30GB Zunes Fail at Midnight on New Years Eve. Microsoft Releases a Fix

alexp999 · Jan 1, 2009

As the New Year began early this morning, Gizmodo started receiving lots of reports that people's 30GB Zune's were failing. What was happening, was that at 12:01am PST on 31st December 2008, a bug in one of the drivers unique to a 30GB Zune was not allowing the calendar to update properly. For players that were already on, this resulted in a hard reset at that exact moment. Upon restarting or for those who turned their Zune's on after midnight, they were presented with a locked up Zune which would simply stop at the end of the loading screen and stay there. Microsoft have now released an official statement for how to resolve this issue, which follows below.

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. That being the case, 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

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.

View at TechPowerUp Main Site

ShadowFold · Jan 1, 2009

A bug? More like SPACE NINJAS.

Nick89 · Jan 1, 2009

y2k LOL

Darknova · Jan 1, 2009

Update guys. They are working now.

I had to reinstall the firmware though, might "just work" for you guys, but just in case here is how you do it.

Either let the battery run flat, or disconnect the battery (google), then reconnect the battery/charge up. Then BEFORE the loading bar comes up on the startup screen press Back + Left + Centre. This will put the Zune into recovery mode, unfortunately this will wipe everything on the Zune.

alexp999 · Jan 1, 2009

Darknova said:
Update guys. They are working now.

I had to reinstall the firmware though, might "just work" for you guys, but just in case here is how you do it.

Either let the battery run flat, or disconnect the battery (google), then reconnect the battery/charge up. Then BEFORE the loading bar comes up on the startup screen press Back + Left + Centre. This will put the Zune into recovery mode, unfortunately this will wipe everything on the Zune.

Microsoft have said it will fix itself in the next 24hrs, so it wont require you to loose your data.

Darknova · Jan 1, 2009

alexp999 said:
Microsoft have said it will fix itself in the next 24hrs, so it wont require you to loose your data.

I repeat "I had to reinstall the firmware though, might "just work" for you guys, but just in case here is how you do it."

That is what I had to do, because I'd already pulled the battery and tried to recover the firmware. I'm assuming anyone who didn't will have their Zune working fine, but at the same time in case it doesn't I posted that as help for anyone who might need it

Oh, and btw, you have your dates wrong. It was the 31st December at 12:01am PST, not January 1st. Also Microsoft said it should fix itself by 12pm GMT, it's 11:50am here and they are now working.

alexp999 · Jan 1, 2009

Darknova said:
I repeat "I had to reinstall the firmware though, might "just work" for you guys, but just in case here is how you do it."

That is what I had to do, because I'd already pulled the battery and tried to recover the firmware. I'm assuming anyone who didn't will have their Zune working fine, but at the same time in case it doesn't I posted that as help for anyone who might need it

Oh, and btw, you have your dates wrong. It was the 31st December at 12:01am PST, not January 1st. Also Microsoft said it should fix itself by 12pm GMT, it's 11:50am here and they are now working.

Thanks, updated. And good you have found a way of doing it. Just wanted to point out to anyone reading, that if you have not done anything with your Zune yet, its best to leave it be.

:toast:

moto666 · Jan 1, 2009

thanks God that there arent any Microsoft systems on a Planes control system or in a Nuclear silo!

Microsort would scribe a statment! Yes we hade som issues in planes and rockets they started to freeze or launch after midnight! But don't worrie! In 24ours it's all done! LOL

hv43082 · Jan 1, 2009

I was wondering why my Zune froze today.

lemonadesoda · Jan 1, 2009

IDIOTS!
Someone needs to fire the idiot who developed such a poor firmware/driver.

ShadowFold · Jan 1, 2009

No we need to kill the space ninjas!

csendesmark · Jan 1, 2009

This produckt isn't Y2K9 ready?

TheMailMan78 · Jan 1, 2009

I had my Zune fail on me once. However I had been drinking heavily.

hat · Jan 1, 2009

I heard from a very reliable source that nuclear reactors all over the world are going into meltdown. Of course, the governments of the world aren't saying anything so that they won't spread panic and/or alarm.

TheMailMan78 · Jan 1, 2009

hat said:
I heard from a very reliable source that nuclear reactors all over the world are going into meltdown. Of course, the governments of the world aren't saying anything so that they won't spread panic and/or alarm.

You heard that too? The little pink elephant told me I was special!

hat · Jan 1, 2009

WHAT?! I thought I was the only one!! It's so over between me and that elephant. :roll:

alexp999 · Jan 1, 2009

Now, now guys, keep on topic, I dont want to call the mods in. :shadedshu

hat · Jan 1, 2009

alexp999 said:
Now, now guys, keep on topic, I dont want to call the mods in. :shadedshu

oh noes!
we were just having a little fun with it... :eek:

alexp999 · Jan 1, 2009

hat said:
oh noes!
we were just having a little fun with it...

np, but I know what mods are like

Guru Janitor · Jan 1, 2009

wow my zune 30 didnt freeze...I got scared reading this..turned it on and its fine. 11:17am here, not yet noon. Oh well, I guess it didn't affect everyone.

