SuperSite Blog

MS is now acknowledging it:

www.zune.net/.../default.htm

Status:

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!

From the look of the support boards, there are way more than 17 Zune 30 owners - BTW.   ;-)

--tayme

Wow. I thought mine finally bought the farm.

Brown Brick of Death

Red Ring of Death

BBoD

RRoD

Tough to imagine how they will fix it?  If its locked how do you update it?  Will they ship "Zune coffins" to your house like they do with the 360?

@Ocean - That is the third time that you have posted that line of idiocy. Starving for attention much?

--tayme

majornelson.com/Default.aspx

Is reporting its fixed and you should be good to go?  Left side

Pingback from  Miles de Zune de 30GB se suicidan en masa [ACTUALIZADO] - FayerWayer

Maybe Zune decided '08 would be its last year !!?!

>>that line of idiocy<<

It looks bricked from all accounts.  The Zune is known for bringing the brown sexy back...thus, the BBoD.

Lindy the latest update says "NOT FIXED!"

>>Ok. Major's wrong. Zune issue NOT fixed. I'll rattle some cages in Zuneland<<

Look it up.

Paul

Is that the only Zune you own?

BTW -> These are Zune 30's with upgraded software (per Ed Bott)

Great job on software upgrading to extend the life of those devices MS!

>>Listening to music is about the last thing I do with my Zune. I always have to reinstall, download new firmware, or wait for the slow software to catch up. Now this? I want to throw it away and never look back.”<<

digitaldaily.allthingsd.com/.../zunesday

I own a Zune 80 and I noticed that it did reboot today when I turned it on. Wonder if the reboot happened to all the zune models but only the zune 30 ended up frozen...

@Ocean - Yeah...I get it and all. Its a cute little tag...but really, 3 separate posts just to draw attention your way...geez, man. That's pathetic.

--tayme

Wow, a problem that was first reported eight hours ago with one model hasn't been fixed yet. Horrors...

Considering the traffic, either:

A) The Zune 30 sold a LOT better than the usual suspects posting would have us believe

B) A lot of people are complaining here who don't have a Zune 30.

Heck, it's New Years, let's go with both.

Here folks:

>>It appears that it is related to the hardware clock in the Zune 30.  People are reporting that by disabling the Windows Time Service on their PC, resetting the date on their PC (to something like 12/04/2008) , and stopping all Zune-related Windows services (and hard-resetting the Zune device) they are able to get it all working again.

>>>>>Go to Start > Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Services

Go to the bottom of the list and find the "Windows Time" service, right click it and choose stop.

For stopping the Zune services, just go to the bottom of the list and stop:

Zune Bus Enumerator

Zune Network Sharing

Zune Wireless Configuration Service

Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc and kill/stop the zunelauncher.exe process in the task manager window. Set your time...and try to connect your zune<<<<<<<<<<<<

www.zunescene.mobi/.../index.php

@mikegalos...for once, I totally agree with you. Regardless, it is good to see that MS has acknowledged the issue and are working on a fix. I do wonder how that fix will be applied...unless it involves draining the battery and doing a hard reset upon boot while charging. That would take some good timing, as usually, the Zune boots about 3.245 minutes into the charge cycle. For those about to ask me about the timing, I made it up...it actually seems random and depends on when enough juice is in the battery to support the boot up, I imagine.

--tayme

Or, to put it even more into perspective, a problem first reported at 1AM on a holiday week hasn't been fixed by 9AM.

And people here were screaming how unacceptable that was by 6AM.

Seriously, does anybody here hold any other  non-medical company to a standard of fixing a problem in five hours after it's initially reported in the middle of the night on a holiday week? Please feel free to cite an example.

@Ocean - No offense, but I think that I'll wait for the official MS fix, rather than something posted by you, an obvious an MS-AntiFanBoy.

--tayme

If it is tied to the hardware clock, I'd be curious to see if it fixes itself after midnight tonight for people who didn't use their Zune 30 today.

