Basically, you should see the (animated) logo come up, and they you would see a smaller logo screen with empeg car, the version of the software and the player "name". It would also show you the boot steps as they occur (example: Loading playlist database...).

Maybe Steve's Movies would help... It has been a while since I have seen them, but it might show a boot sequence.

Tony - is there a way that an animated GIF or a movie file of a standard boot sequence could be added to the FAQ?

The fact that you are stuck on the first screen really shows a disk issue. Because the software revision is not showing the error, it is likely that a bootlog would prove that it is not finding a hard drive. Most likely, if you just got the player, the hard drive cable came loose. An easy fix, if you are willing to open the unit.