Those Three Lights

[HammeredKomodo]

Of Death have come upon me. I am monumentally ****ed.

[Ry]

you are playing Rock Band?

[HammeredKomodo]

I know. I just got back on to tell you guys this unbelievable story. I dunno what happened. My friend walked in, turned on the 360 and it did the lights. He turned it off then back on and it worked. WTF?

[Not Green]

From my understanding this happens all the time. I have heard that you will see the lights, turn it off, and then turn it back on just for it to work again. My undertanding is that the rings will come back and will stay. It is something about a wire that has to warm up or something. I read a fix in this magazine that if you wrap your Xbox in a towel that it will heat your system back up just long enough for you to get a little more playing time in before finally going kaput. Just get ready to send it in.

[HammeredKomodo]

**** . . .

[Ry]

Dont do the towel trick, it voids you'r warn.

[Not Yellow]

Yeah, the towel trick.

One of the issues, is that the sauder (sp?) isn't the greatest stuff. If you wrap a towel around your box and purposely overheat it, the sauder will heat up again and fix the issue for a while. This supposedly works with a lot of the problems of the 360, but you could end up giving yourself the actual R.R.o.D. When in that case you send your box in, then from what Ive heard M$ can tell if you've used the towel trick and your warranty will be void.

[Ainokeatoo]

Not only does the towel trick void your warranty, it's an enormous fire hazard, and would be extremely dumb to do. If it comes back and stays, take no risk and just send it in.

[BROOKLYNSBATMAN]

I know. I just got back on to tell you guys this unbelievable story. I dunno what happened. My friend walked in, turned on the 360 and it did the lights. He turned it off then back on and it worked. WTF?

That happened to a friend of mine.., he sent it in anyways, and it worked for
the people in the repair center..., they denied the fix because it worked then when he got it back it turned on although it brought a paper that said sorry nothings wrong with your system blah blah blah ... couldnt fix it... he put his disc in to play and the disc drive said unplayable disc..., he tried it it with like 5 games assassins creed, mass effect, my games nothing worked.... then he sent it out .. and they told him it was his fault even though before the 3 red lights you could read the discs.. I think maybe cause he kept on playing .. IDK either ways shouldnt be his fault.. it still gave 3 red lights... i think they didnt even check it.. i think they read the report off there computers, turned it on... then saw it went on and they sent it right back out to him..

[CrazyCougar]

My son's 360, just over 10 months old, crapped out today. Actually had a quick and pleasant support call and the box is on its way. Guess there is always a first for everything! LOL! NOne the less, after this being the fifth or sixth (lost count) console to die in my household I think i am immune to the pain anymore. He came down and told me the 3 red lights came up, and I non challantly told him to bring it down without missing a beat of what I was doing. Thats just wrong..LOL!

[BROOKLYNSBATMAN]

My son's 360, just over 10 months old, crapped out today. Actually had a quick and pleasant support call and the box is on its way. Guess there is always a first for everything! LOL! NOne the less, after this being the fifth or sixth (lost count) console to die in my household I think i am immune to the pain anymore. He came down and told me the 3 red lights came up, and I non challantly told him to bring it down without missing a beat of what I was doing. Thats just wrong..LOL!

Yeah it just ticks me off that it brakes so fast... i love the system i love the company... just sucks u know 6 times though wow you're beyond tears my friend lol... doesnt it always brake in the crucial moments of a gamer like nothing could come out that you'll be waiting for... then the game you wait for like 3 years boom your xbox brakes ... bastards..!!! BTW... good luck with your box man.. Mine is on its way or there i dont know im not checking... but i wont get it back till april...

My life as a xbox owner ---->:moody:

[Ry]

My son's 360, just over 10 months old, crapped out today. Actually had a quick and pleasant support call and the box is on its way. Guess there is always a first for everything! LOL! NOne the less, after this being the fifth or sixth (lost count) console to die in my household I think i am immune to the pain anymore. He came down and told me the 3 red lights came up, and I non challantly told him to bring it down without missing a beat of what I was doing. Thats just wrong..LOL!
Sorry to hear about that Cougar, I've never had the rings, my brother has, I hope to never Knock on wood. Hopfully everything works out for you Lee and Cougar.