Tayme, I posted where I found it.  I'd wait for the official too though.

>>an MS-AntiFanBoy<<

I'm Anti- Fanboy of every stripe.  :)

I love XP and am looking forward to Win7.

@mikegalos - "I'd be curious to see if it fixes itself after midnight tonight for people who didn't use their Zune 30 today"

Or for those that did...I am currently letting my batteries drain in the 2 here and will await a fix from MS. Like you said...it is a holiday week, and they are on it...plus, after all, its just a music player...not something that I consider all that important in the scheme of things going on around the world these days.

--tayme

Haven't used my Zune for a few days. Guess I won't be using for a few more.

"@Ocean - No offense, but I think that I'll wait for the official MS fix, rather than something posted by you, an obvious an MS-AntiFanBoy."

I would agree with that. These things happen. At least the bricking in this case was unintentional, unlike some other company out there.

Will someone please ban that retard's IP.

Paul, HE IS A TROLL. HE SPAMS YOUR SITE AND TRIES TO DERAIL EVERY TOPIC INTO THE OCEAN SHOW.

Will you seriously stop pretending like you dont notice and start engaging in some moderation?

Master3...ever thought about an Anger Management class?

I'm just talkin' Zune with everyone else.

You could simply ignore him Masters3

"You could simply ignore him Masters3"

An ignore feature is sorely needed on this site. It would quiet down the troll traffic that I don't seem to see on many of the other blogs that I read daily.

--tayme

I just checked mine -- it was in the car-- and it's bricked too. :-)

I guess until MS fixes this issue, I can use the free iPod nano that I won in a raffle. :)

Careful Shark...you might not go back...

Yea Shark.  You certainly wouldn't want to risk falling in love with something that offers less features, a smaller screen, inferior sound quality, and slow as sh** software.

Then again, if it's anything like mine and my wife's iPods that both died a couple months ago, you won't have to worry about it.  Problem is, unlike the Zune problem, my iPods won't be replaced or fixed for free.

"Careful Shark...you might not go back..."

I've had an iPod for longer than I've owned a Zune.

Interesting Sandman...I have an old iPod Photo that is a tank.  

Never had a problem out of it.  And as far as features...

They don't matter unless you're going to use them.  Most people never use all the features on any gadget...just the most important ones.

And it's those that Apple has MS beat in hands down.

It is so amusing to see the MS Fanboys try to defend this major screwup by indicating that MS is working on it.. it is a holiday, etc.

If Apple did anything remotely like this they'd be on the attack.

Why can't you people see that everything has its place - including the Apple junk and MS junk? They both have some decent qualities...

* disclaimer - iPhone owner, MacBook Pro owner, iMac owner, iBook owner, multiple iPod owner, OpenBSD/FreeBSD user, Vista/XP user

Really Ocean?  I guess your iPod Photo being a tank makes my two iPods not working not mean anything.  Oh that's right, your experience has nothing to do with mine.

"And as far as features...They don't matter unless you're going to use them.  Most people never use all the features on any gadget...just the most important ones."

Well I certainly am glad that Apple gets to decide which features I will or will not use.  I guess when I'm at the gym working out and want to watch the TVs there and have to tune into a radio station and can't, I really didn't want to do that anyway.

"And it's those that Apple has MS beat in hands down."

Tell me, because I must have missed it somewhere, which features would those be?

"Most people never use all the features on any gadget...just the most important ones. And it's those that Apple has MS beat in hands down."

Or, more realistically, If Apple products don't have those features then Apple and their fans will happily tell you that they're not important. (Until Apple adds them in the next version when they become a must-have reason for replacing your old version)

@beaker - I think if you go back and read some of my posts over the years, you'll see that I am not *trying* to defend MS here, nor have I attacked Apple or any other company...in fact, I expect a fix...but you have to realize, it has barely been 12 hours since the issue first occurred.

These things happen in hardware and software development and we, as users, should do our part to support the constant improvement of technology, instead of pointing fingers and waging in an imagined OS War. What is amusing is watching the zealots on both sides fall all over each other as they play the my pecker is bigger than yours.

