Zunes return to life, mostly

After one of the more bizarre incidents in Microsoft's consumer-electronics history, many 30GB Zune owners are reporting today that the devices are waking up from the mass digital coma they entered early yesterday. Some users on the Zune forums are citing lingering problems, but others say their Zunes have unfrozen, as the company said they would.

"Just want to let you know that iTurd (my lil' brown 30gb Zune) has resurrected from his digital dormancy!" wrote TechFlash reader Tom Anderson, who has been faithfully keeping us posted on the status of his device. Some called yesterday "Zuneaggedon," but Anderson offers another Biblical theme for what happened today: "I've dubbed the day Zuneaster," he wrote.

The guys over at The Naked Loon, who offered a live webcam of their frozen Zune, say theirs, too, has come back to life: "As promised by Microsoft, The Naked Loon’s 30GB Zune successfully booted to the main Zune menu after midnight. Happy New Year, you fabulous little obsolete brick!"

In the comments on our previous post, Buzz Bruggeman of ActiveWords reports a similar revival for his Zune 30GB.

The problem appears to have affected only the 30GB Zune models. Microsoft blamed a bug in the Zune clock, related to the leap year, and said the devices would essentially fix themselves today. See this page for the company's instructions on unfreezing the devices.

Still, the reports of lingering problems mean this incident might not be over yet, so we'll keep tracking the situation. And you can bet Microsoft will be getting lots of questions about it during next week's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

If you're a Zune 30GB owner, feel free to email us or offer a status report in the comments below.

Coverage elsewhere: Associated Press, CNet News.com.