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WiX, Live Mesh and more.

Posted by
Rob Mensching
Friday, April 25, 2008 4:05 AM

Under
personal

168 Comments

How to fix a frozen Zune and other interesting tips.

Like almost all Thursday nights, I was out with the guys writing code for the WiX toolset. Also, like almost all Thursday nights, Jenny called me before she headed off to bed. Sadly, tonight she informed me that her Zune had frozen on her walk to work this morning.

Well, I just got home after getting the last set of build system changes in and posted. I decided to take a peek and see if I could fix the ailing music player. It was definitely frozen with its screen dimmed showing one of the menus but not responding to input.

After pressing and holding a few buttons, I decided it was time to hit the Internet. In the first page, I came across this blog entry that did just the trick. Press and hold the Back button and the up on the pad for a few seconds and the Zune will reset. This fixed Jenny's Zune and it seems quite happy, connected and charging.

Reading through the comments here are a few other key combinations that you can use on your Zune:

Zunes at Microsoft Store
  • On - press and hold the Play button.
  • Sleep - press and hold the Play button.
  • Off - press and hold the Back button plus down on the pad.
  • Reset - press and hold Back button plus up on the pad.
  • Erase - press and hold the Back button plus up on the pad then press then hold Back button plus right on the pad plus Play button. From KB926917.
  • Format - press and hold the Back button plus up on the pad then press then hold Back button plus left on the pad plus Play button. Formatting will require you to connect your Zune back to a computer for the Zune to be useable again.  From KB927001.

 

Update 2008-12-31: Microsoft announced that there are start up problems with any Zune 30s purchased in 2006. The Zune team has identified the problem as a bug in the Zune's clock not handling the leap year correctly. Your Zune will fix itself after noon tomorrow. All you need to do is let the battery run all the way down and wait until after noon January 1st, 2009.

Have a happy New Year (when the Zune 30 music will play again)!

 


168 Comments

Comment by
Rik Hemsley
Friday, April 25, 2008 4:25 AM

Throw Zune in bin.
Buy iPod.

Only kidding, my iPod has locked up, too.

Comment by
Russell Anglin - Lubbock, TX
Friday, April 25, 2008 10:26 AM

Thank you, sir. You have saved my afternoon.

Comment by
Aaron Fugate
Tuesday, June 24, 2008 1:35 AM

My 30gb Zune has frozen only twice since I have owned it. I bought it the first month it came out. The only 2 times was when it was on the dock. It froze right in the middle of songplay. Both times I did the "reset" (Up and back) and it completely erased my Zune. I did not do the erase.

Comment by
Jacob Bates
Tuesday, August 26, 2008 3:32 PM

OMFG THANK YOU. my zune was frozen on a pic and I drained it for two days and it did not die I already tried Back + Up and that did not work but Back + Down did. Thanks. =)

Comment by
vic
Tuesday, September 02, 2008 6:41 AM

cool

Comment by
Mel
Wednesday, September 10, 2008 12:38 PM

mine is still not working. ='(

Comment by
Stacy
Tuesday, September 16, 2008 10:42 PM

Ok i tried everything! My zune, which is an 8GB is still frozen. What now? I just bought it a little over a week ago, do i seriously need to replace it already?

Comment by
ricardo
Wednesday, September 17, 2008 6:26 PM

my zune is frozen w/ the screen off & i tried everything that was posted at the screen and vit dosent work!!!!!help!!!!!!!

Comment by
kim wilcock
Wednesday, September 17, 2008 6:53 PM

Thank you so much...

Comment by
Tiffany
Thursday, September 18, 2008 5:05 PM

thanks so much! saved my day !

Comment by
Kyle
Saturday, September 20, 2008 3:14 PM

thank you!

Comment by
mallory & friend
Saturday, September 20, 2008 9:54 PM

wow this actually worked thanks a lot,
im really happy my zune is fixedd!
i've been trying to get it to work all day, i was starting to worry!

thanks a lot =]]]

Comment by
Aj
Sunday, September 21, 2008 9:43 AM

what ever, i pods suck, i ditched mine for my zune, plus ipods freeze all the time, you fix it pretty much the same way.

Comment by
Meerak
Monday, September 22, 2008 6:29 PM

THANKS A LOT....stated to get scared for a while

Comment by
Nathan
Tuesday, September 23, 2008 8:18 PM

Thank you soooo much! For my birthday this one year I got a zune, but then it crashed, woudn't work, and deleted all of my stuff. I got a new one. Just this evening, I was going to listen to this song. It froze, so I turned it off then it wouldn't turn back on! I tried the reset tip, and it worked!!!! You made my day!

Comment by
Gabe
Wednesday, September 24, 2008 6:44 PM

Thanks for the tips. Bout to make my friend replace my Zune for freezing it!

