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This is what I did. I confirmed that deleting a song out of the Zune library on the computer really did delete it off the Zune. I then just deleted a file off the computer through Windows Explorer and not out of the Zune library then I went to the software and tried to play the song. I got at error message that the file could not be found, so Zune knew the file wasn't there. I synced but it did not delete the song off my Zune. I don't know if this will work in the long term, but I would imagine it would. I have a Zune 8GB and have it set to not automatically update the songs at sync.

I will try again in a few days to make sure that it stays permanent. Let me know if you have trouble finding the file to delete in Windows Explorer.

I wouldn't delete the song files, though. MP3 players are only designed to work for two or three years, and once they are dead you may loose your music. Many things can happen including the battery no longer holding a charge (in which case you won't loose your music) to the hard drive crashing (music gone) to the processor dying (music gone). It is always a good idea to keep a back up of the music somewhere. An external hard drive is a good place to keep it. You can get them as low as 60 dollars with more space than your Zune has, perfect for backing up a music collection. While you are at it, you might as well back up all of your important documents too, just in case something happens to your computer.

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