# Don't turn on your 30GB Zune today or it will die. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 31, 2008, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-turn-on-your-30gb-zune-today-or-it-will-die/479384 "2008-12-31T19:19:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cubsfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Cubsfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cubsfan)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2008, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-turn-on-your-30gb-zune-today-or-it-will-die/479384/1 "2008-12-31T19:19:57Z")
> **[Leap-year glitch freezes Zune MP3 players - CNN.com](http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/12/31/zune.player.failures/index.html)** > > A leap-year related glitch caused thousands of Zune MP3 players to simultaneously stop working late Tuesday and early Wednesday, Microsoft said on the product's Web site. Weirdest shit ever. All the 30GB Zunes went tits-up at midnight last night. I have an 80GB Zune that’s working fine but my old 30GB Zune (which is now my sons) froze as soon as I turned it on with the same symptoms everyone else is describing. I guess people were listening to music and they just rebooted and locked. I’m not sure how MS is going to be able to fix this. With the Zunes in their current state they aren’t recognized by the computer so they won’t be able to push any sort of system update or anything. This could cost MS a BUNCH of money. If this was my primary MP3 player I would be furious. Thank god my 80 still works fine. This is a shame because the Zune is far superior to the ipod but this could be a PR nightmare the Zune may not recover from. ---
**Author:** ![Jayn\_Newell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Jayn\_Newell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jayn_Newell)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2008, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-turn-on-your-30gb-zune-today-or-it-will-die/479384/2 "2008-12-31T19:24:15Z")
Wow. I hope the 80GB version doesn’t experience a similar issue in the future \>\< ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2008, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-turn-on-your-30gb-zune-today-or-it-will-die/479384/3 "2008-12-31T19:25:10Z")
I saw this on one of my friends’ livejournal and my immediate first thought was “They still make Zunes?” So…yeah…superior they may be, but MicroSoft sucks at marketing when they haven’t already cornered the market. ---
**Author:** ![Qwisp](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qwisp/32/397_2.png) [@Qwisp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qwisp)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2008, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-turn-on-your-30gb-zune-today-or-it-will-die/479384/4 "2008-12-31T19:39:17Z")
Glad I saw this, my husband has the 30G that we _would_ have tried using later today on a trip. Now I guess we will use my 80G ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2008, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-turn-on-your-30gb-zune-today-or-it-will-die/479384/5 "2008-12-31T20:11:12Z")
> [@Cubsfan](#): > > This is a shame because the Zune is far superior to the ipod Well my iPod still works so im gonna have to beg to differ on that 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2009, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-turn-on-your-30gb-zune-today-or-it-will-die/479384/6 "2009-01-01T00:41:06Z")
There is a bug fix, which is to wait until tomorrow, when the whole thing will right itself. Apparently, the 30GB developers didn’t account for the leap year, so the devices just sorta threw up their hands and said “whatever”. There’s an explanation on the Zune support page. **jayjay** : :p:p:p:p:p:p Robin ---
**Author:** ![tr0psn4j](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@tr0psn4j](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tr0psn4j)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2009, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-turn-on-your-30gb-zune-today-or-it-will-die/479384/7 "2009-01-01T01:02:33Z")
It’s like Y2K all over again? ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2009, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-turn-on-your-30gb-zune-today-or-it-will-die/479384/8 "2009-01-01T01:31:30Z")
> [@tr0psn4j](#): > > It’s like Y2K all over again? Yeah, except that this time something actually happened. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2009, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-turn-on-your-30gb-zune-today-or-it-will-die/479384/9 "2009-01-01T01:51:44Z")
Quite a lot failed at the turnover of Y2K, but most of it wasn’t serious because it was addressed beforehand. The mania is perceived as being misplaced, but it was a call to action for programmers to fix things before year’s end. Their remarkable success at such short notice is unfairly dismissed. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2009, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-turn-on-your-30gb-zune-today-or-it-will-die/479384/10 "2009-01-01T03:55:46Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > Quite a lot failed at the turnover of Y2K, but most of it wasn’t serious because it was addressed beforehand. The mania is perceived as being misplaced, but it was a call to action for programmers to fix things before year’s end. Their remarkable success at such short notice is unfairly dismissed. Short notice? Y2k was 2,000 years coming! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2009, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-turn-on-your-30gb-zune-today-or-it-will-die/479384/11 "2009-01-01T04:17:18Z")
Yeah, but when you are (read: I was) writing computer programs with an expected lifespan of perhaps 3 years pre- say - 1997, we didn’t tend to worry about silly little 2 digit date issues. “Someone” would fix it by then if it hadn’t already been replaced. Chimera, one of the millions of programmers responsible for Y2k in the first place ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2009, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-turn-on-your-30gb-zune-today-or-it-will-die/479384/12 "2009-01-01T06:39:36Z")
