College OTR: Every 30GB Zune Frozen at the Exact Same Moment Last Night

Every 30GB Zune Frozen at the Exact Same Moment Last Night

Posted by Dr. Manhattan 12/31/2008 09:04 AM
Category: Tags: zune frozen

Microsoft is just squeezing in under the wire to claim the rights to “weirdest tech story of the year.”Last night at approximately 2 AM, every 30GB Zune model on the planet crashed at the exact same moment. The Zunes reset, powered up, then froze on the loading bar screen, and no conventional method of resetting them appears to work.

This is brought to you courtesy of Microsoft, who has been selling a video game console with a nearly 100% fail rate for three years. The Zune situation is all the more disasterous however, seeing as all of them failed at the exact same moment, which people have taken to calling "Y2K9." The comments on the situation on various websites are pretty hilarious, here are a few:

Of course they'll fail eventually, but all 6 of them on the planet at once? Wow. Impressive. ;-)

"Microsoft never expected to last this long in the market".

At 2AM, December 31st, 2008 skynet became self-aware (as a result of rampant so-called "zuning" on 30gb Microsoft Zunes). Skynet quickly evaluated the music contained within said devices and de-activated, finding suicide preferable to the knowledge that it was born as a result of crappy music.

This whole debacle is presumed to be some sort of software malfunction, as the devices aren’t connected to the internet which might land them a rampant virus like this. It does appear to be some sort of self destruct mechanism, and I still can’t get over how funny that is. Although if all the Xboxes in the world freeze tonight at midnight, we’re going to have a problem.

UPDATE: The Zune message boards are chock full of hilarity as well. Takes a long time to load because I'm sure the servers are being strained right now.

UPDATE 2: Take my poll to see what Microsoft should give its customers as repayment if the Zunes are perma-fried.

UPDATE 3: The highlight of my week has to be calling my buddy who always raves about how his Zune kicks so much ass.

Me: "I'm calling to make fun of you."

Him: "What, why?"

Me: "How many gigabytes is your Zune?"

Him: "Uhh 30, why?"

Me: "Go turn it on."

Him: (pause) "What the...What did you just do?"

Me: (maniacal laughter)

Priceless.

+ 79 comments

Anonymous says,

After reading about this on Gizmodo, your blog post is the only hit on news.google.com. This could have a serious financial impact for Microsoft if a recall is required. Think about it, ALL 20 30gb Zunes ever sold being shipped back to Microsoft all at once! Posted 12/31/2008 09:24 AMReply

Anonymous says,

i still prefer the Zune over the iPod any day... the radio feature kicks but... Posted 12/31/2008 10:17 AMReply

Anonymous says,

I bought my Zune days after it was introduced into the market and have NEVER had a problem, until now... it loads the music faster, plays better, its easier to manage, it loads the album covers faster, what can i say ... its way better than ipod and I have both... actually i gave my ipod away... Posted 12/31/2008 10:20 AMReply

Anonymous says,

I agree with being happier with my Zune over any Ipod I have ever owned but this is a screw-up that will go down in history. I'm both laughing and crying. Posted 12/31/2008 10:29 AMReply

Anonymous says,

Consider the time, or rather date, it happened. I would say it is a result of leap year. Today is 366. The system likely only has a 365 max. The functionality for date and time was missing on the 30 gb devices until the 3.0 upgrade. This could exclude the second generation devices as they didn't get the same patch as they have a slightly different version of the software. MCK Posted 12/31/2008 10:31 AMReply

Anonymous says,

luckily i have an 80GB Zune, and i feel for all the 30GB owners, but i have to concur with the above poster, having a Zune and an iPLOP, Zune is a hundred times better. Posted 12/31/2008 10:32 AMReply

Anonymous says,

This is so funny. I thought, Crap my Zune died. Then saw on the forums, Nope, every 30 gig zune died! People are FREAKING out. And I'm wondering, don't you have your music backed up somewhere else? And won't Microsoft come up with a fix quickly? Anyway, like Dr. Manhattan, though I'm frustrated I don't have my tunes, mostly I'm finding humor. And I'm so curious. Every 30 gig ever? Insane. Even if it's only a half-dozen or so. Posted 12/31/2008 10:33 AMReply

Anonymous says,

i am happier with the zune too.

