7 helpful tips for new Zune users

[Zunerama Ed.]

From the Zunerama blog:

We welcome many of you who unwrapped new Zune players this Christmas. Congratulations on making Santa's nice list this year.



Our forums have been buzzing with new Zuners celebrating their unboxings, and also with start-up questions as they get their Zunes installed, synced, and out into the world.

We've uncovered useful nuggets that every new Zune owner should know... and that may not be immediately obvious. Here then, are...

7 TIPS THAT EVERY ZUNE OWNER SHOULD KNOW ON DAY ONE

1. Sync reliably. Connect your sync cable to a USB port on the back of your computer - not one of the front USB ports. This takes care of many syncing issues.

2. Be current. Make sure your Windows is up to date before installing Zune software. It should be Windows XP, Service Pack 2; or Windows Media Center with current rollups. 

3. Patience, Grasshopper. Your first sync will take awhile, while your Zune software finds content on your PC and prepares it for Zune. Go drink an eggnog with your family.

4. Do the trial thing. To activate your 14-day trial Zune Pass subscription: make sure you're signed in, select Account Management (it's an option under the sign-in icon), and select "Redeem Prepaid Card". You'll see that option under the ZUNE PASS section of the window.

5. Got (a lot of) content? If you're lucky enough to have more content (music/pix/video) than will fit on your Zune, that's okay - Zune will load your music first, then pictures, then video, until your 30GB is consumed. If you want to, you can control what gets loaded - including prioritizing your playlists, or even telling Zune software what folders to sync to and what folders to ignore. You can prioritize which music playlists get synced (see this FAQ for how). And, you can tell Zune to only sync certain folders of music, pictures, or video - just follow the steps in this FAQ.

6. Play DVDs on your Zune. To make your family DVDs playable on your Zune requires 3rd party software. There are freeware and paid software packages that will do this for you. The trick is to set up the software so that the video gets converted to a Zune-compatible format. check out our How Tos board for step-by-step tutorials.

7. The key to longer life. To get the most life out of your battery, use this simple trick for the best way to turn the player off: press and hold <down> on the control pad and hold down the <back> button.


Got other questions?

- Check out our Zune FAQ - it's searchable and contains many answers to commonly asked questions.

- Search our Zune forums. Various scenarios and questions are discussed and resolved here every day.

- Post a question in our Tech Support board.


Enjoy that new Zune!

[patrickj]

Good post, and cool first day tips - I coulda used these on my first day for sure. Have linked to this at my site:
http://justanothermobilemonday.com/Wordpress/2006/12/27/zuneramas-tips-for-new-zune-users/

[Zunerama Ed.]

Nice - thanks Patrick!

[patrickj]

Very welcome. I am trying to gradually cover more Zune related stories (and other portable media players too) - so will hope to link to you guys again soon ...

[JimmyZune]

I feel a little ripped-off. When my Zune software installed I didn't get any 14 day free trial that is offered to everybody and when I go to "Redeem" it asks for a 25 digit code. I have no idea what code I'm to put in the field. Blah!

[Jander]

I feel a little ripped-off. When my Zune software installed I didn't get any 14 day free trial that is offered to everybody and when I go to "Redeem" it asks for a 25 digit code. I have no idea what code I'm to put in the field. Blah!

I still have my code, if ya want it.

[Zunerama Ed.]

I've heard this, and last night I finally found on Microsoft's support KB that "some Zune  players" ship with a 14-day pass. (Don't have the link handy.)

I had thought that all Zunes came with it, until our members started reporting this.

Our forums have become a bit of an exchange for people offering up their trial codes to other members who didn't get one.

As a satisfied Zune Pass holder, I'd say go ahead and try it for one month at the $14.99, if you're interested. If you're committed to getting your music through your Zune, it's the best deal going in my opinion.