> [@MsRobyn](#): > > There is a bug fix, which is to wait until tomorrow, when the whole thing will right itself. > > Apparently, the 30GB developers didn’t account for the leap year, so the devices just sorta threw up their hands and said “whatever”. There’s an explanation on the Zune support page. > Robin I’ve been trying to figure out how that explanation makes any sense. if the Zune was having trouble with leap year, wouldn’t it just show the wrong date? Now if the Zune was sync’ing with another computer, I could understand it. Unless there are two devices with separate clocks inside the Zune, but that doesn’t sound like a very parsimonious design. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2009, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-turn-on-your-30gb-zune-today-or-it-will-die/479384/13 "2009-01-01T07:08:24Z")
Perhaps it knows that Jan 1st is a Thursday, but thought that Dec 31st was a Tuesday, so when it encountered the intermediate Wednesday, did the Star Trek thing and died at the encounter of mismatched logic. ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2009, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-turn-on-your-30gb-zune-today-or-it-will-die/479384/14 "2009-01-01T19:14:24Z")
The Zune’s clock only exists to facilitate the DRM scheme. Content purchased through the Zune Marketplace with a Zune Pass is only valid for as long as the user maintains the Zune Pass. So, upon purchase, the content is set to expire 30 days later to the minute, and it obviously needs a clock to do that. By waiting until today, the problem essentially solved itself. The leap second issue is more or less a one-and-done thing; it’s not a regular problem. Users had to completely drain the battery first, which did something to the memory, and the sync process adjusted the device’s clock to reflect the correct time and date. As fixes go, it’s painless; the only damage done was that users couldn’t use their Zunes for the day. It also gives the developers time to work out a permanent solution that can be implemented in a future firmware update, but since it’s no longer critical, they can do it right. Robin ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Some\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ad7895/32.png) [@Just\_Some\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Some_Guy)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2009, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-turn-on-your-30gb-zune-today-or-it-will-die/479384/15 "2009-01-01T22:03:32Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > Quite a lot failed at the turnover of Y2K, but most of it wasn’t serious because it was addressed beforehand. The mania is perceived as being misplaced, but it was a call to action for programmers to fix things before year’s end. Their remarkable success at such short notice is unfairly dismissed. Short notice? I know places that were preparing for Y2K in 1995. The problem was on the radar screen even earlier - the first time I read about it was about 1991. At just about every major company I’ve dealt with Y2K compliance was a process that was handled over years. It’s not like people suddenly realized in October of 1999 that things could break. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2009, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-turn-on-your-30gb-zune-today-or-it-will-die/479384/16 "2009-01-01T23:25:52Z")
> [@Just\_Some\_Guy](#): > > It’s not like people suddenly realized in October of 1999 that things could break. But many were still working on it right to the last minute, which suggests to me that even several years notice was not enough. Hence: short notice. ---
**Author:** ![ShelliBean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f9ae1b/32.png) [@ShelliBean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShelliBean)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2009, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-turn-on-your-30gb-zune-today-or-it-will-die/479384/17 "2009-01-02T03:41:37Z")
> [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](#): > > Yeah, except that this time something actually happened. Yes, thank god I still had all this bottled water and cream corn to get me through the Zune nightmare. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Earthworm\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f07891/32.png) [@Earthworm\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earthworm_Jim)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2009, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-turn-on-your-30gb-zune-today-or-it-will-die/479384/18 "2009-01-02T17:52:59Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > Short notice? > > Y2k was 2,000 years coming! 😉 More seriously though, it was hardly ‘short notice’. I got my first job in the computer biz in 1995, and Y2K was a huge deal then. I don’t know how long it had been going on before I got in, but it’s not like it was suddenly “discovered” in 1999. We worked on that crap for years. Though I have to agree - it was largely thankless. I remember articles in January of '00 in which people complained about the non-event & even speculated it was all a ruse to con people out of money. You can’t win for losing 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2009, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-turn-on-your-30gb-zune-today-or-it-will-die/479384/19 "2009-01-02T18:27:25Z")
> [@Earthworm\_Jim](#): > > I remember articles in January of '00 in which people complained about the non-event & even speculated it was all a ruse to con people out of money. You can’t win for losing 😉 Maybe we should have scheduled a few missiles to go up and detonate right at the nick of time, due to quick-thinking programmers uploading code by typing _really hard_ at them. ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2009, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-turn-on-your-30gb-zune-today-or-it-will-die/479384/20 "2009-01-02T21:12:11Z")
> [@ShelliBean](#): > > Yes, thank god I still had all this bottled water and cream corn to get me through the Zune nightmare. > > 🙂 Honey, that bettah be SOME nightmare if you ‘spect me to be eatin’ canned creamed corn. 😛 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-turn-on-your-30gb-zune-today-or-it-will-die/479384.md?page=2)