Microsoft Zune Freezing Up

Isn’t this standard for most Microsoft products?

A surge of online complaints suggests widespread freezing problems with the 30-GB version of Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT)’s Zune music player. Online forum threads have sprawled to thousands of messages detailing what some Zune users are calling “Zune 2K9,” a reference to the Y2K bug based on the as-yet-unconfirmed belief that the freeze is a time- or calendar-related programming flaw. Others are referring to it as the Midnight Meltdown. A handful of YouTube videos uploaded Wednesday attempt to document the problem. One of the better titles is “The Day The 30 G Zune Stood Still.” – From Information Week

In the early morning hours of the final day of the year, many Zune users found their devices frozen on the logo screen, totally unresponsive. The 30 GB Zune experienced a Y2K-like mass failure at around 6:00 am this morning, where the portable media player goes to the loading screen and freezes permanently. Zune.net’s service status today warns: “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.” – From BetaNews.com

It is the great Zune Mystery. Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of the 30GB version of the popular media player went on the fritz this morning, and no one seems to know why. Many Zune users awoke to find their device permanently frozen. George Sirois, 32, who works for a nonprofit organization in New York, said he encountered a black screen with the Zune logo, but could not get the device to advance to the menu screen. When he rebooted, however, the same black screen reappeared and would not go away. After a few hours, the screen and Zune went dead. – From USA Today