So many of you may remember my horrible experiences with multiple Xbox 360 issues. Apparently this forum is magically being pruned, so my original post is gone (:(). Anyways, I'm at the end of my patience. As of yesterday, I know have the wonderful 3 flashing lights the M$ is so popular for. This is the second time I've had this issue, and will be my 5th repair.

Except... I AIN'T GETTIN NO #*$T@% REPAIR!!!

I work for tech support man, I know how this crap works. I'm at a level at Apple where I give people free Macs for half as many issues as I've had with this Xbox. I'm waiting for a callback from the guy I talked to last night after he runs it by some repair admin or something. I'm sorry, but after 4 console repairs, and 1 repair each for the hard drive, power chord, and power supply, AS WELL as the 360 cutting a ring around my GoW disk so it's inoperable (they want 20$ per disk to replace it at Xbox.com), this is absolutely ridiculous.

If I don't get a brand spanking new console in a new box for this experience, I'm taking this to corporate relations.

Oh yeah, and to make matters worse, it means I won't have my own console by the time SvM comes around!




UPDATE 1: So i get a call from a "repair and replacement specialist" and she left me a message. Basically all she did is tell me about what to do with my 360 to prep it for REPAIR. This is a whiteglove service rep who is supposed to track my repair and keep in touch with me. I called her back and left a message informing her that I called for a replacement, not a repair, and it's been 3 days now with no reply. I'll give her till after Thanksgiving.


UPDATE 2: A friend of mine at work let me borrow his extra 360 so I can play in the tournament tomorrow (if we have it), as well as play with my bro when he gets back from Afghanistan in a week. He didn't tell me, but his box is modded with a burner and has a custom Halo paint job!



ANYways, I took this home with glee that I can finally play some Halo. I plugged it in using the power supply that I got from my friend (didn't want to use mine in case it's what caused the ring of death issue), and guess what?!

I GOT THE RING OF DEATH OF MY FRIEND'S XBOX!!!!

If you are like me, the first thing in your mind right now is WTF!? Ironically, I was joking with my friend that I am cursed with the ring of death, so I can't be held responsible if it happens. Yeah... it did.

The good news? It decided to start working again (thank God) for no reason. Yay. I should go check my original box and see how it's feeling... As far as the repair goes, I'm STILL waiting for a final word from the "repair and replacement specialist" on whether or not she is gonna authorize a new box. She was supposed to call me tonight, and she didn't. Big shock. At least I can get online now!


Update #3: I forgot to mention this above, so I thought I would post it in another update, because it deserves one. After not calling back the first time for a week, the support agent called me and informed me she sent an email about Xbox care that I should "carefully consider" since I've had so many repairs. This basically is M$ trying to say it's my fault my 360 is broken. Here is the email...



I'm supposed to clear the cache!?! WTF. Is this a game console or a computer? Frankly, I follow basically every other guideline save for the cache one... and yep, last time I checked, been having issues for more than 2 years now. Thanks M$. I'm planning on calling today to get their corporate info to send them a letter. I'm getting an Elite out of all this BS I'm swimming through if it's the last thing I do.


Update 4: Yay! Now both 360s are red-lighting for good! I'm so desperate, I'm try that "towel trick" that's working for people online. (it over heats the components, and fixes cracks in the soldering.) Wait a minute... I actually have a heat gun! Hmm.... anyways enjoy this festive pic of black and white coming together in red flashing goodness...




Update 5: What the crap!? The towel thing worked! I wrapped my 360 in a blanket... let it over heat for 30 minutes, and now it's loading. If that isn't the most retarded thing I've ever heard of. Apparently it fixes some of the soldering that has cracks in it because it gets so hot (almost burned me). We'll see how long this lasts... Halo time!


Update 6: Quick update. The woman who is a "Repair and Replacement Specialist" told me she can't authorize a replacement, and that that is only done at the repair depot. BS. She offered me something free. I chose a wireless controller. Now I have 4 wireless and 1 wired for a backup. Yay. She recommended I write corporate if I'm looking for a new console. This I will do, and I will post it here for you all to enjoy. Does a free wireless controller solve my ring of death issue? Unfortunately not.

