According to hundreds of reports from users worldwide, 30GB Zunes are freezing and locking up due to what appears to be a new years date bug. One poster summarized the issue on Microsoft's support forums, "At exactly 2am CDT (12am PDT), the docked Zune made the "unplugged from USB port" bong-noise and went to the boot-up screen with the 100% loading bar...and froze. At 2:30am CDT, I decided to check the other Zune. Turned it on and...frozen at the 100% loading screen." It appears as though only 30GB Zunes are currently affected and some reports indicate that only Zunes with the latest firmware are affected, but this hasn't yet been confirmed.

Update 2:11 p.m. PST: Microsoft issued another statement, saying its technical team has isolated the issue: a bug in the internal clock driver related to the way the device handles a leap year. The company says 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)," Microsoft said. "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're 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."