My 360 has both feet in the grave :(

JackB1 · Post by **JackB1** » Tue Jun 05, 2007 10:25 am

I know a lot of you guys here have had 360's that have bit the dust and mine was behaving strangely last night and I was curious if it is on it's way out?

What happens is that it freezes at various times while loading up. Most of the time it will be when that green globe-like picture comes up on the screen. It's not the game because I took out any disc's and it still happened. It happened about 4 or 5 times last night and then after multiple restarts, it loaded all the way and then the game loaded fine and was OK the rest of the night. Should I pickup a warrantly before it completely bites it?

webdanzer · Post by **webdanzer** » Tue Jun 05, 2007 10:57 am

I think they are born with one foot in the grave! You're probably up to around the waist.

Seriously, yes; it sounds like you are heading for the RROD.

sportdan30 · Post by **sportdan30** » Tue Jun 05, 2007 11:50 am

Definitely pick up the warranty. Why you're evening questioning it makes me wonder.

Sport73 · Post by **Sport73** » Tue Jun 05, 2007 8:50 pm

webdanzer wrote:I think they are born with one foot in the grave! You're probably up to around the waist.

Seriously, yes; it sounds like you are heading for the RROD.

Got to agree here. Experience suggests that every XBox 360 has a foot in the grave; there are house flies with longer life expectancies. Switch to PS3 and be happy

greggsand · Post by **greggsand** » Wed Jun 06, 2007 1:07 am

Sport73 wrote:
webdanzer wrote:I think they are born with one foot in the grave! You're probably up to around the waist.

Seriously, yes; it sounds like you are heading for the RROD.
Got to agree here. Experience suggests that every XBox 360 has a foot in the grave; there are house flies with longer life expectancies. Switch to PS3 and be happy

Uh, some of us have had no problems ever. "Switch to ps3" lol

Warranties are a good thing for any high end electronic (even the UN-FAILABLE PS3...)

Danimal · Post by **Danimal** » Wed Jun 06, 2007 2:05 am

greggsand wrote:
Sport73 wrote:
webdanzer wrote:I think they are born with one foot in the grave! You're probably up to around the waist.

Seriously, yes; it sounds like you are heading for the RROD.
Got to agree here. Experience suggests that every XBox 360 has a foot in the grave; there are house flies with longer life expectancies. Switch to PS3 and be happy
Uh, some of us have had no problems ever. "Switch to ps3" lol

Warranties are a good thing for any high end electronic (even the UN-FAILABLE PS3...)

I've never understood the one console mentality of some people, but Sport certainly seems to be on a little campaign as of late. But what do you expect from a mac guy

In all seriousness the 360 has a very high failure rate, but in my mind for the games and Live it is worth it and if you buy an extended warranty your pretty much covered for 3 years out of the box. If the Show can sell a PS3, then Mass Effect and Bioshock are certainly going to be system sellers for the 360.

A guy I work with PS3 just crapped out on him, just wouldn't start up anymore, so they do occasionally fail. He sent it back Monday for repair, I'll be interested to see how long the turn around time is.

Sport73 · Post by **Sport73** » Wed Jun 06, 2007 8:30 am

Danimal wrote: I've never understood the one console mentality of some people, but Sport certainly seems to be on a little campaign as of late. But what do you expect from a mac guy

I should probably take offense to that, but it's true. I'm not on a campaign, but I have had an increasingly 'Mac-like' experience with the PS3 of late. Still, I posted a lengthy response about how bad the PS3's online system is etc.; so I hardly qualify as a Sony fanboy.

To be clear, I think the 360 is still the better 'out of the box' system today. More games, XBox Live, and excellent graphics ensure that. I was content to be a Wii60 owner until my first 360 crapped out. Only then did I start to really investigate the failure reports. I also got no help from MS customer support, I was 30 days past the 1 year warranty. The idea that I'd have to pay another $399 to reclaim value from my games and accessories infuriated me (fortunately, I found a way 'around' that issue).

I've had hardware fail on me before, and bit the bullet that I was just unlucky and got a bum unit, or that something in my environment (power) caused it to fail. I paid up for a replacement without complaint, because (TV/Computer) web research indicated no wide-spread issues.

The 360 is fundamentally incapable of sufficiently controlling internal heat. The motherboard eventually 'warps' and forces the processors out of sockets. Depending on your playtime, environment, and the peculiarities of your individual console, your mileage will vary. I'm convinced, though I may be admittedly 'scarred', that every launch 360 will fail before living through the 5-years of this generation's console life.

