Zen Vision M Complete Disassembly Video by a Technician

[xdispidx]

How do you remove the LCD from the outer protective casing. I've got the Zen apart with no problems, but cannot seem to figure out how to actually remove the old LCD to perform the replacement. Any advice?

[xdispidx]

what size screwdriver is best for opening the Zen? i want to make sure i have the correct size.

[TheGadgetDr]

@xdispidx A #000 Phillips precision screwdriver will do the trick.

[MarlonOwnsYourCake]

so how do I put the screen back on?

[TheGadgetDr]

@MarlonOwnsYourCake The reassembly video will show you. ht tp ://youtu. be/ Wq02RqTEVPU

[monos70]

Hi, whats a good software to use to retrieve "deleted" files from the zen's hard drive, you know, nothing is really deleted?  I appreciate you alls help thanks.

[TheGadgetDr]

@monos70 It's been a while since we at the Gadget Doctor have used software to extract deleted files from Creative Labs MP3 players. You will need to do some research to find out.

[salsashark00]

Cheers for this! If i hadn't followed this video when replacing my screen I would be back on ebay needing a new battery, hard drive and any other component attached with a flimsy wire!

[DexterDurden89]

I recently found my old Zen Vision M and would like to start using it again. I don't have any of the cables or software for it, just the player itself. I'm attempting to use an IPOD charger for it(it fits the bottom port) but am getting no results. It appears the LCD screen is dammaged, but it could be any number of problems. What would you reccomend to get the player up and running again? Is there some way i can troubleshoot the device to find out which(if any) parts are faulty?

[TheGadgetDr]

@DexterDurden89 You absolutely must use chargers that are designed for use with your specific MP3 player; iPod chargers are proprietary pieces of hardware designed only for iPods and can damage your Zen. In fact I would be surprised if it actually did "fit" the bottom port. In my experience, the pins for the dock connector on the iPods and Zens are different. The first step you need to take is to get the correct charger, and even then you may have already damaged your Zen's port

[qwer8907]

Thanks for the upload i love my zen brought it every where in the world now the hardrive needs to be replaced just 4 days before i go on holidays i not a expert would i better just buying a new mp3 player or just go to a shop and get it fixed?

[AlBundy7777]

My Zen screen is showing every second line. (smthg like interlaced) If you have still left parts - let me notice on this comment. Im in UK.

[mikkun]

I have a question, does the Zen Vision: M and the Zen Vision W use the same ZIF type hard drives?

[jburnes4]

great tutorial 

[GavinPJQuinn]

Brilliant!!!!! I have 2 of these, one with a f**ked hard drive and one with a f**ked screen! Cant wait to try this.Thanks,Gav.

[TheGadgetDr]

The Gadget Doctor (that's me) is no longer in business. But I am glad that my tutorial videos continue to help people, and I plan to maintain my YouTube Channel and maybe add some more videos. Maybe someday in the future I will be in business again. I still have some parts left over from the business that I am liquidating. If anyone needs anything, feel free to contact me via YouTube.

[mikkun]

@TheGadgetDr: do you have any idea about the locations of the solder points of left audio, right audio, audio ground; and positive, negative and ground for power? I want to try something and I need to know where these solder points are located. thanks for the help! :)

[mookieqt]

@TheGadgetDr Hi, I have a Zen Vision M with a firmware problem, I found someone that's selling another but it's black and I just wanna change my face because mines is pink, can I take these steps shown in this video?

[MarlonOwnsYourCake]

@mookieqt yes

[TheGadgetDr]

@mookieqt Yes, you can do that. You might also want to watch our Zen M Touchpad Disassembly and Reassembly videos as well.

[928GTSR]

Thanks for the great video guide,it was very much a help when I had to replace the LCD screen on my ZVM. I couldn't quite tell how you were positioning the screwdriver when you went to pry the bottom cover off(the one over the dongle port)but I had better luck putting a small flat tip screwdriver on the top of the cover,wedging it between the cover and the chassis,and then prying it off.

[928GTSR]

@928GTSR

When I tried prying the cover off by inserting the screwdriver between the dongle connector port and the cover I didn't get very far and I feared for the integrity of the dongle connector as it kept being bent further downward which worried me.

Either way I appreciate your guide,it was a massive help.

[Nwordplzplz]

I might have to do this one day, but I don't have the time right now to do it. Lol. I dropped my Zen the other day and now the screen is elevated in the one corner.

[daswausmaus]

What kind of screws are used? (Torx 2,4,6?) so I know what screwdriver is needed.

[Careah]

I have a spare screen for sale.

