My launch day Premium 360 seems to have just bought it tonight. No red lights or the like, but it freezes about half the time as the 360 logo is displaying and goes checkerboard with random garbage as sound. :p The other half the time you can actually get into a game but it'll freeze within around 30 seconds. I'll be exchanging tomorrow at EB Games, who claims I'll be able to keep my current hard drive. Guess I'll see how it goes. :)

Update: after initially disconnecting my console and packing it up, I decided I would go hook it back up and copy what I consider my most critical stuff (i.e., my Oblivion saves :p) to my memory card just in case. After freezing while I was navigating in the dashboard to do this, now when I try to turn on my 360, I'm just getting the dreaded blinking 3 red lights of death. :eek:

I had my first lockup tonight. I was joining a game of Uno and it completely froze. It's a cool night and most of the windows are open so I don't think it's a heat issue. I was streaming music off my PC at the time so maybe something just wasn't playing nice.

Few questions...

1. I have my 360 in a wood console (horizontally), maybe 3 inches open above, an inch on either side with a hole in the back for the wires. Last night it got really loud even when the glass door closed and was really hot inside. On the main xbox panel, the letters looked like they had shadowing. Turned it off, waited for 10 min, tried again, and it returned to normal, but still loud. Is the console not getting enough ventalition? It it normal to get that hot? Should the lettering fuzz out like that? It's too loud normally to keep outside.

2. I have a Denon 2807 that can upconvert composite to HDMI. Since XBOX 360 only outputs composite, would upconverting to HDMI make the picture any better? worse? Or should I stick to composite to the TV.

3. I have the new Panasonic plasma 50 inch and wanted to know which setting I should keep my 360 on, 1080i or 720p. It's hard to tell since I have to restart the game for each setting. Any ideas/thoughts? What does everyone else have?

Thanks in advance!!!

Last night it got really loud

More specifics please. Was it the DVD drive, or something else? Did you have noise just during gameplay or while in the dashboard?

As for the heat....what it just warm to the touch, or really hot?

XBOX 360 only outputs composite

I assume you mean component and not composite? Picture quality would depend on the job the Denon does upconverting. You'd probably just have to try it.

setting I should keep my 360 on

Depeonds on the scaler in the TV and it's native resolution. If the TV does a good job, leave the 360 at 720 (its native) and allow the TV to do it's thing.
As for doing an A/B test.....can you not tell al difference in the dashboard between settings?

More specifics please. Was it the DVD drive, or something else? Did you have noise just during gameplay or while in the dashboard?


As for the heat....what it just warm to the touch, or really hot?


Playing Perfect Dark Zero. Loud noise more so during game play. I could hear the fan behind the glass and the volume was somewhat loud. It was quite hot. The surface of the wood console it's resting on was getting warm.



I assume you mean component and not composite? Picture quality would depend on the job the Denon does upconverting. You'd probably just have to try it.



Yes, component. my bad.. :)



Depeonds on the scaler in the TV and it's native resolution. If the TV does a good job, leave the 360 at 720 (its native) and allow the TV to do it's thing.
As for doing an A/B test.....can you not tell al difference in the dashboard between settings?

Not really, 720 and 1080 look the same to me. Which is technically supposed to be better?

I was starting to think I had gotten lucky, but it appears that my 360 is also a lemon. I first started getting lock ups on the weekend where it would freeze and display vertical grey dashed lines all over the screen, and now it's been freezing with checkerboard patterns, or going to black completely.

The unit is also a couple of months out of warranty, so we'll see what happens...

Has anyone else (preferably Canadians) called for service past warranty?

EDIT: Just called and they're doing the repair/replacement, and didn't give me any hassle at all. See everyone in a couple of weeks...

For the record, my unit was built November 28, 2005.

so its only happened a few times, but the sound from my 360 will go into this loud distortion that I normally have to turn it off and on again for it to go away. Last time it happened I unplugged the optical cable and back in and was fixed for about 5mins and then it happened again. Its only happened when playing king kong and battlefield 2. Any ideas what it could be?

i have an xbox 360 hooked up to a benq 8700+ dlp projector. whenever i toggle the switch from TV to HD, the screen gets scrambled and flips around. in TV mode, it works fine. HD is scrambled. my hd directv receiver plays 480p, 720p, and 1080i beautifully on this projector. cant figure out why this wont work. i actually returned the first console back to best buy because i thought it was a console problem...now i am on the second console and there is no difference in performance.

i noticed that someone several months ago posted this problem but didnt see a solution. does anyone have any suggetions on what i might need to do in order to fix this problem? thanks.
jt

I have this configuration as well (actually I have an 8700) and have not seen this problem. My 360 is actually hooked up to an Integra receiver and then sent over to the BenQ via Component. My Dishnetwork 921 and DVD player is hooked up directly to the BenQ via DVI using a 2:1 DVI switch. The only problem I have experienced is when I cycle the BenQ between DVI (TV and DVD) and Component (360) sometimes it fails and takes a few tries to "synch up". I don't toggle any switches, I just switch back and forth between Component and DVI using the BenQ remote or a programmable remote so it sounds like the switching you are doing is causing the problem. Is there any way you can put in a Component switch (or use a receiver)and run everything through Component to the BenQ versus the TV/HD switch or run a DVI cable from the Direct TV receiver to the BenQ?

Has anybody experienced problems with explosions thru their speakers when playing the 360 audio going thru your computer speakers 5.1?

I currently have optical going to my sound card and during the explosions they tend to crackle I hope that makes sense.

Can anybody help?


Thank you,

APaiz

When I called last week to send my latest freezing XBox back it was about 3.5 months since I'd received my first repair/replacement (they actually replaced it the first time - it was a different serial number than my original one - born Dec. 2005). The service guy said something about the warranty period being extended "because" it was a recently repaired/replaced unit. I'm not sure what the criteria is, but it was just assumed that they'd "repair" it again at no charge and I certainly didn't argue.

This time around they've switched from DHL to UPS. When I sent my last lemon in, it was early January 2006 and DHL showed up the very next day after I called with the return shipping box to pack it in. For the latest lemon, it took about 4 days to get the return shipping box, because they're now evidently shipping them direct from the repair facility in Texas rather than having pre-made ones sitting at the shipping companies. Oh well, at least I don't have to pay this time either, even if it is going to take longer.

I still haven't bought the extended warranty for this thing. Obviously I'm going to do that now. The M$ service guy said to just call back again when my 3rd "repaired" box arrives and I can get the extension then.

Based upon my experience, i.e. 3 XBox 360's over a 5 month period, I would HIGHLY suggest that anyone who already has or is planning to buy an XBox 360 buy the extended warranty, on the assumption that you're going to have to send it in for repairs every 2 to 4 months. It's good money after bad, but at this point I already have too much invested in the console and a number of games. This could get very tiresome and annoying after a while though.

Be interested in knowing how many have experienced either/or/and lockups ro dead units that were returned for repair. Seems to be pretty rampant these days on the various boards on the internet.