*disclaimer - Owner and user of many PC's and other devices that run many Operating Systems. Provider of support for approximately 13TB storage in a mixed OS environment, including MS, HP, IBM, Linux, Sun Solaris, and many others.

--tayme

The difference here beaker, is that this screwup is apparently expected to be fixed within the 6 hour time frame it was discovered in.

It's indeed a major screwup and unacceptable that it happened.  It's also a major screwup and unacceptable to believe it should have been fixed within mere hours of it being discovered.

Well that's a relief. I thought it was toast. I fugured it had been dropped on to many times.  Well hopefully MS will get it fixed soon so  I can have my Super Brown Brick back in action.

SandmanX82  said:

Well I certainly am glad that Apple gets to decide which features I will or will not use.  I guess when I'm at the gym working out and want to..

Do you use Windows? MS is about choice?

**************************

Beaker- How true your statement is. If this was an ipod doing this it would be open season...

*************************

shark47  said:

I would agree with that. These things happen. At least the bricking in this case was unintentional, unlike some other company out there.

Really you know why and how this was caused? You're absolutely sure it has nothing to do with DRM perhaps? I don't have anymore information then apparently you do, but at this point it could be anything.

"Do you use Windows? MS is about choice?"

I don't understand that question.  I can run a wider variety of software on Windows than on any other platform.

And what does that have to do with Apple not including features on its products because I won't use them according to Ocean?

SandmanX82  said:

The difference here beaker, is that this screwup is apparently expected to be fixed within the 6 hour time frame it was discovered in.

It's indeed a major screwup and unacceptable that it happened.  It's also a major screwup and unacceptable to believe it should have been fixed within mere hours of it being discovered.

****************************************************************

Did they give an ETA when it will be fixed? I haven't seen one. I don't know how they could.

It is a major screw up ... especially for a product that is trying to gain marketshare. Even Paul throws a jab at it saying that "if you are one of the 17 who bought it..". I work in tech and I seriously have never seen a Zune except at WalMart, Best Buy or Target in the display cases.

If anyone has a 30G that is dead that they want to donate to Muppet Labs - let me know!

As far as I know there's no ETA of when it will be fixed.  And I already agreed with you that it's a major screwup.

I'm not here defending this and saying it's okay.  I'm here defending the fact that some people think it should be fixed already.  I hope those same people don't have MobilMe accounts.

"Do you use Windows? MS is about choice?"

What choice do we not have?

"Beaker- How true your statement is. If this was an ipod doing this it would be open season..."

If we ran around and did the whole act that Apple users do where they pretend that their gear is free of errors, problems, malfunctions, breakdowns, bricking, and pretty much anything else, heck yes they invite the arrows when their stuff has problems.

"Really you know why and how this was caused? You're absolutely sure it has nothing to do with DRM perhaps? I don't have anymore information then apparently you do, but at this point it could be anything."

That's why you wait to find out. You want us to fly off the handle in rage against Microsoft like we are 11.

what does MobileMe have to do with the Zune? Oh, is it to compare one screw up to another? You don't need to create an itemized list comparing Apple to MS as far as screw ups go. They both are pretty good at pissing off their customers.

Neither platform is superior in all aspects. I'm thankful that they both exists as well as the other non consumer operating systems. After all, competition is good for all of us.

"Did they give an ETA when it will be fixed? I haven't seen one. I don't know how they could."

No, but within a few hours of it hitting their inbox, Im not expecting some supernatural fix right now.

"It is a major screw up ... especially for a product that is trying to gain marketshare. Even Paul throws a jab at it saying that "if you are one of the 17 who bought it.."

So? It's an old corny joke, just like wondering if it would be better for the 8 people with an Apple TV to have just bought one and shared it.

" I work in tech and I seriously have never seen a Zune except at WalMart, Best Buy or Target in the display cases."

Havent seen an Apple TV myself either. What's your point? Who are you? And why are you a barometer of product usage anyway?