Darknova · Jan 1, 2009

Guru Janitor said:
wow my zune 30 didnt freeze...I got scared reading this..turned it on and its fine. 11:17am here, not yet noon. Oh well, I guess it didn't affect everyone.

From what I saw Zune's running older firmware's were unaffected, and 12am was GMT time, not New York. Mine started working again around 11:20am GMT time.

Flyordie · Jan 1, 2009

I seen the issue coming for about 2-3 weeks... lol. Tried tell'n them but MS just said they fixed it in 3.1. So no biggy.
It has to do with the clock engines in the 30GB Zune. The 30GB Zune's clock engine isn't digitally regulated. The revisions after that are. It also had to do with the "leap second". lol.

Fly

newtekie1 · Jan 1, 2009

From what I have hear, the problem wasn't entirely Microsoft's. It was actually cause by a driver provided to them from the 3rd party that produced the piece of hardware in the 30GB Zunes that caused the issue.

While it was up to Microsoft to test the driver, and obviously this little bug slipped through testing, they didn't write or directly cause the bug.

Guru Janitor · Jan 1, 2009

Darknova said:
From what I saw Zune's running older firmware's were unaffected, and 12am was GMT time, not New York. Mine started working again around 11:20am GMT time.

I'm on 3.1... I don't know, maybe it just started working before I even knew about the problem...I really don't care at this point anymore...I mean its working fine for me. I feel bad for those who it didn't work for. Gotta find out if this happened to my friends.

PCpraiser100 · Jan 1, 2009

So that explains it lol....

System Name	Gaming Rig \| Uni Laptop
Processor	Intel Q6600 G0 (2007) @ 3.6Ghz @ 1.45625v (LLC) / 4 GHz Bench @ 1.63v \| AMD Turion 64 X2 TL-62 2 GHz
Motherboard	ASUS P5Q Deluxe (Intel P45) \| HP 6715b
Cooling	Xigmatek Dark Knight w/AC MX2 ~ Case Fans: 2 x 180mm + 1 x 120mm Silverstone Fans
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Display(s)	Samsung SyncMaster SM2433BW @ 1920 x 1200 via DVI-D \| 15.4" WSXGA+ (1680 x 1050 resolution)
Case	Silverstone Fortress FT01B-W ~ Logitech G15 R1 / Microsoft Laser Mouse 6000
Audio Device(s)	Soundmax AD2000BX Onboard Sound, via Logitech X-230 2.1 \| ADI SoundMAX HD Audio
Power Supply	Corsair TX650W \| HP 90W
Software	Windows 7 Ultimate Build 7100 x64 \| Windows 7 Ultimate Build 7100 x64
Benchmark Scores	3DM06: 19519, Vantage: P16170 ~ Win7: -CPU 7.5 -MEM 7.5 -AERO 7.9 -GFX 6.0 -HDD 6.0

System Name	The ShadowFold Draconis (Ordering soon)
Processor	AMD Phenom II X6 1055T 2.8ghz
Motherboard	ASUS M4A87TD EVO AM3 AMD 870
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Storage	Western Digital 640gb
Display(s)	Acer 21.5" 5ms Full HD 1920x1080P
Case	Antec Nine-Hundred
Audio Device(s)	Onboard + Creative "Fatal1ty" Headset
Power Supply	Antec Earthwatts 650w
Software	Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit
Benchmark Scores	-❶-❸-❸-❼-

System Name	9th Level
Processor	AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
Motherboard	MSI X570 Carbon wifi
Cooling	EK Basic 360, x2 250mm, x1 140mm, x1 120mm fans.
Memory	32GB Corsair Vengeance 3200mhz.
Video Card(s)	EVGA RTX 3080 12GB FTW3
Storage	500gb ssd, 2tb ssd, 6tb HD.
Display(s)	MSI 27" Curved 1440p@165hz
Case	HAF 932
Power Supply	Corsair HX850W
Software	Windows 10 64bit

Processor	AMD 5800X3D
Motherboard	Asus Strix B550-F Gaming
Cooling	Corsair H100i
Memory	2 x 32GB Corsair Vengeance
Video Card(s)	Sapphire Pulse 6800XT
Storage	1 x 1TB 980 PRO, 1 x 1TB Corsair MP510 Force
Display(s)	1 x Dell 27" 165hz
Case	Lian-Li O11D Evo
Audio Device(s)	Onboard
Power Supply	EVGA 1000W P2
Mouse	Logitech G502 Lightspeed
Keyboard	Logitech G915
Software	Windows 11 Pro x64

