XBOX 360 Problems

[bthurley19]

Sunday was an especially enjoyable day for me as my brother decided to buy an XBOX 360. It felt like Christmas as we unwrapped the console and got it set up. For a 24 hour stretch we were in heaven. Then last night we were 3/4 of the way through the 3rd level of Halo 2 and the screen freezes. Oh well restart and try a different game. 10 minutes later, same thing. Several restarts, screen freezes, and words not fit for this site later, we realized we have a big problem. After calling the Support line today we were told we would have to send it in for repairs. Being only 2 days old we figured we could take it back and get a new one but the Gamez store we got it from doesn't allow you to return defective new consoles. So the 400 dollar console has been reduced to a paper weight till we can send it in. Looking online seems there are tons of people with the same problems. Anyone here have this problem?

[bjkrautk]

You got the 'Red Ring of Death' after only 2 days?

(Or is it an entirely different problem.)

 

Out of curiosity, what version of the 360 (Core, Premium, Elite) is it? (At $400, I'm guessing it's the Premium edition.)

 

 

On the plus side, most of the reports I've seen suggest that Microsoft is putting additional heatsinks into repaired units. That being said, the failure rate on the XBox 360 appears to be quite high (and magnified by the fact that Microsoft won't comment on failure rates). IIRC, I saw on digg a few weeks ago that someone has started a class-action suit against MS over the design of the 360....your brother might want to look into that.

 

 

(Rather than throw verbal jabs....I'll just say that I'm happy with my PS3, and will be even more happy once FF13 finally ships sometime next year.)

[bthurley19]

No "Red Ring of Death" but simply just locked up. I think it has something to do with the DVD-ROM because it seems to stop spinning the disk.

 

I'm with you on the crappy products from Microsoft. Playstation 3 is the better product but me and my brother are big fans of Halo so it requires getting the 360. Myself I'm planning on getting a Wii when I can scrounge up the cash.

 

It is the premium system too.

[patrickgpe]

yeah i wouldn't trust microsoft, even though they have a better library of games. The ps3 may be more expensive but i have had no problems with it since i got it 6 months ago.

 

Hopefully your problem gets taken care of, thats sucks man.

[davebobn]

I've had my 360 Premium Edition since October and it hasn't frozen once. From what I've read (not just here) it sounds like I've been pretty lucky so far. I'm going to keep my fingers crossed.

[rluzinski]

No problems here either (since Jan of 06'). It does sound like there are many people with issues out there, however.

 

I'm surprised you can't return your console to the store you bough it at. Are you sure what they told you is in their official return policy?

[bthurley19]

Yeah that is there official return policy. If under warranty the console must be returned to the manufacturer. My brother figured he would help out a local buisness owner instead of furthering Best Buy's empire but it seems to have backfired. I'm going to pick up a Wii, if I can find one, this weekend, so that should provide suitable entertainment. Like many of you mentioned there seems to be a lot of examples of problems on the internet but everyone I know has never had a problem with there consoles.

[adamb100]

I bought a Wii last week and it's still running. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/tongue.gif Actually the Wii is dead silent, even the fan in back.

 

But yeah, your problem wasnt the red ring of death which usually signifies overheating but I'd keep an eye out for it.

[TheCrew07]

Do you have it sitting on it's side, or flat on the ground, and are the vents covered up by things like games and such?

 

Many of my friends that have had problems are heat related. Apparently if you put them up on their side they tend to overheat more. If you overheat it, chances are it's never going to function properly again. I have an open concept TV stand, so my xbox is well ventilated and I've never had any problems. The smaller the space the more problems, remember it's just a computer in a very small package, so the same rules apply to it.

 

If you left it on for 24 hours straight, you might want to leave it off for a couple of hours, change the environment around it, and try again.

[bthurley19]

I tried laying it down flat and the system won't even fully load the opening logo. It's ventilated well and the only way I could give it more breathing space would be to hang it from the ceiling. Microsoft is sending us a prepaid box so we don't have to pay shipping so in a couple of weeks it will be all better...hopefully.

[TheCrew07]

Yea I'm not sure why they fail on their side more, but I've read that a variety of different places now. Every commercial shows them on their side, you'd think they'd make a press release and own up to it, but that's not Microsoft's style.