Comment by
Ryan
Wednesday, September 24, 2008 7:52 PM

my zune has never turn on even when i charged it

Comment by
chris
Monday, September 29, 2008 9:57 PM

omg thank you im at school right now and i wanted to listen to is superbad and this blog saved my day

Comment by
Russ
Wednesday, October 01, 2008 9:16 AM

WOW thanks so much!! BACK + Down worked while nothing else did, was a simple fix and I was stressing for a while about it! Thanks a lot, really appreciate the help, you ROCK!!

Comment by
dario cruz
Wednesday, October 15, 2008 5:43 AM

Yeah thanks for the article help Me from a horrible ride on the bus. My zume froze will I was walking to the bus stop. Your info helped me fix it.

Comment by
John D
Friday, October 17, 2008 4:11 PM

Mine froze. did "Reset" and its back to normal

Comment by
Ash
Friday, October 24, 2008 1:15 PM

thanks a lot! it was about to freak out!

Comment by
Kim
Saturday, October 25, 2008 6:08 AM

ThankiesXD

Comment by
ariana c
Saturday, October 25, 2008 3:12 PM

OMG OMG OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I LOVE YOU WHO EVER YOU ARE YOU SAVED MY ZUNE <3333

Comment by
kris v
Sunday, October 26, 2008 8:39 AM

i bought my zune on october 25, 2008 for my birth day, its third generation zune. while listening to a song it froze and it still shows the menu where i was at, but the backlight isnt on, so you can only c that its still on in a really bright place. i tried pressing the back button and up button on the d-pad at the same time and it didnt work. i held the Play/Pause button for 15 min. ((another method of how to drain the zune battery)) and that also did not work. if anyone has some info they can pass on to me and some other people who might have the same problem, please post as soon as possible. thanks.

Comment by
Dani
Sunday, October 26, 2008 4:27 PM

Thanks so much this is the first time my zune has frozen and i followed this tip and it came back with all the content still intact

Comment by
Sarah
Monday, October 27, 2008 10:14 PM

Thank you so much my zune turned off for about a week and then i used what you said and it worked!

Comment by
Ruben
Tuesday, October 28, 2008 8:14 AM

everytime i plug my zune into my computer, it reads that the memory is full, even though there is no songs, no videos, and no photos.

!i need help, please!

thanks, for tips, but can you help me?

Comment by
Megan
Tuesday, October 28, 2008 5:53 PM

THANKS SO MUCH!!!!

Comment by
Allysa
Thursday, October 30, 2008 1:48 PM

Thanks my zune frozen during a song . i pressed back and up and hold for about 30 seconds and it works great now!!!!!!!!!!!

Comment by
ashley
Thursday, October 30, 2008 7:09 PM

THANKS I was so scared :D

Comment by
Dom
Friday, October 31, 2008 3:23 PM

thanks man

Comment by
alicia
Thursday, November 06, 2008 2:02 PM

omggg thx u sososo muchh
i was just gonna get a new one
but i tried this
andd it workss!!
awesome :)

Comment by
JR
Thursday, November 06, 2008 2:55 PM

I plugged my zune into the computer to charge, and then the zune screen pops up and looks kind of smeared.. i tried to do the reset and everything else, but its not registering or anything. I don't know what's up with it... Any more suggestions???

Comment by
RED
Friday, November 07, 2008 11:08 AM

Thanks, i thought i was gonna have to buy another 1

Comment by
Set
Monday, November 10, 2008 6:54 AM

Thanks dude, I bought my 30gb soon after zunes were released, this is the first time it's ever frozen, you saved me some money.

Comment by
K.Sea
Tuesday, November 11, 2008 1:58 PM

thank you sooo much!

Comment by
kevin
Wednesday, November 12, 2008 12:03 PM

thanks!

Comment by
cassieee
Thursday, November 13, 2008 1:03 PM

OMG THANK YOU SOO MUCHH ! my zune froze up today @ school nd i was freaking out cause this is the first time its done it && i reset mine and it worked.THANK YOUU THANK YOUU THANK YOUU !!! :D

Comment by
Kibby
Thursday, November 20, 2008 4:02 PM

RAWR. this helped!! ^^ THANKS SO FREAKING MUCH!!!! i could so hug you right now :P

Comment by
LB
Thursday, November 20, 2008 7:54 PM

Thank you so much. I was on my way to work an i thought i might have to throw it on the subway track but i decided to check online first. I hope this is not a continueing theme. I will save this website as a favorite now.

Comment by
tm
Tuesday, November 25, 2008 10:25 AM

THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Comment by
lili
Sunday, November 30, 2008 2:47 AM

AHHHH!! THANK YOU SOOOO MUCH!! i got my zune for christmas last year and it NEVER gave me trouble until today and it worked when i held the back and up (: thankssss!!!

Comment by
jl
Tuesday, December 02, 2008 6:39 PM

One note - make sure the thing is unlocked first - (the little red lock switch is showing unlocked)

I thought the reset wasn't working, then noticed the lock on (after sitting there holding buttons down for a long time...)