Still. The 360 is a great machine. The problem I have is that I'm often in a position to advise friends etc. on electronics purchases. If someone asks me which system to get, I do my usual investigation of needs/wants but then I'm left saying:

"The 360 is the best bet right now. You'll have more immediate options for games, and a better overall experience on the day you bring it home. There is the need to buy a few expenseive accessories (WiFi, HD-DVD, Live) if you want the 'full' experience, but the Premium console is a great gaming machine as it is. My only concern is that the system has not proven to be very reliable. Sure you can get a warranty (for more money), but you will end up worrying about where/how/when to use or position the console to try to extend its life."

"The PS3, on the other hand, has a comparably miniscule library of games. That's even'ing out over the next few months as most new releases will launch on both machines. It has an inferior online system, which MAY be improved with the upcoming launch of HOME. But, it has some great games today (MLB 07), the entire back-catalog of PS1/Ps2 games to revisit or see for the first time, and provides a great Home Theater experience with Blu-Ray etc. Despite the cost, it's well-integrated and well-constructed. Web data suggests much greater reliability than the 360. Exclusives aside - which should be a big factor in your decision - the PS3 provides more reliability and value at roughly the same cost. If you're a sports gamer, you're going to see EA/2K etc. on both systems, and Sony's internal teams produce better/more sports titles than MS."

Tough call. I'm still not sure about leaving the 360; I've been an XBox guy since the launch of Live on the original black beast. The reliability bugs me, a LOT. The PS3 has impressed me, a LOT (especially given all the bad press).

That's all for now.

<The views or opinions in this post are those of Sport73 and Sport73 alone. DSP, nor its other members are in any way affiliated with these or other 'fanboy' comments.>

JackB1 · Post by **JackB1** » Wed Jun 06, 2007 11:51 am

related question.........

if I get another 360, is there any way to transfer everything on the hard drive to the new machine? Is there anything I can do to make the "switch over to new machine" process easier?

thanks

GameSeven · Post by **GameSeven** » Wed Jun 06, 2007 12:56 pm

Sport73 wrote:If someone asks me which system to get, I do my usual investigation of needs/wants but then I'm left saying:

"The 360 is the best bet right now. You'll have more immediate options for games, and a better overall experience on the day you bring it home. There is the need to buy a few expenseive accessories (WiFi, HD-DVD, Live) if you want the 'full' experience, but the Premium console is a great gaming machine as it is. My only concern is that the system has not proven to be very reliable. Sure you can get a warranty (for more money), but you will end up worrying about where/how/when to use or position the console to try to extend its life."

"The PS3, on the other hand, has a comparably miniscule library of games. That's even'ing out over the next few months as most new releases will launch on both machines. It has an inferior online system, which MAY be improved with the upcoming launch of HOME. But, it has some great games today (MLB 07), the entire back-catalog of PS1/Ps2 games to revisit or see for the first time, and provides a great Home Theater experience with Blu-Ray etc. Despite the cost, it's well-integrated and well-constructed. Web data suggests much greater reliability than the 360. Exclusives aside - which should be a big factor in your decision - the PS3 provides more reliability and value at roughly the same cost. If you're a sports gamer, you're going to see EA/2K etc. on both systems, and Sony's internal teams produce better/more sports titles than MS."

Wow, that's a mouthful to repeat whenever someone asks. And can they hear you when your reply has parentheses?

greggsand · Post by **greggsand** » Wed Jun 06, 2007 1:24 pm

JackB1 wrote:related question.........

if I get another 360, is there any way to transfer everything on the hard drive to the new machine? Is there anything I can do to make the "switch over to new machine" process easier?

thanks

Depends, I know Best Buy will simply let you swap the HD's at the counter when you exchange the machine. I never had to send one back to M$, so not sure how they handle that. I imagine they get that request a lot, so they might have a proceedure in-place.

Danimal · Post by **Danimal** » Wed Jun 06, 2007 1:56 pm

Sport73 wrote:I should probably take offense to that, but it's true. I'm not on a campaign, but I have had an increasingly 'Mac-like' experience with the PS3 of late. Still, I posted a lengthy response about how bad the PS3's online system is etc.; so I hardly qualify as a Sony fanboy.

Well it was meant partly in jest, so I hope you don't take offense.

I also got no help from MS customer support, I was 30 days past the 1 year warranty. The idea that I'd have to pay another $399 to reclaim value from my games and accessories infuriated me (fortunately, I found a way 'around' that issue).

An out of warranty repair is $149 and gets you another year warranty while making it. If someone wanted to charge you $399 they were bending you over.

