Much Ado about Zune's New-Year's Bug

Microsoft posted a quick fix on New Year's Day for the glitch that made some of its Zune digital music players freeze up the day before, thanks apparently to a leap-year problem encountered by the Zune's internal clock. Since 2008 had an extra day, including February 29th, the calendar/clock on some Zunes got confused about when the new year was about to start.

"It doesn't appear for most users that this was super-serious," Gartenberg said. "If you waited until New Year's Day to plug in your device and charge it back up, most users were fine."

On the other hand, Gartenberg pointed out, it's still embarrassing for Microsoft that the Zune would freeze up at all. The glitch, he said, shows a lack of quality control, and "it definitely is not the type of thing that enhances Microsoft's reputation as a pioneer in consumer electronics."

The Four-Step Fix

On its Zune Web site, Microsoft outlined four steps for owners of the frozen 30-gigabyte Zune players:

First, disconnect the Zune from its USB and AC power sources. Because the player is frozen, its battery will drain, which is a good thing.

Then, wait until the battery is empty and the screen goes black. If the battery was fully charged, this might take a couple of hours.

Wait until after noon GMT on January 1, 2009 -- 7 a.m. Eastern or 4 a.m. Pacific time in the U.S. (now a moot point, since that time has passed).

Connect the Zune to either a USB port on the back of a 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.

For owners of the Zune 30 who did not encounter the problem, Microsoft says not to worry. The players should continue to work fine, at this point, without needing the fix.

What about rights-managed content stored on the Zune? Microsoft said it would "most likely" not be affected by the issue. However, the company said it's a good idea to synch the device to a computer once the freeze has been resolved to make sure usage rights are up to date.

Another Not-So-Good Approach

Before Microsoft offered a fix, a Zune.net forum user named Dmodegirl claimed to have solved the problem, recommending the Zune needed a "hard reset." The user suggested using a small screwdriver to pop off the plastic shielding where the Zune cable plugs in and remove the two screws on either side of the plug.

Some users reported success with the hard reset, but when they plugged back into the charge the Zune froze again because the reset didn't resolve the leap-year glitch.

Microsoft frowned on that practice, calling it a bad idea. Microsoft doesn't recommend opening the Zune, which voids the warranty. However, for consumers who took Dmodegirl's advice, Microsoft offered some follow-up instructions: Wait 24 hours from the Zune reset and then sync with a computer to refresh usage rights, or delete the player's contents using the Zune software and then synchronize.

While the Zune bug irked some otherwise happy Zune users, and may have embarrassed Microsoft a bit, there's an upside as well. The glitch proved to be a minor inconvenience for most, with an easy fix, and at the same time, brought the Zune back into the limelight for the first time since its launch in November 2007.