Update 7: Here's where I currently stand... this is pretty ridiculous:

1. I ended up sending in my console for repair, because I was informed that they actually repair the consoles rather than just send you a refurb. Also, they sent me a free wireless controller, which is a $50 value, so that consoled me a bit.
2. Received my Xbox back a little earlier than one week later (not too bad I suppose). I confirmed with the serial number that it was, in fact, still my original Xbox. I verified that it is the same Xbox.
3. Plugged it in, turned it on... RING OF DEATH IMMEDIATELY

So guess what I found out? I checked the power supply, and M$ sent me a FREAKING EUROPEAN POWER SUPPLY!!! The specs on the back are for 220 Watts (EU) rather than 120 (AMERICA). So they are sending me another power supply, and aren't requiring me to send the other one back, but who cares?! I still don't have a working Xbox!


Update 8: I made a news post on the main page with the letter I am mailing to M$. I will update with new news posts as this progresses.


Update 9: Got the correct power supply today. So far my 360 is working fine, THANK GOD. Now it's just a matter of waiting for a response to that letter...

MS could certainly learn from Apple. But a brand new console will just start your woes from scratch! Be sure they send an Elite console..they apparently don't break down.

What bad luck.
Of course I myself have not got a 360 but hope to get one soon.
I hope they don't have this problem as I was hoping to get an Elite 360.

Ok, this is going to sound like I'm pimping my own store, but you should check and see if there's any Play N Trade stores around your area, Smiley.

We do disc repairs there for $2 a disk, and it works wonders. I would know, having repaired a Madden 07 that was mutilated when I accidentally kicked over a 360. Worked good as new once we ran it through the disc repair machine. Also, some of the stores have started to repair 360s - it's worth looking into at the very least.

Somehow, I still have yet to get the red ring of death once on my 360, and I got mine around it's initial problem-infested release *Your Kharma has been damaged*

Like Polar said, if you get a new box, go after one of those Elite boxes, not to mention you also get a nice massive HD for tons of arcade games, demos, videos, ect.

Thanks for the advice Raptor! I actually found we have a Play n Trade a couple miles from where I live. I've never been to one before, it's a really sick store! Feels like a booth at E3 what with all the flat screens and lighting. I'm gonna take the disk in and see if they can work their magic.

Well, I hope the disc repairs turned out well for you.

In related news, I'm now in the same boat, as 360 #4 died today due to error code #0102 - memory heatsink failure, same as all the others. I was literally so pissed off I was speechless, especially considering my Live is going to expire right in the middle of repairs and I can't just put a code in. Oh no, I have to pay for the whole damn thing, regardless of whether or not I'm using it.

At least I might be able to borrow a used Core System from work until then, because there's no way in hell I'm going to last all of the holiday season without a 360.

I wasn't there (I was off on a performing arts trip), but my school had a small Halo 3 tournament for charity, and one of the machines, an Xbox 360 Elite, was perched on a table a meter and a half off the ground. Someone tripped over the wire and sent the entire thing down to the floor. After some very stunned silence, someone set it back up, at which point it worked perfectly. You know, despite the fact that it fell a meter and a half to the ground.

They also collectively agreed not to tell the person who owned the Elite about the mishap because, luckily enough, he was out of the room at the time of the incident.

What's his email address? Someone should tell him how badass his console is.

My 360 is acting up now, too. Heres my story:

My 360 wont play any games. I turned it on today and instead of hearing the noise it makes when a game loads, I heard nothing. no three red lights, nothing. It says "Unplayable Disk," but there arent any scratches on it, nor any of my other disks. I pop in another one, it says the same thing.


What ever shall I do?

Game consoles in general need to be more durable. I mean, you could LITERALLY frikkin' hit a Gamecube with a sledgehammer, and it would still work. But M$, Nintendo, and Sony seem more preoccupied with how the dang thing LOOKS. I mean, the old XBox was a tank. Big and ugly, but durable as hell. M$ decided to make it smaller and "cuter" to increase their Japanese market. Now I live in fear of accidentally bumping it when there's a disk in, lest I mangle the poor thing (RIP GTA: SA). Thank god for the cordless controllers, at least...

yeah, I miss ol' indestructable, aka Xbox 1. I swear, you could probably drop that off the top of your table and it wouldnt break!

I think what happened to my 360 was because I cleaned something off the back, while the disk was loading. Would that have anything to do with my problem?

Looking at the 360's track record, it wouldn't be surprising. I just had a bit of a worry fit cause my xbox was nudged last night while I was playing, I thought it might have been while I was on Halo 3.. but instead I was getting the Longevity achievement on Hexic. WHEW!

i dropped mine off a 40 foot lift... it almost dented the asphalt.

no joke.