Here is the answer all are looking for. When your Zune has been dead for a time and will not charge at all. (Black screen with no battery icon) Sit with it in your lap and plug it in for 20 seconds then disconnect for 20 seconds. repeat several times and your device will begin to charge after several connect/disconnect cycles. Reason: The battery needs a small charge to initiate the charging circuit in the zune. When the battery is completely dead, there is no charge to start charging. When you first plug it in, a small burst of charge gets through before the circuit disables the charge as a protection. (It associates no internal voltage as a bad or missing battery.) So, connecting and disconnecting repeatedly will charge the battery very slightly each time, eventually retaining enough charge to allow the circuit to begin a standard charge. Your welcome. Cheers.