Zune Connection Issues… Solved!
Over the last few weeks, I’ve been having problems getting the Zune Software on my Vista Desktop PC to recognize a connection with my Zune 80. When I plug in my Zune, I hear the tone sound indicating a USB device connection but the Zune Software ignores the Zune and doesn’t make a connection. I tried using different USB ports, different sync cables, but nothing. I also used the Unzoone software to completely remove the Zune 3.1 Software off my PC, rebooted, and then reinstalled a fresh copy. After doing all this, it seems my Zune would only connect to my PC 2% of the time. Even rebooting my PC didn’t ensure my Zune Software would see the connected Zune. Very frustrating!
After doing several Google searches, I finally found the solution to my problem. Mark Akers on the Zune.net forums posted some troubleshooting suggestions and this is the one that fixed it for me:
- Click Start -> Run -> Services.msc
- Look for a service “Windows Mobile-2003-based device connectivity”
- If that service is in the “Disabled” state, change it to “Manual”
- Restart the Zune software
- Connect device
As it turns out, a few weeks ago I was cleaning up my PC and decided to turn off various unused services to speed up my system boot up sequence. One service that I disabled was the “Windows Mobile 2003-based device connectivity” since I no longer sync a Pocket PC 2003 device to my Desktop PC. Apparently, this syncing mechanism is also used by the Zune Software! Thus, you need to set this service to “Manual” so that Zune Software can do it’s thing to make a connection to your Zune.
So if you’re pulling your hair out trying to figure out this one, you might check that this service is set to “Manual”.
Gotta Love Vista… not!
For some reason, the Zune software on my Vista desktop PC wouldn’t connect with my Zune 80. I know that my PC sees the Zune 80 because I hear an audio tone when I connect it to the USB port, however, the Zune software ignores it. Now, I’ve been fiddling with my system settings and services, so I thought I may have turned off an important system service that caused this connection problem. After several different reboots, the Zune software still didn’t see the Zune 80.
Finally, I went into the Services control panel and started re-enabling the handful of services that I turned off yesterday. Finally after turning everything back on, the Zune software recognized the connected Zune. I then went in and began turning off each of those services on-by-one, and after turning off everything again the Zune software still found the Zune! So what was the problem? I don’t know. Maybe turning on and off a service got everything working again… ugh. Let’s hope everything stays connected from her on.
Update: ( 8 Feb 2009 ) - I’m still having sporatic issues with my Zune 80 not connecting with the Zune Software. I’ve tried using differnt USB ports, but it seems that I need to reboot my Zune and my Desktop PC to have the Zune software recognize it. Coincidentally, my wife recently has been having the same problem with her Vista Desktop PC and Zune 8 GB. Sometimes the software will “see” the connected Zune, and sometimes not. I suspect it might be a automatic Vista update that was installed recently that is causing the problem, but that’s my paranoid side talking. 
Removing All Content From Your Zune
There may be times when you want to remove all content on your Zune device and start fresh. I did this recently when I got my Zune 80 back from the repair center. To do this, you can connect your Zune to your PC and start up the Zune Software. Next, under the “Settings” and “Device” heading you’ll see a page as shown below:
(click on image to enlarge it)
If you click on the “Clear All Content” button, every music, video, picture, and podcast file will be erased from your Zune device. This is useful when you want to remove all the preloaded files that come with a new Zune.
Warning: Make sure you have all your music/video/picture files archived in a safe place, as you don’t want to have the Zune software delete them! (Especially if you’ve defined your Zune monitored folders).
Defining Zune Sync Folders
I’ve come across a lot of forum postings by Zune newbies asking how to sync music, picture, and video files to their new Zunes. In my opinion, the easiest way is to set up sync folders on your PC which the Zune Software will monitor and sync the contents. So how do you do this? The graphic image below show the setup page in the Zune Software for defining the sync folders:
(click on image to enlarge it)
You get to this setup screen in your Zune Software under “Settings” and “Software”. Here, you can define one or more monitored folders for Music, Pictures, Video, and Podcasts (individually). Once you do this, you can copy any appropriate file into them to have that file synced with your Zune. Note, that you can’t put a music file (.mp3) in the video sync folder and expect the Zune to sync it. Also, all of these files are being synced, so removing a file from this sync folder will also remove it from your Zune device the next time you sync it.
Zune Syncing Issues
After receiving my refurbished Zune 80 from the Microsoft Repair Center, I began the process of syncing my music, picture, video, and podcast files to it’s empty 80 GB drive. Everything seemed to work smoothly (at first), but then I ran into problems. It seemed that certain music files wouldn’t sync, and my video files would get stuck at “7%” during the syncing process. I tried everything I could think of to correct this: rebooting the Zune device, reinstalling the Zune Software on my PC, rebooting my PC, etc. Nothing seemed to correct this syncing issue. My fear, was that this refurbished Zune unit was defective and I would have to send it back and wait another 2 weeks to get a replacement!
So for the next few hours, I scoured the various Zune forums and Microsoft Knowledge Base looking for a possible solution. It seemed that a few others had the same problem, but I tried all the steps that were recommended for resolution. Ultimately, I concluded that the culprit was most likely a defective USB hub that I was using for my Zune connection.
To reduce the number of wires and cables running from my desk to my PC, I installed a powerstrip and small powered USB hub to the bottom surface of my desk. I then plugged my Zune dock into this USB hub, and it seemed to work fine up until I sent my Zune in for repair. Over the past two weeks, I noticed that my CD Card reader (which was plugged into this USB hub) wasn’t working consistently, and I had to unplug and replug in the USB-to-PC cable for the USB hub to get it working again. So, putting two-and-two together I concluded that the problem may be with this hub. Read the rest of this entry »