but the zune is just as prohibitive a device as the ipod, in terms of flexibility and software interface. and this "zune crash" is evidence that microsoft can and will try to control us all! ha imagine if this sorta thing happened with XP...F city! Posted 12/31/2008 10:39 AMReply

Anonymous says,

this is crazyy. i have a 30 gb, and i have been on here searching and holding down unfreeze buttons for an hour untill i found this. it will be fixed soon right? Posted 12/31/2008 10:49 AMReply

Anonymous says,

I have an iPod and I'm listening to it RIGHT NOW, which is more than Zune lovers can say. Chalk up another operating system glitch for Microsoft. Posted 12/31/2008 10:52 AMReply

Anonymous says,

Everyone knows that this only a temp problem. By the way the Zune is always going to be better than the IPOD. Posted 12/31/2008 10:59 AMReply

Anonymous says,

Wow, I'm really glad I looked into this. I tried to reset it probably 50 times. lol oh the mayhem of all the zune 30's crashing. Maybe we'll get something free out of this. Posted 12/31/2008 11:23 AMReply

Anonymous says,

I find it absolutely funny, and tragic, I am a zune user, I did side by side comparisons of the two (zune & ipod) and the zune came out on top for speed, quality, and ease of use, even used the same MP3 files and headphones.

But man, it still gives me the giggles, and saddens me, to see my dead zune Posted 12/31/2008 11:43 AMReply

Anonymous says,

What are we supposed to do now? I have been all over the net trying to fix this damn thing, and now I find out they are all 'down'??? Are they going to miraculously come back to life, or is this the end??? I only bought this thing a couple of months ago!!! Posted 12/31/2008 12:10 PMReply

Anonymous says,

I found a 30GB Zune on E-bay for $50. The only catch is that you have to thaw it out! I guess they ship it in dry ice. Posted 12/31/2008 12:18 PMReply

Anonymous says,

Open up ur zune and reset the battery then do the soft reset and ur good. (Just be careful don't force anything)
http://www.rapidrepair.com/guides/zune/zuneassemblyguide.htm Posted 12/31/2008 12:42 PMReply

Anonymous says,

I have an Ipod and have played with Zunes alot. I sell both of them. I find no difference between the two in ease of use or quality, though the touch pad on the Ipod is better. I mean come on, the same guy that created the original Ipod's is the one who created the Zune. They are identical aside from OS. Besides, I don't use either anymore, their DRM campaign is stupid and frustrates the general user. If it can be protected, it can be cracked, plain and simple. Time to start using the cell phone to it's full capacity. I'm using the Samsung Omnia. It is great. Have my entire playlist on it and bluetooth headphones. I need nothing else, and DRM free is the way for me. Posted 12/31/2008 12:53 PMReply

Dr. Manhattan says,

@2 above, I'm pretty sure the average Zune user isn't going to be able to successfully do that. And there should probably be a "put back together" guide as well. Posted 12/31/2008 12:58 PMReply

Anonymous says,

err i was freaking out last nigh i had actually just gotten done listening to teh beatles and i wass then playing y guitar, so i look at my zune and it goes to reboot, and i'm thinking what the hell, why is it rebooting, and i sit there waiting for like 5 whole minutes and its still just sitting there rebooting its self, so then i leave it on overnight so it can run out of battery, and when my dad woke me up this morning i plugged it into my 360 (which is my second, that i had to buy myself, because the first rrod ed a month after the 3 year warranty) and i sit in bed waiting for the zune to get to the point in which it would turn on again, but still it is stuck on rebooting ERRR!!!!! Posted 12/31/2008 1:04 PMReply

Anonymous says,

So now what???? Posted 12/31/2008 1:32 PMReply

Anonymous says,

Here is the FIX:

open it up and unplug the battery for 2 minutes plug it back in and up and running

here is how to open it up:
http://www.rapidrepair.com/guides/zune/zuneassemblyguide.htm Posted 12/31/2008 1:34 PMReply

Anonymous says,

one more thing, dont sync it. apparently it will freeze again. I would wait for a software update after you unlock it to sync it. Posted 12/31/2008 1:35 PMReply

Anonymous says,

My zune doesn't work as well as my family's. But the strange thing is that my friends 30 gb zune with the old updates work. My other friend's zune workes with the new updates but with military time set in the upper right hand corner of the screen. It may have something to do with the clock. Posted 12/31/2008 1:35 PMReply

