Found this comment on Amazon, might be worth a try:
''I had the same problem. I charged the battery till the light turned green, then loaded the film. The cover was ejected. Then all the mode symbols started flashing and I couldn't even take a photo. I tried various things e.g., removing the battery and cleaning the terminals, still didn't work. The ONE thing that did work was, turning the camera ON, while it is ON, remove the battery and leave it out for approximately 3 minutes. Then I put the battery back in, and it started working. While I was waiting for the 3 minutes, I also was pressing the back film cover in. Maybe the flashing means the camera thinks the cover is not closed??? Anyway, hope this helps someone with the same frustrating problem''