as possible.
3. Download the correct Firmware
   1. Click here to download the ILO 116 Firmware
4. Click Open to initiate the download
5. Double click on the ILO or Siren folder icon. There will be 14 icons.
6. There will be a Setup icon that looks like a box with a blue line on it; please double click on this.
7. Then click Run - this will open the Install Wizard.
8. The Install Wizard has the instructions on the screen as you go through it.
9. Once the firmware has installed, please click the Start menu, then Programs.
10. Look for the icon that says ILO or Siren, and then double click the Firmware Update to install to the player. Depending on how severe the corruption to the firmware on the player is, you might have to do this step 2 or 3 times in order for it to completely repair the firmware.

It will now search for the ilo. This may take a while depending on how corrupted the firmware is, so be patient.

After it has found the ilo, it will say, "A device has been detected in recovery mode and is being initialized. Please wait."

The ilo should come back to life and start showing it's glorious "USB Connected" screen.

The "Firmware Update" window should appear. Select "Format Data Area" to rid the player of corrupted firmware data. And click "Start".

It can take anywhere from 2 to 4 minutes to re-flash the ilo and the program might appear to have locked up, but it hasn't. So don't close the program or disconnect the ilo!

If the program fails to find the ilo and gives you an error like, "Device Timeout" or something similar, you need to reinstall the ilo drivers. This can be done by inserting the ilo cable into a USB port it has never been plugged into before. Or you can reinstall the drivers by reinstalling the Rave-MP program. (Remove it, restart the computer, and then install it again).

Although, plugging it into a new USB port is the fastest and easiest option.

If your player won't even turn on, follow these instructions first and then those above:

First, remove the battery. While this isn't necessary to get the player into recovery mode, it insures the unit will not power on before the cable is inserted.

On the ilo, hold the "Power" button down while inserting the USB cable. Continue holding the power button down for 5 seconds more after the cable is inserted. The backlight on the ilo will remain off during this time, making the screen appear to be blank.

An hourglass should appear on your computer and Windows should say,

"Found new Hardware 'SMTP3500".