Comment by
Setsuya
Friday, December 12, 2008 5:28 PM

Amazing. =D Thanks a lot you saved me three days of waiting for it to die.

Comment by
littlekidd
Monday, December 15, 2008 7:56 PM

THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!! I owe you one!

Comment by
Panda Pup
Wednesday, December 24, 2008 11:31 AM

My Zune has been freezing every other week for about a month now and I tried the back and down, the back and up, the play/pause and none of it is working. I really need my Zune for my 3 hour drive back to college so I could really use some other solutions. Please and thank you

Comment by
mindvoid
Wednesday, December 24, 2008 7:50 PM

thanks alot man u saved me big time i just got my zune and one of the podcast videos i had on there was currupted....the reset thing big help thanks bro

Comment by
Tony
Friday, December 26, 2008 10:54 AM

Thnx soo much it has been a big help. I left my zune on the computer all night to charge and when i woke up the screen and everything was frozen. I held the back button and up on the pad and it reset it and now it works.

Comment by
arthur
Monday, December 29, 2008 11:34 AM

Thanks dude you saved my life :D

Comment by
christina
Monday, December 29, 2008 9:29 PM

OMG THANK YOU!!! Today was the first day I ever used my 8gb, and it completely froze up when I tried to play a new song. It was even still highlighted on "play". I used BACK + UP though, and it fixed it! I FREAKING LOVE YOU!!! You totally saved my life!

Comment by
frank
Wednesday, December 31, 2008 12:29 AM

my zune is stuck at the loading screen it wont reset or drain. what do i do??

Comment by
noor
Wednesday, December 31, 2008 12:53 AM

not working :(

Comment by
Mike
Wednesday, December 31, 2008 2:59 AM

my zune is frozen on the zune loading page have tried all of these combinations nothing works??
any ideas its a 30gb zune

Comment by
P Heckman
Wednesday, December 31, 2008 5:07 AM

Tried all of the suggestions up to 12/2/08. This is the first time mine's frozen. On the "ZUNE" startup screen with the white bar underneath it. Froze up when inserted into the base. Would be nice if you could just pop the battery!!!

Comment by
sb
Wednesday, December 31, 2008 5:18 AM

my zune is frozen on the loang screen when u first turn it on

Comment by
Leman
Wednesday, December 31, 2008 5:34 AM

my zune is froze upon start up nothing will reset it and i cant replace it cuz my friend gave me it any answers

Comment by
chris
Wednesday, December 31, 2008 6:35 AM

My zune is frozen on the start up screen where is shows the zune symbol, it says zune, and it shows the little loading bar on the bottom. I've tried everything and nothing works. I'll let the battery die and then plug it back in and it'll charge up and turn on like normal but it won't go any further than that loading screen. Please help...if I can be helped that is.

Comment by
billy
Wednesday, December 31, 2008 7:06 AM

frozen still

Comment by
Ray
Wednesday, December 31, 2008 7:10 AM

zune frozen on start up in will not go any futher than that . any ways to fix it?

Comment by
JB
Wednesday, December 31, 2008 7:21 AM

Still not working! How long do you hold the buttons down? What if that doesn't work?

Comment by
Selyna
Wednesday, December 31, 2008 7:30 AM

I didn't even do anything to it, I woke up this morning and I don't know if I kicked it in my sleep or something, but when I got up, my zune was frozen on the loading screen. I've tried you tip, and a few other things, but nothing is working. It's upsetting me, because if I ever wanted to return my zune because of this problem, I couldn't because the serial number on the back has been inconviently scratched off because of one of my stupid impulses, so in other words, I NEED to make this thing last!

PlEASE help me,
Selyna

Comment by
Mike
Wednesday, December 31, 2008 8:02 AM

My zune is frozen on the loading screen (displays "zune" along with zune logo above and white loading bar at the bottom). I know of these tricks to get the zune going again, but none of these have worked. Any suggestions?

Comment by
taylor
Wednesday, December 31, 2008 8:05 AM

nothing happened

Comment by
brittany
Wednesday, December 31, 2008 8:09 AM

my 30GB Zune froze when turning on and now it just shows the Zune logo and wont go any further. it will not turn on or off

Comment by
Eric
Wednesday, December 31, 2008 8:13 AM

I'm on my 4th Zune in 4 yrs becuase of all kinds of issues outside of my control. I'm hocking this Zune and going for an iPod. You should do the same.

Comment by
Lynna
Wednesday, December 31, 2008 8:22 AM

Does this work for Zunes that were frozen on 12/31/08?

Comment by
HondaRYDR
Wednesday, December 31, 2008 8:40 AM

I have a 30gb zune and this is the first time i have had it froze up on me and i have had it for a wile i have tryed what you have said thanks for the help but it didnt work so far haha

Comment by
Jensen
Wednesday, December 31, 2008 8:53 AM

okay so i got the 30g and updated and now its froze and none of them button solutions work and i let the zune drain itself, anything else i can do to it besides throw it?

