My 360 is dead

[Exit Chamber]

Quick, do it yourself now!

[Garibaldi]

Did it happen within a couple of weeks of downloading the autumn update, dood? I'm convinced that's what did my 360 in, before that I had only ever had a single freeze in any game, then they came quickly and repeatedly, eventually ending in the much feared three red lights.

Thankfully my experience with MS has been quite good, they picked it up last week and it's on schedule to be delivered back to me tommorow, I got the label e-mail within 24 hours of talking to them on the phone.

Personally speaking, despite claims that MS have patched the autumn update, I still see enough people bemoaning that their 360s have borked just after downloading it to force me to be cautious. I'm very nearly out of warranty now so I think, painful though it may be, I'll keep this new one offline while checking progress of the situation via various messageboards - if it messes up again I'll be out £140.

[Rushy]

I'm on 360 number 3 now.

The second one was in decent working order apart from the disc drive with made a horrible high pitched whining noise nearly all the time (which wasn't present on my first unit and isn't on the third either) which really annoyed me.

I got it swapped over at the retailer (again) and this one 'seems' to be going strong, and definetly sounds quieter in general than the previous models (this one has a manufactur date of July 06 - whilst the old ones where May 06 & November 05.)

Still not beaten my record of 5 x PS1's yet...

[Polmon]

Christ, I'm actually kinda glad I havent succumbed to getting a 360 yet, the talk of the possible price cut had me kinda interested, especially with Dead Rising on the shelves and Gears of War due anytime now - think I'll leave it for a while, and splash any spare cash I have on a Wii.

Hope you get yours sorted quickly dood. I'm sure Game will happily replace it if you protest loudly enough instore.

[Burai]

Did it happen within a couple of weeks of downloading the autumn update, dood? I'm convinced that's what did my 360 in, before that I had only ever had a single freeze in any game, then they came quickly and repeatedly, eventually ending in the much feared three red lights.

Thankfully my experience with MS has been quite good, they picked it up last week and it's on schedule to be delivered back to me tommorow, I got the label e-mail within 24 hours of talking to them on the phone.

Personally speaking, despite claims that MS have patched the autumn update, I still see enough people bemoaning that their 360s have borked just after downloading it to force me to be cautious. I'm very nearly out of warranty now so I think, painful though it may be, I'll keep this new one offline while checking progress of the situation via various messageboards - if it messes up again I'll be out £140.

I think you misunderstand how the fall update killed your machine.

It can only kill your console if it's already broken. The update asks nothing of the 360 that the 360 isn't designed to do. As software gets more and more sophisticated, it's just pushing the machine harder and harder. That's why we get these "xxx killed my Xbox!" threads on forums - it just so happened that THAT particular piece of software pushed a barely functoning component too far and *BANG* three red lights.

If this Xbox is working properly, you have nothing whatsoever to worry about. If it's not, then there's nothing you can do to stop it from dying anyway. If it's not the dashboard that kills it, it'll be Gears of War. If it's not that, it'll be Lost Planet. If it's not that, it'll be Halo 3. And so on. And so on.

Just enjoy the machine whilst it lasts.

[Garibaldi]

I think you misunderstand how the fall update killed your machine.

It can only kill your console if it's already broken. The update asks nothing of the 360 that the 360 isn't designed to do. As software gets more and more sophisticated, it's just pushing the machine harder and harder. That's why we get these "xxx killed my Xbox!" threads on forums - it just so happened that THAT particular piece of software pushed a barely functoning component too far and *BANG* three red lights.

If this Xbox is working properly, you have nothing whatsoever to worry about. If it's not, then there's nothing you can do to stop it from dying anyway. If it's not the dashboard that kills it, it'll be Gears of War. If it's not that, it'll be Lost Planet. If it's not that, it'll be Halo 3. And so on. And so on.

Just enjoy the machine whilst it lasts.

