# Anyone Else with Zune 30GB Issues Today?



## Steve (Aug 22, 2006)

Saw a strange glow on the top of my dresser overnight, and it was coming from my 30GB Zune, which decided to turn itself on and get stuck on the opening screen, with no way to turn it off or reboot it.

Apparently, I'm not the only one. There are reports from all over the web about other owners with the same issue. It's the Y2K bug all over again! :lol:

I'm waiting with bated breath for a statement from Microsoft. /steve


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## GolfProRM (Sep 4, 2008)

My wife said her 30gb Zune was still working this morning. Not sure if it's running the latest firmware or not though. Won't be surprised if it does crash though. Possible the time on the device is wrong.

Surprised we haven't heard anything from MS yet though. If they can't fix it with a firmware update, they definitely need to replace all of them (yeah right).


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## GolfProRM (Sep 4, 2008)

Note on the Zune.net page.



> Customers with 30gb Zune devices may experience issues when booting their Zune hardware. We're aware of the problem and are working to correct it. Sorry for the inconvenience, and thanks for your patience!


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## Steve (Aug 22, 2006)

GolfProRM said:


> Note on the Zune.net page.


Thanks for spotting that. I was running the latest f/w. Have a feeling I have a brick now that will have to be sent in to MS. Sure hope I'm wrong! /steve


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## Mike Bertelson (Jan 24, 2007)

Steve said:


> Thanks for spotting that. I was running the latest f/w. Have a feeling I have a brick now that will have to be sent in to MS. Sure hope I'm wrong! /steve


But wouldn't that imply that there are a whole lot of people in the same boat?

Can Microsoft keep up with that many returns?

Mike


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## Steve (Aug 22, 2006)

MicroBeta said:


> But wouldn't that imply that there are a whole lot of people in the same boat?
> 
> Can Microsoft keep up with that many returns?
> 
> Mike


I know. And what about folks that are out of warranty? Microsoft is going to have to extend an olive branch to them if the problem was caused by the update.

Since I can't reset the unit ( front panel button resets don't work and no hole for a paper clip ), my only hope is that once the battery dies and it turns off, when reapplying power, it will be in some state that the Zune PC app can grab control of it and new firmware can be applied.

Or perhaps Microsoft can deliver an EXE file that can somehow communicate with the player, even though Windows doesn't recognize it as a connected device? Don't know if that's possible.

Otherwise, seems to me like it will have to go back, no? /steve


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## LarryFlowers (Sep 22, 2006)

Posted on Zune.net Support Page:


Customers with 30gb Zune devices may experience issues when booting their Zune hardware. We’re aware of the problem and are working to correct it. Sorry for the inconvenience, and thanks for your patience!


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## Mike Bertelson (Jan 24, 2007)

LarryFlowers said:


> Posted on Zune.net Support Page:
> 
> Customers with 30gb Zune devices may experience issues when booting their Zune hardware. We're aware of the problem and are working to correct it. Sorry for the inconvenience, and thanks for your patience!


See post three.

:lol:


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## Stuart Sweet (Jun 19, 2006)

Yeah, they're calling this "Z2K" :lol:


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## Mike Bertelson (Jan 24, 2007)

*Z2K: 30GB Zunes Across the Planet are Frozen*

http://www.topix.net/tech/2008/12/z2k-30gb-zunes-across-the-planet-are-frozen

http://gizmodo.com/5121311/30gb-zunes-failing-everywhere-all-at-once

Mike


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## LarryFlowers (Sep 22, 2006)

I am seeing some on line discussion that opening the Zune and getting at the internal reset button will resolve the issue.. HOWEVER.. this is not confirmed by Microsoft as yet AND I wouldn't recommend this to the masses as it can be difficult to work around the earphone jack. 
Happy New Year

Larry


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## HIPAR (May 15, 2005)

'The day the Zunes stood still'; Klaatu's handiwork! :nono2:

--- CHAS


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## tcusta00 (Dec 31, 2007)

LarryFlowers said:


> I am seeing some on line discussion that opening the Zune and getting at the internal reset button will resolve the issue.. HOWEVER.. this is not confirmed by Microsoft as yet AND I wouldn't recommend this to the masses as it can be difficult to work around the earphone jack.
> Happy New Year
> 
> Larry


Here's a fix that _will_ work for the masses.