Comment by
Jim Libby
Wednesday, December 31, 2008 9:00 AM

"http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/12/31/zune-frozen-reports-say-e_n_154486.html"
Interesting, what has happenedn today. I am one of three friends who own Zunes and not one of them are working today!

Comment by
pearp88
Wednesday, December 31, 2008 9:03 AM

my zune is still not working

Comment by
John
Wednesday, December 31, 2008 9:10 AM

There's a fix:

"Your zune will need a "hard reset."

To do this, use a small screwdriver to pop off the plastic shielding where the zune cable plugs into and remove the two screws on either side of the plug. Next pop the cover off and locate the battery plug at the top left corner of the zune, using your screw driver, pop the cable connection half way off, and do this to the other plug on the right side. Wait 3 seconds, then push down the right connector and then the left battery connecter. Your zune should start up immediately. Press the backing of the zune down (make sure headphone jack is aligned) and put the screws and cover back in place.

It's an easy process but if you're unsure don't attempt it if you think you'll screw it or something. :)"


Comment by
Chris
Wednesday, December 31, 2008 9:16 AM

YYYYYYESSSSSSSS thank you so much! like u don't even know cuz i just bought mine n it froze up on me. thank you!!!!!!!!11

Comment by
eb
Wednesday, December 31, 2008 9:20 AM

my zune is stuck at the loading screen (shows the pink icon, the word zune and the loading bar at the bottom) none of those button combinations are working any tips?

Comment by
Skootz
Wednesday, December 31, 2008 9:28 AM

I tried all the combos on my 1st g zune and the only one that reset it was BACK + Left on the pad. So try that if none of the others work!

Comment by
brian
Wednesday, December 31, 2008 9:41 AM

i got my Zune like 2 years ago on my birthday and it froze at the loading screen and i tried the reset thing and it doesnt work so what do i do now!!

Comment by
Brandon
Wednesday, December 31, 2008 9:46 AM

My Zune froze while it was on the charger! But I tryed all of your tips and it still didn't unfreez. Do you have any other options?

Comment by
kyle
Wednesday, December 31, 2008 9:49 AM

dam...i got a 30 gig and its been frozen for over 10 hours...i tried all these tips, is it dead ? or is it possible it will resurrect in a another day or something?

Comment by
Sid
Wednesday, December 31, 2008 9:52 AM

I've tried just about all the procedures on the list, and they won't work.
I'll just send it to Mircosoft for repairs or something.
*sigh*

Comment by
Jessica
Wednesday, December 31, 2008 9:59 AM

i tried everything and it didnt work =( helppp meee

Comment by
Jen
Wednesday, December 31, 2008 10:05 AM

I tried the up and down buttons method yet my Zune wouldn't restart. Mine froze sometime in the night during a blackout. ( It was plugged in a socket to recharge) It froze in the load screen where the zune logo shows up and a loading bar. Any suggestions on how to fix it?

Comment by
Kenny
Wednesday, December 31, 2008 10:27 AM

my zune froze on the loading screen and i tried EVERYTHING known to man! it wont come unfrozen. i only had it for almost a year!!!! im so pissed! GOSH! can anyone please please please help me?!?! i already called my sister who bought it for me. she dont know either :[

Comment by
Jason
Wednesday, December 31, 2008 10:39 AM

Mine Froze just as I am to leave on a trip and it won't reset--Thanks Zune!

Comment by
kenf
Wednesday, December 31, 2008 10:43 AM

I have the same problem as JR - froze on the Zune screen, when charging, and no combination of keystrokes has any affect. Mine has frozen numerous times, but the back+up keystroke always worked, until now. Any ideas anyone?????

Comment by
timothy
Wednesday, December 31, 2008 10:48 AM

I did the up+back thing so I did down+back and it turn off so turn it on and it worked

Comment by
LBz30gb
Wednesday, December 31, 2008 11:01 AM

My battery drained so as I was charging my Zune 30gb it froze on the Start up screen. I tried to reset using the back + up but nothing happens. I let it drain and let it completely shut off again. I started to charge it and AGAIN it froze on the same screen. Again, I cannot reset.

Someone, please help!!!

Comment by
Louis
Wednesday, December 31, 2008 11:35 AM

my zune is frozen on the Zune screen and no reset or anything works.
whats your advise

Comment by
Arthur
Wednesday, December 31, 2008 11:40 AM

LA times (http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2008/12/zune-30-shutdow.html) and Microsoft (http://www.zune.net/en-US/support) have announced a Y2k9 bug. Fix to be forthcoming. For now, no more zune times!

Comment by
zunes suck
Wednesday, December 31, 2008 11:47 AM

dec 31 2008
my zune,as well as all other zunes on this planet,has completely frozen.

Comment by
dd
Wednesday, December 31, 2008 11:51 AM

i have a question to the next person that comments this. how long did you wait until it came on and restarted? please answer please.