Mmm, that's something to consider. I'd assumed that because I hadn't tried to use the new 1080p functionality and there was nothing else that intensive in the update that it couldn't be responsible for pushing the console beyond its limits, I suppose it makes sense though - whereas games like Dead Rising or Gears of War can cause a swift death the gradual upgrade of feature-sets is akin to stacking one block atop another until the weight just becomes too much.

A certain game pushing the console too hard seems to be accepted on most messageboards, but I've yet to hear anyone raising this viewpoint elsewhere.

[angel]

its true, ridge racer brings out a flaw in duff dvd drives that other games didnt activate.

[Doc NI]

What the lenght on time you can take it back in ? Mine has been playing up but its around 10 months old. Will Currys tell me on my bike ? I have been searching Money Saving Expert for advice but I cant find anything relevant.

Took mine back after 11 months, 2 weeks ago, got a FULL refund on my VISA card.

Took a lot of arguing and me threatening to set VISA on them for the money but eventually they ponyed up (I also had video evidence of the xbox 360 going mental in SC DA as proof).

This was in Smyths Toys in Northern Ireland. (they began by saying they wouldnt give me a replacement or a refund of any kind and would just send it to MS for me!).

Basically you are entitle to 1 year MINIMUM in the UK for any consumer electronics over £100 regardless of what the manufacturer says (sale of goods act and trade description act)

[Angles Morts]

What's the best way to kill one (if it's just before the warranty expires)?

[scratch]

What's the best way to kill one (if it's just before the warranty expires)?

If you have had no issues don't even think about it,

I Wish I'd never got the microsoft repair centre involved and gone straight back to the retailer.

Still waiting for my second replacement, first 2 gave all the symptoms described in this thread

[SaintM]

Why would you want to kill it?

If it works fine, keep it!

The risk of getting a duff replacement is quite high, plus it is morally contemptible to break it on purpose.

[harlowlad]

But what about my Hard Drive. Will I have to give it back if I go for a replacement unit ?

[cassidy]

But what about my Hard Drive. Will I have to give it back if I go for a replacement unit ?

Nope just the console is my understanding.

[ScouserInExile]

I find it completely astounding that people are putting up with multiple hardware failures. Some posters have said they on their third or more console, I would have just got a refund by now. I know it's not exactly a fair comparison but: the one time I bought a new car, it developed the same fault twice and it went back to the dealership, the HP was cancelled and I got all my money back.

People moan about getting screwed by Sony over the PS3, but IMO MS are taking the piss with the build quality of the 360.

[M.M.S]

People moan about getting screwed by Sony over the PS3, but IMO MS are taking the piss with the build quality of the 360.

Exactly. ALL these returns we hear about on the forum, and not one person has said "fuck this, I want my money back, I'll buy a 360 again when they work properly". It amazes me. "But MS have been really nice" - yea? Because they know if they start being anything but 'nice' they'll have bad press/class action law-suits galore!

They have a major reliability problem, that has basically ruined their one-year head-start on PS3/Wii...

[ScouserInExile]

Exactly. ALL these returns we hear about on the forum, and not one person has said "fuck this, I want my money back, I'll buy a 360 again when they work properly". It amazes me. "But MS have been really nice" - yea? Because they know if they start being anything but 'nice' they'll have bad press/class action law-suits galore!

I wonder if anyone has mentioned this to Watchdog or Trading Standards yet?

[M.M.S]

I wonder if anyone has mentioned this to Watchdog or Trading Standards yet?

Think it might have been mentioned...

No idea why its not common knowledge to a wider demographic that 360's die constantly. Assume its because MS are give people new ones/refurbs and tell shops to do the same before customers can get too pissed off waiting around with nothing to play.

[ScouserInExile]

Think it might have been mentioned...

No idea why its not common knowledge to a wider demographic that 360's die constantly. Assume its because MS are give people new ones/refurbs and tell shops to do the same before customers can get too pissed off waiting around with nothing to play.

Isn't someone in the other "my 360 is dead" thread still waiting to get their back after yonks?

