Darn waiting on a coffin again

[PuddWakkr]

Well I downloaded the Skate demo and played around a little bit. An hour or so later I tell my wife that I'm going to go to the Mall and pick up Bioshock. I turn on the 360 so my kid can watch the Cars DVD while I'm gone and there it was...three red lights again. Pretty sad when the xbox rep on the phone assumes it's happened before - "So this has happened before you know the drill right". Thank goodness it happened before I got Bioshock. If I had the game in hand and couldn't play it I would go crazy.

In all seriousness when is PS3 going to get some good games so I can get rid of this crappy piece of hardware? Luckily I should have my 360 back before Halo3 but after I beat single player I'm thinking of trading my setup in on a PS3. At least the system will turn on for the two games or so I'd like to play.

I'm just bummin because I can't play Bioshock. Stupid junky console.

[Hyper_Eye]

The guy on the line probably didn't assume it happened before. He likely had your information up and knew it happened before.

[ManShowBoy]

How long did you have that 360 before it died?

 

PS3 is got Warhawk and Lair comming out. You also got Resistance , MotorStorm and Virtua Fighter 5 too.

Edited August 25, 2007 by ManShowBoy

[AtariRocks]

And they are fixing so many broken consoles that it takes 2 or 3 weeks to get it back.

[moycon]

And they are fixing so many broken consoles that it takes 2 or 3 weeks to get it back.

 

It's always taken about 2 weeks for the entire process to run it's course I was really suprised that after they made the extended warrenty announcement that the wait time for return didn't balloon up. They told me on the phone it could take up to 4 weeks, but it still took 2 weeks.

 

They should send you a card for a free 1 month Gold membership

[Scumdogg]

Just a question out of curiosity here... The people who's 360s keep breaking, do you use a fan stand or any other sort of cooling system? Because i keep hearing these stories, and it of course makes me nervous. But i know quite a few people with 360s, all of whom use fan stands, and nobody i know has had their system die.

 

I understand one system breaking, but it seems that some of the people with multiple system failures might just be doing it wrong.

 

It also might be helpful to buy a $50 DVD player for the kids to watch movies on, instead of a $400 piece of gaming hardware.

 

Again, just a question. I never hear specified whether people are using a cooling system or not, and i'm curious as to how many people do, and if they actually do prolong the system life or if my friends and i are just all extremely lucky.

[Lord Helmet]

IIRC those fans void your warranty.

 

I use my 360 as my primary DVD player. With the media remote it makes for a great DVD player, and I have 1 less thing hooked up to the TV. I have no problem doing this because one, the 360 is designed with this functionality in mind, two, it is covered under warranty so if it breaks it will be fixed for free. No big deal. The worst that could happen is that I wouldn't be able to play 360 games for a couple of weeks. But I own so many video games that not having the 360 for a few days while MS sends me a replacement is not an issue.

[Scumdogg]

IIRC those fans void your warranty.

 

 

I don't know what you're thinking of, but fan stands are external, and plug into the USB port. That's like saying setting a sandwich next to your system, or using a 3rd party controller voids the warranty.

[moycon]

IIRC those fans void your warranty.

 

 

I don't know what you're thinking of, but fan stands are external, and plug into the USB port. That's like saying setting a sandwich next to your system, or using a 3rd party controller voids the warranty.

 

No some of the fans are inline with the systems power and have in the past when not seated properly created electric arcs and fried the console.

The issue has been addressed however and the newer models are designed to not do this.

Those are the cooling systems Lord Helmet was talking about.

[FastRobPlus]

IIRC those fans void your warranty.

 

 

I don't know what you're thinking of, but fan stands are external, and plug into the USB port. That's like saying setting a sandwich next to your system, or using a 3rd party controller voids the warranty.

 

 

Fan assists void the warranty.

[+remowilliams]

That's like saying setting a sandwich next to your system, or using a 3rd party controller voids the warranty.

Difference being ham sandwiches aren't going to increase power supply loading or be siphoning off USB bus power. Bad/cheaply designed devices can do more harm than good, including actually impeding the air flow. Which your ham sandwich wont do. Unless you stick it in the vents.

[Scumdogg]

IIRC those fans void your warranty.

 

 

I don't know what you're thinking of, but fan stands are external, and plug into the USB port. That's like saying setting a sandwich next to your system, or using a 3rd party controller voids the warranty.

 

No some of the fans are inline with the systems power and have in the past when not seated properly created electric arcs and fried the console.

The issue has been addressed however and the newer models are designed to not do this.

Those are the cooling systems Lord Helmet was talking about.

 

 

Ah, i see. I didn't get a 360 until several months in, so apparently the problem had been fixed before i was even aware of it. Shows what i know.

Anyway, all i'm really sayin' is...percentage of people i know using fan stands, 100%. Percentage of people i know with busted systems, 0%. Seems like a good idea to me.