Comment by
Bayleigh
Wednesday, December 31, 2008 12:11 PM

DID U EVER KNOW THAT YOUR MY HERO!!

no but seriously omg thanku so much!!!! my father would have had a complete spazout. the back button up thing worked for me. THANKS A MILLION!

Comment by
brian3000
Wednesday, December 31, 2008 12:23 PM

mine actually is frozen with the "reboot" screen showing. the battery drained, i connected it back to my computer and once it got enough juice it's still frozen with the reboot screen - the bar is showing full. i tried everything and nothing works....way to go MS!!!

Comment by
shabbadoo
Wednesday, December 31, 2008 12:32 PM

I have the old 30G brick of a zune
I plugged it in to put stuff on it and i glanced over at it and it was shutting down, and then it started loading up again, but it froze at the zune logo once the white bar loaded up all the way.
Ive let it die over night and then plugged it back in, but as soon as it came back to that screen, it froze again. no button combinations are working, and dying isnt either! whatdo I do?! D:

Comment by
stevie
Wednesday, December 31, 2008 12:44 PM

My zune still wont work, i tried everthing, did not trun off or reset. The screen comes on, but then nothing and it just says zune on it, and that is the way it will stay, but when we let it die, then re try to charge it it does the same thing once more

Comment by
ashleigh
Wednesday, December 31, 2008 12:47 PM

my zune is stuck on the booting screen after i charged it all night and i tried back and up back and down and back and left + right and nothing worked and i really want to use it today because im going on a road trip and if you could help me asap i would love you for forever

Comment by
Zelda
Wednesday, December 31, 2008 1:07 PM

My 30 gb zune is frozen on the title screen. I tried doing the up back and down back thing. no luck. how do I get it to work?

Comment by
Lui
Wednesday, December 31, 2008 1:16 PM

Mine is completely non-responsive after trying all of the above - second time it froze in a year and a half. Just frozen on the boot up screen. Hope I don't have a paper weight now. . . .

Comment by
Marissa
Wednesday, December 31, 2008 1:26 PM

I've tried back+up and back+down to reset my frozen zune 30gb. nothing works

Comment by
emily
Wednesday, December 31, 2008 1:54 PM

THIS DID NOT WORK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
it was unlocked.
i tried to reset it.
i tried to turn it off.
its still stuck on the screen you get that takes like 5 seconds to load usually.
the one that says 'zune' and the symbol and the line across the bottom!
GAHHHHHHH HELP!!!!!!!!!!!

and its a 30gb

Comment by
Rob Mensching
Wednesday, December 31, 2008 1:58 PM

For those of you having problems with a Zune 30gb, please read the update to this blog post. There is a known issue that has affected a large number of Zune 30s and a fix is apparently being implemented.

Comment by
Stu
Wednesday, December 31, 2008 1:59 PM

Mine is frozen as well. Microsoft better come through!

Comment by
Corrina
Wednesday, December 31, 2008 2:24 PM

my zune is froze on the start up loading page & i tried all this & it still wont work
What should i do?

Comment by
Connor Kaus
Wednesday, December 31, 2008 2:34 PM

Mine still wont work! i don't know what to do!!! :(

Comment by
Zune User
Wednesday, December 31, 2008 2:52 PM

30GB Freeze on Boot Update -

Appears to be a leap year related problem, which Microsoft is hoping will resolve itself tomorrow. Read more here - http://zuneinsider.com/archive/2008/12/31/30gb-zune-issues-official-update.aspx

Comment by
brittany
Wednesday, December 31, 2008 3:18 PM


my zune froze frozen with the "reboot" screen showing so this actually fixed it. it is NOT easy to do but if you can do it your zune will be up and working in no time

To do this, use a small screwdriver to pop off the plastic shielding where the zune cable plugs into and remove the two screws on either side of the plug. Next pop the cover off and locate the battery plug at the BOTTOM left corner of the zune, using your screw driver, pop the cable connection half way off, and do this to the other plug on the right side. Wait 3 seconds, then push down the right connector and then the left battery connecter. Your zune should start up immediately. Press the backing of the zune down (make sure headphone jack is aligned) and put the screws and cover back in place

Comment by
Kellen
Wednesday, December 31, 2008 3:26 PM

Did master zune reset. It worked. Kept all my songs and everything.

Comment by
rlj
Wednesday, December 31, 2008 3:34 PM

the hard reset works. thanks.

Comment by
Chris
Wednesday, December 31, 2008 3:37 PM

Happy New Years, Microsoft sucks. I Just got to watch my 30G Zune crash this afternoon, just like everyone else. Great way to start the new year. I can't wait to get home and watch my XBOX 360 go down also. Maybe I should stop buying from American companies since they are all going down the toilet. I need to learn Japanese.

Comment by
brittany
Wednesday, December 31, 2008 3:39 PM

when i opened my zune up and tried to reset it it turned on but when i click on music or videos, pictures ect it one go to it

Comment by
anthony
Wednesday, December 31, 2008 4:35 PM

my zune is frozen tried all the holdin back and up and down but nothing works can some1 help!!!

