DJ 20GB, will not connect to Windows 8 PC

So I got a 2004 Dell DJ at a yard sale. I enjoyed it very much until one day I turned it on and it gave me a screen that simply says firmware problem. I researched the problem and downloaded the necessary firmware. However, upon plugging my DJ to my PC, I found that Windows 8 will not recognize the DJ? I have tried many different things but none of them have worked.