[nightrocket99]

Thanks for taking the time to put together the Creative Vision M videos. Really nice of you to share your knowledge with us. After having just replaced the plastic "front" that goes over the lcd and touchpad sensors, I am really surprised by how easily it scratches. Even after using compressed air to dust, using a microfiber cloth, and being careful! What mp3 players would you consider to be the best built (including more scratch-resistant screen) that is also easy to self-service?

[sticmancJ]

Dear Dr .

Before i go through this process and buy a new screen i have a question . I dropped my Zen and now the screen has lines through it . The screen is not cracked but the screen does have lines through it and it looks like a video issue . Should i replace the screen or do you think that will resolve the issue . i dont wanna go through this process and then power it up and the new screen has the same video issue.

[ajsmicko]

Is it possible to put a larger HDD ??? And can you use HDD from the iPod's ??

[wasimodoone]

where can i repair my keyboard on my zen? it doesnt react! pls help!!

[nightrocket99]

Dear Doctor,

I will be removing and replacing the clear, plastic screen cover that goes over the LCD. I am doing the same with the plastic panel that surrounds the touch pad. Would you consider doing a video on these two, common procedures? It would be fantastic and useful. Thanks.

- JC

[scoobydog411]

My ZEN goes to recovery mode when I turn it on . Should I replace the hard drive ?

[jaissal]

My screen on my Vision M is busted, and need to replace it. Could you mention which tools you need to reach the LCD screen. If only Creative would make new version on these and increase capacity and reduce overall size. sadly i am currently using an iPOd Classic 80GB

[nanis411]

ok i have my zen open and everything and now im wonderin can i take the harddrive or memory and put it on my computter becvause the pictures i have on the zen i want to save them in my computter??

[kalmes2007]

Very helpfull video ! I have a question... the part where you plug your earphone (4:01 the part u r touching with your right hand index finger) ... mine is damaged ... everytime I plug an earphone to it, it causes to shut down the player. Can u replace that or is there anyway to get it fixed? please give me some advice. Thank you.

[TheGadgetDr]

Go to TheGadgetDr . com (without the spaces)

[satcho007]

Do you think it might be possible to replace the oroginal HD with an SSD? Or might there be problems conserning drivers or something?

[TheGadgetDr]

In theory you might be able to do that. We at The Gadget Doctor have never attempted it. And it's still quite expensive too for SSD memory.

[Malakarpoo]

I'm having problems with my video screen.

[kanjimanji]

mine now loads the creative splash screen animation and then the hard drive starts making a repeating pattern of clicking sounds... and that is it. Do you think a new HDD will solve that. i mean the battery is ok, what else can be not working?

[TheGadgetDr]

The hard drive making repeated noise is due to one of two things: 1) The hard drive is mechanically damaged and needs to be replaced, or 2) the hard drive is unable to draw enough power to continue operation, thus repeatedly beginning to spin up, but then powering back down because of the lack of power. Check your battery with a voltmeter; it should read 3.7 volts. If it does, then the problem is your hard drive.

[WaketheSheeple]

At 3:47 your left with the Screen side, I need to know what the bronze/copper flat paper like thing is that im seeing. I'v taken mine apart due to it not connecting to my pc, and found that at the bottem where the Usb connects its broken from the circuit board. the bottem "arm" ill call it thats connected it broke and not connected. Any idea's?

It has 3 bands on it that survived somehow, My Hp wont recognize the Zen, yet charges, and no new media can be added. help please! <3

[serbusfish]

I have a small problem with my Zen, dunno if anyone can help. The screen has gone white, you can still read whats on the screen and the player still functions as it should, but the screen has gone white with white lines going across it. It has been like this for months now, ive sort of accepted it because I dont have a warrenty as I purchased it from USA (im in UK). I did take it apart when the problem first occured to see if i could fix it but no luck, does anyone know what might be wrong?

[TheGadgetDr]

The white screen problem is due to a fault in the LCD screen's connector cable. Because the connector cable cannot be replaced/removed from the LCD, you will need to replace your LCD screen.

There is also a 5% change that you LCD screen is fine and it is instead a problem in the circuit board's processor chip, which would require replacement of the main board. But like I said, small 5% chance.

[barber747]

Is there any reason why that fault occurs? And what's the probability of it happeneing?

[AtHomePregnancyTest]

The yellow battery connector has fallen off my Zen, what should I do?

[larks33]

Where can you purchase replacement parts like an LCD screen?

[sassychick1898]

I went to this site called The Gagdet Doctor and bought my screen.....But unfortunately, there are out of the motherboards....:(

[achkar]

ebay

[dyecorduroy]

Could you please answer a quick question: Is there any use of upgrading the firmware in the situation presented above? I hope you can advise!

[dyecorduroy]

Hi there!

