EPIC FAIL: The Day the Zune 30’s died
The day the music died
Don McLean sang about this day, for years we thought he was referring to the plane crash that killed Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and the Big Bopper. We never imagined it would have been our music players that died.
For those of you who don’t know yet, Microsoft’s 30GB Zune’s all across the world have frozen at boot.
They’re calling it the “Zunpocalypse” or the” Z2K9 Bug” and it’s drawing criticism from the tech community, leaving many to wonder if the bug will be fixed only for people with Zune 30’s under warranty.
Around 2am local time, Zune’s restarted and hung on the Booting Screen. Some have reported success resurrecting their devices by opening it disconnecting/reconnecting the HDD and battery, though that’s not recommended if you want to keep your warranty intact.
Only the 30GB Zune’s seem to be affected by this problem, and only those with the 3.x firmware (users with Zune 30s and the 1.x and 2.x firmware have reported no problems).
Since today is the 366th day of the year, some have postulated the presence of a bug in the 3.x firmware as it interacts with the Zune 30 hardware where the extra day is not properly handled, though Microsoft has yet to confirm anything other than the existence of a problem and that they are working on a fix.
Microsoft’s Major Nielson, an active participant in the end-user community claimed the problem had been acknowledged and repaired (https://twitter.com/majornelson/status/1088246543) then recanted (https://twitter.com/majornelson/status/1088280898) and said he’d rattle the cages of the Zune team (https://twitter.com/majornelson/status/1088291488) and let us know when there was a fix (https://twitter.com/majornelson/status/1088297066).
Microsoft Zune team has officially gone on the record, positing a “Status” message on Zune.net which reads:
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!
The Zune Boards has the following message:
Hey folks. Brian [MossyRoc] from the Zune team here. We realize there is an issue with the Zune 30 and a team is working hard right now to isolate the issue and develop a plan. I will be providing you with updates as I can. I [we] appreciate your patience, I realize this is an inconvenience and we are working hard to remedy the issue.
Brian.
Zune.net’s Matt Akers of the Zune Product Team opened a sticky thread regarding the issue:
Hi guys,
I wanted to start a sticky thread to give you a place to discuss the issue with the Zune 30’s freezing. Rather than hijacking other threads or creating tons of repeat threads, please post here if you want to discuss.
I will post any information I have in this thread as it becomes available. You can also monitor http://www.zune.net/en-US/support/default.htm for updates on the issue.
I can assure you that the team is working to understand and resolve the issue as soon as possible. My apologies to all of those that are affected by the problem. Thank you for your patience!
-Matt
Matt Akers
Zune Product Team
.: This posting is provided "as-is" with no warranties, and confers no rights :.
Some are advising leaving the Zune at the startup screen until the battery dies, and repeating the startup/battery drain process to completely drain the battery (such that the clock loses track of the date/time). Some have reported success doing this, only to be thwarted when they dock/sync with the computer, or set their clock. This has led others to speculate that the “problem” may be resolved when users start up their Zune’s tomorrow, New Year’s Day – after a battery drain, of course. Time will tell.
UPDATE 12:46
Matt gives us an update (emphasis added):
Hey guys, I know this sucks, and I can promise you that we are working on resolving the issue. Wish I had more insight right now, but I promise I will post here when I know something.
In the meantime, just hang tight, and don’t go performing any Zune 30 surgery or anything…
Thanks,
Matt
Matt Akers
Zune Product Team
.: This posting is provided "as-is" with no warranties, and confers no rights :.
Update 12:55
CNN Headline News covers the Zune 30 bricking problem: http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/12/31/zune.player.failures/?iref=hpmostpop
Update 13:13
Matt gives us another update, with some hope – and a warning (emphasis added):
Hey guys, I am totally feeling your pain here. I want to let you know that we are close to understanding the issue and just hang tight (I know it’s tough, I miss my ol’ 30, too).
Also, I wouldn’t recommend cracking your Zune open and performing any surgery or anything.
Just disconnect it from your computer or charger and let it sit for the time being.
Thanks for being patient everyone!
-Matt
Matt Akers
Zune Product Team
.: This posting is provided "as-is" with no warranties, and confers no rights :.
Update 13:14
The Zune 30 Wikipedia article (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zune_30) is updated to reflect today’s problem.
Update 14:08
Zune Insider issues press release with an official update (http://zuneinsider.com/archive/2008/12/31/30gb-zune-issues-official-update.aspx):
[There is] a bug in the internal clock driver related to the way the device handles a leap year.
0;The issue should be resolved over the next 24 hours as the time change moves to January 1, 2009. We expect the internal clock on the Zune 30GB devices will automatically reset tomorrow (noon, GMT). By tomorrow you should allow the battery to fully run out of power before the unit can restart successfully then simply ensure that your device is recharged, then turn it back on. If you’re a Zune Pass subscriber, you may need to sync your device with your PC to refresh the rights to the subscription content you have downloaded to your device.