"what does MobileMe have to do with the Zune? Oh, is it to compare one screw up to another? You don't need to create an itemized list comparing Apple to MS as far as screw ups go."

Yea, except it was YOU that brought up apple in the first place:

"If Apple did anything remotely like this they'd be on the attack."

http://technologizer.com/ put on some polls about the issue(I have it on my Zune 300 too).

@niekbm - Notice that the website is way off ...the picture that they put together looks nothing like the problem...they show an 80GB Zune with a windows error...there are plenty of pictures out there showing the real thing. I have never been to this site, but I am guessing that it is a MS Basher site...

--tayme

@beaker,

Apple did do something like this with the iPhone and the iPod Touch. I think the criticism is about the same regardless of company.

I really can't be too mad because I own an iPod and don't own a Zune.

However, I can understand why Zune owners would be upset.

Tayme and others have been equally as critical of Microsoft and Apple. So have I.

I do agree with others that an ignore function would be great in this blog.

Master- Your ire is misplaced, I find faux rage comical no matter what it is.

I used DRM as an example, as I noted it could be anything. My point is simply this: It was supposed this was unintentional, how does anyone know that? If it could indeed be anything, then intentional is one possibility of anything.

Do I believe that? No. But the latest round of updates designed to do X could have very well caused this instead which is more likely.

And unlike the Pro-PC/Anti Apple side I'm not going taking any pleasure any side on this. Its a device it either works or it doesn't. I tend to view this like Tayme, zealots on either side don't impress me.

Oh man...  Fox news has picked up the story...

www.foxnews.com/.../0,2933,474690,00.html

Therefore, it's the democrats fault... That's you, Mike.

>> I guess when I'm at the gym working out and want to watch the TVs there and have to tune into a radio station and can't, I really didn't want to do that anyway.<<

No, that's legit.  Uncommon, but legit.

>>If Apple products don't have those features then Apple and their fans will happily tell you that they're not important.<<

What do sales say:  :)

"If Apple did anything remotely like this they'd be on the attack. "

If Apple had an issue like this, they'd never acknowledge it *and* they'd make you PAY for the fix! :)

Wow, this sure isn't good for the consumer branding.  The zune is a nice device as is the 360, but these reliability meltdowns are pretty awful.  It's a shame, because the iPod needs good competition.

SandmanX82 said:

"what does MobileMe have to do with the Zune? Oh, is it to compare one screw up to another? You don't need to create an itemized list comparing Apple to MS as far as screw ups go."

Yea, except it was YOU that brought up apple in the first place:

"If Apple did anything remotely like this they'd be on the attack."

*********************************************

Did I really? I don't think I was the first to post a comparison to Apple in this feedback section. You really should relax. MS doesn't give a rip about you .. nor does Apple.

OH NO... The social is having problems too!!! I bet there a millions - maybe billions of Zune users that aren't going to have a Happy New Year!

From the MS site:

Status:

Customers using the Zune 30 might experience problems starting their players. We’re aware of the problem and are working to correct it. The Zune Social might be slow or inaccessible. Sorry for the inconvenience, and thanks for your patience!

Todd Bishops new name:

>>"Zuneageddon."<<

feedproxy.google.com/.../Zunes_commit_mass_suicide36932589.html

Ars:

>>Judgment day has arrived for owners of 30GB Zunes.

The music player inexplicably entered a worldwide coma last night, and players are completely nonresponsive. Whoops.<<

Ars comments:

>>The most amazing part of this story is that enough people own Zunes to have a trend in the first place.<<

>>Should have checked the expiration date on the back.<<

>>Are we sure MS isn't just testing its "NEW" pay-as-you-listen business model it applied a patent for a few days ago? <<

>>This marks a major change in the "zune-vibe" - specifically, from "nobody owns a zune" to "nobody owns a working zune". <<

>>I had just taken the plunge to get a Zune pass, and now i have a nice feeling paper weight.

