Topic: Guess what my 360 just did

[PyroMenace]

Take a wild fucking guess.

[Jedi]

It said good morning to you?

[Quemaqua]

Jeez, seriously?  You haven't had terribly good luck with that thing, have you?

[PyroMenace]

This would be the 2nd one I got that failed. I got a 1 year warranty at gamecrazy, Im gonna see if I can replace it there before sending it to MS.

[PyroMenace]

And thats wrap. I have to send it to MS, no console for 2 weeks.

MS +1

[Quemaqua]

That blows.  Still, at least you know you're covered.  If mine dies I honestly don't know if I qualify for anything because I think it was like within three years of the purchase date or something?  I'm dreading the day my thing goes belly up.  And hopefully you can be assured that it won't happen again since you're actually getting the console fixed as opposed to just getting another that might be faulty.

Heh, I'm trying to find the silver lining.  Have any other games to play for those 2 weeks?

[Pugnate]

When it comes back this time, sell it for a fixed price auction (oxymoron?) and soup up your PC.

But I am sorry to hear that. Must be really frustrating.

[idolminds]

Damn, that blows.

[Cobra951]

Actually, you don't know if you're getting the same console back.  It's more likely going to be a refurbished one (i.e., one which blew up earlier and they already fixed).  You're supposed to hang on to anything other than the box itself, like the HDD and any of those fancy painted fronts.

The 3-year warranty only applies to the red ring of death.  Even so, I'm surprised that there isn't a big class-action lawsuit over this.  This is clearly a design defect, and people should be entitled to get replacements with that defect corrected, which would mean the latest systems with the design changes.

[PyroMenace]

Actually, you don't know if you're getting the same console back.  It's more likely going to be a refurbished one (i.e., one which blew up earlier and they already fixed).  You're supposed to hang on to anything other than the box itself, like the HDD and any of those fancy painted fronts.

The 3-year warranty only applies to the red ring of death.  Even so, I'm surprised that there isn't a big class-action lawsuit over this.  This is clearly a design defect, and people should be entitled to get replacements with that defect corrected, which would mean the latest systems with the design changes.

I would think they would repair it and give me the same one back. It would make sense since they wouldn't want to mix up consoles with different serial numbers so they could keep track of how many repairs it had. 

[PyroMenace]

That blows.  Still, at least you know you're covered.  If mine dies I honestly don't know if I qualify for anything because I think it was like within three years of the purchase date or something?  I'm dreading the day my thing goes belly up.  And hopefully you can be assured that it won't happen again since you're actually getting the console fixed as opposed to just getting another that might be faulty.

Heh, I'm trying to find the silver lining.  Have any other games to play for those 2 weeks?

Oh yea, now that I think of it I forgot to mention my PS2 doesn't really work anymore either. The only games I can play is Guitar Hero. None of my regular controllers work because when I load up a game, the analog stick calibration is fucked because its permanently forced to move to the right, and I tried all 3 of my controllers. God is telling me to stop playing games. Well tough shit.

[Quemaqua]

Actually, I think God is telling you that consoles suck and you should get a new PC.

[Pugnate]

Actually, I think God is telling you that consoles suck and you should get a new PC.

Yay...

Also I'll have you know that after your constant bitchin' and whoring, I've bought Psychonauts. On STEAM they had it as a Christmas special for $9.99, which almost made me buy it from there. But then I found a brand new DVD versions on eBay, dirt cheap ($14 incl. shipping from UK), and instantly ordered one. Wheee.

[Quemaqua]

About fuckin' time!   

[TheOtherBelmont]

Que, you are still covered under the warranty, along with anyone who purchased the 360 when it launched in November 2005.  No one has had their 360 for 3 years yet, and you bought yours well after the launch date, unless there is some loophole I am not aware of.

[Quemaqua]

Yeah, and that's great for now.  What I'm worried about is if it dies 5 years down the road.  It'll be similar to the situation I'm in now with my slowly dying PS2 - want a new one or to get it fixed, but can't afford either option, especially in the face of having to eventually buy new hardware again for another generation (or upgrade the PC, etc.).  My PS2 lasted a good long while, so I'm not mad about that, and I may be able to recalibrate it and fix it myself... but if the 360 goes belly up the way it has for some people... then I'm really fucked.

[idolminds]

Towel trick, force a failure, get MS to replace it before its out of warranty.

Dishonest? A little. But MS sold you faulty hardware. In my mind you shouldn't even have to wait for it to fail. They should be fixing/replacing all the systems.

[Quemaqua]

Believe me, I've considered doing it.  Haven't come to a conclusion on it yet, though, and there hasn't been a period when I've wanted to be without my 360.  Although I'm not using it right *now*.  Hmm.

[Pugnate]

Do you guys think it is because the hardware is more complex, that its more prone to crashes? I can imagine being carefree with a PS2 in my hands, but not a 360.

[Quemaqua]

Has nothing to do with hardware being complex.  It has to do with shoddy manufacturing and some less-than-reliable parts that were used to save money.  And sometimes stupid developers who don't code with certain things in mind that really should (if you're just talking game crashes).