Customers can continue to stay informed via the support page on zune.net (zune.net/support).
The release goes into a Q&A section, where it poses the following:
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 is Zune doing to fix this issue?
The issue should resolve itself.
The release seems to imply that New Years Eve on every leap year Zune 30’s will cease to function, and the official fix is to “just wait for tomorrow, it’ll fix itself.”
Also, there was no mention of compensation for Zune 30 users who effectively lost the ability to use their Zune for the day.
Update 14:54
Microsoft has the audacity to send out their Zune Weekly email newsletter – with no mention of the Zune 30 bug.
Update 15:25
Matt catches the thread up with the official response:
Guys I just received a response from the team. Looks like this issue will resolve itself over the next 12-24hours, great news!
Here is the repsonse (it’s also on the first page):
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. We expect the internal clock on the Zune 30GB devices will automatically reset tomorrow (noon, GMT). By tomorrow you should allow the battery to fully run out of power before the unit can restart successfully then simply ensure that your device is recharged, then turn it back on. If you’re a Zune Pass subscriber, you may need to sync your device with your PC to refresh the rights to the subscription content you have downloaded to your device.
Customers can continue to stay informed via the support page on zune.net (zune.net/support).
We know this has been a big inconvenience to our customers and we are sorry for that, and want to thank them for their patience.
Q: Why is this issue isolated to the Zune 30 device?
It is a bug in a driver for a part that is only used in the Zune 30 device.
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.
Q: Why did this occur at precisely 12:01 a.m. on December 31, 2008?
There is a bug in the internal clock driver causing the 30GB device to improperly handle the last day of a leap year.
Q: What is Zune doing to fix this issue?
The issue should resolve itself.
Q: Are you sure that this won’t happen to all 80, 120 or other flash devices?
This issue is related to a part that is only used in Zune 30 devices.
Q: How many 30GB Zune devices are affected? How many Zune 30GB devices were sold?
All 30GB devices are potentially affected.
Matt Akers
Zune Product Team
.: This posting is provided "as-is" with no warranties, and confers no rights :.
Update 16:02
Matt feels the pressure about the lack of a true “fix” for the problem, and the implication that the problem will happen again every 12/31 in each leap year:
I updated the announcement to reflect that a fix will be applied before 2012. But you can still buy a 120 if you want, they are awesome.
http://forums.zune.net/412486/ShowPost.aspx
Matt Akers
Zune Product Team
That link now says the following:
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. We expect the internal clock on the Zune 30GB devices will automatically reset tomorrow (noon, GMT). By tomorrow you should allow the battery to fully run out of power before the unit can restart successfully then simply ensure that your device is recharged, then turn it back on. If you’re a Zune Pass subscriber, you may need to sync your device with your PC to refresh the rights to the subscription content you have downloaded to your device.
Customers can continue to stay informed via the support page on zune.net (zune.net/support).
We know this has been a big inconvenience to our customers and we are sorry for that, and want to thank them for their patience.
Q: Why is this issue isolated to the Zune 30 device?
It is a bug in a driver for a part that is only used in the Zune 30 device.
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.
Q: Why did this occur at precisely 12:01 a.m. on December 31, 2008?
There is a bug in the internal clock driver causing the 30GB device to improperly handle the last day of a leap year.
Q: What is Zune doing to fix this issue?
The issue should resolve itself.
Q: Are you sure that this won’t happen to all 80, 120 or other flash devices?
This issue is related to a part that is only used in Zune 30 devices.
Q: How many 30GB Zune devices are affected?
All 30GB devices are potentially affected.
Q: Will you update the firmware before the next leap year (2012)?
Yes.
Summary
The device was waiting for “day 365” to turn to “day 0” probably for some DRM related reason. The problem is that today, 12/31/2008, was “day 366” due to leap year, and a bug in the Zune 30’s internal clock driver doesn’t handle leap years, so it was stuck waiting.
The warranty-voiding work-around is to open your Zune, and pull the battery and HDD cables, then reseat
them and reassemble. Allow to charge but DO NOT connect to a computer (that will reset the clock and your hacking will have been for naught). If you didn’t break anything in the process you should be good to go, just don’t plug in to a computer (or wireless sync?) until after noon GMT 01/01/2009.
The “official” work-around is to let your battery drain (don’t have it cradled or connected to a power source), and plug it back in tomorrow, 01/01/2009 AFTER noon GMT (which is around 5am Mountain Time, where I live). After that time, plug it back in, allow it to charge, and it should boot and operate normally… until next leap year.
The fix, Matt from Microsoft’s Zune team, will come via a ROM update sometime before 2012, the next time the problem will surface (and every subsequent leap year).
Please comment with your experience and whether or not either of the two work-arounds worked for you.