FWIW, I will be receiving my third in a few weeks. Launch day (3 red lights), replacement/refurb (locks up in all disk games but not arcade games). Damned annoying that's for sure.

my new 360 will not recognize a dlink (usb) wireless adaptor. I just want to use that one i've got instead of buying that freak expensive "xbox360 adaptor"

any ideas? i also tried a belkin usb wireless adaptor from my wifes pc and it didn't come up either...

thanks in advance for the help, B

A USB wireless adapter won't work, because there is no way to load the drivers on the Xbox360. You can use a wireless bridge (or wireless 'game adapter'), which usually run around $60-90, and plug it into the network jack. Since the Xbox360 sees these as just a network connection, and not a USB device, there's no need for a driver. They have the added benefit of being portable to any network-enabled device on your network, and future-proof (until a new wireless standard comes out, anyway).

thats pretty much what i'm hearing everywhere... for some reason i thought i'd heard that is would before i got the thing, no biggie. I'll just return it.


Would a hardwired connection be faster? running the cable would be a pain, but if its really a whole lot better, then maybe i'll try it.

thanks all.

good info, B

You're not going to get any speed with a hardwire over a wireless connection with a decent signal, because your internet connection is slower than both. You may get a little less latency between the Xbox360 and the router/access point, but probably not enough to notice.

IIRC, not all routers will accept/perform wireless bridging (Belkin pre-N for example). You will need to check.

My router is located in the basement , the bridge I used to have was in the sunroom. As the crow flies, one floor and ~80 feet away if that.

With a lot of people in a room (>8) I would lag out consistently...hardwired others are lagging out. :)

Anyone ever have a problem with The Outfit? I rented it from Gamefly and the audio keeps cutting out.

Just wanted to report on my quick and painless experience with xbox support. I made the call on Monday evening, received a return carton on Wednesday, shipped it back on Thursday, and my replacement unit arrived on Tuesday (and Monday was a holiday).

It sucks that it started freezing in the first place, but at least MS is doing a good job on getting the replacements out fast! Also, my 360 was well over 90 days old and they didn't give me any hassle about the expired warranty.

Has anyone has problems with units Born on or after February of 2006? Just curious as to whether or not I should prepare myself.

Looks like people still want to know when such things happen so....

XBOX360, born date 11/28/2005, purchased at BB on 01/07/06, Ring of 3 red lights continual on 5/24/06. Carton on the way from MS. Yes, I purchased the extended warranty back in January from MS.

For those who wish to sweat :p ....my symptoms came on as Oblivion freezing into black/white checkerboard pattern, screen freeze - but normal picture and finally, total screen blackout. Demo of Lost Planet also showed checker pattern. Power off/on - sometimes would last for another 5 to 20 minutes of play time. But mostly boot right back to checker pattern at first display of XBOX360 logo or right to three red lights.

No issues other than past month or so. Hard drive not required for return. We'll see what they send me back.

will my xbox360 see an external USB hard drive so i can play the music files on them??? might there be an update for doing this?


I tried it just now, but i don't think the xbox "sees" the hard drive.

I had my first lockup tonight. I was joining a game of Uno and it completely froze. It's a cool night and most of the windows are open so I don't think it's a heat issue. I was streaming music off my PC at the time so maybe something just wasn't playing nice.

I had Uno freeze my 360 when I was streaming music from an mp3 player and joining a Live game. Since it the only freeze I've ever had (and I've played Oblivion for hours on end), I'm guessing it's a glitch with Uno.

will my xbox360 see an external USB hard drive so i can play the music files on them??? might there be an update for doing this?


I tried it just now, but i don't think the xbox "sees" the hard drive.
yes, try here:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=681325

Ok help me. I got my 360 on wed. Tonight we were playing and it went red on the ring. 3 of 4 lights and it was the upper right that didn;t light. I dunno what to do. I just go it. Help.

Take it back to where you got it or play the 1-800-4my-xbox game.

What's the build date (on the sticker)?

3-24-06. I sent microsoft an email already. I may try to call them today to see what I can do. I bought it from newegg.com and don't want to have to pay to ship it back to them.

Is anyone else having the same problem "goodkd" had (shifted picture in 720p and 1080i) but on a Samsung HLP4663W? When I've got the 360 in 720p mode it cuts off a ton of stuff on the right side of the screen, and when I've got it in 1080i mode it cuts off the left side. Does anyone know how I can fix this problem (service menu?)? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

Hi I just recently bought a panasonic HD lcd tv.....decided I would try to hook up my xbox with it....the standard 480p works fine its when I upgrade to 1080I/720p is where the problem happens...... I get no sound I put it on dolby digital 5.1 Can some1 help me please....I dont think its the tv b/c it works fine with just normal red/white/yellow cables....

Is anyone else having the same problem "goodkd" had (shifted picture in 720p and 1080i) but on a Samsung HLP4663W? When I've got the 360 in 720p mode it cuts off a ton of stuff on the right side of the screen, and when I've got it in 1080i mode it cuts off the left side. Does anyone know how I can fix this problem (service menu?)? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

Although the problem may be with the game unit, you can shift the display position on the HLP models from the service menu. The parameters are v-position and h-position I believe. Changing these affects the position of some (all?) of the other inputs so use with care. Also take care not to mess with anything in the menu that you can't undo since there is no reset feature.

Secret stuff: From the remote Mute-1-8-2-Power gives you the menu (use Power-Mute-1-8-2-Power if unit is already on). Turn off and back on to dismiss the menu. If you punch the codes quickly the power on/off it doesn't seem to cycle the lamp.

Although the problem may be with the game unit, you can shift the display position on the HLP models from the service menu. The parameters are v-position and h-position I believe. Changing these affects the position of some (all?) of the other inputs so use with care. Also take care not to mess with anything in the menu that you can't undo since there is no reset feature.

Secret stuff: From the remote Mute-1-8-2-Power gives you the menu (use Power-Mute-1-8-2-Power if unit is already on). Turn off and back on to dismiss the menu. If you punch the codes quickly the power on/off it doesn't seem to cycle the lamp.

Thanks for the response. I gave it a try, and got it to do what it is supposed to, but now I can see that the right side of the image is just cut-off itself. It's not the screen that's cutting it off. For example, while playing GRAW, the entire right side "outline" of the HUD doesnt exist. And in Oblivion, when I highlight something I can only see the first few letters of the description in the right corner. Anyone know if this is a 360 problem or a problem with my TV? Is the TV actually cutting the image off itself? It's weird because the left side is normal.

does MS give you a tracking # for the return box? I sent mine in, and it has been delivered to the service center as of Tuesday, but I'm wondering if I'll get any notification that it's on its way back.

I leave for a week on the 9th of june, i'm really hoping my replacement shows up before then.

does MS give you a tracking # for the return box? I sent mine in, and it has been delivered to the service center as of Tuesday, but I'm wondering if I'll get any notification that it's on its way back.

I leave for a week on the 9th of june, i'm really hoping my replacement shows up before then.

I would call. If they haven't sent it yet see if they will let you give an alternate address so someone can hold it for you. I am looking at the same problem.

I got my replacement system back a few days ago and everything is fine, for now. Total downtime was around 2 1/2 weeks, which isn't too bad I guess. I hope they have fixed the problem for good.

Chad473: I had no notice that they shipped out my replacement. I had to call them to get a tracking number. You should get your system back by next week.

Do they replace your unit or do they actually repair the one you send in? I'm hoping it's the former because when I took mine to UPS for return today, the UPS guy dropped the box... sheesh.

Edit: nevermind the question. Did a little googling and it looks like they are sending out replacements, with different serial numbers.

