Can you offer any tips in terms of preparation before I receive it?

Get the MP3 collection on your PC's hard drive in order. Clearly labeled and well-organized subdirectories, properly-named files with the track number as part of the title so that they are sequential, and... most importantly...

GET ALL YOUR TAGS FILLED OUT COMPLETELY AND CORRECTLY, including the track numbers, the genres, the years, etc.

Correct all spelling or grammar mistakes in the tags that might cause one artist to be listed as two different ones (Beatles <> The Beatles).

Remove all garbage from your tags such as JPG album covers and such.

Make sure your USB 2.0 port is working properly, verify it by using another USB2 device on that port if you have one.

Download the latest Rio Music Manager and the latest Karma firmware from the web site so it's ready to install when you get the player.