[Shannon]

I'm not real familar with 360 issues but two things come to mind. I have not followed any of your previous threads so I really do not know. But did you ever consider the problem may be something else.

 

There is some procedure that can be followed that "restores a 360 to default settings". I think this one can only be done if you can get the 360 to boot. But I've heard it can do wonders.

 

I've heard that a bad power supply can cause the ring of death. Apparently the power supply needs air too, among other things (mainly the brick part). Also on one of my power supplies the cable got sliced right around where it connects to the brick. Maybe something like that happened. It seems like it can easily happen if the system is moved around alot. Of course I'm unfamilar with what the lights mean.

 

Just thought I'd try and help. I'm sure you've already heard numerous tips already anyways. Just seems kind of odd that you would have so many failures. I know when I moved to where I'm at now I had several pieces of my pc hardware go bad due to I'm pretty sure power surges. We had alot of bad thunder storms come thru that year. The problem went away when I purchased battery backup units for all my expensive electronic devices.

 

It's a shame your having such a crappy experience. At this point the 360 is my favorite next gen system. Some of the demos on the PS3 though have been looking really nice though. Wish something would come out for it soon.

Edited August 30, 2007 by Shannon

[Red 5]

I have had three systems die since I bought mine at launch.

 

I finally broke down and bought a fan stand.

After much research, I went with this one because it uses an external power supply. It does not use the 360 in anyway. Not the USB for power and does not connect to the 360's power supply.

 

The light is silly and doesn't match the same green as the system, but I have had no problems with red lights (knock on wood) since I have got this system back and have been using this fan. The on/off switch is in the back, which is stupid, but other than that, it keeps the console noticeably cooler.

 

I don't see how this particular fan can void the warranty since it is not connected to the Xbox in any way.

It would be like saying your central air conditioning in your house made the warranty null and void.

[Scumdogg]

Another tip for people in general is to abandon old, tightly-enclosed entertainment centers for game console purposes. Ever since the original Xbox i've been using 3-shelf wire rack next to my tv stand for all my consoles to let air flow around and prevent things from overheating. It also keeps the power supplies cool as they're not trapped between a big piece of furniture and a wall. Haven't lost a system yet.

[AtariRocks]

Most people who have had 3 systems die have had one brand new system die and then 2 refurbished systems die. It doesn't mean they've done anything wrong. The console should work regardless of whether you have a third party cooling system anyway. If it won't then they shouldn't be selling them without a proper cooling solution. Apparently what they're doing when these RROD consoles are shipped in is putting in a much larger heat sink.

 

I've seen reports from 25% to 33% of the consoles dying. That would still mean that most people have not had any problems with their consoles at all.

 

The PSU comes with a light on it. If that light is not green and you're getting the RROD MS will tell you to replace the PSU first. The PSU still only has a one year warranty.

[PuddWakkr]

I'm not doing anything wrong with my systems. The 360 is in the same spot my PS2 was and my xbox was and my Gamecube was. None of those died. I got my coffin yesterday so I'll drop it off at the UPS store monday and begin waiting again. Also thought it was cool I got a beta invite in my email today for Call of Duty 4. Stinks no console to play it on

[Shannon]

I'm not doing anything wrong with my systems. The 360 is in the same spot my PS2 was and my xbox was and my Gamecube was. None of those died. I got my coffin yesterday so I'll drop it off at the UPS store monday and begin waiting again. Also thought it was cool I got a beta invite in my email today for Call of Duty 4. Stinks no console to play it on

 

That really doesn't mean anything, all the new systems run hotter.... Oh, wait a minute actually the PS3 is practically cool as a cucumber..

 

Anyways what we are trying to tell you is that just because it was fine for older console systems does not mean the same for the 360. It's a hot bugger. Both it and it's power supply need planety of clearance for the hot air to disperse. Anyways sorry to hear you're having such bad luck. I've been running my 360 pretty hard lately and so far it's been great (cross fingers, knock on wood).

[PuddWakkr]

Did some measuring. I have 9" of space behind the 360. Just under 6" to each side and well over a foot of clearance on top. Do I have to devote a whole room to this console? People talk about luck but I think it's just a matter of when your 360 breaks not if. That's not luck. Those who sit there and think "I have never had a problem with mine some people don't know how to take care of things" - your day will come. I just hope mine comes back before Halo 3 is released but I'm doubting that.

[Shannon]

lol. I don't have a clue why my 360 is still running strong. Maybe it's just luck. I've had it since release pretty much. I guess my string of bad luck occurred when two of my computer systems, a modded PS2, and my dreamcast croaked on me.

 

Don't forget that you have to consider the power brick, that sucker puts off some heat as well. Don't have a clue why certain people consinstently have problems. Maybe they broke a mirror?