Hi,
I hope that in here there is someone that can help me!
I have another problem with my xbox 360, First I had the problem with overheating, I sent it Microsoft, and after a week I had it back, and it worked fine for a week. Now the problem is totally different, When I try to play a game, after few seconds it says that to play those kind of DvDs I should have an xbox360!!! It' s very strange because I always thought to have one....hahaha
This morning I couldn't play at all, so I called Microsoft, and they told me that would come here on tuesday or wen. to collect the thing, but then I tried again and IT WORKED, so I called them back to cancel everything. Tonight it doesn't work again.
Did someone else experienced problems with the dvd player?
And could it make a difference to have the console verically or horizontally?

Someone help me.
Bye

:eek: :mad: :confused:

Chad473: I had no notice that they shipped out my replacement. I had to call them to get a tracking number. You should get your system back by next week.

good tip. I called the 1800 number over lunch to find out that my return box is scheduled for delivery today.

Hi, this is the second XBOX 360 I've had. The first one scratched games and locked up all the time and told me I needed to put my DVD in a XBOX 360! duh! At least I got that one to stream music and pics from my home pc using media connect. I returned it and got another one. This one will not work with media connect. I've set up everything so that it works with my router, I can connect online but not to the pc. I just don't get it. I've done all the online troubleshooting and nothing works. Does anybody have any suggestions?

Hi,
I hope that in here there is someone that can help me!
I have another problem with my xbox 360, First I had the problem with overheating, I sent it Microsoft, and after a week I had it back, and it worked fine for a week. Now the problem is totally different, When I try to play a game, after few seconds it says that to play those kind of DvDs I should have an xbox360!!! It' s very strange because I always thought to have one....hahaha
This morning I couldn't play at all, so I called Microsoft, and they told me that would come here on tuesday or wen. to collect the thing, but then I tried again and IT WORKED, so I called them back to cancel everything. Tonight it doesn't work again.
Did someone else experienced problems with the dvd player?
And could it make a difference to have the console verically or horizontally?

Someone help me.
Bye

:eek: :mad: :confused:

Mine did the same thing. Just take it back and exchange for another one.

yesterday i got the e-mail of confirmation. They received it, I just hope that they will deliver it before the weekend.
Anybody knows how long do they take usually?
They just have to send me another one. Right?
This time I wrote down all I need to identify the old console. Now I really want to see what they do.

yesterday i got the e-mail of confirmation. They received it, I just hope that they will deliver it before the weekend.
Anybody knows how long do they take usually?
They just have to send me another one. Right?
This time I wrote down all I need to identify the old console. Now I really want to see what they do.

They have to test it. They quoted me 2 days in house before they ship another. I hate to tell you but it probably won't be till mid next week before you get it. They use 3 day shipping too.

I called them today, and they said the same thing.
So my hopes are gone with the wind :) .
I just hope that now I will have a console that works well, at least.
Am I will not have to do all this ever again, two times I think are more then enough. :D

I feel the same way. I am going out of town next weekend too. Hopefully It will come before I leave on friday. If not that sucks. I am going to leave it on when I get it for like 5-6 hours to make sure its gonna work though.

I feel the same way. I am going out of town next weekend too. Hopefully It will come before I leave on friday. If not that sucks. I am going to leave it on when I get it for like 5-6 hours to make sure its gonna work though.




yes but for example my wasn't a overheating prob.

Had a question about my new 360...The DVD tray will not open everytime. When you push the button on the console it will occasionally move just a little as if it is trying to open...if you hit the button again it will then open...it does the same thing when you hit the on screen eject button as well.

Anyone else have this happen? I really love the box but hope this is'ent signs of things to come. I did buy the two year warranty after looking at this thread though.

Also is the fan stand a good idea? is it loud? I have a sammy 32in. 328 lcd, is the vga cord worth the cash...is it that much better than the componet hook up?

Thankyou for any advice you can give :)

Had a question about my new 360...The DVD tray will not open everytime. When you push the button on the console it will occasionally move just a little as if it is trying to open...if you hit the button again it will then open...it does the same thing when you hit the on screen eject button as well.

Anyone else have this happen? I really love the box but hope this is'ent signs of things to come. I did buy the two year warranty after looking at this thread though.

Also is the fan stand a good idea? is it loud? I have a sammy 32in. 328 lcd, is the vga cord worth the cash...is it that much better than the componet hook up?

Thankyou for any advice you can give :)

Did ya take the sticker off the DVD tray door? Of course you did.
Take it back and exchange it if you are having problems.

Component looks incredible and you get the full screen.

Did ya take the sticker off the DVD tray door? Of course you did.
Take it back and exchange it if you are having problems.

Component looks incredible and you get the full screen.
Yes I had removed the sticker but it still would act up. Better just return it.

I already have the componet hook up and was wondering if the vga was that much better and worth the extra money. :)

Yes I had removed the sticker but it still would act up. Better just return it.

I already have the componet hook up and was wondering if the vga was that much better and worth the extra money. :)

My first one crashed a lot and the DVD tray scratched up my disks when spinning! Oh, and I got the good ol' "You need to play this DVD on a XBOX 360" message.

Sorry, can't answer the VGA question, can't imagine it would be as nice as 1080i.

Just to add data for people who'll have to send their 360 in for repair. The repair center received mine on the 7th, they send one back out to me on the 8th (should be here 13th). Anyway, a one day turnaround doesn't sound bad.

Edit: Well, it's delivered today on the 12th. So basically 18 days downtime for me. Replacement seems fine so far, just had reconnect and redo the HD-720p & audio settings. My old one was build in Oct/Nov-ish 05, the new one is build 3/23/06.

yes but for example my wasn't a overheating prob.

Mine wasn't overheating either. I pulled the code and it was 0102 which is an unknown error. So the 360 didn't even know what happened.

Hello -
I am a newbie when it comes to hooking this stuff up, I have a projector that I am trying to connect the XBOX 360 to, it has worked before using a friends XBox. The thing that p!sses me off is that I can not connect the component cable directly from the projector to the XBox (Is there an adapter??). I have to go from component from my projector to my receiver (Pioneer). Then I go component from the XBox to the "in" input on my receiver. The audio works fine....I may have some wires mixed up. The component cable from the projector goes into the monitor out in the receiver and the cable from the XBox goes into the "input 1" on the receiver. Is that setup wrong. I know the component cable is good because I hooked up my DVD player to it. In advance I am sorry for being such a dunce. Any help would be appreciated..

Alphaman06, You should be able to use the cable that came with your 360 to connect the 360 directly to the component inputs on the projector unless I'm missing something. That's how I have connected my rear projection TV. The cable you tried on your DVD player should not be required

Mr Possum -

thanks so much for the response. I left out a little information. This is a dedicated theater room. The projector is probably 25 ft feet from where the XBox is located. The projector is also mounted on a ceiling. I did have the installers run component already, I just wish I could plug that directly into the XBox. I have no choice but to run it through my receiver. I just thought I was missing something. My friend brought his XBox over and was able to get it to work, but he doesn't remember what he did.......Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks again for the response...

Alphaman06, it sounds like you already have a cable run to where you want to put the Xbox, correct?

If that's the case, you may be able to use a barrel connector (an RCA Male-to-Male connector) on each of the components to connect the Xbox cable to the existing component cable. Or, maybe you can cut the male connectors off the component cable and replace them with female connectors?

lmychajluk, you are way too advanced for me, let me know if I am on the same track as you. Are you thinking about an adapter or coupler that the XBox and my component cable can connect to....do they have those..