Thank you SO much... you are SUCH a lifesaver. I've been having some problems with the touchpad not responding to tapping & the zen kept going to shortcut screen & all the four buttons on the corners would stop responding, only the scroll would work. I followed your video & took it all apart... I think there was a rattling because of the little grey tab under the touchpad which I successfully put back in place & it seems to be working fine now!

Thank you so much :)

[clubace090]

thank you so much!!!

I damaged my hard drive cable while replacing my battery and I had a heart attack thinking it was all over and I needed a new hard drive

[kearney789]

Im having the same problem with my zen as mastreeboy, can it be fixed???

[mastreeboy]

nice video, but i dont know whats wrong with my zen. whenn i try to turn it on nothing happens, but when i plug it in a computer nothing still doesnt happen but the blue light on top flashes and it makes this clicking sound, any idea what that is?

[ltethan649]

i have the same thing any ideas?

[ltethan649]

i fixed mine all i did was open it up disconnect the battery and reconnect it

[emotaco9]

Thanks for the great, informative video.

I had a question and maybe thinking you could help?

My Zen won't let me copy files from my Portable Hard Drive to Zen. It keeps saying "device had stopped responding or has been disconnected". I just had to go through the reformat process and upgrading firmware. It also makes weird clicking noises when I try to do this, but other than that, there is no problems after reformatting.

[kosko92]

Okay you might have talked about this in the video... but I'm having a problem and I'm wondering if you could help me fix it (if possible).

When I turn on my Zen It shows the first start up screen (Creative), then the second start up screen (Zen) and then when it gets to the third start up screen (ZEN: Vision: M) it completely freezes. No buttons work and I can't turn it off.

Help?

[TheGadgetDr]

You can have the hard drive upgraded at The Gadget Doctor; go to TheGadgetDr .  com (without the spaces)

[DANEVOXXII]

i liked the video. very informative. i was wondering if you can help with hdd upgrade. i'm planning to buy a 30gb, but i can't seem to find someone who can upgrade the hdd. some sources says it cannot be done on the 30gb; only the 60gb. please help?

[LexManSubs]

im having trouble taking the bottom plastic off? I dont know where to hook the flathead to pop off the plastic surround!

Please let me know where I am going wrong.. thanks.

[TheGadgetDr]

I keep accidentally hitting "remove" instead of "reply" and accidentally deleted your last message. Since the player is 3 years old I would expect the screws to be a little loose but your screws might have been more loose than normal due to the way the player was treated during those 3 years. I wouldn't worry about it though; tightening them up will fix the problem.

[LexManSubs]

Thanks for advice. Sadly I managed to break the battery connector taking it apart for the second time :(

[santiprom69]

I damaged the plastic base of the display ribbon connector of my ZEN v. any hint plz.(ref 6:54 in the vid..)

[TheGadgetDr]

That can't be repaired; now you'll need to replace your LCD screen.

[DevilHigh]

when you took out the bottom piece, what were you hitting with the flat head that made the click noise, where the recharger hooks in?

[TheGadgetDr]

Realignment of the upper metal part of the data port.

[DevilHigh]

ya i realized it when i took it apart to replace my hard drive, thanks for the vid.

[TheGadgetDr]

For parts or tools to fix your Zen, go to TheGadgetDr . com (without the spaces).

[XXXTITEXXX]

if i want to replace the hdd what specs show the new one have????

[MisterSW]

yeah I'm having fun ... I bought the visionM when they first came out... my mobo died... took my Toshiba HDD out.. bout a visionM from ebay ..WHAT DO YOU KNOW ... it has a shorter ( length) hitachi HDD in it.. my old Hd won't fit :(

[TheGadgetDr]

If you have a Toshiba, replace it with a Toshiba. If you have a Hitachi, replace it with a Hitachi. You must get a hard drive with the exact same part number that yours has. The part number will be on your hard drive.

[hastyle2120]

thankyou thankyou

[nelsond12]

someone droped my creative zen m and it stoped working plz help me

[TheGadgetDr]

I accidentally deleted a comment that was relevant. For troubleshooting help with your Zen, go to TheGadgetDr . com (without the spaces) and click on "Troubleshooting Your Device."

[Oblivaddict]

fantastic, but where the hell do i get a replacement screen?

[TheGadgetDr]

Go to TheGadgetDr .  com (without the spaces).

[jedikaiti]

Exactly what I needed - thanks!

[nattan41]

Alright, TheGadgetDr great video thanks. I see also you got the 120 MK1214GAH fitted, I wondered if you`ve seen the new 240 MK2431GAH !!!.

Do you think it would see the whole drive, Im

sure the zen has only file count limits not drive size limits. What do you think. Cheers, your video will come in handy when i decide on which drive to buy