Sigh, I'm not really sure MS can even make this right. Even if they fix it I'll still allways worry it'll brick again. And now i really can see the limits of "renting" my music from the Zune marketplace.<<

How can I work in a post with my $400 Vista laptop? ...hmmm...

Happy New Year to all!

Doc

>>I have a Microsoft keyboard and nothing like th<<

Geez, I want to reiterate...The problem only surfaced 16 or so hours ago. How many of you that either provide support or write programs for a living have ever released something that had a bug? Were you expected to have it fixed in hours once it surfaced? Of course, most of the outcry is coming from anti-MS or non-IT people. Remember, it is only a music player...yes, it is a PR problem for MS, and MS should and will do what it takes to fix it...probably in record time, compared to its competitors reactions to bugs that surface. The press gets ahold of things like this and totally mis-informs the public.

--tayme

@Ocean - Your Copy/Paste talent is terrible. You can't even post a complete flamebait post correctly. You really need you own blog to post your irrelevant rants.

--tayme

Tayme -->  The keyboard thing is a joke.  The keyboard has stopped working,,,

@Ocean...again, get you own blog. Gain your own attention that way instead of trying to leach off Paul.

--tayme

Microsoft really didn't need this problem.

And the end-of-year break has evaporated for some number of people at Microsoft, to whom I extend condolences.

As to this being "major", "critical", etc: come on, the thing is a music player plus some other stuff (I don't have that model--I don't know what other stuff). If it is life or death for anyone, that person is leading a strange life.

Easy for me to say, of course, as my Zune is another model and not affected.

>>How many of you that either provide support or write programs for a living have ever released something that had a bug? <<

I have to rely on Cisco to make my living,  Its never taken them 16 hours to get me a fix for anything.  I know one is consumer and one is Enterprise...but I can't imagine all of any one of their models worldwide bricking at the same time.  It would be catastrophic.

Prediction: At midnight (PST) tonight all 30GB Zunes are going to re-animate and start searching for warm braaaaaiiiiiiiins!!!! It's the start of the Zune Zombie Apocalypse.

@tayme : "Geez, I want to reiterate...The problem only surfaced 16 or so hours ago. How many of you that either provide support or write programs for a living have ever released something that had a bug? Were you expected to have it fixed in hours once it surfaced?"

Frankly I expect it not to happen in the first place. Sorry but this is nothing like the examples you give - this is firmware for a major piece of consumer hardware and to have a showstopper bug that's date / time related in a new firmware release points to an incredibly poor testing plan. If it DOES happen then I expect the product manager (and the core members of the dev team) to be dragged kicking and screaming out of bed, stuck in front of a computer, have the situation explained to him and regular updates issued as well as a proper statement.

That said, there's surely no doubt that this is going to hurt the Zune quite badly. Yes, it's only the 30Gb model that's affected but when you get a showstopper bug that bricks EVERY example of a device in use it's going to badly damage the brand. Microsoft need to get on top of this ASAP and handle it very carefully or they could find that the work that's gone into the Zune in the last couple of years is wiped out and they're back to square one.

"OH NO... The social is having problems too!!! I bet there a millions - maybe billions of Zune users that aren't going to have a Happy New Year!"

Funniest line of 2009 so far! Made me LOL. Billions? Even millions?! Hahaha. ZuneInsider stopped publishing their monthly posts about the PCD Sales figures. It's doing that badly. Nothing to be proud of.

"We’re aware of the problem and are working to correct it.  Sorry for the inconvenience, and thanks for your patience!"

What about apologising for such a shitty product? Sorry for such a terrible music player and here's your money back. That's what they should be saying.

@Ocean - I have worked with Cisco, McData, Brocade, and other network gear makers for years...and have to had to be on the phone with them all for hours and hours at a time...in fact, my company was on the line with one of them for more than 24 hours to fix an issue that caused a major outage...one that was way more important than listening to music. It was catastrophic to us...but we worked with them. Yes, we expected a fix...and yes, some people not on the IT team did moan a lot about it.. It was resolved, and I am sure that the management of both companies discussed it. I am not privy to that, though. So, you see...it can and does happen at the Enterprise level and does not have to be a "worldwide bricking" to be catastrophic.

