Zune Update: Just Wait ‘Til Next Year

: Image via Wikipedia

We jokingly referred to this solution yesterday, but as it turns out, it might be the best advice for your frozen Zune.

Microsoft sent out a prolific message to frustrated Zune 30 owners late yesterday. The ingenious solution? Wait until tomorrow. Seriously. It seems we've got a good old 'leap year' bug on our hands.

Turns out, Microsoft's cure for Z2K bug is similar to a doctor's prescription: Take two of these and call me in the morning...

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 are 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.

Here's a Q&A about the Zune problem that Microsoft recently posted. Good luck, Zuners!