[idolminds]

Its poor hardware design on MS. They didn't have proper cooling in place. I also read they used the wrong solder on the components inside. If exposed to high temps for extended periods of time the solder develops hairline cracks. This is what the "towel trick" supposedly helps with, by forcing the system to heat up enough to remelt the solder enough for it to remove those fractures. Of course getting the temp that high can mess up the system in other ways...heh.

So those issues combined are what caused the mess. If they used the right solder that could withstand the heat and not develop cracks, it would have been fine. If they had added more cooling then the crappy solder wouldn't have developed cracks in the first place, and would have been fine.

[Pugnate]

Yea I suppose the PS3 is a bit more powerful (at least on paper), and it isn't having these problems.

[PyroMenace]

Im really interested in whats going to happen once the warranty finally comes to its end for those who bought it on release.

[Cobra951]

I would think they would repair it and give me the same one back. It would make sense since they wouldn't want to mix up consoles with different serial numbers so they could keep track of how many repairs it had. 

They do it all the time, pissing off people with downloaded content all the time.  The DLC is tied to your account *and* to your console.  (Gotta love that DRM.)  The only way you can play stuff that you paid for after you get a different 360 is to be logged on to XBL.  There are scads of people constantly complaining about this on the 360 message boards.  If you can't connect, you can't use what you bought.  It's yet another thing I would add to that class-action lawsuit which is money sitting on the table (that amazingly all the bloodsucking lawyers are ignoring).

[iPPi]

I want the new Xbox for the HDMI connectivity.

[Pugnate]

Sure, but it is really over priced. They should at the very least have included an HD drive.

[Cobra951]

Why?  That's Sony's expensive blunder.  There's a format war on anyway, and now it looks like Blu-Ray may be gaining the upper hand.

Edit: Better-known source

[Pugnate]

Why?  That's Sony's expensive blunder.  There's a format war on anyway, and now it looks like Blu-Ray may be gaining the upper hand.

Edit: Better-known source

I am not sure if that is in response to what I said, but the Xbox Elite is $500 or so right? For that price I'd want more than just an HDMI port.

[Cobra951]

You also get the 120GB drive (up from the measly 20GB).  That sucker alone sells for $180.  I got one briefly, could not find a satisfactory method to transfer data safely, and ended up returning it.  Microsoft's obsession with copy protection lost them that sale.

[shock]

I wouldn't feel bad about doing the towel thing.  My iPod was acting haywire for a couple of months (IE randomly deleting all my songs, required resets like once a day, battery was crappy, etc).  I had a one year warranty.  About a month before it was up, I just started dropping the thing.  Everywhere.  I eventually ended up breaking the click wheel and I got a new one.  This one has lasted me 4 years.

It wasn't my fault I got a crappy iPod, but I sure as hell wasn't going to let the warranty run out on it without getting it fixed with a real one.  The other one hasn't had any problems.

[Pugnate]

You also get the 120GB drive (up from the measly 20GB).  That sucker alone sells for $180.  I got one briefly, could not find a satisfactory method to transfer data safely, and ended up returning it.  Microsoft's obsession with copy protection lost them that sale.

And of course the sexy black paint job....

[PyroMenace]

Supposedly there have been people who have gotten a 360 back with an HDMI port. That would be sweet if that happened.

[PyroMenace]

Well I tried the "towel trick" and it worked. But within 10 minutes of it running it crashes. God what shoddy hardware, there should have been a fucking recall.

[Pugnate]

Towel trick?

And yea I say warranties and shit aren't enough. It still isn't worth the 2 weeks of pain per fix.

Also Que, I'd suggest that in the last year of your warranty, you sell your 360 and try to get a new one. From what I understand the ones coming out now are more stable.

[PyroMenace]

Yea, the towel trick, here's a vid of a guy from cheapass gamer that explains it and does the trick to his.

I also found a large thread at gamespot about the PSU having heat problems and causing crashes supposedly. If you put the PSU in a spot with more space to get more air flow it'll avoid crashes. Im really doubting it but I'll give it a shot.

[Cobra951]

My power brick is on the hardwood floor.  I made sure it's sitting up on its little feet as well.  Airspace all around.  It's hooked up to my APC UPS now too.  Regulated power can't hurt.  I'm not going to gloat here or anything, because that's tempting fate too much.  I'll just say I've been pampering the system when it comes to heat dissipation, and so far I've had no problems.  It's about 14 months old.  *Knocks on wood*

[Quemaqua]

My brick is actually on top of a speaker on my desk.  Wood speaker so it's elevated slightly just on the surface of that, plus it's sticking about a foot and a half in the air with nothing around it.

[scottws]

I didn't even know that thing got hot.  Mine was behind my brother's HDTV, which was in a closet.

[gpw11]

Yea I suppose the PS3 is a bit more powerful (at least on paper), and it isn't having these problems.

Yeah, but to be fair, people actually use  their 360s.

[Pugnate]

pwned.