Replacement Xbox 360 – Return of Red Rings of Death in 60 minutes or less?
Yes, I do more than work with BlackBerry devices day in and day out, so consider this a rant about one of those personal pleasures that has been with me since I was a toddler – console gaming. It started with an Atari 2600 then I became the first kid on my bus route with a Nintendo. Skip forward into this last generation of consoles with the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 and Nintendo Wii (not a single issue with the latter two, might I add).
I recently returned my defective Xbox 360 to Microsoft for warranty repair and / or replacement for the heart-breaking "Red Rings of Death" issue. A replacement console was shipped to me about a month ago and I finally decided to open it up. I hooked it up to my new 46" Sony XBR5 LCD TV and started it up. Man, I tell you, high-definition gaming is amazing.
I played Project Gotham Racing 4 for about 30 minutes and then my console locked up. The controller sat in a state of vibration for a few minutes before I finally decided to get up and reset the console. I then decided to switch to NCAA Football 2008 and made it through an entire game (Auburn vs South Florida in the 2008 season in Dynasty mode). But, I made the mistake of trying to start up that week’s recruiting and – BAM – another console lock-up. Thinking that it was perhaps that copy of the game, as there have been known issues with EA Games, I managed to return my copy of NCAA Football 2008 to Wal-Mart and exchange it for a new copy. I got home, tore off the shrink-wrap, put the game in, and was greeted by a nice little squawk and a blocked screen (the same one that broke my 360 the last time around).
Needless to say, when I turned off the console and powered it back on, my good old friend, R. ROD the Third, greeted me with a sinister grin. This unit is dated mid-September 2007. So much for thinking Microsoft improved their build quality, right? Less than one hour of pre-mature enjoyment and another brand new Xbox 360 is now dead. Since BG doesn’t really care (might I add that he’s the most impatient person on the face of this planet, and refuses to send anything in for warranty repair), he’s now on his 6th bought Xbox 360 after suffering the same red ring of death issues. Mr. J Allard, are you really proud of this manufactured creation that has seemingly destroyed any credibility for your vision of a wired lifestyle?
YAY brand new Xbox 360 Elite for Christmas and what do my joyful eyes see as i turn it on for the first time ever? Those 3 beautiful bright red lights blinking at gg microsoft
blinking at me*
I repair these for a living (thanks Bill). The majority of them is cold solder joints on the GPU. This is caused by wrong time/temp for the solder during manufacturing. Do not overheat your console, take to someone who has the proper equipment, or send it in. I tell my customers I will re-flow the chip for 30 days if it fails again.
how do i send my xbox back to get it fixed?
I have a electronics repair shop and see a few of these every month. The issue is well known and can be repaired with a decent success rate. I have had a few consoles that seem to come back repeatedly. I repair these at no charge as long as it is within 6 months. I am cuurently modding one of the problem consoles with extra cooling fan and heatsink to see if I can eliminate it entirely. If anyone is interested in having one repaired give me a call. 585-734-5687.
Gary
I treat my xbox very well, clening dust out of it every week, and after 1 year of it working perfectly fine, it died with the 1 red ring e74 error. It must be microsofts poor attempt at a console, back to ps3!
I own all 3 systems. I have played many of the same games on both systems…I am sorry but the 360 (currently) has better graphics than the PS3 hands down. The only place the PS3 shines is PS3 exclusive games. While I am on my 4th 360, and about to be on my 5th as I just got another ROD, as long as Microsoft replaces them for free, quickly, I will continue to play xbox. At least until PS3 steps up their graphics or makes a controller that fits a man’s hands
i believe it,,,,,,i am on no. 5 the last one being the new elite manufactured 10-07 this is my last one (all exchange free) had to pay the different for the elite
DUDE PS3′S SUCK DICK IF U HAVENT RELIZED IN THE PS1 AND THE PS 2 THE 360 IS WAY BETTER THAN UR RETARDED PS3 AND THERE GRAPHICS SUCK XBOX 360 IS BETTER IT HAS BEEN PROVEN.