An usually if the caller tries to haggle or calls enough they can get the same deal for $69. I know several people in my office who did this. I'm always amazed at how many people don't haggle, took me 4 calls last year to DTV but I got my Superfan and HD add-on to ST for free.

The 360 is fundamentally incapable of sufficiently controlling internal heat. The motherboard eventually 'warps' and forces the processors out of sockets. Depending on your playtime, environment, and the peculiarities of your individual console, your mileage will vary. I'm convinced, though I may be admittedly 'scarred', that every launch 360 will fail before living through the 5-years of this generation's console life.

I agree with you 100% here, I'm interested to hear of there is ab ig failure rate on the Elites. Because when my 360 dies and it will die. If the Elites are holding their own I will get on board with that.

<The views or opinions in this post are those of Sport73 and Sport73 alone. DSP, nor its other members are in any way affiliated with these or other 'fanboy' comments.>

I snipped the rest, look I didn't really care much if you liked the PS3 over the 360. Hell before Forza this week i think I turned on my 360 once in the last 3 weeks. I most certainly did not call you a fan boy, sorry if you thought that.

It just seems a lot of people are being extra giddy over the PS3 and it seems like most of it is due to anger at the 360's crappy hardware. I'm just saying that i want to play great games, to me Mass Effect is going to be the game of the year and if that means I turn on and pray every day with my 360 then so be it.

Sport73 · Post by **Sport73** » Wed Jun 06, 2007 8:27 pm

No offense taken, Danimal. I'm a Mac fanboy, through and through, but mostly agnostic when it comes to consoles.

I agree also that "it's about the games" and the 360 has a compelling library and lots of great stuff to come. But, as you concede, there is always that niggling concern that the unit's going to die on you. Replacements/warranties etc. aside, the 360 has earned its reputation.

The PS3 has been beaten about the press so badly that it's a rare instance to find anything positive said about it. So, perhaps I'm just over-compensating by singing its virtues of late.

Ultimately, neither console is complete since PK500's not aboard to host drunk racing parties or Ghost Recon sessions.

XXXIV · Post by **XXXIV** » Sun Jun 10, 2007 12:01 am

Well the b*tch finally died last night and like an idiot I bought a new one...Im going to give the repaired one to my nephew and niece...

These things are made like s***...If it wasnt for you guys and My lack of an HDTV I would have gotten the PS3

My problem now is I cant get online...My router has decided we are no longer friends.

Jackdog · Post by **Jackdog** » Sun Jun 10, 2007 6:37 am

XXXIV wrote:Well the b*tch finally died last night and like an idiot I bought a new one...Im going to give the repaired one to my nephew and niece...

These things are made like s***...If it wasnt for you guys and My lack of an HDTV I would have gotten the PS3

My problem now is I cant get online...My router has decided we are no longer friends.

Brother that really sucks. I am really sorry to hear about all the problems you guys are going through with the 360's. I am glad I didn't buy one. I upgraded my computer and game on it and an old Xbox. MVP 05 on my computer with all the mods is a very very wonderful thing.

I remember gaming on my computer before the Dreamcast came out. I loved it. Due to the price and malfunction rates of the 360's I passed. I looked at a PS3 and decided that if I am going to drop that kind of cash for gaming I might as well get a new computer and use it for many other things as well. PK gave me some pearls of wisdom and I haven't looked back.

MS should be ashamed of themselves for the 360's. I can't believe all the systems the members of our little forum have been through. It's total bullshit.

Badgun · Post by **Badgun** » Sun Jun 10, 2007 6:29 pm

XXXIV wrote:Well the b*tch finally died last night and like an idiot I bought a new one...Im going to give the repaired one to my nephew and niece...

These things are made like s***...If it wasnt for you guys and My lack of an HDTV I would have gotten the PS3

My problem now is I cant get online...My router has decided we are no longer friends.

Don't feel bad, I replaced my 5th one last week. I haven't had so much as a freeze up on my PS3. Once Playstation Home comes out and the PS3 catches up with the 360 in terms of great titles, I'll probably dump both of my 360s and buy another PS3.

Post by **ScoopBrady** » Sun Jun 10, 2007 8:49 pm

I think we should start posting pics of our setups. Knock on wood, but mine hasn't had a problem for about 16 months now and I think it's because it is out in the open on its side. I'm curious how ventilated everyone's systems are.

Jimmydeicide · Post by **Jimmydeicide** » Mon Jun 11, 2007 12:01 am

Mine is on the way out i think, first the drive tray doesnt always open and close i got 3 red rings yester day and 1 red ring and an error message today.