Anonymous says,

Dr. Manhattan is a moron! He apparently seems to be a Sony fanboy and has no knowledge of technology. He also doesn't realize that every company has it's own troubles with it's products. He also doesn't realize the impact the Zune has made in the music market. Dr. Manhattan should be renamed Jr. Boyhatter... Fits him more don't you think? Oh, an by the way, both my Zune and Xbox 360 are still working and havn't failed yet. After over 1 year wtih the Zune (everyday play) and 3 years with the box. Posted 12/31/2008 2:12 PMReply

Anonymous says,

My 30 gig Zune is fine... really strange. My daughter's and her boyfriends are both screwed up, but mine didn't take a hit. Posted 12/31/2008 2:17 PMReply

Anonymous says,

It's the clock people... It's a leep year. Software developers always have this problem with software made around a leep year. Dr. Manhattan, do you research then post your sarcasticly incorrect garbage on the net. Thanks. Posted 12/31/2008 2:17 PMReply

Anonymous says,

Don't do the firmware update yet. Wait till at least the 2nd or until microsoft gives a patch. Posted 12/31/2008 2:18 PMReply

Anonymous says,

once you reset the battery (opening up case, unplugging battery, plugging back in) ... DO NOT connect to zune software equipped computer or you will need to go through the whole process again. my guess is that we're going to have to wait for windows to update the software before we can sync again. for now i think you'll have to charge using a usb alternative like a non-zune computer (i.e. mac) or one of those high-tech outlet adapters (...radioshack)
good luck Posted 12/31/2008 2:24 PMReply

Anonymous says,

Or you can uninstall the zune engine from your pc and then the usb will charge the zune without having to update the firmware until the patch comes out. Then reinstal the Zune software and do the update once they have a patch out. Posted 12/31/2008 2:26 PMReply

Anonymous says,

temporary fix:

http://www.ehow.com/how_4699603_reset-frozen-locked-up-zune.html Posted 12/31/2008 2:29 PMReply

Anonymous says,

Yep, I think its the software... so dont Sync it... Posted 12/31/2008 2:30 PMReply

Anonymous says,

no need to unistall your software, just plug it into any device that has a USB port on it. I am using a Digital Frame that has a USB port on it to charge my Zune :)... hey it works and I avoind syncing.. Posted 12/31/2008 2:32 PMReply

Anonymous says,

So we just have to wait?
Untill they come up with a fix? Posted 12/31/2008 2:33 PMReply

Anonymous says,

So we just have to wait?
Untill they come up with a fix? Posted 12/31/2008 2:33 PMReply

Anonymous says,

So we just have to wait?
Untill they come up with a fix? Posted 12/31/2008 2:33 PMReply

Anonymous says,

funny you should mention that cause i use my TV - it has a USB port and it works just fine... all it needs is to get the 5v USB offers standard... Posted 12/31/2008 2:36 PMReply

Anonymous says,

yep wait for a fix or it may be ok to sync tomorrow.. we'll just wait and see. At least we know how to fix it... Posted 12/31/2008 2:38 PMReply

Anonymous says,

i can't charge mine in anything. it just goes back to that boot up screen and freezes. wtf Posted 12/31/2008 2:47 PMReply

Anonymous says,

What the hell is going on? Does anyone have any information about when they are gonna have a fix up? I got this zune last year in December.. A whole year and it worked great... Whats up? Posted 12/31/2008 2:48 PMReply

Anonymous says,

Just so everyone knows - if you do the battery "unplug" thing that people are posting, your warranty is screwed. That may be Microsoft's excuse to then screw you on any fix if you need to ship it in. Posted 12/31/2008 2:57 PMReply

Anonymous says,

You all need to read! gotta do a hard reset by unplugin the battery Posted 12/31/2008 2:57 PMReply

Anonymous says,

How do you figure this voids the warantee? if you dont break anything in the process its like it was never opened...

there is no seal that breaks or any proof that the unit has been tampered with... Posted 12/31/2008 2:59 PMReply

Anonymous says,

I didn't know my warantee would be screwed.I am so upset I saved for a long time to buy this thing and now it is worth crap. I think this is the biggest rip off in the world. The thing isn't freaking cheap either!! I thought my daughter had dropped it last night until I hit this site!! I think the Governemnt should step in if EVERY ZUNE is busted because no matter what we tried the thing wouldn't work any way and they must have known this was comming, if they say they didn't they are full of it!!! I should have gotten a sayno like my daughters!!! I am so pissed! Posted 12/31/2008 3:08 PMReply