--tayme

@smiddlehurst - "this is firmware for a major piece of consumer hardware and to have a showstopper bug that's date / time related in a new firmware release"

"If it DOES happen then I expect the product manager (and the core members of the dev team) to be dragged kicking and screaming out of bed, stuck in front of a computer, have the situation explained to him and regular updates issued as well as a proper statement."

And you know these things, how? All I am saying is that there is no reason to make this into more than it is. I have already said that it will be a PR issue for MS...and we will see how they handle it. Others are jumping the gun in the standard "iCabal" way. If Apple were to have a similar problem, and they have; then mikegalos, waethorn, and the regular "WinJihadist" crowd would be all over it. I would be making the same types of statements as I am today...because I am realistic and understand that neither of these, or any other company is perfect. I don't like the immature and imagined OS wars and have made that clear here and in my everyday life.

--tayme

Here is an update from zuneinsider - zuneinsider.com/.../30gb-zune-issues-official-update.aspx

Some of the Q&A answers are hogwash, as I would hope that they are also working on a patch to ensure that this does not happen again in 4 years during the next leap year. I am sure that over the next few days that more will come out on this.

--tayme

-OT

Tayme,

Thanks for the info on the XE104.

Happy New Year!

Yawn!

That link is incredible:

>>Q:  What is Zune doing to fix this issue?

The issue should resolve itself.

<<

Any reimbursement for the loss of a days use?

>>Q:  What fixes or patches are you putting in place to resolve this situation?

This situation should remedy itself over the next 24 hours as the time flips to January 1st.

Q:  What’s the timeline on a fix?

The issue Zune 30GB customers are experiencing today will self resolve as time changes to January 1.<<

@johnpapola

"Wow, this sure isn't good for the consumer branding.  The zune is a nice device as is the 360, but these reliability meltdowns are pretty awful.  It's a shame, because the iPod needs good competition."

Yep. Zune hasn't achieved the fatal brand name that is now associated with the word "Vista", but it is on the way.

The best commentary on the Zune is here:

uk.youtube.com/watch

@Yawn! - No problem...glad to be of assistance.

Happy New Year to all!!!

--tayme

@chuckb84 - "Yep. Zune hasn't achieved the fatal brand name that is now associated with the word "Vista", but it is on the way."

But thanks to the mainstream media, they just might...just like Vista did. And, much the same way our next president was elected. Too many people trust what they see/hear/read from the media without doing any research of their own. That leads to incorrect assumptions all around.

Anyway, like I said...Happy New Year!

--tayme

My Sansa's are all working fine :)

...especially with my $400 Vista laptop! [finally got that in here]

Is it fixed yet?

Mishaps occur. They happened with the iPod too. To use this incident to conclude that Zunes suck is a very biased way of looking at things. Of course, I can understand it, considering who made these remarks - the usual suspects.

drwam,

How can I work in that my 1993 Jag is Y2K compliant too?

:-)

I just test started it in the garage, and she fired right up!

What is the status of the FroZune????

From reading through related support threads at the Zune site, it looks like the 30Gb Zunes are coming back to life at the turn of the new year which tells me that the clocks in all the "bricked" Zune 30's are still ticking along just fine. Owners of Zune 30's from Australia were the first to report that their Zune 30's "woke up" at midnight on New Year's Eve (their time zone).

It also appears that all the Zune 30's that were upgraded to the latest firmware (3.0 I believe) are the ones actually affected however, that may or may not be.

Perhaps, if everyone is patient, you'll find that your 30Gb Zunes might "wake up" also right about the time you're toasting the New Year in. It will be interesting to see if they actually do.

Most excellent news Delmont. Also, the answer is that you need to post a this question: 'Where can I buy a Zune integration kit for 1993 Jag?'

