Xbox 360 is an unreliable piece of shit

[The John Doe]

I had something like that happen to my 360 while playing Dead Rising I right away called Gamestop (Where I got it from) and they told me to wrap a heavy towel around it, turn it on, and leave it going for 15 minutes. I thought it sounded crazy but I tried it anyways, and that was a little more than a month ago and it hasn't acted up since.

I really hate to Jinx my 360. But I have had it for almost 3 months and that was the only problem I ever had with it.

Only complaint I have about it is the very short battery life in the controlers. I mean no matter what brand of battery I put in it, they never last no more than a week -week and a half tops- before dying.

[Darkmoon]

Alright, maybe one of you guys can tell me what I need to know.

Yesterday, while playing Oblivion the colours started going funny. as though some of the sprites were going or something. Looked very strange. So I saved the game, turned it off, check with the Wii that it wasn't the TV or my mutli scart socket thing and then took the aerial lead from the 360, check it for dust and the like, plugged it back in and started the thing up again.

No picture came back.

Since then it's been the same, no matter what I do. I'm hoping it's a fault in the lead but can you kind folk suggest any other issue? I'm not getting a red ring so I'm really, really hoping it isn't a problem with the 360 itself.

[Grumman]

I've had mine for 6 months and no RRoD yet. Playing it pretty sparingly though, no more than 3 hours at a time and always make sure its well ventilated.

My Ace Combat 6 was ring scratched to hell after my dog knocked over the 360. Luckily Namco has a policy to return defective disks within 90 days of purchase. I still have to wait 4-6 weeks for a new copy to reach me however.

[Darkmoon]

...well, apart from it's slight tendency to break, horribly.

[nemesis_lover]

anyone play fifa or splinter cell on xbox live
and yeah xbox is the best

[Krispy]

Certainly it is a design flaw that is inexcusable and you have a right to be angry. It is dastardly that every 360 owner should be faced with the expectation that their system will red ring; however, Microsoft has admitted this fault and provided excellent warranty support. So while I hope Microsoft's technicians get a much needed ass kicking over this debacle I would suggest making the call and sending your 360 down for repairs/replacement and go on enjoying the fruits of Microsoft's first party publishings. Early reviews of Mass Effect point towards nothing short of stellar.

Edit: Looking at your screenshot it looks like you have a soldering error which was caused from a poor manufacturing partner, definitely worst of all the 360's ailments. Lucky you .

[rewak]

Mine red-ringed after a few months, got it replaced no problem, then a few months later i got sent another one. 2 360's for the price of 1, can't argue with that

[Umon Daisuke]

Both of mine crapped out before the store's return policy so I didn't lose anything. I'll get one again next year when NGII is out.

Niko, DC3 isn't on the backwards compatibility list yet, and doubt it's ever going to be. Given Sony's situation, I think it's more than safe now that they'll hold on to MGS4 with their teeth alongside FFXIII. I would've thought that the online MGS would be a better fit on the 360, but I guess SCEI does pay off when they want to.

[Nikovich]

I want a 360. I really do. I'll need one because all the games that might have been worth getting a PS3 for are going to be on the 360. DMC4, RE5, MGS4 will no doubt go there soon.

I also need to get Gears and (don't fucking laugh) Dino Crisis 3. But 33% failure rate? That's horrendous. You have a 2 out of 3 chance of picking up a 360 that won't consistently flop on you. And I keep waiting for a revision but they really don’t seem like they’re going to get around to one. It IS Microsoft after all.

[Dot50Cal]

For more fantastical Cross Examinations (AND MORE!) why not pick up Phoenix Wright: Trials and Tribulations, the new thrilling ride in the Ace Attorney series, available at all good retailers later this month!

This was probably when I was booting it up to get GPU frying HD captures. I did manage to get it into Dead Rising, but when it started loading the map I heard an awesome buzz, and red ringed again. Ill take pictures of my coffin as proof!

As per Carn's "He did it to his own 360" No, I did not. The disc tray wouldn't open properly since day one at times, and it eventually got the point where I had to take the faceplate off and then flick the tray with my finger. How this somehow dislodges a heat sink is a mystery that only your mind knows the answer too.

[nemesis_lover]

ah ok, didn't know that ;p
well hope ur 360's stay working for all the xmas games coming out
nemesis_lover

[Carnivol]

nemesis lover: The red ring works as a troubleshooter. Sorta like the light indicators some computers have on their motherboards. If the ring is entirely red, then there is some hardware that is not plugged in correctly (or totally missing), usually it's the HDD or the screen cable. If the light indicator shows 3 out of 4 rings, it's an internal hardware error.

[nemesis_lover]

i thought the 360 only goes red when you don't have the scart lead inserted into the console, because the rings went red on my 360 but when completed setting it up ( putting the scart lead in) the rings went green, this is the only time that i thought you would see the red rings, because i can do this anytime i want. I've had my console for over a year and half and nothing wrong with mine
i guess Pal versions got a better life sentence

[randomwab]

My year old second hand 360. Never red ringed. Ever.

Something very interesting happened today.



I noticed that Dot50Cal was online 5 hours ago. This was taken at 7:38PM, and his XBox began red ringing at around 2AM the night before. Curious, I THINK SO. Proof?





I think we all know what to think now.

Dot50Cal, I pronounce you...



For more fantastical Cross Examinations (AND MORE!) why not pick up Phoenix Wright: Trials and Tribulations, the new thrilling ride in the Ace Attorney series, available at all good retailers later this month!

[Carnivol]

Although it makes me somewhat sad to see another 360 die. I finally this time got more of what I wanted for my personal research on the matter.

Just to add something from last night when this happened:

Carnivol -> says:
I bet you broke it while screwing around with your 360, trying to eject the tray ;D (Like hitting it or something)
Carnivol -> says:
So when they get it at the MS support center, they'll be all "What the heck? Didn't knowing heating issues made dents on the side of the system + made the heat sink fall off O_o"
Dot50Cal says:
I didnt BEAT it
Dot50Cal says:
I jsut flicked the tray

(Ignore the typos in my part of that convo.)

I've kinda always had this somewhat absurd idea of the majority of the 360 hardware failures are in reality coming from people "doing stuff" to their systems, and aren't really just totally random issues that the user isn't somehow responsible for himself.
Like moving them around while they're on or using force to trigger effects, and ofcourse, putting them side-by-side to the two heat factories known as PS3 and Wii (rugs, closed cabinets, clothing piles and direct sunlight are two other lovely thingies one should try to avoid too)

It's kinda like buying ice cream, knowing what makes ice cream ice cream, to then store it in the refrigerator instead of the freezer.


Anyway, as for Disc Read Errors on the 360, those are hilarious.
I think I can produce them in pretty much any game I want now (not as in they appear in every darned game as a problem, but if I want them to appear, I can force them to appear through only software interaction on the fly)


@Branden:

Awesome Lego stuff you've got there.
My old boss has one of those Star Destroyer ontop of her Piano.