How to use Mediamonkey to sync with the Zune [A Guide]

[Guest]

Awesome! Thank you very much, tutorials like this are HARD to find on the net, and this did exactly what I needed it to do.

[nohitter151]

JoeyJoJo, thanks for this. Does your .exe require that you still sync a file to your Zune before it is run or does it somehow do this automatically? Thanks again.

This exe will only kill the Zune process. You'll still need to start it up and kick off the sync process manually, but at least you don't have to fiddle with the task manager. I will play around with trying to automate the whole process at some point.

Good luck,
JoeyJoJo

This sounds great, keep us updated!

Awesome! Thank you very much, tutorials like this are HARD to find on the net, and this did exactly what I needed it to do.

Glad to have helped!

[The Rev]

Great Work!

[zaqwithaq]

Should the zune stay "Syncing" after MM is done transfering files??

[nohitter151]

Should the zune stay "Syncing" after MM is done transfering files??

Yes. It is safe to remove the USB although it still says "Syncing".

[Solaris]

Any reason why it would only put around 1,000 of my 16,000 songs on there? They're all compatible with the zune as I've had them on there using the zune software itself, but now MM won't sync them.

[skyhopper88]

Hey, great guide. I hit a snag with cover art and ended up with %artist% - %album%.jpg and cover.jpg on the Zune. Easily fixed though, it was just a miss checked setting. More importantly, I cleared my Zune's music before syncing with MM just to be safe, and some of my tracks seem to randomly have 5 seconds of silence in the track before the actual audio starts. Any reason for that? I'm also having trouble getting the Zune to re recognize after a sync, be it using generic, zune, or the hd hack. Removing from the device manager didn't help, it just keeps loading in a loop saying found new hardware.

[nohitter151]

Any reason why it would only put around 1,000 of my 16,000 songs on there? They're all compatible with the zune as I've had them on there using the zune software itself, but now MM won't sync them.

The only reason I could think would be that you don't have enough room on the Zune. Did you delete the music that was already on it? Do you have the "save space" feature activated in the Zune software?

Hey, great guide. I hit a snag with cover art and ended up with %artist% - %album%.jpg and cover.jpg on the Zune. Easily fixed though, it was just a miss checked setting. More importantly, I cleared my Zune's music before syncing with MM just to be safe, and some of my tracks seem to randomly have 5 seconds of silence in the track before the actual audio starts. Any reason for that? I'm also having trouble getting the Zune to re recognize after a sync, be it using generic, zune, or the hd hack. Removing from the device manager didn't help, it just keeps loading in a loop saying found new hardware.

Are you sure that the tracks didn't always have this silence, or don't have it already? An MM synch should not change the audio file at all unless you are running a conversion.

I haven't had the same experience with the Zune not being recognized. I have had some issues when trying to sync for a second time, but the device is recognized by the computer just fine. All I can suggest is to make sure that you have zAlternator set to Zune (default) before you plug the Zune in to the computer, and don't plug the USB into any hubs, but make sure it is being plugged straight into the computer.

[kosanke]

Great work guys on this stuff, I got it to work initially with the Zune, but now, I am confused.

Every time I want to add more music to my Zune through Media Monkey, do I need to do that whole thing where I Sync with my Zune, close it, use zAlternator, and open up Media Monkey? Because when I just try syncing to my Zune in Media Monkey, the screen on my Zune doesn't change to "connected" or "syncing" as it just stays normal and I am able to navigate through my music on there.

[nohitter151]

...
Every time I want to add more music to my Zune through Media Monkey, do I need to do that whole thing where I Sync with my Zune, close it, use zAlternator, and open up Media Monkey? ...

Yes. We're all hoping they can come out with something better, but for now this is the only option.

[kosanke]

Should I clear my Zune EVERY time before I sync, because I got 3 copies of each song, after I synced it 2 more times to get some more content on there.

Also, when I want to do movies, I just need to switch zAlternator back to Zune(Default) and just use the Zune software?

Thanks for the help.

[nohitter151]

Should I clear my Zune EVERY time before I sync, because I got 3 copies of each song, after I synced it 2 more times to get some more content on there.

Also, when I want to do movies, I just need to switch zAlternator back to Zune(Default) and just use the Zune software?

Thanks for the help.

Yes, and yes. I haven't been able to do a successful sync without clearing all of the music off my Zune first. You can leave your movies and pictures on there, however.

[kosanke]

I think I finally understand.

Sorry if this sounds like I am belittling your work, but basically what you are doing is "tricking" the Zune into syncing with Media Monkey but initializing the sync process via the Zune software. Then you "freeze" the Zune into the sync while you switch over to MM?

That's kind of how I interpret it.

[nohitter151]

I think I finally understand.

Sorry if this sounds like I am belittling your work, but basically what you are doing is "tricking" the Zune into syncing with Media Monkey but initializing the sync process via the Zune software. Then you "freeze" the Zune into the sync while you switch over to MM?

That's kind of how I interpret it.

Well thats just about how I see it too. Just FYI, I didn't make the plugin, a member of the ZuneBoards community did. I just wanted to put a guide up here for anyone who was interested in trying it out.

[SoStark]

Just so I know. I don't have to delete all my music files everytime I want to sync do I? Just the first time?