Surviving Z2K: Zunes Start Working After Leap-year Glitch

Zunes across the world are unfreezing today as they recover from a leap-year glitch that rendered an estimated 1 million of the digital media players inoperable.

After mass outages were reported, Microsoft explained Wednesday that 30-gigabyte models of its Zune digital media player had malfunctioned as a result of “a bug in the internal clock driver related to the way a device handles a leap year.” In other words, the Zune didn’t know how to handle the fact that 2008 had 366 days, instead of the usual 365, so it froze up. The fiasco quickly became known as “Z2K” or “Z2K9,” after the feared Y2K bug that never materialized in 2000.

Revelers who had spent hours crafting New Year’s Eve playlists to power their dance parties were left scrambling for alternatives.

But it’s day one of 2009, and word is spreading that Microsoft’s advice — let the battery drain completely, wait until at least 4 a.m. PST on Jan. 1, then sync the Zune with your computer — is working. Some of …

Tags: Digital media, gadget news, Gadgets, gizmos, Hardware, Leap year, Microsoft, New Year, New Years Eve, Year 2000 problem, z2k, Zune, zune glitch

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