System Name	Gaming Rig \| Uni Laptop
Processor	Intel Q6600 G0 (2007) @ 3.6Ghz @ 1.45625v (LLC) / 4 GHz Bench @ 1.63v \| AMD Turion 64 X2 TL-62 2 GHz
Motherboard	ASUS P5Q Deluxe (Intel P45) \| HP 6715b
Cooling	Xigmatek Dark Knight w/AC MX2 ~ Case Fans: 2 x 180mm + 1 x 120mm Silverstone Fans
Memory	4GB OCZ Platinum PC2-8000 @ 1000Mhz 5-5-5-15 2.1v \| 2 x 1GB DDR2 667 MHz
Video Card(s)	XFX GTX 285 1GB, Modded FTW BIOS @ 725/1512/1350 w/Accelero Xtreme GTX 280 + Scythe sinks\| ATI X1250
Storage	2x WD6400AAKS 1 TB Raid 0, 140GB Raid 1 & 80GB Maxtor Basics External HDD (storage) \| 160GB 2.5"
Display(s)	Samsung SyncMaster SM2433BW @ 1920 x 1200 via DVI-D \| 15.4" WSXGA+ (1680 x 1050 resolution)
Case	Silverstone Fortress FT01B-W ~ Logitech G15 R1 / Microsoft Laser Mouse 6000
Audio Device(s)	Soundmax AD2000BX Onboard Sound, via Logitech X-230 2.1 \| ADI SoundMAX HD Audio
Power Supply	Corsair TX650W \| HP 90W
Software	Windows 7 Ultimate Build 7100 x64 \| Windows 7 Ultimate Build 7100 x64
Benchmark Scores	3DM06: 19519, Vantage: P16170 ~ Win7: -CPU 7.5 -MEM 7.5 -AERO 7.9 -GFX 6.0 -HDD 6.0

System Name	Battle Station
Processor	AMD Ryzen 5900x
Motherboard	Asus ROG Strix x570-I
Cooling	Lian Li Galahad 240
Memory	Crucial DDR4-3200 32 GB
Video Card(s)	1 x Gigabyte RTX 4090
Storage	Adata 1Tb NVME
Display(s)	Samsung G9 Odyssey
Case	Hyte Y60
Audio Device(s)	Asus Xonar DX + Ultrasone Pro 900 + JBL SLR 308 speakers and SLR 310 subwoofer
Power Supply	Corsair SFX 750W
Mouse	Logitech G903
Keyboard	The rabbit hole of custom mechanical keyboards
Software	Window 10 Ultimate x64

System Name	ICE-QUAD // ICE-CRUNCH
Processor	Q6600 // 2x Xeon 5472
Memory	2GB DDR // 8GB FB-DIMM
Video Card(s)	HD3850-AGP // FireGL 3400
Display(s)	2 x Samsung 204Ts = 3200x1200
Audio Device(s)	Audigy 2
Software	Windows Server 2003 R2 as a Workstation now migrated to W10 with regrets.

System Name	Kincsem
Processor	AMD Ryzen 9 9950X
Motherboard	ASUS ProArt X870E-CREATOR WIFI
Cooling	Be Quiet Dark Rock Pro 5
Memory	Kingston Fury KF560C32RSK2-96 (2×48GB 6GHz)
Video Card(s)	Sapphire AMD RX 7900 XT Pulse
Storage	Samsung 970PRO 500GB + Samsung 980PRO 2TB + FURY Renegade 2TB+ Adata 2TB + WD Ultrastar HC550 16TB
Display(s)	Acer QHD 27"@144Hz 1ms + UHD 27"@60Hz
Case	Cooler Master CM 690 III
Power Supply	Seasonic 1300W 80+ Gold Prime
Mouse	Logitech G502 Hero
Keyboard	HyperX Alloy Elite RGB
Software	Windows 10-64
Benchmark Scores	https://valid.x86.fr/ilvewh https://valid.x86.fr/4d8n02 X570 https://www.techpowerup.com/gpuz/g46uc

