nevermind , friend
i have solved the problem
it appears that the usb cable supplied was faulty, or the usb port i was using was not good.
i got out a different usb cable and inserted it into a different port. the player has now charged up quickly
i suppose that some players come with poor quality usb cables? and that people who are having battery charge problems should check out their cables and usb ports first - before resorting to a battery change