Hmmm, fellas, I'm kinda stumped. I had originally thought I was making headway with this issue, but after reviewing what I found, I realized that my assumptions were incorrect. Here's what I've done so far...
Using a machine installed with Windows XP SP3, I installed the original Zune software, the version 1.0.5341.0. I connected the Zune and attempted to load that old original firmware onto the drive, unto which I received an error stating the following:
"It is not possible to change sync settings at this time. Try again later."
One thing I thought peculiar was the drive size registered by the Zune software - It was showing as being only 1GB, or specifically 1024MB; At first I thought this was the issue, but then after re-checking my math, it would not be the problem.
[As a side note, the most up-to-date firmware is about 35MB per the software version 4.8.2345.0, as seen in the following directory: C:\Users\<yourusernamehere>\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Zune\Firmware Updates\2 with a file named firmware update being 34,993kb.]My thoughts on this are the following:
-The Zune software may be looking for a 30GB drive in order to proceed (this could be the case with both the 1.0.5341.0 software and the current 4.8.2345.0 software).
-Because the drive is being misreported as being 1GB, it may be more of a cautionary message via the software that there is a problem with the device, which stands to wonder how to make the Zune see that a larger capacity drive is installed.
I recall at one time while using a version that actually displayed my Zune 30 as a Zune 120 when I upgraded the drive, but then after doing upgrades, it always labeled it as a Zune 30 while showing the correct storage size. This also makes me think that perhaps it's just a matter of getting my hands on a copy of one of the previous installations, perhaps when ever the 2nd generation Zunes started hitting the market, which included the 120. I want to say that it was probably a version of the 2 or 3 software, sometime before they incorporated the Quickplay feature into the Zune. Unfortunately, I don't have any old copies of the software other than the 1.0.5341.0, 4.7.1404.1 and what I'm running on my laptop right now, which is the 4.8.2345.0
If anyone has any old setup files, please let me know.
Here's a list of revisions:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zune_Software_version_historyI'll keep searching for old copies out there. The setup file would have been named ZuneSetupPkg. If you want to find out the version, right-click the file>properties, then choose the details tab on the properties window.