Comment by
Kat
Wednesday, December 31, 2008 6:13 PM

HEY HEY HEY!!! zune just posted a comment saying how to fix the Zune 30 epidemic. Check it out :)
http://www.zune.net/en-us/support/zune30.htm

it suck though, that we would have to wait until tomorrow...bringing in the new year with a funtional zune, who knows????

Comment by
cisco
Wednesday, December 31, 2008 6:56 PM

thanks zuneuser

Comment by
David
Wednesday, December 31, 2008 6:59 PM

Microsoft announced that there are start up problems with any Zune 30s purchased in 2006. The Zune team has identified the problem as a bug in the Zune's clock not handling the leap year correctly. Your Zune will fix itself tonight after midnight. All you need to do is wait.

Comment by
Page
Wednesday, December 31, 2008 7:56 PM

grrrrr, i got my Zune when it first came out an its stuck on the loading screen when it says "Zune" and it says its loadin but i tried the reset button and everything else but its not working. SOMEBODY HELP ME!!!

Comment by
jrock
Wednesday, December 31, 2008 8:24 PM

my stupid zune is stuck at da loading page an it wont do anything else

Comment by
buy an ipod
Wednesday, December 31, 2008 8:43 PM

hehe thats funny, my moms zune just did this, and she blamed me on braking it, cuz it was the 1st time i used it, and shes like, you broke my zune, what did you do to it?!?! lol. thats retarded, the new year thing. lol.

Comment by
Iniysa
Wednesday, December 31, 2008 8:53 PM

Thank you for the New Years update, my 30 Zune froze on the start up screen this morning and has not worked since. A clock problem? Weird. Looking forward listening to my music again. :)

Lauren

Comment by
Cash
Wednesday, December 31, 2008 10:44 PM

If Microsoft ever made a product that didn't suck, IT WOULD BE A VACUUM CLEANER!!

imho

;-)

Comment by
Heather
Wednesday, December 31, 2008 10:54 PM

still waiting for mine to come back.....=(

Comment by
jimmy!
Wednesday, December 31, 2008 11:30 PM

was dead worried about my zune because it crashed this morning!! master reset works THANKS!

Comment by
Jackee
Thursday, January 01, 2009 12:07 AM

Zune 30GB was frozen with the startup screen with the load bar at the bottom of the screen. Tried all the different button combination. Finally went and bought a jeweler's screwdriver set and took the 2 small screws off, pried apart the case with my thumbnail. The battery is the small rectangular item near the top of the Zune. There is a long thin flex cable connection to the bottom of the Zune. Slide the small brown conection lock up 1mm. Lift the battery flex cable out of the connector to cut power off to the Zune. The screen went blank. Waited for 10 seconds and then re-inserted the cable and slide the lock back down. The Zune reset fine and all the music was still there.

Carefully align the top of the case with the headphone jack and make sure you remember which position the "lock" slide switch is in when you removed the top of the case. I put the case back together with the 2 small screws lightly tightened in case this happens again!

But it works great again. I like it better than any iPod except perhaps the Touch.... because of its Aps and WiFi capability.

Good Luck....

Comment by
mary
Thursday, January 01, 2009 1:20 AM

My Zune froze last night while charging off the computer. All I could get was a picture of a battery after the Zune logo went away. Left it off the computer all day and tried plugging it back into the computer after midnight tonight and all my info came back up after a little bit but the battery is very low and needs to recharge.
All my songs and things are still in place.

Comment by
Sarah
Thursday, January 01, 2009 1:28 AM

Okay so like many of you, my Zune 30gb is frozen on the load screen with the little white loader bar at the bottom. I use it all the time and when i fired it up last night (around 2am 31 Dec) it loaded and froze. I went to sleep thinking it would prob just fix itself by morning. It was dead... but not fixed when I woke up today. So i fully charged it and it froze right back up. I went to the Zune support page and they CLAIM that all will be well by noon 1Jan. So I'm going to wait it out. They said to let it die (let the battery run out completely) and plug it in after noon on Thursday. Good luck guys! I FEEL your pain right now!!!!

Comment by
ORod
Thursday, January 01, 2009 8:49 AM

This is a conspiracy ! ! !

Comment by
Jeramie
Thursday, January 01, 2009 9:52 AM

this isnt working my zune is stuck on the loading screen and has been forever.

Comment by
Mar805
Thursday, January 01, 2009 10:10 AM

Like all of you my 30 also froze up. Ive tried basically every button combination with 0 success. I aslo did the hard reset with no difference. Ive even waited past 12 noon gmt and it still does not work. I loved my zune more than the ipod i had, its such a shame microsoft has been such a low grade company.....xbox360...now zune30? Ill be looking elsewhere in the future for technology purchases.

Comment by
BP
Thursday, January 01, 2009 10:16 AM

I did the hard reboot by briefly removing battery cables yesteray and it seemed to work fine. However, when placing it in a dock with speakers-sound would only come out of half the speakers. Now this morning it has frozen up on startup again. Any advice? Should I let the battery run down this time like microsoft suggest?