Anonymous says,

What is a Zune? Posted 12/31/2008 3:57 PMReply

Anonymous says,

FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCKKKKKKKKKKKKK DAMITTTTTTTTTT MY ZUNEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE IS FOKIN DEAD PEOPLE WE SHOULD RIOT ALL OVER THE WORLD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!MAN I HAD MAY ZUNE SINCE IT WAS RELEASED AND WORKED PERFECTLY AND NOW I SEE THIS CANT BELEIVE IT I ALAWAYS TRUSTED MICROSOFT WHAT A SHAME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Posted 12/31/2008 4:18 PMReply

Anonymous says,

Not EVERY 30GB Zune is frozen. My husband's 30GB Zune is quite fine, my sister's on the other hand... Posted 12/31/2008 4:36 PMReply

Anonymous says,

I vote for Microsoft to swap out our old 30 gig frozen brick Zunes for new models. I have the latest software on mine and like everyone else that owns a 30 gig Zune now possess a high tech paperweight. Posted 12/31/2008 5:04 PMReply

Anonymous says,

does the 'hard reset' work or not? stop posting complaints.
we know it sucks. Posted 12/31/2008 5:11 PMReply

Anonymous says,

One of the twelve owners of a zune here, sad day I say, but m$ should be patching it up soon, or else hooking us up with something free =D yet my bricked zune is still better than an ipod. Good luck. Posted 12/31/2008 5:30 PMReply

Anonymous says,

it's not just 30's. i have an old 80 that is FROZEN!!!! Posted 12/31/2008 5:39 PMReply

Anonymous says,

Official response:

http://forums.zune.net/412486/ShowPost.aspx Posted 12/31/2008 6:57 PMReply

Anonymous says,

Microsoft says WAIT. DO NOT OPEN UP YOUR ZUNE!

It will fix itself tomorrow.

http://www.zune.net/en-us/support/zune30.htm Posted 12/31/2008 7:26 PMReply

Anonymous says,

i did the hard reset then it was charging... for a while :\ now it wont work. i guess you get one chance? Posted 12/31/2008 7:34 PMReply

Anonymous says,

I hate Zune so so so so so so so so so so so so so so much.... all my stuff is gone....it was amazing until now... my 8 gig went bad a couple of days ago, and now 2 of my 30's went bad last nigth Posted 12/31/2008 8:34 PMReply

Anonymous says,

The most interesting part about this is that these people make the OS that runs on 90% of the world's computers. What happens when all of them die on the same day? Posted 12/31/2008 8:52 PMReply

Anonymous says,

OMG - Classic MicroSoft unfreaking believable that this is happening. I'm so glad that I also have an ipod touch - which works, can't same the same for the Zune.

Early this morning we were alerted by our customers that there was a widespread issue affecting our 2006 model Zune 30GB devices (a large number of which are still actively being used). The technical team jumped on the problem immediately and isolated the issue: a bug in the internal clock driver related to the way the device handles a leap year. The issue should be resolved over the next 24 hours as the time change moves to January 1, 2009. Posted 12/31/2008 11:51 PMReply

Anonymous says,

its 09 and its still frozen Posted 01/01/2009 12:25 AMReply

Anonymous says,

2009 and still waiting... till noon GMT according to zune.net. is everyone else still waiting too? Posted 01/01/2009 01:01 AMReply

Anonymous says,

Unf@ckin believable, it's still frozen. Posted 01/01/2009 02:34 AMReply

Anonymous says,

Zune = Fail
ipod Touch for the win! Posted 01/01/2009 02:35 AMReply

Anonymous says,

MINE WORKS AGAIN... thank goodness. i don't have the cash for the ipod touch yet. Posted 01/01/2009 11:33 AMReply

Anonymous says,

the person that said "What is a Zune?"... you don't know what a Zune is? i'll tell you. its an MP3 player from Microsoft. its good until now.. FROZEN!!! i personally dont have a zune.. thankfully. Posted 01/01/2009 12:31 PMReply

Anonymous says,

I've got a 160gb Zune, no problems EVER (unlike the junk Ipod I replaced with it). Even with this problem, they STILL kick the shit out of the ICRAP. Posted 01/01/2009 1:00 PMReply