System Name	TheMailbox 5.0 / The Mailbox 4.5
Processor	RYZEN 1700X / Intel i7 2600k @ 4.2GHz
Motherboard	Fatal1ty X370 Gaming K4 / Gigabyte Z77X-UP5 TH Intel LGA 1155
Cooling	MasterLiquid PRO 280 / Scythe Katana 4
Memory	ADATA RGB 16GB DDR4 2666 16-16-16-39 / G.SKILL Sniper Series 16GB DDR3 1866: 9-9-9-24
Video Card(s)	MSI 1080 "Duke" with 8Gb of RAM. Boost Clock 1847 MHz / ASUS 780ti
Storage	256Gb M4 SSD / 128Gb Agelity 4 SSD , 500Gb WD (7200)
Display(s)	LG 29" Class 21:9 UltraWide® IPS LED Monitor 2560 x 1080 / Dell 27"
Case	Cooler Master MASTERBOX 5t / Cooler Master 922 HAF
Audio Device(s)	Realtek ALC1220 Audio Codec / SupremeFX X-Fi with Bose Companion 2 speakers.
Power Supply	Seasonic FOCUS Plus Series SSR-750PX 750W Platinum / SeaSonic X Series X650 Gold
Mouse	SteelSeries Sensei (RAW) / Logitech G5
Keyboard	Razer BlackWidow / Logitech (Unknown)
Software	Windows 10 Pro (64-bit)
Benchmark Scores	Benching is for bitches.

System Name	Starlifter :: Dragonfly
Processor	i7 2600k 4.4GHz :: i5 10400
Motherboard	ASUS P8P67 Pro :: ASUS Prime H570-Plus
Cooling	Cryorig M9 :: Stock
Memory	4x4GB DDR3 2133 :: 2x8GB DDR4 2400
Video Card(s)	PNY GTX1070 :: Integrated UHD 630
Storage	Crucial MX500 1TB, 2x1TB Seagate RAID 0 :: Mushkin Enhanced 60GB SSD, 3x4TB Seagate HDD RAID5
Display(s)	Onn 165hz 1080p :: Acer 1080p
Case	Antec SOHO 1030B :: Old White Full Tower
Audio Device(s)	Creative X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Pro - Bose Companion 2 Series III :: None
Power Supply	FSP Hydro GE 550w :: EVGA Supernova 550
Software	Windows 10 Pro - Plex Server on Dragonfly
Benchmark Scores	>9000

System Name	Geraldo RiveraII
Processor	Intel Core2Quad q6600 @ 3.2ghz
Motherboard	DFI Lanparty DK x38-t2rb
Cooling	Xigmatek HDT-D1264 CPU fan, case fans
Memory	4 gigs (2x2gig) G.Skill DDR2 800
Video Card(s)	Sapphire HD3870 @ 850/1305
Storage	WD 500gb Caviar, WD Mybook 1tb external
Display(s)	Asus 24" VK246H
Case	Antec 900
Audio Device(s)	onboard realtek
Power Supply	PCP&C Silencer 750 quad 750w
Software	Windows 7 (7100), Sony Vegas Pro 9, Photoshop CS4+
Benchmark Scores	3dmark06=12680 (Vista Business 32x) 3dmark06=12852 (Windows 7 7100 64x)

System Name	Budget AMD System
Processor	Threadripper 1900X @ 4.1Ghz (100x41 @ 1.3250V)
Motherboard	Gigabyte X399 Aorus Gaming 7
Cooling	EKWB X399 Monoblock
Memory	4x8GB GSkill TridentZ RGB 14-14-14-32 CR1 @ 3266
Video Card(s)	XFX Radeon RX Vega₆⁴ Liquid @ 1,800Mhz Core, 1025Mhz HBM2
Storage	1x ADATA SX8200 NVMe, 1x Segate 2.5" FireCuda 2TB SATA, 1x 500GB HGST SATA
Display(s)	Vizio 22" 1080p 60hz TV (Samsung Panel)
Case	Corsair 570X
Audio Device(s)	Onboard
Power Supply	Seasonic X Series 850W KM3
Software	Windows 10 Pro x64

Processor	Intel Core i7 10850K@5.2GHz
Motherboard	AsRock Z470 Taichi
Cooling	Corsair H115i Pro w/ Noctua NF-A14 Fans
Memory	32GB DDR4-3600
Video Card(s)	RTX 2070 Super
Storage	500GB SX8200 Pro + 8TB with 1TB SSD Cache
Display(s)	Acer Nitro VG280K 4K 28"
Case	Fractal Design Define S
Audio Device(s)	Onboard is good enough for me
Power Supply	eVGA SuperNOVA 1000w G3
Software	Windows 10 Pro x64

System Name	REBEL R1
Processor	Core i7 920
Motherboard	ASUS P6T
Cooling	Stock
Memory	6GB OCZ GOLD TC LV Kit 1866MHz@1.65V 9-9-9-24
Video Card(s)	Two Sapphire HD 5770 Vapor-X Xfire'd and OC'd (920/1330)
Storage	Seagate 7200.11 500GB 32MB
Case	Antec Three Hundred
Audio Device(s)	ASUS Xonar D1 PCI Sound Card
Power Supply	OCZ StealthXStream 500W
Software	Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit
Benchmark Scores	16585 Performance Score on 3DMark Vantage

30GB Zunes Fail at Midnight on New Years Eve. Microsoft Releases a Fix

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