Alphaman06, have no fear, it's really not complex. He's talking about a simple connectors. Go to google images (http://images.google.com/) and put in "rca coupler" and you'll see pictures of these things.

Yep. You can probably find them at Radio Shack or maybe your local Audio/Video store. Here (http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2102694&cp=&origkw=rca+coupler&kw=rca+coupler&parentPage=search)'s a 3-way one at radio shack, or you can use 3 singles (http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2102665&cp=&origkw=rca+coupler&kw=rca+coupler&parentPage=search). You don't need to worry about the colors on the adapter, just make sure the colors of the cables on either side of it match (green-green, red-red, blue-blue).

Before I ask my question, I just want to thank everyone for contributing to this forum. This forum and the Plasma forum have been a big help for me.

I just got the 360. It seems to work fine (playing COD2 online) but the console makes a lot of noise. It makes way more noise than my PS2 or original xbox. Is this normal? Are there any solutions to this (external fan, etc.). Once I get my home theatre stand, i want to put the 360 in it, but will it get too hot?

What kind of noise? Is it fan noise, or the disk spinning, maybe?

From where I sit ~15' away from the console, I don't hear anything, but I do hear some fan noises when I get up close.

Thanks a lot guys, those connectors worked like a champ...There is nothing better than playing COD on a 110 inch screen....If there was such a thing as a cyber beer I would buy the first three rounds...Thanks again...

P.S. Don't go too far guys my next trick will be to hook it up to the internet....

Before I ask my question, I just want to thank everyone for contributing to this forum. This forum and the Plasma forum have been a big help for me.

I just got the 360. It seems to work fine (playing COD2 online) but the console makes a lot of noise. It makes way more noise than my PS2 or original xbox. Is this normal? Are there any solutions to this (external fan, etc.). Once I get my home theatre stand, i want to put the 360 in it, but will it get too hot?

Yes, the 360 is extremely noisy.

Before I ask my question, I just want to thank everyone for contributing to this forum. This forum and the Plasma forum have been a big help for me.

I just got the 360. It seems to work fine (playing COD2 online) but the console makes a lot of noise. It makes way more noise than my PS2 or original xbox. Is this normal? Are there any solutions to this (external fan, etc.). Once I get my home theatre stand, i want to put the 360 in it, but will it get too hot?
The "noise" is a little known feature of the 360, it serves the purpose of proper volume adjustment, once you have adjusted you audio system to the proper level the "noise" disappears. The PS3 PS2 have no equal feature :D .Rock on!

The "noise" is a little known feature of the 360, it serves the purpose of proper volume adjustment, once you have adjusted you audio system to the proper level the "noise" disappears. The PS3 PS2 have no equal feature :D .Rock on!

Probably why there is no option to turn the horrible music off that comes with the 360 and the games.

Probably why there is no option to turn the horrible music off that comes with the 360 and the games.
Custom Soundtrack, rip your faves or stream them in. Don't forget to recalibrate your volume :D .

Guys...I have run into another problem, the connectors worked like a champ, BUT when I switched the lever to HDTV my projector cycled through the sources and detected the component but the screen went black. I kept trying to have it bring up the HDTV mode but I had no luck. I tried to switch it back to TV and it still did not work. I took it back to my LCD TV and it worked fine in TV mode. I then went back to the projector and it came up fine in TV mode, but when I switched the lever back it did the same thing as before, the projector detected the source but the screen was blank. I am sorry for being so dumb fellas but can you guys give me a hand....by the way I have an Optoma H77 if that helps out any...

Thanks for the responses.

I've read that the 360 is noisy, but this seems out of the ordinary. It's quiet when i'm just on the dashboard or playing a downloaded game. But when I put in COD2, it gets loud. It sounds most like an air conditioner in "full blast" mode. Like the engine is really straining. It gets a little hot and the disks are warm when they come out of the drive. I'm listening to this in the bedroom (temporary home for the 360); It's an average sized room but there are wood floors and I have to sit close to the TV so that may increase the noise perception)

I have no idea if this is normal. If anyone can share what their's sounds like (how loud, in how large a room etc), it would be helpful .

I don't want to have to return it b/c it was a gift and best buy doesn't do exchanges apparently. Worse case scenario, i would have to return it and use the credit for another one, I guess.

When the disk is spinning mine is so loud that I have to make sure the tv volume is up. When I turn the surround sound off and its still on I can really hear it. I'm sure the floor and size of the room are affecting it. My room is big and I can hear it well.

Alphaman06, does that projector support 720p (or 1080i) on its component input? The information I've been able to find on it (including the manual) seems a little vague on this...

What I would try is switching the switch to 'TV' on the cable. Then go into the Xbox360's Dashboard and enable only 480p. Then switch the cable back to HD. Do you get a picture? If so, then try to go to the Dashboard and enable 720p and see what happens. Let us know.

lmychajluk - thanks so much for the help, this is such a great forum.....Here are the specifics for the connections......Compatibility: Signal compatibility includes DVI-HDCP, component and RGB HDTV 1080i, 720p. The funny thing is that I have to set it on 480 on a different TV and then unhook it and then connect it to my projector for it to display there. It displays fine on 480 until I try and configure it to 720 or 1080. It then goes blank. I looked at some old posts I did I while back, one that worked before and didn't work now was that when I switched it to HDTV on the XBox and it started cycling through was to push up on the controller and hit the green button. I will give this a try again today again, I think I may have been hitting the yellow button...I will let you all know. Thanks again for your help guys..

nofxFan, mine is very loud as well; to the point where I have to turn up the loud enough to distinguish sounds from the game over the noise coming from the xbox360. Which was enough to have been asked to please turn it down from people in the neighboring room.

Alphaman06, it could be that the projector is just taking a little too long to sync the signal, so when you switch it from 480p to 720p, you don't see the message that says (basically) "Can you see a picture? Press x button to accept the changes." If you don't press the button in 5 seconds or so, it reverts back to the previous setting. If you can find out which button that is, you can say 'yes' without actually seeing the picture on the screen, and maybe the signal will sync after a few more seconds. I've heard of this happening on some projectors with the original Xbox. If it doesn't work, you could always just flip the switch on the cable again to get back to 480i so you can see what you're doing in the Dash.

I think you were right the projector was taking too long to snyc. The problem I was running into was it wasn't showing even in 480 when I connected it to the projector. I came up no problem on the LCD. It is the wierdest problem it wouldn't resync when it would cycle through the connections. All it would show was a blank screen. Even when I would hit resync on the remote it would still give me the blank screen. I finally went to the projector and hit the source button and it finally came up. I unpluged everything and I still had the same problem. I went back and hit the source button and it came right back up. I really do not think this is the solution, it is only a work around. It is a workaround I can live with......I will still try and see if there is something I can do to make it resync a little faster. In the past this was not an issue. Thanks again guys for all the help. You gave me some great assistance.

