Tips on hardware preservation from Xbox 360 launch survivors

[pk500]

Come on: You're out there -- those who bought Xbox 360s at or near launch and still have your original units, functioning well.

I know luck -- good and bad -- is the reason behind why some people are still merrily playing their launch 360s and others are on their second, third and fourth units.

But there has to be something more to it. For those who still have their launch units, what tips do you have to offer? How is your unit set up? Where is it set up? Do you have any peripherals to cool the unit, such as the Intercooler?

For example, AxTj from this fine forum never had a problem with his launch 360. He said he bought two blocks of porcelain tile-style glass blocks and set his 360 atop those, outside of an entertainment console, to ensure heat dissipation from all angles.

Any other clever setups like that? Any other tips, big or small?

There are DSP cats, like JackB1 and I, who are considering 360 purchases but are scared of all the hardware failures, and those who have suffered 360 failures who could use the advice.

Thanks in advance!

Take care,
PK

[BigAl]

Buy the warranty. Chances are, you'll need it.

[davet010]

Got mine at launch in Europe, never had a minute's trouble with it.

It's sat on the floor next to the TV with nothing on top of it, and the power pack is sat on two packs of cards, one at each end.

<crosses fingers that this has not doomed the machine to instant failure next time it is started..>

[NYJets]

Well, a couple weeks ago I would have posted my advice because I thought I had survived and got a good one. I had it for 8 months with no issues at all. Then I got the 3 red lights, and it's done.

I'd say just make sure you give some room to both the system and power supply so they can stay ventilated. But really, the only way to be safe is to buy a warranty.

[dbdynsty25]

Yeah...after getting my first one toasted, I have my second on it's own shelf in my AV stand along with a lot of open space around the psu. Seems to work alright so far...no issues.

[JackDiggity]

Threadjack and I don't give a damn. Don't feel like looking for PK's 360 Civil War thread.

PK. Don't do it brother. If you want to play a great Civil War game check this out. www.madminutegames.com

Your computer will be fine for this gem. They have better mods than MVP 05.
Damn game is addictive as hell. www.madminutegames.com/support.htm#Q4

Check these pics out. www.madminutegames.com/gallery.htm

Get's the DNA boiling.

Check out the forum on the 360 game coming out. www.madminutegames.com/MadMinuteBB/viewtopic.php?t=5373

[TheGamer]

my launch 360 sits on the top of my audio stand on its own shelf with only the power cord box, in a very well ventilated area. Also, whenever I'm through playing a gamie in whatever mode, I always save and back out all the way to the games main menu. superstitious I suppose.

[Spooky]

Got mine on launch day and it has worked flawlessly. Have it sitting on the floor vertically between my TV stand and my subwoofer.

[Inuyasha]

How are the post-launch units like? Do they experience the same problems?

[dbdynsty25]

How are the post-launch units like? Do they experience the same problems?

Since some people are on their second and third units, I'd say yes.

[reeche]

All I can say is don't ever move the 360 unit itself while a disc is in their spinning. Instant coaster.

[Sport73]

Had my unit since launch without a hitch. It's on a shelf by itself below my TV with plenty of 'ventilation' room. Likewise, the sizeable power brick has room to breathe amongst the tangle of wires behind my 50" HDTV.

A few things I would recommend, based on research & common sense:

1. Horiztonal orientation: It's just easier for a high-speed drive to function reliably when there isn't an un-even battle with gravity.

2. Breathing Room: The XBox 360 is a high-power computer, made to be 'consumer' friendly and svelt, so there's not a lot of room in that sucker for proper ventilation. Leaving ample room above/around the box and its sizeable power brick (and keeping the power brick a good distance away from the unit), ensures enough air-flow to protect your processors.

3. Set it and Forget it: A lot of people who've had problems have been active with their units (according to posts on other sites), moving them between rooms/houses, removing the Hard-Drive etc. Get it in a good position and leave it there.

4. Power On/Power Off: Power Cycles are the hardest thing for ANY piece of electonics to handle. I turn on my unit with the button or usually the controller, keep it on for a few hours while I play, and power down. I don't cycle power 15 times a day to play a quick game here or there...Also, I eject the tray with my universal remote, and close it the same way (or with the button) I don't just push the tray in.

5. ENVIRONMENT: When multiple units fail, while others have no problems, you have to consider environmental factors: Room Temperature/Consistency; Humidity; Power Conditions etc. Plug into a good surge protector, put the box in an AC-Controlled room (temps between 67-75 degrees) and not on your humid sun-porch that freezes at night.

6. LUCK: Hardware is hardware, and things can/will go bad. Cross your fingers and pray you got the unit that wasn't produced at 4:40PM on a Friday when QC took a back seat to Beer.

