Make the Zune appear in Windows Explorer thanks to a Registry Hack
Phaleux.com has figured out a way to access a Microsoft Zune via the Windows Explorer shell. The “hack” requires changes to the Windows registry as described here
at Phaleux.com. I’ve copied the text from that site here for those too lazy to click through.
Make sure your Zune is not plugged in and your Zune software isn’t running
- open up regedit by going to the start menu and selecting “runâ€. Type regedt32 and hit “OKâ€
- Browse to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\ControlSet001\Enum\USB\
- Search for “PortableDeviceNameSpaceâ€. This should be contained in the Vid_####&Pid_####\########_-_########_-_########_-_########\Device Parameters within the above …\USB\ The ##’s listed here will be numbers and letters specific to your Zune
- Change the following values:
- EnableLegacySupport to 1
- PortableDeviceNameSpaceExcludeFromShell to 0
- ShowInShell to 1
- Plug in your Zune, and make sure the Zune Software starts up.
- Hopefully at this point you can open up “My Computer†and browse your device, though it does NOT show up as a drive letter.
There are several things to keep in mind before proceeding. ONE - you’re going to muck with the registry so PLEASE be careful. One wrong move and you could royally screw your system. TWO - Make sure to backup the registry before doing this. At least backup the key in question so you can restore it later on.
In any case, this is a great hack for anyone looking to use the Zune as an external portable hard drive (something Microsoft should have enabled anyhow!)
Thanks Phaleux!
November 28th, 2006 at 10:17 am
[...] Make the Zune Appear in Windows Explorer (or use the patch) [...]
November 30th, 2006 at 12:52 pm
Is the drive suppose to show up in explorer twice? After I did the change it shows 2 zunes.
December 2nd, 2006 at 3:04 pm
[...] In another hack, you can bypass the DRM feature of the wireless sharing simply by changing the extension of the file to have a “.jpg” extension (signifying JPEG). Since the Zune doesn’t apply DRM to JPEG files, you can transfer practically anything between two Zunes without worrying about file sharing restrictions. The only caveat to making this work is - you need to execute the Windows registry hack to allow the Zune to be viewed as an external hard drive. Oh yeah - one more thing - you need to send the folder containing the files - not the file itself. Check out this page at Gizmodo for more info. [...]
December 7th, 2006 at 7:49 pm
will this drive hack work with windows vista and it’s registry?
December 8th, 2006 at 7:49 pm
Good question - that’s one of the things I’m going to try out with Vista. I’ll keep you guys posted
December 17th, 2006 at 2:02 pm
Using this hack, can I place video content on the zune through windows explorer by transferring folders into the video area? I am trying to organize my video files into folders, and wondering if I can through this method.
December 24th, 2006 at 1:53 am
Yes, I just tried it with Vista, and it works exactly as shown. I get the two devices as well, but I can’t seem to do anything with it besides view the files. Most of the files have a big stop sign at the corner of the icon, but I can’t move, copy, or even look at anything.
The pictures won’t even thumbnail, but I guess we’re halfway there! Sick hack….
December 25th, 2006 at 3:35 pm
I can now veiw my files but i cant do anything with them
December 27th, 2006 at 6:17 pm
This…didn’t work? I changed the correct values, but my Zune isn’t showing up in My Computer. What happened?
December 30th, 2006 at 2:18 am
Look. i did everythign correct it is showing up. but when i try and copy folders from the zune it says acess denied. how do u bypass this. thanks
January 22nd, 2007 at 1:35 pm
This technique worked fine, but is it possible to view the contents of the library? My motherboard just sharted and I have no way to know yet if my entire HDD-based music library was also fried in the short circuit. Currently, my Zune is my only hope to avoid having to re-rip my cd collection which would prove to be a royal pain in the cheeks. Any solutions?
January 30th, 2007 at 10:29 pm
To Joel:
You can reconnect your zune as a guest and take the files from there via zune software and sync it to your new PC/Hard Drive. I did this and it was a life saver.
February 6th, 2007 at 8:35 pm
I did this technique and i have the same problems. I can view the files but cant transfer due to restrictions. Im thinking it has to do with the new firmware ver. 1.2 but im not positive. any ideas?
February 24th, 2007 at 1:10 pm
2 guys that cant add/delete, sync a bunch of stuff (while library is open in “my computer”) then drag the files you want into the “songs” file in the zune. I think while syncing with zune software the zune kind of “drops its guard” w/the access denied crap.
March 9th, 2007 at 12:12 pm
ya if u sync wen ur trying to add/delete things it will let u do it but wen the syncing is complete u can no longer do anything, but if u are copying one file it will continue to copy after the sync is completed but only that file
March 17th, 2007 at 11:25 pm
How do i creat folders once i hack the registry, ALSO, how may i transfer word and excel documents by storing them on the zune and putting them on a computer w/o une software?
any help is appreciated
March 18th, 2007 at 9:59 pm
A) How do you get the numbers? ####
April 18th, 2007 at 12:59 am
This hack works, but sucks. Great now I can get into the zune and see the shit I already know I have, but I want to be able to take the stuff my friend gave me, off the zune then back on to it to keep it for good. Also… how can I change the picture of a certain artist that I have on my device rather than that shitty default cover design?
any help on both topics would be great!
thanks!