Now I am getting really pissed!!!! I really don't understand why would take so long to send me a new one, that's what they do right?
The first time they have been really quick in 6 days I had it back. And and now this time more than 11 and I still have no news!
I just want to know which is the worst that I can expect, on Monday if I still have no knews I called to tell them that I will buy a new one and send them the bill.
Did anybody have something like this? this situation?
Please let me know

nofxFan, mine is in the family room which is in an open floor plan so it is really exposed to the first level of the house. I don't think the size of the room is going to matter, it's a noisy box. When I first power it on it sounds like it's going to take off and fly! It sounds like that whenever I play games too. My first one did the same thing. If you think something is wrong with it go ahead and return it before it's too late.

hey i just bought my x-box 360 yesterday and i'm having a very strange problem. i first set up the 360 in my room on my t.v. and the sound made a very obnoxious buzzing noise, and then i moved it into a different room on a different t.v. and it was fine. i then moved it into a third room on another t.v. and it was also fine. thinking the problem with with my tv i moved the t.v. from the 3rd room(which it worked on) to my room. when i hooked it up to the tv the same thing happened. i called 1-800-4-myxbox and all they said was that they were gunna send me a new av cable. if its a problem with the a.v. cable why would the xbox work in some parts of my house but not all parts. do you have any idea of what the problem could be, because i surely dont.

Sounds like electrical interference. Though it's possible it's on the line, were you using any kind of power strip / surge suppressor?

Hi I just recently bought a panasonic HD lcd tv.....decided I would try to hook up my xbox with it....the standard 480p works fine its when I upgrade to 1080I/720p is where the problem happens...... I get no sound I put it on dolby digital 5.1 Can some1 help me please....I dont think its the tv b/c it works fine with just normal red/white/yellow cables....

Are you using an optical cable? It plugs into the back of the HD plug and goes to your amp.

I had FIOS (Verizon fiber optic cable)installed a few days ago, and ever since I can't hook up to xbox live.Called verizon,they said they have nothing to do with xbox,called xbox and was told that they are not sure if the 360 is compatible with FIOS,after spending hours trying to configure and make it work,NO LUCK! Anyone with FIOS able to help me out??? :(

I had FIOS (Verizon fiber optic cable)installed a few days ago, and ever since I can't hook up to xbox live.Called verizon,they said they have nothing to do with xbox,called xbox and was told that they are not sure if the 360 is compatible with FIOS,after spending hours trying to configure and make it work,NO LUCK! Anyone with FIOS able to help me out??? :(

We recently changed to FIOS, just pluged the xbox in, no special set up. Have you checked your connections?

We recently changed to FIOS, just pluged the xbox in, no special set up. Have you checked your connections?

FIOS worked fine for me as well- no problem with compatibility. I did have to delete all the old password info that was stored in the 360 from the previous verizon DSL connection though in order for it to work.

Component Video Problem:

I've had my 360 since December hooked up to a plasma using the Component video connection in HDTV mode running at 720p and 1080i at times. It had worked flawlessly until now. After spending more time gaming this month since I got Oblivion, it has started to have problems with the video. Sometimes it will seem like it's losing one of the colors through the component cables but then it will look fine after. Kinda like a green tint will be over everything but after awhile it will go back to normal. This happens when I play Oblivion and when I'm in the dashboard.

I checked the connections and everything seems to be in order. I am running the cables through a Pioneer Receiver. Everything worked perfect before and I have not added or disconnected any connections to my home theater since then.

Is it the cables or maybe even the receiver?

I purchased Microsoft's extended warranty but does it cover the cables if that happens to be the problem?

Thanks.

Component Video Problem:
I purchased Microsoft's extended warranty but does it cover the cables if that happens to be the problem?

I am not sure about your problem, but I would try troubleshooting the problem by eliminating the receiver and trying to replicate the graphics issue. However, it sounds like there could be an issue with the cable or the graphics controller within the 360 itself.

In response to your question about the warranty: I was told by Microsoft that the warranty covered everything that came with the system, including the cables and controllers.

Before I ask my question, I just want to thank everyone for contributing to this forum. This forum and the Plasma forum have been a big help for me.

I just got the 360. It seems to work fine (playing COD2 online) but the console makes a lot of noise. It makes way more noise than my PS2 or original xbox. Is this normal? Are there any solutions to this (external fan, etc.). Once I get my home theatre stand, i want to put the 360 in it, but will it get too hot?

My son 360 was doing the same thing i was the fan on the power supply i called xbox then sent a new one it was still under warranty.

The xbox 360 warranty is only good for 90 days my 360 just stop playing i got my on the first day the came out nov o5 i didn't now get the extended warranty this just happen july 5 i just stop i won't do anything i also get 3 red light on the front of it. If you can i would try and get the extended warranty is only 59.90 for 2 year or 49 if you have the core unit i got the extended warranty for my son but not my. $400 for 7 mo. of play i would think the thing would have a year warranty but no just 90 days.

hey i just bought my x-box 360 yesterday and i'm having a very strange problem. i first set up the 360 in my room on my t.v. and the sound made a very obnoxious buzzing noise, and then i moved it into a different room on a different t.v. and it was fine. i then moved it into a third room on another t.v. and it was also fine. thinking the problem with with my tv i moved the t.v. from the 3rd room(which it worked on) to my room. when i hooked it up to the tv the same thing happened. i called 1-800-4-myxbox and all they said was that they were gunna send me a new av cable. if its a problem with the a.v. cable why would the xbox work in some parts of my house but not all parts. do you have any idea of what the problem could be, because i surely dont.

Had my 360 since nov no problem july 5 had the same problem buzzing noise and picture freeze no it won't do anything if i was you i would call now an get the extended warranty because the 360 only come with a 90 warranty that's right 90 DAYS the ext warranty is only $59 for two year . i got to 360 one i got the ext warranty the other i didnt the one i didnt get to warranty is the one i been talking aobut i got the ext warranty on the one for my son not my's you can
CALL 1-800-469-9269 AN TELL THEM YOU WANT TO BUY THE EXTTENDED WARRANTY if it's been more then 90 since you reister your 360 they wont sale you the ext warranty but if you had not reister your 360 the will.

Ok help me. I got my 360 on wed. Tonight we were playing and it went red on the ring. 3 of 4 lights and it was the upper right that didn;t light. I dunno what to do. I just go it. Help.
3 red light mean a complete system fail if it been under 90 day you can get xbox to repair or replace is since it only come witha 90 day warranty also i would get the extended warranty is's only 59.90 for 2 years it cover everthing the came in the box if you have the core unit it 49 you can call 1 800 469-9269 can get ext warranty over the phone with a credit card or bank card. after 90 days an no extended warranty you are SOL

Well I recd mine back and have read MANY times on other forums they are unoficially extending the warranty for 6 months.

I just got off the phone with MS and purchased the Extended Warranty the funny thing is that I purchased the xbox on dec 24th but I did not officially register it until this past May. I got the $59.00 2 year plan. PHEWWWWWWWWW now I am relieved that I have protection just in case. My 360 has been running great but just in case.

Rob

i just got an xbox360. if i just barely nudge the video cable at the back the screen goes black. if i fiddle with it the picture comes back. anyone else seen this.

thanks

i just got an xbox 360, and if i barely nudge the video cable the picture disappears. it does come back if i fiddle with it. is this a known issue, or do i need to return it.

thanks

i just got an xbox 360, and if i barely nudge the video cable the picture disappears. it does come back if i fiddle with it. is this a known issue, or do i need to return it.

thanks
No, it's not a common issue. Couple of options: return it for another, or call the MS at the 1800 box number. Maybe they'll send you a new cable (but first they'll probably run through some "troubleshooting" with you first -- just play along with it).

I recently started receiving constant freeze ups. It all started when I tried to play madden 06 the other day. No i am getting constant freezing. The interesting thing is I can only play madden for 2 plays and then it is frozen, with the ncaa 2007 demo. I played for 15 minutes without a problem.

