14 DAY TRIAL // Is your Zune acting up? Then, Microsoft has the right solution and, in this regard, is offering the Zune Device Diagnostic Tool for download. According to the Redmond company, the tool is designed to isolate and identify USB and wireless synchronization connection problems, associated with the digital media player device. However, the Zune Device Diagnostic Tool will not also resolve potential issues that it manages to come across with. It will only compile the information in order to provide the data to the Product Support Services. The tool is offered as an executable - ZuneDevices.exe (250 KB), available as a free download. If you are experiencing connectivity issues with your Zune device, then you can grab the tool via this link and execute it on your machine. Microsoft provides additional instructions.
"Connect the device and wait for any errors to be displayed. For USB connections, look for the device to appear in device manager under portable devices. There may be a yellow exclamation mark next to the device. For wireless connections, use Settings->Wireless->Sync Now on the device and wait for the device to display an error, usually one to two minutes after displaying 'Connecting to PC'. Disconnect the device. For wireless connections, click the Cancel or Ok button. Click on the Report tab of the tool, then click 'Save As' and save a copy of the report text for analysis. Send the report text file to Product Support Services", Microsoft explained.
A few days ago, Microsoft also dropped the latest Firmware update for Zune. The new firmware, version 2.3, is designed to give Zune devices a boost in performance, and also to deal with battery life issues. The new firmware added no new capabilities to the Zune devices. "There are no new features in this update, but it does address some issues we're reading about in the forums. Specifically the battery issue affecting a small percentage of Zune 30/80 GB users", revealed Microsoft's Cesar Menendez. "In addition to the battery issue, this update provides some performance improvements: improved device recognition and improved stability and reliability on sync (both wirelessly and while connected to a PC)."