Matt
May 8th, 2007 at 2:59 am
I did everything right but it wont show up in my computer. i have xp. anyone know whats up? ive been having lots of problems with my zune lately, mostly syncing. it says my zune is half full but i dont have anything on it. might send it back and get a freshy…
June 17th, 2007 at 1:59 pm
You must have the Zune software running to unlock your files, then you should be able to gain full control over the Zune. As for it showing up twice, I’m still working on a fix for that.
David Orazine
July 14th, 2007 at 5:30 pm
(To Matt $MuNy$)
As far as the picture part goes, save any picture that you want for the label in My Pictures. Open up the Zune program and simply drag and drop whatever you want got the album cover over the album picture.
August 21st, 2007 at 2:36 am
i know this has already been brought up but i didnt see an answer. i am on a new laptop with vista after i lost all the data on my shitty old dell and really need to be able to rip my files off my zune as they are my only copy. i ran the hack but cannot move anything… is there anyway around the stop signs outside of the sync method as i have too much data on there for that to work. not enough space to sync on in order to give enough time to rip off…
October 14th, 2007 at 5:10 pm
How do I find out what numbers to put in to find my Zune?
October 16th, 2007 at 10:39 am
After the hack try starting the Zune software and transferring a large file. During transfer while it is synching close the Zune software which should leave the Zune player in synching mode allowing transfers. At least that’s what I’ve read, going to try it out for sure tonight.
October 17th, 2007 at 7:20 pm
HELP!! I want to sync my zune with music on my portable hard drive.
Problem: When I connect both the Zune and the Portable HD. My computer Kicks off the Portable Drive.
Help Please.
November 6th, 2007 at 4:21 am
Its been awhile since the last posting.
Im new to zune got the halo se.
Did the Hdd Hack same issue Red stop signs on Vista. Q: can i use XP to transfer data rather then vista??? I would like to do the same as UnStatusQuo as my Zune was A gift and is no longer a Guest on my Vista based Laptop. Calling All Hacker is there a Way….
November 18th, 2007 at 5:38 pm
I did this hack on Vista a few months ago and it worked great! I had no trouble at all… until I updated the Zune firmware and the computer software to the new version. I checked to see if it was still there and it wasn’t. I redid the hack and it still doesn’t show. Any fix to this?
November 21st, 2007 at 3:07 pm
Hey, does this work only with the old zune software 1.0 or does it work with the new stuff too? Because it doesnt work with my zune. plz help.
December 10th, 2007 at 12:55 pm
Just did this hack on Vista Ultimate with the latest Zune firmware and software. Only Issues: Listed 2x in explorer and must have zune software running to copy files.
December 17th, 2007 at 6:21 am
ok. so it works most of the time. is there any idea why it wouldn’t work. I’m not seeing my zune and i’ve tripple checked the regedit. much thnx.
January 7th, 2008 at 2:30 pm
I would like to know, if i can hack the microsoft zune 30Gb. without using the zune software, and that i can not only use it on my computer system but everywhere i go as a usb storage device… i would like to know if this hack exist for the microsoft zune…. thanks.
January 11th, 2008 at 2:20 am
yeah, but no
the registry hack does NOT work in vista
if anyone could look into why this is i would be happy to know why
add my xbox live:
eXone42zero
January 16th, 2008 at 9:50 am
you guys, you tried to show off, like you are some real masterminds, you lost to microsoft, you see, microsoft, unlike many other companies, does learn from it’s mistakes as much as it can, although i hate microsoft, but you gotta give it to them, i looked almost everywhere for a new way to hack the zune with no luck, so we lost, they won.
AND AS ALWAYS, ENGLAND PREVAILS…
January 21st, 2008 at 5:34 pm
I have yet to see an answear to this…..
I followed the strps but it’s not appearing in “My Computer”
Why?…
January 21st, 2008 at 10:46 pm
If you want this to work, DO NOT get the latest update (2.3)
January 24th, 2008 at 6:14 pm
This worked for me under Vista Ultimate. Thanks Much
January 28th, 2008 at 9:02 pm
For all of you who are using Vista and can’t get the hack to work at all (this has nothing to do with the copying/protected problems) make sure you change the registry values not only in ControlSet001 but also in ControlSet002, ControlSet003, and CurrentControlSet if you have all of them (I don’t have a ControlSet002 but I assume it does exist). I had to change it in 001 and 003 for the hack to work.
Hope this helps those who can’t get their player to show up at all!
February 15th, 2008 at 2:28 pm
Why do I keep losing all my songs or video data when I try to sync something new to my Zune 30gb. Do I have to keep EVERYTHING on my PC library in order to keep it on my Zune? I don’t want to overload my PC with a bunch of stuff. I’d like to be able to just sync my songs/video/pics to the Zune, delete it, and keep going. But once I’ve removed it from the PC, if I sync anything new, the old stuff get deleted and I have to start all over again. What the hell am I doing wrong?
February 16th, 2008 at 12:22 pm
I dont understand where to go to get this hack to work, I get all the way until it says:
Search for “PortableDeviceNameSpaceâ€. This should be contained in the Vid_####&Pid_####\########_-_########_-_########_-_########\Device Parameters within the above …\USB\ The ##’s listed here will be numbers and letters specific to your Zune
Could someone help me? Thanks
February 17th, 2008 at 7:02 pm
LOL ALEX
v for vendetta PWNS!!!!
but btw.
it works for xp right?
February 20th, 2008 at 5:00 pm
yea, i did it right, and i took matt’s advice and changed it in all the controlsets and it still wont show. and the thing about it that pisses me off is that when my music shows up all fine and dandy in the zune sync program but is all effed up on the zune. im anal and it pisses me off. how to i fix that?