I have intermittent red ring when starting up too.

I have contacted MS and should be receiving my empty box soon.

Help....My Controllers are acting up. On Saturday they were working fine then on Sunday the controllers start blinking and I am not able to get them to work. I read a few posts on this site and thought they need to be recharged so I left the controllers plugged in overnight. This morning I was having the same problem. The lights on the controllers were all blinking at the same time. Thanks for any help that you all can provide....

If they're blinking all at once and not cycling, they may need to be 'connected' to the console again.

thanks for reply Brainodo, I did in fact reconnect them to the console. I thought it may be a bad port on the console so I tried it on another one and I still got the blinking green lights. I am now wondering if I have a bad cord. Thanks again for the help....

Hello all,

Excellent advice and insight on this thread; hoping some of you may be able to direct some my way on a couple of issues:

I recently bought OEM S-video cables for my core system, and upon opening them found that the male end (going into the back of the Xbox 360, not the receiver) had somehow collected a bunch of yellow dust. It wasn't on the metal contacts, but rather, on the plastic housing surrounding them. Does anyone know what this dust might have been? I bought another set fearing that it may cause damage to the A/V jack or system at large.

Also concerning the A/V jack, how much play is acceptable when the cables are plugged into the Xbox? Should there be "wiggle" if I hold the plug and move it up and down? Appears that everything is connected fine and that the play is coming from the jack rather than the cables, and it's not really moving all that much.

A little paranoid maybe, but I thought I'd seek the advice of folks with more experience than I in the computer and AV world.

Finally, I'm having what seems to be a rather common issue with my toslink jack--cable is loose fitting/doesn't snap into place in the Xbox, but does snap into place in my receiver (Onkyo). Some on this forum have suggested Monster cables--can anyone suggest a model number or price point to be looking at for a cable that actually snaps in and stays?

Apologies for the long post. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

On the subject of Toslink looseness, I bought a 3' cable from mycableshop and found that the fit was excellent. The price was too, something like $7, maybe as much as $10. You don't need to spend a lot on short fiberoptic cables since it's difficult to degrade the signal over that length! I have shopped twice at mycableshop and found them to be good.

thanks for the tip.

I recently upgraded my audio system and have found that low subwoofer sounds cause lines in the video display. I first noticed it on Oblivion, primarily when a large door was being shut. Multiple "lightning-like" lines quickly go across the screen and then are done. Granted, my new sub is pretty powerful (Axiom EP500), but I've got the volume at about 2 of 10, if not lower. If I turn the sub off, all is well, even though my main speakers produce a lot of bass.

Anyone else encounter this? Is it hard drive interference? I'm guessing it is, because it happened on a downloaded game as well, so it shouldn't be the laser. The Xbox 360 is a good 10 feet away from the sub and I've already moved it from the bottom shelf to a higher shelf, in case vibrations were coming up from the floor.

Short of just turning the sub off (or down to the point of having no impact), is there anything I can do to avoid this? I suspect it's not good for the machine!!!

I recently upgraded my audio system and have found that low subwoofer sounds cause lines in the video display. <snip>
Wild guesses - maybe a loose connection, try re-seating video cables at both ends. Maybe isolate the Xbox from vibration by putting some absorbent material under its feet. Try listening to the game sounds, but watching another video source to see if the problem is internal to the TV.

Possum, thanks for the suggestions. I tried the cables and another video source, and neither were the problem (thank God it wasn't my TV!). I made some make shift "shock absorbers" with some felt pads under the Xbox and it seemed to help a little, though the problem didn't go away, so when I can put more time and thought into it, I'm going to try something more absorbent. I guess I'm surprised with all the 5.1 systems out there nobody else has run across this! I'll report back if I find something that works.

Me again. My subwoofer/video problem seems to be some sort of electrical circuit/grounding issue, not one of vibration. The Axiom EP500 has a "Chasis Ground" screw that they instruct to remove if you're getting a 60 Hz hum. I remembered that I removed it when I first was experimenting with the sub due to what I thought was some feedback. By putting that screw back in, the video anomalies are all but gone (if the sub is turned up, a faint version still shows up). I'm sure I'm taxing my circuits with all my equipment, so I guess this shouldn't be unexpected. Anyway, problem pretty much solved.

Alas, my trusty 360 from November launch died tonight after over 8 months of good service.

I downloaded the DeadRising demo (prophetic name!), and during the opening movie the screen froze and the red checkerboard pattern appeared. :mad: I tried restarting, and the 360 logo froze when booting with some of the checkerboard in it too. Then I could get it restarted and the screen blanked. Then on reboot the dreaded red ring of death. :(

I finally got it back up and tried a different game... the Outfit. It started loading and then the freeze with checkerboard. I snapped a pic to share:

http://static.flickr.com/72/206994925_aad117e0e8_o.jpg

UPDATE: I packed it up and took it to the EBgames I bought it from w/ the warrenty papers. 10 minutes and $30 later I walked out with a new 360 and a new warrenty for another year. :cool: I normally don't do extended warrenties, but I was talked into this one and it worked out great for me. I think all my future console purchases will have the extended warrenty.

Im glad you got the warranty, I did not and Now I am paying the price.

I am getting the checkerboard and the red rings also....

Im pretty pissed that mine is toast, and yes I should have purchased the warranty from MS, but I bought mine off a private seller and I never sent the paperwork to MS.

Still for 500 bucks, this thing should last longer as little as I play.

In Europe and Aus, MS offered a 1yr warranty, but here...no dice..

Im pissed.

MS wants 130 to fix it, and they don't even know whats wrong...after 2 wireless controllers, wifi connector and 10 games, I think MS has done pretty well on me.

Grrrrr

Im glad you got the warranty, I did not and Now I am paying the price.

I am getting the checkerboard and the red rings also....

Im pretty pissed that mine is toast, and yes I should have purchased the warranty from MS, but I bought mine off a private seller and I never sent the paperwork to MS.

Still for 500 bucks, this thing should last longer as little as I play.

In Europe and Aus, MS offered a 1yr warranty, but here...no dice..

Im pissed.

MS wants 130 to fix it, and they don't even know whats wrong...after 2 wireless controllers, wifi connector and 10 games, I think MS has done pretty well on me.

GrrrrrMy first one went dead 2 months after I bought it, Its replacments CD-ROM stopped working this week. I had to pay them $130.00 sice they never processed the warranty papers I sent in.. This plain sucks. That much money for a machine that lasts 4-5 months..

So, like many, many others, mine died today. Actually if you look at the xbox tech support forums apparently there have been MASS defects within this week.

Mine sat in the same spot for months and today it just decided to 3-ring me and refuses to boot. Sometimes it will let me get as far as to load up a game or see the dashboard but always freezes within minuts or won't turn on at all (with the 3 red rings).

Total ******** and heres the kicker:

All xbox live arcade games are licened to both your system and your live profile. If you get a new system you will ONLY be able to play your downloaded games on the profile that bought them as well as requiring you to be loged into live. If you loose your net connection you're SOL.

This annoys me to all hell. I don't want a new system shipped to me or to buy a new one, i want MINE working again.

I am starting to think that the more these go bad, the more MS is going to have to admit to a problem which ...wow, you know they dont want to do....but I see a ton of them going bad in the last few days if you can really believe the forums on the net

So, like many, many others, mine died today. Actually if you look at the xbox tech support forums apparently there have been MASS defects within this week.