Anonymous says,

wat a bummer
i hope microsoft fix it quick because i have 6 dayz at home before i go back to skool and my dad takes it away so i can be focused on my work at skool
im 14 and i need my music come on MICROSOFT

Zune better than the iPod all day!!!
ya digg!!!! Posted 01/01/2009 1:06 PMReply

Anonymous says,

still frozen...

crappppp i did the hard reset RIGHT before they responded to the issue. i hate this. now it will probably never work AGHHH Posted 01/01/2009 2:39 PMReply

Anonymous says,

@ Anonymous: me too
i disconnected the battery yesterdaty and my zune still is frozen today Jan 1st at 2:58pm
i let the battery drain multiple times Posted 01/01/2009 3:00 PMReply

Anonymous says,

mine works now, it was frozen last night at midnight er watever on that screen with the load bar and logo, and i was freaked out so bad! and i waited til it died, at noon, and charged it up again. and it works fine now, IM SO HAPPY. i really thought it wasnt gunna work. i was looking at it as it was loading up again, it stopped, and i was like SHIT but then the menu screen popped up! "D Posted 01/01/2009 3:41 PMReply

Anonymous says,

iPod > Zune

You know it's true. Posted 01/01/2009 4:33 PMReply

Anonymous says,

I've got an 80gb zune and it's doing the exact same thing that the 30gb is reported to be doing, and it happened at the exact same time - this problem isn't exclusive to the zune 30 (ouch). Posted 01/01/2009 4:50 PMReply

Anonymous says,

My frozen Zune has thawed...hooray. Posted 01/01/2009 7:30 PMReply

Anonymous says,

My brother's zune 30 was fine
Its special!
for the people who's zune died
you will be fine just let the battery die, recharge and use.

If you can't wait removing the battery will work, It is a really easy device to open. (he dropped it in a puddle and I had to replace the motherboard) Don't open it if you still have a warentty Posted 01/01/2009 10:33 PMReply

Anonymous says,

My zune is still frozen
let it die and charge many times
on pc and from wall
did battery disconnect and hard drive disconnect still nothing Posted 01/02/2009 3:34 PMReply

Anonymous says,

Any body know how to wipe this thing clean Posted 01/02/2009 3:35 PMReply

Anonymous says,

I Punish and hit my kids because i think they have wasted and broken my Zune, but it was not them as i read now it was Microsoft!!!!!!!!!!!Fu$%c k, I Hope my wife doesnt read this.... or divorce....courtesy by Microsoft...ZUNE!!!! Posted 01/02/2009 11:41 PMReply

Anonymous says,

HELLO IM THE ONE THAT WAS TYPING/SCREAMING FUUUUUUUUUUUCCCCCCCCKKKKKKKKKKKK BUT IM ALRIFHT NOW MY ZUNE SURVIVED HOPE EVERY ZUNE OWNER HAS THE SAME LUCK!!!!!!!

P.S.ZUNE KICKS IPOD ASS EVERY DAY OF THE ****IN YEARRRRR Posted 01/03/2009 01:49 AMReply

Anonymous says,

HAHAHAHA Zune sucks ass. I love my ipod touch. Best thing I've ever had. Posted 02/20/2009 3:39 PMReply

Anonymous says,

Always leading the avant-garde of fashion without compromising traditional craftsmanship of luxury leather goods
[url=http://www.louisvuittonlive.com louis vuitton]
[url=http://www.louisvuittonlive.com Louis Vuitton Replica]
[url=http://www.louisvuittonlive.com Louis Vuitton outlet] is also active in other ...
Cheap[url=http://www.favorluxury.com Louis Vuitton]Replica Handbags,Purses,Wallets Outlet and
[url=http://www.favorluxury.com Louis Vuitton Replica]
Designer Bags,Shoes Outlet Store - discount price is our special offer, [url=http://www.favorluxury.com Louis Vuitton Outlet] Posted 08/24/2009 02:37 AMReply

Anonymous says,

<a href="http://www.stylishpick.com/catalogs/Jimmy-Choo.htm">jimmy choo handbag</a>,
<a href="http://www.stylishpick.com/catalogs/Gucci-handbags.htm">gucci handbag</a> Posted 11/02/2009 10:49 PMReply