Hi again, Michiganfrog; I've been off to the Alps' snow for a while, a lost place "in the Highest", a paradise with no serious web connection. I'm afraid - thanks to your previous chinglish lesson and a few experiments - I manage to properly operate the player, and the "skipping issue" I've reported is a serious one;
ops:
the trick I've been using for a while is to hit hte "previous "(or "next") key right after I short press the "menu" key to browse the (now fairly long) directory list. If not, I'd be prompted with the "last played song" (the blue screen you speak of ) after a while, before or right after the list appears on the screen, and, in any case, before I can scroll the list to select a directory. The trick is not neat, but, well, as yet it works! The issue seems to be a preset timer which I can't (or at least don't know how to) trim.
As for the memory being legit 4 GB, the player is now stuffed with 3.9 GB of music, recording, and video and plays everything smoothly, 8) ... but for the "skipping issue" :evil:. Best, Kerdu.