/ducking and running to avoid flying bricked Zunes/


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## Steve (Aug 22, 2006)

LarryFlowers said:


> I am seeing some on line discussion that opening the Zune and getting at the internal reset button will resolve the issue.. HOWEVER.. this is not confirmed by Microsoft as yet AND I wouldn't recommend this to the masses as it can be difficult to work around the earphone jack.
> Happy New Year
> 
> Larry


I was really surprised to learn that my Zune had no "paper clip" hole for a hard reset. What's up with that?

My battery finally died, and the Zune is at least responding to the "on" button now with a "dead battery" indicator on-screen, so maybe there's hope for it yet. I don't want to plug it in to sync or recharge it tho, until I see what Microsoft has to say officially.

/steve


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## Steve (Aug 22, 2006)

And if it turns out this was some hacker within Microsoft's idea of a New Year's prank, the least s/he could have done was get the date right and inconvenience everyone on their day off, instead of the day before! :lol: /steve


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## GolfProRM (Sep 4, 2008)

Still have to wonder if they forgot to program a 366th day. 

Hopefully they'll have a way to update the Zune through a sync process. I would think they'd be able to send a signal to the hardware that would force a reboot and a fix. Otherwise they'll have a major class action suit on their hands.


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## Steve (Aug 22, 2006)

GolfProRM said:


> Still have to wonder if they forgot to program a 366th day.


Makes sense! I forgot this was a leap year, and I should know that... (a) it's an election year and (b) ... my birthday is 2/28! :lol: /steve


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## smiddy (Apr 5, 2006)

Holy smokes, what a screwup! My Zune 80 GB seems to be ok, though it never updated due to daylight savings time switchover. I sure hope they get these folks some help fast.


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## B Newt (Aug 12, 2007)

Apple is going to be laughing all the way to the bank on this fiasco!


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## Steve (Aug 22, 2006)

So I couldn't resist plugging my now "dead" Zune into the PC to see if at least gets recognized as an attached device that can be updated.

No dice. The Zune screen lights up and the "dead battery" indicator comes up, but that's about it. There is no recognition by Windows that the Zune is connected, and no ability to bring up a menu on the Zune itself, even though it has power.

It's going to be interesting to see how Microsoft gets around this. I wonder if it's possible for Microsoft to write a Window utility program that can see the Zune and reset it, even if Windows can't? Hmmm. /steve


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## Steve615 (Feb 5, 2006)

Here is a recent article from Yahoo Tech news in regards to the Zune issue.

http://tech.yahoo.com/news/nf/20081231/tc_nf/63809


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## LarryFlowers (Sep 22, 2006)

Microsoft issued another statement, saying its technical team has isolated the issue: a bug in the internal clock driver related to the way the device handles a leap year. The company says the issue should be resolved over the next 24 hours as the time change moves to January 1, 2009.

"We expect the internal clock on the Zune 30GB devices will automatically reset tomorrow (noon, GMT)," Microsoft said. "By tomorrow you should allow the battery to fully run out of power before the unit can restart successfully, then simply ensure that your device is recharged, then turn it back on. If you're a Zune Pass subscriber, you may need to sync your device with your PC to refresh the rights to the subscription content you have downloaded to your device."
(_Via *CrunchGear*_)


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## Mike Bertelson (Jan 24, 2007)

GolfProRM said:


> Still have to wonder if they forgot to program a 366th day.
> 
> Hopefully they'll have a way to update the Zune through a sync process. I would think they'd be able to send a signal to the hardware that would force a reboot and a fix. Otherwise they'll have a major class action suit on their hands.


