Zune hardware

Let me start off by specifying Which versions of the Zune hardware & software I’m using. Both devices are running the 3.3 firmware which is the latest version for both models. The Zune 30 is running the 435 boot loader & the Zune 120 is running the 1620 boot loader. I am running version 4.2.202.0. Both devices & the software are all running the current version at the time I wrote this post.

The other day I noticed that if when I sync either my Zune 30 or Zune 120 & if for some reason it stays at the screen saying connected I have to reboot it my pressing up on the pad & the back button for several seconds. I have my podcasts on my Zune’s as either “Sync all unplayed and partially played episodes” or “Sync only the first unplayed episode”. The problem is that if it just removed one or more podcast episodes they will still be listed on the device as played. The workaround for this issue is to have another episode from any of the podcasts that are in limbo to be removed. That is assuming you don’t have to reboot again after removing the other episode. If you have to reboot the device again you need to remove another episode. Then after it updates after removing it from the computer & goes back to a screen where you can use it again it should have removed those podcasts. I like to mark an episode as unplayed then as played on a podcast that I have set to “Sync all unplayed and partially played episodes” because it causes me the least issues.

I also found a feature that I didn’t notice earlier on the Zune 120. I also don’t know which firmware version this was added to it. If you remove the headphones the device becomes locked & it will not allow you to use it until you plug it back in, just as if you have flipped the lock switch. Because I had a set of headphones I had just thrown away I tested if I just have a jack plugged in that doesn’t connect to headphones & it unlocked the device the same as a pair of headphones. The only issue I have with this feature is that for some reason unknown to me I only have this feature on my Zune 120 as my Zune 30 doesn’t do this. They both do stop playing whatever I’m listening to if my headphones are removed, but I can hit play on the Zune 30 without plugging my headphones back in. I guess they decided that the feature wasn’t worth making for the Zune 30 for some reason.

I also figured out how to deal with syncing two Zune devices to the same computer under the same user profile. It is slightly complicated & I will assume that you have set the Zune’s to sync to the computer already as I don’t want to deal with the issues of doing that again on either of my Zune’s.

First off I strongly recommend that you name the Zune’s with different names so that you can tell which device is which. If you only have one of them connected to the computer at a time then the device that is connected will be the device that anything that you tell to sync or never sync will apply. If you want to select a different device other than the one currently selected & you are not in the settings, you will see an icon of whichever device is selected. If you hover your mouse over the icon you should see the devices that you have available to select from. Then you just need to click on the device that you want to make changes for. If you are in the settings, you will want to go to the device where you will have arrows to change which device is selected, however if you only have one Zune associated with your current install the arrows will be grayed out.

That is all that I can think of for now. If I find anything else out or remember something else I will make another post.

Well I installed the new firmware on my Zune 120 today & it installed without any issues. I will say this in Microsoft’s defense they didn’t change my setting for the wireless like they did with all previous firmware updates. Previous versions enabled the wireless without even asking for permission, they just told you that was how they were going to do it, so I was surprised that they allowed my setting to stay.

Ok that’s all I have to say good about it. They didn’t make certain changes that I wanted like adding Unicode support & the music, pictures, & videos are always present even if you don’t have any of or all of those categories on your Zune. I mean they were able to figure out how to do that with podcasts, audio books, & games why can’t they do it with the others. I would also like to be able to remove the marketplace option from the Zune if I so choose to.

If Microsoft would make a Zune HD with a decent amount of space & have no limits on the number of files along with fixing any other issues I’ve mentioned I might buy one but as it is I can’t see a use for it other than a really expensive door stop, wait it wouldn’t weigh enough to do that job I guess a paper weight is all I can think of.

I guess Microsoft didn’t really put a lot of thought into the idea that HD means it will need more storage space. So I really don’t get why they want to drop the storage size allowed to something so small with only 16 GB & 32 GB options. I guess some people like having that little data but I like having tons of options which means I need more space.

Which reminds me I haven’t tested yet if the firmware will allow me to increase the total number of files on my Zune. I hope that they finally fixed that issue as you should not have a file limit in this day & age. Or was it the software that was the cause of the issue I really don’t know. Oh well if they fixed that I’ll be happier.

I’m just glad that the Zune 4.0 software still doesn’t eat up tons of CPU time unlike a certain piece of software that was written by a competitor. Yes I mean iTunes & you apple fan boys & fan girls can keep on claiming how wonderful everything Apple is & does, but you are going to have a very hard time of converting me to “The Church of Steve” (AKA a worshiper of Steve Jobs & all that he is & does).