Mine sat in the same spot for months and today it just decided to 3-ring me and refuses to boot. Sometimes it will let me get as far as to load up a game or see the dashboard but always freezes within minuts or won't turn on at all (with the 3 red rings).

Total ******** and heres the kicker:

All xbox live arcade games are licened to both your system and your live profile. If you get a new system you will ONLY be able to play your downloaded games on the profile that bought them as well as requiring you to be loged into live. If you loose your net connection you're SOL.

This annoys me to all hell. I don't want a new system shipped to me or to buy a new one, i want MINE working again.


I thought this too initially...but all you have to do is "recover" your gamertag when your replacement arrives. An exception to this was the itunes decoder wouldn't transfer...I had to delete it from my hd then set-up a dummy silver account to redownload it. Once it was downloaded, it worked with my original gamertag. You;re right though, if for some reason you take your xbox off live you'd be ass out.

I just got the red checkerboards today while starting up Dead Rising. Rebooted the system and it locked up at the start up screen with red checkerboards. :( Rebooted again and everything was fine, played for about two hours with no problems. Is the checkerboards a sign that the 360 will soon die? Or was this just a miner system "hiccup?" :confused:

Is the checkerboards a sign that the 360 will soon die?

... magic 8 ball says: Outlook not so good.

Make sure you have a good warranty on this unit. You might get lucky and never see it again, but I wouldn't count on it.

I just got the red checkerboards today while starting up Dead Rising. Rebooted the system and it locked up at the start up screen with red checkerboards. :( Rebooted again and everything was fine, played for about two hours with no problems. Is the checkerboards a sign that the 360 will soon die? Or was this just a miner system "hiccup?" :confused:

on the xbox.com forums, it seems that this game is crashing quite a few 360's.

So, like many, many others, mine died today. Actually if you look at the xbox tech support forums apparently there have been MASS defects within this week.

Mine sat in the same spot for months and today it just decided to 3-ring me and refuses to boot. Sometimes it will let me get as far as to load up a game or see the dashboard but always freezes within minuts or won't turn on at all (with the 3 red rings).

Total ******** and heres the kicker:

All xbox live arcade games are licened to both your system and your live profile. If you get a new system you will ONLY be able to play your downloaded games on the profile that bought them as well as requiring you to be loged into live. If you loose your net connection you're SOL.

This annoys me to all hell. I don't want a new system shipped to me or to buy a new one, i want MINE working again.

I'm in the middle of the same issue. My launch day 360 just died last weekend. Swapped it out at Best Buy with the PRP, then called Microsoft about the whole Arcade issue. They made me fax in a copy of the receipt and old/new serial numbers. I have to call them back this weekend and they are going to to credit all the required M$ points to a dummy silver ID on the replacement console - then I'm going to "re-purchasae" all the games. This is supposed to restore offline/online capability for all previously purchased games. Will let you know how it works (fingers crossed).

I just got the red checkerboards today while starting up Dead Rising. Rebooted the system and it locked up at the start up screen with red checkerboards. :( Rebooted again and everything was fine, played for about two hours with no problems. Is the checkerboards a sign that the 360 will soon die? Or was this just a miner system "hiccup?" :confused:



This was removed from Gamedaily. Dont know why....

But if this is true...that using more than one core causes more faults....holy crapola...


Begin Article


Is the Xbox 360 failure rate higher than we think? One employee of a leading publisher believes so, and he also thinks that Capcom's recent release of Dead Rising is contributing to the problem. More within...


GameDaily BIZ was tipped off today by an employee of a major publisher (he wished to keep his name and company anonymous) who claims that the Xbox 360 failure rate—at least within this particular publisher's studio—has been much higher than Microsoft has stated failure rates to be.


"[We] got about 300 or so consoles to sell to us for the 360 launch - and I can tell you that from those consoles A LOT more than 5-6% of them have completely died (an informal poll comes closer to 30-50%)," the industry source said.


More interesting still was that this person witnessed even more 360 units fail when people started playing Capcom's Dead Rising around the offices.


"... it seems to center around the release of Dead Rising. The rumor no one can quite confirm right now, is that DR is one of the first games to use the Dual-Core [processors] and thus gets the machine hotter than any other games released so far," he explained.


For Capcom's part, the company doesn't seem to claim any responsibility for the apparent overheating issue. A spokesperson told us, "The game works under the specs of the 360 system and was approved by Microsoft. For anyone having issues with hardware, we have referred them to contact Microsoft for hardware support." (Capcom did not confirm at the time whether or not Dead Rising does indeed use the Dual-Core, or if this is the reason for the problem.)


After explaining the Dead Rising situation, the source then went on to further complain about the failure rate for the console and customer service at MS. "Upon investigating this online, I have discovered that over in the states they (MS) are beginning to charge people $130 to have their machines repaired if they go over the 3 mo warranty period. Some of us here at [company name removed] are on our 5th! console after returning it and burning out another and another and another. A quick calculation, and you can see that it won't take long to have your 360 costing you 2 and 3 times what the PS3 is planning on charging," he lamented. "Although they have not yet initiated that scheme here in the UK- it is still taking a month or more per exchange to ship and receive a new(refurb) console. But if it is true, that it is only just recently that games have come out that truly tax the console, that would seem like an unfair business practice to me."


GameDaily BIZ has been in touch with MS and is currently awaiting comment on this matter. We'll update the story shortly.



by James Brightman

... magic 8 ball says: Outlook not so good.

Make sure you have a good warranty on this unit. You might get lucky and never see it again, but I wouldn't count on it.

Well your 8 ball was right....... :( so I returned it to Best Buy today since I had the warranty through them. This was my second bad system so I was a little worried that they wouldn't exchange it because the fine print in the PRP warranty says that they'll only do one exchange..... but they gave me no problems. :D So now I'm on my 3rd and hopefully last 360.

I recently started receiving constant freeze ups. It all started when I tried to play madden 06 the other day. No i am getting constant freezing. The interesting thing is I can only play madden for 2 plays and then it is frozen, with the ncaa 2007 demo. I played for 15 minutes without a problem.

I have intermittent red ring when starting up too.

I have contacted MS and should be receiving my empty box soon.


I'm now getting constant freeze ups when I play Madden 2007 and NCAA 2007. I'm also experiencing the checkerboard screen occasionally when playing games. Only once have I seen the red lights. What I don't understand is why I can watch a movie or concert DVD with no freeze ups on the 360 but as soon as I play a game it freezes up. Any insight? Thanks!

I'm now getting constant freeze ups when I play Madden 2007 and NCAA 2007. I'm also experiencing the checkerboard screen occasionally when playing games. Only once have I seen the red lights. What I don't understand is why I can watch a movie or concert DVD with no freeze ups on the 360 but as soon as I play a game it freezes up. Any insight? Thanks!


Mine did the same thing and I believe that the GPU ( 3d Video card/chip) is overheating and causing the lockups.

You dont use the 3d Chip in the menu or while watching a dvd.

Make sense?

Also, this problem tends to get much worse over time once it rears its ugly head the first time

Mine did the same thing and I believe that the GPU ( 3d Video card/chip) is overheating and causing the lockups.

You dont use the 3d Chip in the menu or while watching a dvd.

Make sense?

Also, this problem tends to get much worse over time once it rears its ugly head the first time


Thanks! Luckily I decided to get the extended warranty from EB Games.

