To get Inside the player, remove the screw near the usb port, Pry the display window carefully near the small gap generated after the screw is removed and carefully slide a fingernail/creditcard along the surface. There is small metal clip holding the metal ring towards the bottom of the plate, remove that and the bottom will come off. Now slide the black casing towards the bottom and that should reveal pretty much everything. As far as replacing the battery goes, the battery is ridiculously small and tightly bonded to the unit, I think it is soldered on and the shuttle controlled IC is on the battery, The ribbon cable is very fragile and that scared me enough to put it back together, Hope you have better luck with it and if the unit is not more than a year old, sony will replace it for 29$ in the U.S.