Both times i restarted and all was fine but its telling me it doesnt feel well.

Mine is on a hard surface completely on its own out in the open its just craptasticly made stop making excuses for microsoft Scoop. Ive handled mine with white gloves from day one like the guys with lord stanleys mug for flips sake.

XXXIV · Post by **XXXIV** » Mon Jun 11, 2007 12:12 am

Jimmydeicide wrote:Mine is on a hard surface completely on its own out in the open its just craptasticly made stop making excuses for microsoft Scoop. Ive handled mine with white gloves from day one like the guys with lord stanleys mug for flips sake.

The one I just bought is already acting up....f***!!!!!

Leebo33 · Post by **Leebo33** » Mon Jun 11, 2007 9:13 am

ScoopBrady wrote:I think we should start posting pics of our setups. Knock on wood, but mine hasn't had a problem for about 16 months now and I think it's because it is out in the open on its side. I'm curious how ventilated everyone's systems are.

You are just lucky. I seriously doubt the failure rate would be 100%. You may be in the lucky 10-20%. It could go tomorrow or it could be another year. My first one went after a few days, but my second one lasted at least a year without as much as a single freeze, then only a few minor freezes over 3 or 4 months before its sudden demise. My 360 has an entire half of a well-ventilated entertainment center to itself. I always swing the doors wide open while playing and have my wife fan it.

Post by **ScoopBrady** » Mon Jun 11, 2007 10:15 am

Jimmydeicide wrote:Mine is on a hard surface completely on its own out in the open its just craptasticly made stop making excuses for microsoft Scoop.

I'm not trying to make excuses for them Jimmy. It's just when I see some guys saying they're on their 5th console I'm wondering what their setup is like. I had one system crap out on me when it was horizontal and enclosed. Since I received the replacement I've kept it vertical and completely out in the open and haven't had a problem yet (again, knock on wood). I'm just trying to understand is all.

JackB1 · Post by **JackB1** » Mon Jun 11, 2007 10:17 am

My 360 was also very well ventilated. I have it propped up off the ground and by itelf. I also have the power strip sitting up on a mesh box so that it gets air all around it. I think doing all that stuff helps, but in the end, the box has some major design or operational flaws.

mixdj1 · Post by **mixdj1** » Mon Jun 11, 2007 11:11 am

Mine has nothing around it and is on a shelf that is open front and back. The only thing I could do to have it more ventilated is suspend it on wires from the ceiling.

I'm one of the guys on system number five and only one or two of my failures were heat related issues. My first overheated, the second was DOA from the repair center, the third lasted several months and died without warning, and the fourth scratched disks. They just have some serious design or manufacturing flaws with this thing.

I'm just hoping that this system gets me past September 25th so I can "finish the fight" against the covenant. Beyond that I don't have a problem ditching the system and sticking with PC gaming or possibly picking up a PS3 (those F1 impressions sound interesting). I'll most definitely miss Xbox Live but I've been burned too many times with this system to get another one.

JackB1 · Post by **JackB1** » Mon Jun 11, 2007 5:47 pm

On the xbox site, it says to correct the freezing issue, one thing to try is clearing the hard drive cache. Has anyone tried this and if so, did it work?
Will this erase everything on my 360's hard drive, like demos, saved games, network settings, etc?

thanks

vader29 · Post by **vader29** » Mon Jun 11, 2007 6:35 pm

Jack if you haven't registered your system on xbox.com yet, I've read that some people when calling Microsoft for repair they check when it was registered and they have given the warranty as a year from the date registered so if you feel your system is ready to go and you haven't registered it yet, register it now and if it goes in a week or two call them and ask if you are in warranty to see if they check for it that way, can't hurt to try.

After my first 360 crapped out after 9 months, my refurb has been running strong since last October, it sits on the top shelf of my entertainment center propped up on erasers for about an inch of ventilation underneath and my Wii has been sitting on top of it since I got it. I've seen 3 PS3 systems frozen up in stores over the last couple of months so there's a chance you take with any high priced piece of electronic equipment nowadays.

LAking · Post by **LAking** » Mon Jun 11, 2007 7:03 pm

After my first 360 crapped out after 9 months, my refurb has been running strong since last October, it sits on the top shelf of my entertainment center propped up on erasers for about an inch of ventilation underneath and my Wii has been sitting on top of it since I got it.

I think I'm gonna put some erasers under my machine as well. I've had mine since April of last year with no major problems yet, but it can't hurt to take more precautions. It did freeze when i was playing R6 the other night but was fine when my girlfriend was playing GH2.