It seems that, for some unknown reason, the Zune 30GB began failing at 12AM this morning.

When turning the device on, it gets stuck at the loading bar and doesn't continue past the logo. The players began locking around 12AM on December 31st for no apparent reason - Z2K, Zune owners have called it.

Microsoft has announced that Zune developers are currently working to solve the issue. There's word on what may have happened to the players or how it could be fixed.

A temporary fix, as reported by users with spontaneously bricked Zunes, report that removing and reinserting the battery in the player will fix the issue, as long as you don't plug it back into the computer where it'll connect to the software and go back into bricked mode.