Comment by
Enrique
Thursday, January 01, 2009 12:11 PM

I followed Jackee's instructions on how to unplug your Zune 30gb battery. This actually worked for me and got my Zune up and running again. I suggest if the back button trick does not work to try and unplug your battery this will definitely solve the problem.

Comment by
melonie
Thursday, January 01, 2009 12:18 PM

this is gay. mine froze with the logo thingy around midnight and it has the load white bar on it. i WILL NOT PRY IT OPEN. i rather not damage it fer life, its 30gb. i got it last christmas so yea.... this better work, i still need to let it die out i guess and charge it again..... i think it was bad that yesterday i was sorta banging it on the table....... but the logo thing is still there so i guess its fine.... idk. THIS BETTER WORK OR IM PRESSING CHARGES.

Comment by
BP
Thursday, January 01, 2009 12:59 PM

After disconnecting battery last night everything seemed fine except when docked in a player it only played out of one side of the speakers which it had never done before. Then, this morning it froze back up again. Any ideas?

Comment by
Jay
Thursday, January 01, 2009 1:01 PM

STILL FROZEN! Have followed all the tips and waited till after noon to recharge but this DID NOT fix the problem.

Comment by
high_top_14
Thursday, January 01, 2009 7:21 PM

kinda cool how we had a little zune y2k. lol. The thing where you wait till Jan 1st after noon really works. Cant imagin how many people bashed their zunes over this. Happily got my zune back, so happy New Year!!

Comment by
JSC
Thursday, January 01, 2009 8:11 PM

do i charge it after it drains?

mine was frozen on the zune logo and white loading bar too. i have one of the first zunes....its really big and i thought it may just be old? i got it 2 summers ago.

Comment by
JSC
Thursday, January 01, 2009 8:14 PM

oh yeah! if i reset my zune will it delete all my songs??

Comment by
BP
Friday, January 02, 2009 10:54 AM

Has anyone that did the hard reboot by disconnecting the battery experience their player only playing through one side of speakers when docked in a player? It works fine through the headphone jack but the problem seems to be when docked. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Comment by
PsychoAudio
Friday, January 02, 2009 1:00 PM

mine is still frozen .any one help me

Comment by
PsychoAudio
Friday, January 02, 2009 4:43 PM

mine is still frozen .i did batterie trick and every thing no my screen is blinking on and off

Comment by
Dennis
Friday, January 02, 2009 6:23 PM

How can I let the battery drain if the stupid thing won't even turn on. Even plugged into my computer, nothing works except some image of the zune plug. Turning it on without being connected to the computer gives only an exclamation point which goes black in 3 seconds. What a rip by MS.

Comment by
elstevo
Saturday, January 03, 2009 10:48 AM

My Zune still froze at the zune logo and white bar. I have followed all the fixes. What do I do now? Today is Jan. 3 2009! So much for the Zune fixing its self Jan 1st.

Comment by
Miranda
Saturday, January 03, 2009 8:39 PM

I have the 30 gig and I thought my zune just broke out of nowhere, I was so upset because my warranty just ran out. I never would have known that that had something to do with the leap year. Thanks for the advice! =)

Comment by
Nate
Saturday, January 03, 2009 11:14 PM

mine is stuck on the loading screen with the bar fully loaded but that's it.
so i took it apart and unplugged the thing from the battery and plugged it back in because i already had a problem with it not turning on and it turned out to be that it was unplugged
anyway nothing is working even the hard reset
any suggestions??

Comment by
Greg Wenner
Monday, January 05, 2009 5:05 PM

Okay, it is passed January 1st and my Zune still is frozen on this screen: http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii36/dafatman62/P1020001.jpg

Comment by
JJ
Tuesday, January 06, 2009 7:53 AM

thank you my zune works

Comment by
jim
Tuesday, January 06, 2009 5:55 PM

if you do the disconnet Battey method. Important. don't forget to take the little black cap off where you plug charger. thats were you find the 2 screws.
I didn't do that and rip them right off. but I put it back together, and works fine....

Comment by
zatman
Tuesday, January 06, 2009 7:06 PM

1/6 and 30gig still frozen. Tried all button combinations, hard reset, new battery, full drain. All I can get is the zune logo screen and white bar. Love the box but wish Apple had done the programming. LOL

Comment by
devin
Wednesday, January 07, 2009 11:13 AM

i have trye all the methods to the zune but the only respones im getting is low battery screen

Comment by
Tina
Wednesday, January 14, 2009 9:05 PM

Thanks so much. My 8 gig froze and I was wondering what to do then I found this site right off and very pleased you had the answer I needed. Back and down did the trick.

Comment by
tinkabell180
Friday, January 23, 2009 8:29 AM

my zune want work i have did everything and it want work please somebody help me i got a 8GB zune.