My suspicion is that the hardware kinks have been worked out and the units shipping today are much more reliable. I would recommend buying at a high-traffic store where you know inventory's been turned over frequently.

Most people sending units in for repair are NOT getting new units back, they're getting someone else's repaired unit. That's the most cost/time effective way to handle things (and I happen to know the company that handles Microsoft's repairs). Your unit goes in line and gets 'reconditioned' in about 2 weeks. You get sent a unit that arrived 2 weeks prior and has since been reconditioned itself. Unfortunately, that's a trap if there is something harder to fix hidden in the machine.

All in all, I think the 360 is a reliable box and I wouldn't hesitate to buy and use one without a great degree of 'special' care. Now, wait til you hear about the PS3 failure rate; there's so much new technology packed into that sucker it'll be a miracle if 20% of the shipped units at launch don't crap out.

[SoMisss2000]

Launch unit, sits in an entertainment cabinet on the 3rd shelf with the DVD player and DVR on the first shelf. My receiver is on the 2nd shelf. Needless to say, there is a lot of heat in there when the glass door is closed. I always have the glass door open when playing the 360. I also have the intercooler. I've had no problems thus far. That said, i'm glad they extended the warranty to one year!

[laurenskye]

I have a launch 360, ps2, and gamecube. Never had a dirty disc read with any of them. I continually haul my 360 from the basement to the upstairs. I have to say it must all be luck in getting good units from hearing all th horror stories over the years here.

[sportdan30]

First off, buy the warranty and keep the receipt! That's a no brainer. Second, keep your original Xbox if you can't wait a week or so while your 360 might be getting repaired. And third, keep it well ventilated.

Obviously, it's hit or miss. Frankly, that's how I always felt when I bought a PC computer.

[AcemanPR]

pk,

It seems like many of the newer units that have been sold have had a much lower defect rate, so when you go to buy one, your luck will probably be better than others that got the console 9 months ago.

I'm pretty particular when it comes to my electronics. However, I was able to secure a launch 360 through Best Buy's online website. I was a little reluctant at first, as I want my electronics to go through the least amount of transportation possible. But I took a chance, and so far, haven't had any issues other than getting a couple E68 errors a couple months ago. An E68 error signifies a problem with the hard drive, but people that got them said they only got them once or twice. I haven't had it come back for quite sometime. Otherwise, my launch 360 has been solid.

I have my 360 sitting horizontally. The first 6 months of its life, it sat on a glass shelf all by itself. After buying a new receiver though, I move it on top of my DVD player, which is also shared by the DVR receiver. It still has plenty of ventilation. But, we will probably be buying a new piece of furniture for under the TV, so it will have its own dedicated shelf back before too long.

[Rodster]

Come on: You're out there -- those who bought Xbox 360s at or near launch and still have your original units, functioning well.

I know luck -- good and bad -- is the reason behind why some people are still merrily playing their launch 360s and others are on their second, third and fourth units.

But there has to be something more to it. For those who still have their launch units, what tips do you have to offer? How is your unit set up? Where is it set up? Do you have any peripherals to cool the unit, such as the Intercooler?

For example, AxTj from this fine forum never had a problem with his launch 360. He said he bought two blocks of porcelain tile-style glass blocks and set his 360 atop those, outside of an entertainment console, to ensure heat dissipation from all angles.

Any other clever setups like that? Any other tips, big or small?

There are DSP cats, like JackB1 and I, who are considering 360 purchases but are scared of all the hardware failures, and those who have suffered 360 failures who could use the advice.

Thanks in advance!

Take care,
PK

Well PK my 360 is a launch unit and it has never given me a problem no 3 rings of death etc. I have a computer background from working for several computer companies (NCR, Wang Labs)as a service tech in the 80's and 90's. I just applied what I learned over the years and applied it to my 360 setup.

First off let's get this out of the way. Microsoft knows the problems and why they failed and for the most part the newer systems are not nearly as tempermental as the launch system. Over at OS one of the guys put up two pics of the 360 main logic board. It showed the launch 360 board with almost NO thermal protection on the chipsets and other critical components.

The newer boards shows thermal pads on the chipsets and other critical components. Without proper thermal protection those parts will overheat and fail from heat stress. keep in mind the 360 is designed to blow HOT air out of the box as fast as it can. The launch 360's also suffered from a dumb design decision using lower rpm fans to cut down on noise. (This comes directly from the Xbox.com forums. Well guess what on some machines one of the two rear 360 fans stopped working. More heat inside the system and more failures.

