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Microsoft Zune 30 GB models mysteriously crashing in droves [UPDATED]

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Mobile | by Stephen Schenck | Wed Dec 31, 2008 12:00PM | 4 comments

Owners of the 30 GB model of Microsoft's Zune are finding their media players locking up in hordes. The issue doesn't appear directly tied to any specific action taken by users, but triggered by the time and date, evoking comparisons to the Y2K bug, a factor reinforced by this all taking place on New Year's Eve. Affected players will reset, try to boot, but freeze once the player's status bar fills.

Microsoft posted a short statement on its Zune support page, saying that it's aware of the issue and is working on putting together a fix. The company hasn't yet revealed just what's going on that's crashing the Zunes in the first place, if it's actually tied to today's date, or just coincidentally triggered by a recent firmware update. Affected users should keep an eye on Microsoft's site for updates.

UPDATE: We've heard reports that holding the back button and up on the directional pad for several seconds will reset and unfreeze the Zune. There's no telling if this is just temporary work-around and the problem will occur again.

This story around the web:

Trusted sources:
external link All Together Now!: 30GB Zunes Failing… [gizmodo.com]
external link 30GB Zunes mysteriously begin to fail at… [engadget.com]
external link Electronista | 30GB Zune players locking up… [electronista.com]
external link 30GB Zunes all over the world fail en masse [crunchgear.com]

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Comments (4)

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i luv my zune :( (3:12 PM on Wed Dec 31, 2008)

this happened to me this morning and when i went to reset it i was not able to.

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Anonymous (8:11 PM on Wed Dec 31, 2008)

the zune reset does not work.

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Saige (4:24 PM on Wed Dec 31, 2008)

My 30gig Zune froze just the same as everyone else's, but just a few moments ago I noticed that the load screen had gone away and been replaced by a black screen with a low-battery notice. I plugged it in, and it said it was charging, however it was still unusable. When it finally got enough battery power to load up again, it froze on the load-up screen. Has anyone else's Zune done this?

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Glenn K. (4:38 PM on Thu Jan 22, 2009)

Let the battery completly drain overnight. Then charge it fully again and it should reset.

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Anonymous (6:59 AM on Sun Nov 22, 2009)

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