The fiend is Freescale's MC13783 PMIC—a chipset used to regulate and control power—which is used in the the Gigabeat S Series. This is the model that Microsoft used as the basis for their Zune.

Whoever is guilty here, don't worry if you are one of the six people who have a Toshiba Gigabeat: According to one user in the same thread, the Zune fix works too. [Anythingbutipod forum thread via Anythingbutipod]

If Microsoft is contemplating bringing out a Nano (the Nune? The Zazo?) follow-up to their repackaged Toshiba Gigabeat, this may be it. But then again, it may not.

The Toshiba Gigabeat U can charge its battery in 10 minutes to get a three-hour playback time, but only if you use the MEPUAA 10 USB adaptor (you have to buy that separately, though, boo, hiss). This DAP can also record FM broadcasts to MP3, share broadcast music also using FM and further damage your eyesight trying to distinguish all the naughty bits looking at tiny JPEG images in its OLED screen.

Here's what it can't do: play music continually for more than 3 hours 20 hours; hold more than 2GB (the U101 only has a 1GB capacity); make breakfast; fire the chauffeur. Specs and release date are after the jump.

1.1-inch OLED screen
96x96 resolution
36 grams
1-bit DAC audio processor
USB AC adaptor MEPUAA 10
Available from April 7, and the 1GB capacity U101 will set you back $118, the 2GB U201 $142. – Ad Dugdale

New Toshiba gigabit U series music players [New Launches]