With all this info I learned I decided to help create more airflow in the and around the machine. My 360 lays horizontal. I went to Office Depot and bought a pack of of erasers. I place an eraser on each corner of the 360 so it's raised up a little which hepls with airflow. I also purchased Nykos Intercooler 360 which helps pull more air into the system naturally and blows out more hot air from the back.

I also raised the power brick off the floor by placing erasers at each end since otherwise it would be sitting on my carpet. Knock on wood I've never had a problem with the system, not one freeze even with the notorius 2K Sports games for the 360 which are prone to freezes and lockups.

I'm sure Microsoft has addressed and fixed most if not all the initial problems with the 360. Early next year Microsoft plans to use cooler running CPU's, which will use less power and run a helleva lot cooler than the curent CPU's. If you get a 2 year warranty from Best Buy you'll be covered.

Hope this info has been helpful and hasn't put anyone to sleep.

[pk500]

Thanks for all of the responses. Keep them coming!

Rodster, your eraser idea is really sharp.

Take care,
PK

[Teal]

going to Staples right now to buy erasers...

I want the intercooler for sure. I can't believe how HOT that system gets!

[sportdan30]

going to Staples right now to buy erasers...

I want the intercooler for sure. I can't believe how HOT that system gets!

Yeah, the discs themselves are always extremely warm after an hour or so of playing time.

[snate]

I was going to get the intercooler but then I read some people had problems with it. Be careful.

[Gurantsu]

Launch box, sitting in a small entertainment center, sharing a shelf with my original Xbox. about 2 inches of clearance on both sides and top. The back of the shelf is cut open to allow heat from the 360 to dissapate that way. It stays cool to the touch after playing. The power brick is behind my TV on a hardwood floor, and is plugged into a small surge protector. Other than a freeze while playing Test Drive, all is well, and we use it as a DVD player quite a bit.

[kevinpars]

I really don't know what to say. I am about to send back unit #3. And I HAVE been careful with it. I keep 360(s) horizontal on an open TV cabinet that gets air flow on all sides. It is not enclosed - it is designed like a bakers my rack w/ 3 shelves that slide into the unit. 2 of the shelves are metal grill - so the 360 and the power brick even get air from underneath.

I have no surge/power issues - never had an issue with my xbox, or previously with my PS2 or my psx or my Dreamcast, with a TV or with my desktop or my laptop. Hell, I had a POS Packard Bell computer for 4 years back in the early 90's with no problems.

I tried a Nyco intercooler with 360 #2, and except for making more noise than a helicopter, it didn't do much for me as the unit died after 3 months. The most recent one was a lemon from day 1. The night i got it back I had issues with the DVD drive that went away but now the damn unit simply will not boot up.

While there are a lot of good tips here, I have to say that if I truly need to leave my 360 in one place and not ever switch TVs or go from the TV to my 21" monitor setup for fear of killing the unit, then it simply isn't very well made. If carrying the 360 from one room to another every other week is something I shouldn't do, then I guess I never should have bought a 360.

Let's be frank, if it is standard procedure for Microsoft to ship a unit via UPS from Texas to my house in nothing more than cardboard wrapping in a cardboard box and expect it to arrive in working order - then I expect it should be OK for me to carry it down to my living room to play a game of hockey on the widescreen every few weeks.

And for the record, my first newly purchased 360 was manufactured in early December 2005, my first refurb was manufactured in November 2005 and my latest dead refurb was manufactured in February 2006.

[10spro]

My only dissappointment on the 360 was with 2K's MLB game which kept freezing my games although they came up with a patch later on. Other than that I guess I have just been lucky and just last week I purchased Nyko's intercooler to keep things going, although I am curious as to what snate have heard about those units. While on the lucky side, I still have that feeling that I should have bought the three year warranty, not knowing what the future can hold, especially after reading some of the problems some of you had to endure.

[Rodster]

My only dissappointment on the 360 was with 2K's MLB game which kept freezing my games although they came up with a patch later on. Other than that I guess I have just been lucky and just last week I purchased Nyko's intercooler to keep things going, although I am curious as to what snate have heard about those units. While on the lucky side, I still have that feeling that I should have bought the three year warranty, not knowing what the future can hold, especially after reading some of the problems some of you had to endure.

The two problems associated with the Intercooler and this has been discussed over at OS is the following:

1) The AC cord might come loose, which might cause the AC connector plug on the Intercooler to get too hot and malfunction.

2) The foam filter pad inside the Intercooler might come loose and cause a buzzing noise because the fan blades are hitting the foam insulation.

I have not had a problem with #1 as I'm pretty careful to make sure the plug has a tight fit and is not coming loose. No issues either with problem #2 and this is not a big issue as well. Just a few over at OS said their Intercooler got real loud.

IMO the Intercooler has been worth every penny.