The good news, though: The Zune freeze quickly dubbed “Z2K” is finally finished. At least in theory.

Zune’s Leap Year Bug

A “bug in the internal clock driver related to the way the device handles a leap year” led to all 30GB Zunes freezing on the loading screen with the logo stuck on screen, the company says. The issue should supposedly now have resolved itself.

Frozen Zune Fix

If your Zune is still experiencing problems, Microsoft suggests you take the following steps:

1. Disconnect your Zune from USB and AC power sources.
2. Because the player is frozen, its battery will drain-this is good. Wait until the battery is empty and the screen goes black. If the battery was fully charged, this might take a couple of hours.
3. Wait until after noon GMT on January 1, 2009 (that’s 7 a.m. Eastern or 4 a.m. Pacific time).
4. Connect your Zune to either a USB port on the back or your 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.

You may also have to resync your Zune with your computer to restore any DRM files after completing that fix.

Zune Battery Disconnect

Microsoft mentions that some Zune users followed advice in the Zune forums and disconnected their device’s battery. If you did this, Microsoft recommends the following procedure to get your Zune back in working order:

• Wait 24 hours from the time that you reset the Zune and then sync with your computer to refresh the usage rights; or
• Delete the player’s content using the Zune software (go to Settings, Device, Sync Options, Erase All Content), then re-sync it from your collection.

Zune Freeze: Leap Year to Blame, Microsoft Says is a post from: The Inquisitr

Users of Microsoft’s media player are finding their Zunes frozen and stuck on the loading screens. The widespread Zune failure is already being dubbed Z2K or Z2K9.

Zune Freeze: What’s Up?

The Zune freeze appears to be affecting the Zune 30GB models. It started right after midnight this New Year’s Eve. The Zune problems cause the devices to become stuck with the logo on screen and nothing else happening. A regular Zune reset or hard reset does nothing to solve the problem.

Microsoft Zune: Zune Troubleshooting

Microsoft has acknowledged the Zune problems and has issued the following statement:

“We are aware that customers with the Zune 30GB are experiencing issues with their Zune device. We are actively working now to isolate the issue and develop a solution to address it. We will keep customers informed on next steps via the support page on zune.net.”

You can access that Zune support page here. As of the time of this publication, the Zune news section has the following Zune help message:

“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. The Zune Social might be slow or inaccessible. Sorry for the inconvenience, and thanks for your patience!”

Zune Forums

You can communicate with other Microsoft Zune users about the issues in the official Microsoft Zune Forums here.

Zune Problems: Why Is My Zune Frozen? is a post from: The Inquisitr