I sold my 1992 Vette shortly after our twins were born in 2001, knowing that I would never drive it again:(  I was driving it around 6 times a year at that point and we needed garage space for outside/yard kids toys. I'm sure that you and Mike feel for me.

It was just a matter of time. The Zune site basically says the same thing. Let the battery die and dont charge it until after 7am EST January 1st and it should be good to go.

Here's a screenshot of a affected Zune.

www.techcrunch.com/.../zunebluedeath.jpg

Zune == FAIL?!

We've all know that since the *** coloured device pooped on to the market.

Now, if any of those people horrified about the bug want to send me their Zune 30, I'll be happy to take it off their hands.

I figure I'll have to not count on using it on 12/31/2012 but, somehow, I think I can survive having a music player with 99.93% reliability pretty well...

DRWAM,

There is a point when owning a classic car becomes taking on the role of caretaker of a part of history... I've had a couple of times when I realized that I was not able to do justice to that role and passed on that role (and the car) to somebody who could.

Yikes. Day 366. Can't be. I can't possibly continue starting up.

Yep Mike, I hear ya. My '92 Vette had a glass and color hard top. When I realized that I could not get a Zune integration kit... I mean when I realized that I could not care for it as needed, I brought it to a dealer and asked that it be sold to someone it could. I almost cried on the way home [knowing how much money I was losing].

johnbaxter

Just give your hard working Zune 30 a day off for a nice nap and it'll be ready to go for another 1,460 hard working days. Really, is that too much to ask?

Microsoft now has a "fix".

On Zune.net they report:

"Follow these steps:

  1. Disconnect your Zune from USB and AC power sources.

  2. Because the player is frozen, its battery will drain—this is good. Wait until the battery is empty and the screen goes black. If the battery was fully charged, this might take a couple of hours.

  3. Wait until after noon GMT on January 1, 2009 (that's 7 a.m. Eastern or 4 a.m. Pacific time).

  4. Connect your Zune to either a USB port on the back or your computer or to AC power using the Zune AC Adapter and let it charge.

Once the battery has sufficient power, the player should start normally. No other action is required—you can go back to using your Zune!"

Argh, it's the millenium bug - but 9 years late!

The issue is here:

>>year = ORIGINYEAR; /* = 1980 */

while (days > 365)

{

   if (IsLeapYear(year))

   {

       if (days > 366)

       {

           days -= 366;

           year += 1;

       }

   }

   else

   {

       days -= 365;

       year += 1;

   }

}

>>

www.zuneboards.com/.../38143-cause-zune-30-leapyear-problem-isolated.html

It's amusing to read Microsoft apologists like @mikegalos. Hypocrisy is alive and well on this blog and it's many fanboys.

robertsjoe said:

It's amusing to read Microsoft apologists like @mikegalos. Hypocrisy is alive and well on this blog and it's many fanboys.

robertsjoe, so where the hell was your criticism of Apple when the Mobile Me launch? Or iPhone 3G blundered launch? For that matter where was your criticism of the bricked original iPhones? Or the Leopard 10.5.6 update? Or the over 250 Leopard patches in 2008?

Black pot meet black kettle.

When you actually start praising Microsoft and being highly critical of Apple, then you can call hypocrisy. Until then, your credibility is no good here.

Happy New Years Everyone!

@ tayme: "And you know these things, how? All I am saying is that there is no reason to make this into more than it is. I have already said that it will be a PR issue for MS...and we will see how they handle it. Others are jumping the gun in the standard "iCabal" way. If Apple were to have a similar problem, and they have; then mikegalos, waethorn, and the regular "WinJihadist" crowd would be all over it. I would be making the same types of statements as I am today...because I am realistic and understand that neither of these, or any other company is perfect. I don't like the immature and imagined OS wars and have made that clear here and in my everyday life."