[rluzinski]

ike many of you mentioned there seems to be a lot of examples of problems on the internet but everyone I know has never had a problem with there consoles.

 

That's because even if the defect rate is very high, it's probably still "only" like 10-15%. Your friend should have waited for Christmas, when they might have a redesigned 360 available.

[thebruce44]

ike many of you mentioned there seems to be a lot of examples of problems on the internet but everyone I know has never had a problem with there consoles.

 

I guess its just all relative. I would never buy one since out of the 8 people I know who have purchased them, 6 are on their second or later console. The only two who haven't had theirs fail are my brother (who ironically beats the hell out of it) and my cousin who got it less than two weeks ago. One of my friends ended up selling his on ebay for around half price since it wouldn't load a lot of his games and Microsoft wouldn't fix it any more. Oddly enough he ended up getting another one a week later. I don't get it. I love my ps3.

[bthurley19]

So the randomness of this problem continues as I got the system to boot laying flat and put in a DVD and the DVD has been running perfectly. The noise produced when playing a game disc is nonexistant. So we no longer have a $400 paperweight but we do have a $400 DVD Player. This is more proof to my theory that it is in the DVD ROM that is causing the problems.

[mothershipconnection]

Actually the Wii is dead silent, even the fan in back.

 

Nintendo products simply cannot be destroyed. I ran a couple broken (after nearly 20 years of use) NES systems over with my car and they barely cracked. Their systems simply have no rival in durability.

[rluzinski]

My Atari 2600 could not be killed either. Of course, to compare the old systems to the new consoles, which are basically high powered PCs, is unfair.

[RightFieldCoder]

G4's X-Play did a rigor test on the last gen machines. They used sledgehammers, dropped them, stuff like that. The GameCube worked perfectly every time. It was amazing.

 

I got the "Ring of Death" the first time I took it out of the box. I checked online and all I had to do was reset the machine and I haven't had a problem since.

 

Two weeks ago I bought a Wii from Toys 'R Us. They tried to get me to buy the "extended warranty". In their blurb they mentioned that it would only kick into effect after the one year warranty that the manufacturer gives. So I don't think it has to do with the small store, I think all stores will refuse the open item back.

[endaround]

Depends on the warranty. Did you pay with a credit card? Lots of credit card companies give you additional protection and may be able to get you a replacement right away.

[Trading123]

Sometimes it may just be the solder. They have to use a lead-free solder which isn't that great.

[bthurley19]

So I've figured out everything works except playing XBOX and XBOX 360 games. I downloaded a demo last night and it worked and the XBOX arcade works fine. So it took me a day to diagnose what the problem was, lets see how long it takes Microsoft.

[thebruce44]

My Atari 2600 could not be killed either. Of course, to compare the old systems to the new consoles, which are basically high powered PCs, is unfair.

 

To compare the old systems to any new console made by Sony or Microsoft would be unfair. I will second the solid construction of the Wii and GCube. I can't personally complain about any of Sony's systems, but I know some people had trouble with the PS2s. Mine still works great, and I use it as a DVD player in my bed room.

[bullox]

Their systems simply have no rival in durability.

 

Apples and oranges, but the Technics 1200 turntable is a tank that lasts 30+ years without a hint of an issue. Still the club standard record player. I'm sure the Automator can vouch for this.

 

Game systems, I agree with you. But I have never seen anything as durable as a Technics 1200 turntable.

[bthurley19]

Yeah our original, launch PS2 had to be repaired once for 70 dollars to fix the laser that read the discs and it worked for a while. Then we moved and when I went to use it the disc tray wouldn't even open because the connection to the button that opens the tray got severed. We got a slim PS2 and it has worked well for quite a while now. Seems like Deja Vu with what is happening with the XBOX360.

[rluzinski]

Architecture wise, the Gamecube/wii has no comparison to the PS3 or 360. What is it, one circuit board with SD memory? I don't mean to infer that MS didn't design a sub par system (there have been systematic issues, for sure), reliability wise, but let's compare apples to apples, please. The more sophisticated an electronic component is, the better the chance something goes wrong.

[bullox]

The more sophisticated an electronic component is, the better the chance something goes wrong.

 

So it's okay to fail as long as it's cool when it works?