Comment by
Taz
Saturday, January 24, 2009 8:00 PM

Ok this was weird, my zune was frozen too and the resets did not work. I plugged in the headphones and voila, unfrozen.

Comment by
Yobz
Monday, January 26, 2009 6:27 PM

My zune 120 does not work now it freezes when i add music to it message reads Your Zune is not responding.Please disconnect it,restart it.press and hold the back button while you press and hold top of zune pad error code : C00D124D i only used my zune for a couple of times usually it just sits on my computer table and now it does not work at all??any ideas any body??

Comment by
Lenore
Friday, January 30, 2009 1:32 PM

My Zune has been frozen for about 6 months. I opened the zune up and removed the battery and put it back, but still not responding.It will not change screens or shut off until battery die out. At first the zune as to be updated but when I tried to update it the screen said please wait in english and spanish and have'nt change in 6 months.

Comment by
Cheleida
Friday, February 06, 2009 4:41 AM

Thanks a bunch, Mr. Black is working splendidly again! Cheers!

Comment by
Natasha
Wednesday, February 11, 2009 11:45 AM

so sad that a year after getting my zune i still dont know how to reset. good i guess for the company since i've never had to do it before. anyways, back button and up worked and im back rockin out. thanks so much (:

Comment by
darling
Sunday, February 15, 2009 12:22 PM

i have an 8GB and the touch pad on it has frozen. the back and play buttons work fine but the touch pad doesnt work so i cant restart it or unlock it. plz help!

Comment by
TDW
Wednesday, February 18, 2009 7:59 AM

I had to replace the battery and hard drive after the leap year bug, the lock switch will not unlock any help?

Comment by
Lee
Sunday, February 22, 2009 1:44 PM

Thanks a ton. My 13yr old saved for an entire year to buy a 120G Zune. When it froze he almost has a cow. You are a blessing.

Comment by
Aimi
Saturday, March 28, 2009 6:10 PM

Thank you so very much! My zune (purchased December '07) just froze tonight after well over a year of working just fine and I was afraid it was dead forever. Fortunately, resetting it worked and didn't erase anything on it, either!

Comment by
frenchrock65
Thursday, April 02, 2009 11:37 AM

Thanks, pressing back & up at the same time just rebooted my Zune which was frozen for the last 3 hours. I was already seeing me calling Bill Gates and asking WTF?? I am glad I didn't have to call him, he is probably busy with other things. I love my zune!!

Comment by
Kyra
Saturday, April 11, 2009 10:08 AM

Alright, for all of you whose buttons aren't responding. Try locking and unlocking it. I have to do that to mine all the time because of the buttons not responding. And for those who claim to do the hard reset (opening it up and unplugging the battery) you must have done it wrong and you should try it again. I know for a fact that this works as I saw someone do it.
Another thing, mine froze yesterday after unplugging the headphones on the radio. The screen went black and no response from the buttons or the lock switch. I found this site and I held back and up and it came back to life like nothing was wrong. Thanks guy that posted this blog, you're a lifesaver. I reallly didn't want to go out and have to buy an iPod, especially since I got my Zune to replace my iPod.

Comment by
charles
Wednesday, April 15, 2009 6:05 PM

yesterday my zune froze up on me and the screen went dark i could still see the menus and everything but now i cannot see anything the menus are gone and the screen is black. i tried the reset but nothing happened it still the same.

Comment by
libby
Friday, April 17, 2009 7:39 AM

thanks soo much my zune was froze up for a week, and i couldnt get it to work until i reset my whole zune. thanksss sooo much!

Comment by
Matthew
Friday, April 17, 2009 11:53 PM

Ah thank you so much I had no idea how to get the bottum off my switch was stuck on lock but now I fixed it thanks to your info thank you!!!.

Comment by
Irvin
Tuesday, April 28, 2009 4:52 AM

Thanks!!! I hold the back button and up to the key pad and it turn on. (My zune won't turn on).

Comment by
Malissa
Tuesday, May 05, 2009 3:28 PM

Thanks!!! This was the first time my zune had ever froze and it was during school. I held down the back and up buttons and it about a minute it shut down...i pushed the same buttons a couple seconds later and it turned on and works great. Now I can listen to it during class!!

Comment by
Jerry
Tuesday, May 12, 2009 1:59 PM

Thanks! I was having a horrible day....on my way to the gym I got a ticket and then when I got there I noticed my zune was frozen. I was pissed off during my whole work out. You saved the day!

Comment by
sb
Tuesday, May 26, 2009 6:26 PM

Zune blinks when plugged in and will not do naything else

Comment by
Kato
Saturday, June 06, 2009 6:54 AM

i've got 460 pictures of when i was in New york on my zune. it was all my good memorys and it froze last nite, i didnt think it would come back on... thank god the reset code works... thanks for all your help what would i have done ;)

Comment by
Bailey
Saturday, June 27, 2009 9:38 AM

You saved my world! without you my zune would be frozen forever! You rule ! you should be famous!

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