[FromHell440]

I got them because my power brick was still in standby mode(The light on the brick was still orange). After turning the console off, then on again it was fine(Green Light on the brick).

Don't listen to the people that claim that if you see them and then turn it off and then back on(and don't get the red lights the second time) that it will break.

That's false. As a matter of fact MS will tell you to turn it off then back on to see if it works when you call them. If it comes back on and you send it in anyway -- like a fool -- they will reject the Xbox and ten to one it will get damaged from the shipping and once you get it back it will truly be broken.

Only send in the Xbox 360 when the red rings are PERMANENT. All this crap about forcing the RRoD is what an idiot would do. Remember I got the three red rings from my power brick not being active(Orang or Red Light on the brick rather than Green). When I reconnected the brick and reset the Xbox I was fine.

[CrazyCougar]

A temporary 3 red rings is a definite precursor to the inevitable. No ifs, ands or buts about it. Its not coincidence that most people have experienced the red rings randomly and then got the permanent error. I have no doubt in my mind that EVERY 360 prior to the summer of 2007 will fail. MS knows it and so should everyone else by now. My son's 360 has been receiving the rings randomly over the past 2 months, and it had nothing to do with the power supply. Finally today, it went.

And MS will say anything to you via customer service in order to put off another repair cost until it has to be done. Yes, a standby power supply will cause the 3 red rings, but most people arent having an issue with their power supply.

[FromHell440]

Yes, a standby power supply will cause the 3 red rings, but most people arent having an issue with their power supply.

When I got the rings it was due to the power supply being in standby mode.

[Conchord]

Toss your console in a fire, that should solve the red rings problem.

[CrazyCougar]

When I got the rings it was due to the power supply being in standby mode.

And as stated, that will happen to some. But the keyword is some. Most people are not experiencing the 3 red rings due to power supply issues. Out of all the instances in my household, not once has the power supply been the cause of the rings.

Each of the replacement consoles I have received back via MS has remained in working condition. Only the new out of the box consoles have gotten the rings. Hopefully my Elite holds up, but I wont hold my breath. Coming up on a year in May.

Even though MS wont admit it, I am willing to bet that there is a 2:1 failure rate in the 360 hardware. They should be happy for that latest research company that came out and said its probably around 16%. Here's an interesting tidbit that Kamshaft and myself discussed just on Thursday. The failure rate for admin's console alone here at XBA is an average of 2 consoles per admin. Thats quite an eye opener.

[HammeredKomodo]

My friend said something about the hard-drive coming loose and he pushed it in and it worked fine.

[FromHell440]

And as stated, that will happen to some. But the keyword is some. Most people are not experiencing the 3 red rings due to power supply issues. Out of all the instances in my household, not once has the power supply been the cause of the rings.

Each of the replacement consoles I have received back via MS has remained in working condition. Only the new out of the box consoles have gotten the rings. Hopefully my Elite holds up, but I wont hold my breath. Coming up on a year in May.

Even though MS wont admit it, I am willing to bet that there is a 2:1 failure rate in the 360 hardware. They should be happy for that latest research company that came out and said its probably around 16%. Here's an interesting tidbit that Kamshaft and myself discussed just on Thursday. The failure rate for admin's console alone here at XBA is an average of 2 consoles per admin. Thats quite an eye opener.

Oh I believe what you are saying Cougar. I'm just stating what occurred with my console, then again my 360 is a Falcon chipset model.

[UNV Superkid]

I am on my 4th 360 since june of last year, the first 3 litteraly all died with in the first 3 months of owning them, fortunately i was able to bring them back to the store and they just exchanged them out... i have not had to deal with the repair center yet.....

[CrazyCougar]

Oh why oh why cant we just have a console that we dont have to worry about it breaking! Hopefully these Falcon's work out. Havent heard much about returns on them, so maybe that a good thing.