I know 'this' how? What 'this' do you mean exactly? What I'm refering to is if a major piece of hardware for a large company died on a near-total scale then it's time to hit the panic button. While nowhere near the same scale I work for a business managing several thousand PDA units out in the field nationwide and I also wrote the process manual for dealing with those units. If we'd had a failure such as this it would actually fall under the disaster recovery processes and everyone core to the project would be kicked loose to work out what happened, a short term fix if possible and to plan the implementation path for a permanent fix.

This has nothing whatsoever to do with whether the device in question is made by microsoft, apple or fisher price. The simple fact is a badly written piece of software, in this case a firmware update, wasn't tested correctly for an obvious problem and failed. It's going to do major damage to the Zune's reputation as, frankly, it SHOULD NOT HAPPEN! This should have been a high priority during testing and the fact it made it through speaks volumes as to the standards of QA being applied to the Zune. I'd say exactly the same if an Apple device did the same, it's simply unacceptable for a simple bug like this to make it into a device. Period.

drwam,

hmmm.....well I do have some Best Buy gift cards now....maybe they'll have a 93 Jag - Zune converter kit.   You know this Jag of mine is only a 1993 but even now you can tell it comes from a different era of vehicles. The heavy build of the car, actual metal bumpers, 6 ash trays, no cup holders....oh I have younger people think it is very strange that I have to actually turn the headlights on and off.

"As to this being "major", "critical", etc: come on, the thing is a music player plus some other stuff (I don't have that model--I don't know what other stuff). If it is life or death for anyone, that person is leading a strange life."

It doesn't get much more critical than this. The thing is a music player and it just stopped playing music.

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Well, both of the Zune 30s in my house are alive. I need to call the local press and let them know that  the world is safe again!!!

--tayme

Good to hear the Zune 30GB's rest/recovery period is over. I know how tough it must have been to do without it for a few hours;)

Nenz had a firesale of left over 2008's so the price of ar R350 was $14K below sticker for a new one. They all come with iPod integration kits. The old 2GB Nano that has collected dust [free from TDAmeritrade] now has a purpose. But if it dies, I'll need to get another iPod because of the car, so it's ironic that I'm locked in because of the car manufacturer!

Happy New Year to all!

"robertsjoe, so where the hell was your criticism of Apple when the Mobile Me launch? Or iPhone 3G blundered launch? For that matter where was your criticism of the bricked original iPhones? Or the Leopard 10.5.6 update? Or the over 250 Leopard patches in 2008?"

Not that I want to defend robertsjoe, but almost all that you list there was caused by crushing demand of a new product.  NOT a product that was working fine that had a time bomb in it.  

I experienced the same crushing demand problems with Xbox Live a year ago this time for about 4 weeks when you could not play a game on Live because the Xbox Live servers were down from demand, just like MobileME and the millions of iphone 1g users trying to pull down the 2.0 firmware.

The 10.5.6 update was Apple's fault mostly, it was caused by people aborting earlier updates so they had junk left over in their update folder.  The 10.5.6 update should have cleared that first.  I did not have a problem with either my Mac's.

Updates.......please I deal with them monthly on 1400+ Windows servers at work, on Saturday nights from 7pm to 2am....good times.

wow, hate to overstate the obvious, but if this had happened to an iPod, Paul would have roasted their chestnuts over the open fire.  He playfully chides Microsoft like a little brother teasing his big brother, knowing not to go too far less the big brother squish his peanut shaped head in.

"Not that I want to defend robertsjoe,"

Yeah, sure. Whatever you say, robersjoe SP2. We believe you.

It's 10AM now and my Zune's working fine. Such things happen, but the usual suspects will tell you about how much MS sucks because of this. J@cka$$es, all of them.

Happy New Year!

@shark47 - Glad to hear your Zune is awake again. I do think that some heads may roll at MS over this. That is the usual first step in a weirdly high profile case like this...fire the programmer responsible for that piece of code, if he/she is still there.

I am curious...if what all of the anti-MS crowd says about Zune having such a small user base, then why so much mainstream media coverage on this? I think that is because it is "cool" to hate on MS right now. The media controls the weak minded, and it is hilarious to watch.

--tayme

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