[scratch]

The UPS driver thats picked up both of mine said he collects at least 2 a day for return to the repair centre.

[El Pibe]

My heart stopped last night. The girlfriend wanted to play CoD, so she was setting up the 360 and then turned it on. She then said 'Oh, it's not working' and I looked around to see the lights around the on button flashing red!!

Thankfully, the SCART cable just wasn't pushed in properly. Phew!

I find it completely astounding that people are putting up with multiple hardware failures. Some posters have said they on their third or more console, I would have just got a refund by now. I know it's not exactly a fair comparison but: the one time I bought a new car, it developed the same fault twice and it went back to the dealership, the HP was cancelled and I got all my money back.

People moan about getting screwed by Sony over the PS3, but IMO MS are taking the piss with the build quality of the 360.

I agree, but it is different. If you buy a car that keeps breaking you can choose another car and, for me anyway, one car, to an extent, is no different to another.

However, if you got your money back on a 360 then that's it. You wouldn't be able to play CoD 3, Gears of War, PES 6 etc on-line with your friends...they kinda have us over a barrel

[ScouserInExile]

I agree, but it is different. If you buy a car that keeps breaking you can choose another car and, for me anyway, one car, to an extent, is no different to another.

However, if you got your money back on a 360 then that's it. You wouldn't be able to play CoD 3, Gears of War, PES 6 etc on-line with your friends...they kinda have us over a barrel

Which makes it a little bit worse, IMO.

[El Geet]

I have a launch model that hasn't given me any probs so far. Had a little girl and moved house since buying the console at launch so it has to be the least used 360 ever. I'm concerned it will die on me just when I finally get around to a proper session...some time in the next decade.

[Corky Romano]

I'm getting a bit worried now, since I got Cod 3 my machine has frozen a few times while playing it. I haven't encountered this problem with any game other than Oblivion, and that was ages ago. Not sure if it's a Cod bug, or my 360 is on the way out?

My machine is a launch model, so I don't have that long to go on the warranty.

I think I'll get the missus to leave it running today, and see what it's like when I get in

[El Pibe]

Which makes it a little bit worse, IMO.

Absolutely!

[cassidy]

Isnt anything sold in the EU covered by 2 years. Regardless of MS saying its only 1 year. I'm sure thats the case, as anything Nintendo sell in Europe has a 2 yr Guarantee.

Then theres the fact MS in USA have extended everyones 1 yr guarantee into 2, due to the amount of faults on the 360. I'm sure they would do the same here.

[Broker]

I agree, but it is different. If you buy a car that keeps breaking you can choose another car and, for me anyway, one car, to an extent, is no different to another.

However, if you got your money back on a 360 then that's it. You wouldn't be able to play CoD 3, Gears of War, PES 6 etc on-line with your friends...they kinda have us over a barrel

That's probably why car manufacturers make sure their product actually works before selling it.

[TheSlugFormerlyKnownAsNap]

My launch 360 is working fine, but even I know 2 people (of the 4 people I know with a 360) who had a broken machine. I fear for the future of mine.

[Garibaldi]

Recieved my replacement today, looks like a refurb ( date is somewhere around early 2006 ), so I put it online and downloaded the update ( patch? ), loaded up Dead Rising and left it on the title screen for around half an hour like someone suggested, then loaded Double Agent and played through about half of the first mission with no problems ( had three freezes in the past ).

Looks promising so far but I suppose Gears will tell when I get that at the weekend.

[robdood]

Gah, why wont my 360 die already?!

As soon as I got home tonight, I wanted to check how 'broken' ity was so i can demonstrate in the shop tomorrow.

First fifteen boots, it crashes within anything between a few seconds or a couple of minutes.

Not too bad, I think.

Strangely though, I've managed to play Ridge Racer 6 for well over an hour now.

WTF IS GOING ON.

Game won't listen to me unless I can show it's fucked, will they?

[moosegrinder]

Depends if they want to test it. I dunno if Game do. They may just take you at word.