Wonder if they'll send back a refurb or an actual Falcon as the replacement for my son. I know its wishing, but I hope its the latter.

[SamSmith]

So annoying, sorry for your loss :(

[FromHell440]

Oh why oh why cant we just have a console that we dont have to worry about it breaking! Hopefully these Falcon's work out. Havent heard much about returns on them, so maybe that a good thing.

Wonder if they'll send back a refurb or an actual Falcon as the replacement for my son. I know its wishing, but I hope its the latter.

You know I think the 360 would be even further ahead in it's install base than it already is if it weren't for the RRoD problem that plagues the system.

We are now coming up in year #3(?) of the next generation console wars(with them having begun in 2005; Nintendo and Microsoft did well this time.); I'm expecting to start hearing about the next systems in 2009 and I hope MS makes their next product abit more reliable.

[SamSmith]

2009? Doubt it'll be that early. 360 is still new to me.

[BROOKLYNSBATMAN]

2009? Doubt it'll be that early. 360 is still new to me.

360 will stay the same just more upgrades are gonna come out... because look at the elite... thats still too new .. i think xbox 360, core, pro, and elite.... are gonna stay till 2011 thats probably when you''ll hear talk of a new system.. my guess anyways...

[NsOaklandR6]

I thought the original problem for the R.O.D was that the systems would overheat. And I thought that's why they supposedly started making 360's with an updated cooling system. What year/date were these R.O.D boxes bought?

[Ainokeatoo]

2009? Doubt it'll be that early. 360 is still new to me.

Maybe 2010 Xbox lasted five years, could have been six, but ya know >.> so I would guess 2010 you'll start hearing talk and rumors, then around early 2011 it might be confirmed then launched around late 2011 to early or middle 2012.

Quite the elaboration but, meh, I love the 360 especially since mine hasn't broken. It's much better than the PS3 in terms of online game fun, and just game line up at the very least. Yes the PS3 has very many awesome features, surf the net, what not, but playing games is what I buy a gaming console for, if I bought bought a console for features I'd get a Wii...

[cbbfb]

Hey all.,

Just to add my 2cents.

My 360 displayed a false 3rod on me once but it was just due to the power cord being loose at the connection to the brick. after properly securing it in all was fine for quite a while.

i did eventually get an rod and can tell you that the box was locking up during games more and more frequently before it finally gave in. would estimate that I was about 6 weeks from when the lock up’s started to the final complete failure.

MS was cool about the repairs and even pretty good in shipping times to get another unit back to me.

Just as a side note.
When I got my 360 back from MS it was a different unit. This caused all my XBA games to revert to back to trial version when my box was not connected to the internet.

i have called up MS and they said they could fix it but i am still waiting

Cheers.

[FromHell440]

2009? Doubt it'll be that early. 360 is still new to me.

They are already working on games for the new system. Trust me, by late 2009 we will start hearing about a new system.

[FromHell440]

Hey all.,

Just to add my 2cents.

My 360 displayed a false 3rod on me once but it was just due to the power cord being loose at the connection to the brick. after properly securing it in all was fine for quite a while.

i did eventually get an rod and can tell you that the box was locking up during games more and more frequently before it finally gave in. would estimate that I was about 6 weeks from when the lock up’s started to the final complete failure.

MS was cool about the repairs and even pretty good in shipping times to get another unit back to me.

Just as a side note.
When I got my 360 back from MS it was a different unit. This caused all my XBA games to revert to back to trial version when my box was not connected to the internet.

i have called up MS and they said they could fix it but i am still waiting

Cheers.

You must have got a new harddrive. All games are stored on the harddrive.

[CrazyCougar]

Despite Arcade games being saved on the hard drive they will NOT work when you get a refurbished 360 back from the repair center unless its the same console OR unless you are signed in with the original gamertag that purchased the Arcade titles.

