If you guys bought your players recently, there should be a warranty still pendig. Read the manual carefully, and if it contains that "..can be formatted" or "Formattable", just bring the gadget back to the store, and they MUST replace/repair it, no cost. If it's not, then...well... Phone tech support.
I have a Fujitsu-Siemens MemoryBird 256MB, and the manual contains, that it CAN be formatted, just like regular HDDs. Never tried it though, but there is warranty for this in this case, if i **** something
