Hi zrock,
Can the
s1fwx tool (available for download from this site in the "Tools" section) detect your player? If so, what does it show?
Have you also tried the other firmware files from OUR site as well? I would be interested to see what happens there and whether you get the same error message.
The other option is have a look at this post here -->
Recommendation: Try different MP3 Player Utilities.
Maybe you need to try a different version of the MP3 Player Utilities?