Aracde games are tied directly to your gamertag and your Xbox 360 console serial number ONLY. If you are not signed in, they will not show up. If you are playing at a friends house with your hard drive, they will NOT show up unless you are signed in.

The reason for this is something called DRM. This is the same system used on iTunes and other places where you pay for downloadable content to be played on a single machine or unit. In the case of Xbox Live, DRM ties your download specifically to your gamertag AND your 360 console serial number. Without either of these variables present you will NOT be able to play the games.

[FromHell440]

Despite Arcade games being saved on the hard drive they will NOT work when you get a refurbished 360 back from the repair center unless its the same console OR unless you are signed in with the original gamertag that purchased the Arcade titles.

Aracde games are tied directly to your gamertag and your Xbox 360 console serial number ONLY. If you are not signed in, they will not show up. If you are playing at a friends house with your hard drive, they will NOT show up unless you are signed in.

The reason for this is something called DRM. This is the same system used on iTunes and other places where you pay for downloadable content to be played on a single machine or unit. In the case of Xbox Live, DRM ties your download specifically to your gamertag AND your 360 console serial number. Without either of these variables present you will NOT be able to play the games.

So, if they send you another console even if you have your hard drive and same gamertag the game will not work on it?

If that's the case isn't that robbery and can't they be held liable for you purchasing something, their hardware breaking and them sending you ANOTHER console and not being able to play what you bought?

[CrazyCougar]

That is correct. Your hard drive is not the item that the DRM ties the purchase to. Only your original console and gamertag used for the downloadable purchase can be used to make use of the DLC. This holds true for ALL downloadable content, not just the arcade.

As stated, its a method called DRM that all online download services are using. iTunes ties your downloaded music to a specific iPod, which cannot be used by any other. Now of course I am sure there is PC software out there that allows you to grab music and avoid the DRM, but thats not open for discussion here.

As for robbery, well this was all started due to robbery, or a better term would be pirating. It takes away the ability for you to go to a friends house, login in under your gamertag and download full versions of arcade titles or premium DLC for your buddy. Now you can call MS and tie the new console serial number to all your DLC supposedly. I never bothered, I just sign my gamertag in and its fine.

[Variation-XBA]

The thing about the DRM is that when you get your new console back, you'll have HAVE to be signed in online to play your arcade games, so that it knows it's actually you on your new system playing. you won't have to rebuy them or any of your content, you'll just have to be connected

[Ainokeatoo]

As stated, its a method called DRM that all online download services are using. iTunes ties your downloaded music to a specific iPod, which cannot be used by any other. Now of course I am sure there is PC software out there that allows you to grab music and avoid the DRM, but thats not open for discussion here.


LW FTW! Lmao, anyways on a more serious note, the power supply can give a somewhat 'fake' RRoD, i've done it on purpose, seeing as since I use a surge protector for plugs, there is a switch on it that you all know what it does, yeah, anyways, I hit it while the console was running it gave me the RRoD then flipped the switch back on turned the console off then back on and it came on just fine, so I grabbed the surge protector and flipped the switch again, this time on purpose, and it did the same thing. So i am guessing the fake RRoD can happen if the console loses power just like that. I only did it twice I wasn't trying to do it more than that, I wasn't going to -__-; but yeah, it's been working just fine before and after my experiment.

Lmao just thought I'd add my observations.

[CrazyCougar]

The thing about the DRM is that when you get your new console back, you'll have HAVE to be signed in online to play your arcade games, so that it knows it's actually you on your new system playing. you won't have to rebuy them or any of your content, you'll just have to be connected

But if you see anytime in the future that you will not be connected to Live for a long period of time you may want to call MS and get them to switch the registration over to the new console so you dont need to be signed in all the time. Otherwise you will not be able to play any of the games you previously purchased.

[Ainokeatoo]

But all in all, the only real things that I see wrong with the 360 is the RRoD and MS's customer service/support. If MS could fix those problems, I have no doubt come the end of this year that 360 compared to PS3 would be the lead gaming console wise even without blu-ray.