by Daniel Alden

Created on: December 12, 2010   Last Updated: December 14, 2010

While not as widely accepted as Apple's iPod, the Microsoft Zune has found its own crowd and following of loyal users. It has become a popular device in its own right, but the Zune is not without problems. Many Zune users will tell you of the dreaded error 5. When the error occurs it means that the Zune has encountered a problem that it cannot recover from and informs users to contact customer support. Usually to fix this error, the Zune must be sent to Microsoft. If the Zune is under warranty and the owner is within the US, this is little more than an inconvenience. If the owner is outside of the US this is not and option and if the warranty has expired, the fix can come at a high price. However, before sending a Zune off to Microsoft for fixing, there are a number of things to try.

The first thing to try would be to restart the Zune. The steps to restart the device vary based on Zune model. For the Zune HD player, the user should press and hold the on/off button for roughly ten seconds and the player will reset. For the non-touchscreen models of Zune, the user should unlock the hold switch. Then, press and hold the back button and the top button of the Zune pad. The device should restart and the user can release the buttons.

If this does not fix the error, then the user should try reinstalling the software on their Zune device. To reinstall the software on a Zune HD, the user should press and hold the on/off button for about ten seconds. When the device restarts, the user should press and hold the “Media” button until the message “Connect Zune To Your PC” displays on the screen. The user should make sure they have the most up to date Zune software installed on their computer and connect the Zune. Update the Zune and it should be ready for use again. If the user continues to experience problems, then the Zune HD software may have to be completely deleted and reinstalled. Doing this will completely delete everything on the Zune, so anything that has not been backed up will be lost, including purchased items. To do this, the user should hold down the on/off button again until the Zune HD restarts. Upon restarting, the user should immediately press both the “Media” and the “Home” buttons until “Connect Zune To Your PC” displays. The user should then connect their Zune HD to a computer with the most up to date Zune software and update the Zune.

For the non-touchscreen Zune models, the following step will erase user data (including purchased items), so a backup is recommended. First, the user should unlock the hold button. Then the back button and the top button should both be pressed and held down. The next step varies by model. For owners with a Zune 4GB, 8GB, 16GB, 80GB, and 120GB, the Back button, Zune pad, and Play/Pause button should all be pressed and held down. The user should continue to hold them until they get a “Please wait” message. For owners of the Zune 30GB, the Back button, the left side of the Zune pad, and the center of the Zune pad should all be held down until “Please wait” displays. After data is cleared, the message “Connect Zune To Your PC” will appear. The user should connect the Zune to a computer with the most recent version of the Zune software installed on it. After the software is installed, the Zune should be ready for use.

If these measures fail to fix error 5, then the Zune owner will likely have to send the device to Microsoft as the problem is deeper than a software issue. Sadly, it is not always clear what causes error 5 to occur. In these cases, there are few other options than to leave it to the experts.

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