Not to mention the Leap Second tonight.


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## GolfProRM (Sep 4, 2008)

Official response from MS



> Q: Why did this occur at precisely 12:01 a.m. on December 31, 2008?
> 
> There is a bug in the internal clock driver causing the 30GB device to improperly handle the last day of a leap year.


Guess I was right after all! :grin: --- wonder why the bug didn't exist in the other hardware versions - the firmware couldn't have been that different?


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## Draconis (Mar 16, 2007)

It happened to my wifes Zune 30 today, I have not used mine yet.


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## Steve (Aug 22, 2006)

GolfProRM said:


> Guess I was right after all! :grin: ---


Nice call!

And let's hope MS is right and things go as smoothly as they say they will tomorrow.  /steve


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## LarryFlowers (Sep 22, 2006)

My Zune has successfully recovered.


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## Steve (Aug 22, 2006)

LarryFlowers said:


> My Zune has successfully recovered.


Mine too! Came back to life after about 15 minutes of charging. Microsoft sure dodged a bullet on this one! :lol: /steve


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## djlong (Jul 8, 2002)

Apple's ad agency must be in a feeding frenzy over this trying to decide just what kind and how many commercials to make exploiting this...


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## LarryFlowers (Sep 22, 2006)

Not if they are smart... to acknowledge and focus attention on it would imply that Zune is of threat and/or interest to Apple... which it isn't and they definitely don't want to start a war over bug issues... let's see was it the iPod touch that was shipped with a Trojan and do they want to discuss the "enviable" success of iTune updates?



djlong said:


> Apple's ad agency must be in a feeding frenzy over this trying to decide just what kind and how many commercials to make exploiting this...


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## tcusta00 (Dec 31, 2007)

LarryFlowers said:


> Not if they are smart... to acknowledge and focus attention on it would imply that Zune is of threat and/or interest to Apple... which it isn't and they definitely don't want to start a war over bug issues... let's see was it the iPod touch that was shipped with a Trojan and do they want to discuss the "enviable" success of iTune updates?


You don't think they'll do something passive-aggressive like DirecTV just did in reaction to the Viacom thing?

http://directv.com/DTVAPP/global/contentPageNR.jsp?assetId=P5360004

:lol:


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## Steve (Aug 22, 2006)

tcusta00 said:


> You don't think they'll do something passive-aggressive like DirecTV just did in reaction to the Viacom thing?


I don't think so, since Microsoft admitted it was a mistake. That would be dirty pool, IMHO.

Rather, I think Apple likes to poke fun at Microsoft design decisions, or features that can be annoying, like UAC's. /steve


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## Draconis (Mar 16, 2007)

At least both my Zune 30 and the wife's came back. Wonder how it will be until the next firmware release that will address this bug?

Then again, since this bug only happens on Leap Year we have quite some time before it happens again.


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## Mike Bertelson (Jan 24, 2007)

My daughter both have 80GB Zunes and my nephew has a 4GB. 

It is kinda strange that it only effected(affected ?) the 30GB.

Hmmm...I guess other companies have different software for different models of the same hardware too. 

Mike


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## Draconis (Mar 16, 2007)

Now here is a interesting twist, the whole lockup may *NOT* have been Microsoft's fault. The lockup occurred on *OTHER* devices using the Freescale MC13783 processor.

Y2K8 Zune quirk really a Freescale bug?

The Culprit of the Zune Massacre

Now for the fun question, did anyone out there with a Non-Zune MP3 player have the same issue?


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## LarryFlowers (Sep 22, 2006)

I have always suspected that this was a Toshiba issue (they make the Zune) they are well known for proprietary driver issues. Just glad it is over and it wasn't worse.



Draconis said:


> Now here is a interesting twist, the whole lockup may *NOT* have been Microsoft's fault. The lockup occurred on *OTHER* devices using the Freescale MC13783 processor.
> 
> Y2K8 Zune quirk really a Freescale bug?
> 
> ...


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