Well, I went to back to Sams Club today, with out my recipt. I kept all the Sams packing, and in about 45 seconds I had a new Xbox....

Thanks whoever suggested this. Even 10 Months later...Sams Rocks..

MY xbox 360 has been freezing up on me after like 4-5 mins of use and it is out and the open so it is not overheating. can anyone think of what it migh be.

Problems with the 360? Yeah I got problems. On top of freezing every other time I start it up, it's so loud i have to blast the volume up, while it turns my room into a blistering suana with all the heat it disperses. I have not complained about this to any forum since it's release.

BUT NOW, it left a residual ghosting of the EA sports logo on my 42in plasma. Check the video at google videos docid=674974928176909831. (I can't post links yet) I have contacted MS and they are getting back to me. EA claims no responsibilty when they are the morons that created a game with the brightest of white for a ticker that never leaves the screen for as long as you play a game (which is almost an hour on 5 min quarters).

^^trust me, I've had the TV for 9 months and I know the ghosting eventually disappears, usually after an hour or so. video was taken over a day since I last played the game and it's still there 5 days after that. I only played the game for 4-5 hours tops, 4 full games and like 3 frozen games, seriously. I've not had this problem so severe with any other games, channels, dvd, or a computer on this TV.^^

...and now it seems that I have a red checkered stalemate and the red ring of death to look forward to. Wonderful. It's also a lauch date system so I guess I'm screwed over with the warranty. 1-800-4MY-XBOX is gonna get a call from me tomorrow, and I feel sorry for the rep and the supe that are going to get my call.

If you work at an XBOX call center, don't go into work this week.

search google videos label:madden

well, on the one hand, you can't blame ea or any other company for burn in when you're playing on a tv that is susceptible to burn in. that's your fault. on the other hand, that was the first thing that i noticed when i started playing madden 07: why the hell does that score bar on the bottom NEVER disappear? in ncaa it goes away during highlights, replays and at the end of the half and each quarter. but in madden, it's there continually. very dumb move on their part.

I admit knowing that my TV was susceptable to a burn in. I have played other games on this television for extended periods of time without any problem at all (and left my TV on with the comcast guide on for almost a day straight). I mean imagine watching 2 back to back episodes of SportsCenter and then you have the ticker on every other channel whenever the screen gets bright.

I played 4 games of madden. Four full games spread out between 2 days on my TV. I had no reason to believe that this could happen to my TV in such a short period of time. There wasn't a label on the game saying the ticker would be bright white and on the entire time. They don't even have it pictured on the back of the box. It certainly doesn't mention a thing about plasma televisions and warnings in the back of the manual like the EA rep suggested to me. All it mentions is the information about the warranty and apparently EA won't cover the warranty on my TV, according to the EA rep of course. He was very helpful.

Anyway, it's because of EA and Xbox's poor game design on this one.

Having the Xbox freeze on me when I have passed out in the middle of the game and end up leaving it on the screen for days and then I get an EA logo burned on my TV? - My fault.

Playing a game like normal (and minimal) and then seeing a circle with two lines going across the entire bottom of my screen? - Game designer's fault.

It's not like I got the game and put in my xbox and let the it run for 3 days straight. Ironically, if I did do that, the Xbox 360 screen saver would kick in and dim the TV, AND I noticed the demo doesn't even show the ticker.

..try the nyko intercooler..it really helps get the heat out.

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2006/08/xbox_gamers02.html

..I completely agree with that article. I'm on my 2nd 360 as my launch unit died last E3. There is no doubt that this thing runs way hotter than the parts are able to handle. Again...I do recommend the intercooler, for 20 bucks it really does help in my opinion. The only problem with it is that it makes a lot of noise if I have it start with the 360..so I power the 360 first, then turn on the intercooler after a few minutes...no problems. These heating problems will continue to plague the 360 until a redesign...the same with my macbook pro...fancy dual and tri chips are just too hot at the moment.

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2006/08/xbox_gamers02.html

Dead Rising has apparently sold 500,000 copies in the first two weeks. This article would suggest that MS' returns dept. is about to be swamped. I thought this:
That 3-5 percent would not correspond with the nearly 40 complaints ConsumerAffairs.Com has received and the growing chorus of blogs and forums saturating the Internet on the topic. Even Microsoft's moderated www.Xbox.com forum has complaints about the system's failure.
was a bit hyperbole heavy. 40 complaints doesn't seem that steep for a consumer affairs website and, although there are a lot of sites with reports of failure, is it really surprising that there would be complaints on the XBox forums?

It would be nice to get some hard numbers on the failure rate but it seems to be all over the place. I'm inclined to believe it may be over 5% but I don't think it's in the 'fundamental design flaw' range. There seem to be plenty of people who have consoles that run ok.

Alas, my trusty 360 from November launch died tonight after over 8 months of good service.

I downloaded the DeadRising demo (prophetic name!), and during the opening movie the screen froze and the red checkerboard pattern appeared. :mad: I tried restarting, and the 360 logo froze when booting with some of the checkerboard in it too. Then I could get it restarted and the screen blanked. Then on reboot the dreaded red ring of death. :(

I finally got it back up and tried a different game... the Outfit. It started loading and then the freeze with checkerboard. I snapped a pic to share:

http://static.flickr.com/72/206994925_aad117e0e8_o.jpg

UPDATE: I packed it up and took it to the EBgames I bought it from w/ the warrenty papers. 10 minutes and $30 later I walked out with a new 360 and a new warrenty for another year. :cool: I normally don't do extended warrenties, but I was talked into this one and it worked out great for me. I think all my future console purchases will have the extended warrenty.

i got around 7 months out of mine. just bought another one from compusa with the 2 year replacement guarantee.

quick question. i read that one shouldn't set the console too close to a subwoofer. mine was set up about a foot away standing vertically. is that a problem??

i got around 7 months out of mine. just bought another one from compusa with the 2 year replacement guarantee.

quick question. i read that one shouldn't set the console too close to a subwoofer. mine was set up about a foot away standing vertically. is that a problem??

..I have mine relatively close to my sub (within 18 inches)...I wouldn't think it's a problem unless maybe you have your sub jacked to an extreme level.

thanks. i just tested the new one out last night. amazing how much more quietly it runs.

does anyone know why running any dvds on the 360 with a resolution 1360x768 on a vga cable the screen crops to a square but when games or the dashboard is used it goes back to widesreen?

ive found reducing the res and changing the screen format from widesceen to normal on the 360 fixes the dvd issue(hi resolutions seemed to be pre fixed to widescreen on 360, on mine anyway) but i then lose out on games as they are then squashed and cropped top to bottom?

can someone please enlighten me on this issue!

my xbox has been getting these checkerboard that people talk about.
so i want to take it back to best buy i bought the 2 year plan thing. but
my question is do you think i could guve them the xbox minus the hard drive?

my xbox has been getting these checkerboard that people talk about.
so i want to take it back to best buy i bought the 2 year plan thing. but
my question is do you think i could guve them the xbox minus the hard drive?

sweetness... I would recommend talking to the manager and asking if you can swap hard drives when you exchange it. Tell them you are certain that the problem isn't the HD and request to open the box, remove the HD from the new one and put your old one on.

Good luck!

my xbox has been getting these checkerboard that people talk about.
so i want to take it back to best buy i bought the 2 year plan thing. but
my question is do you think i could guve them the xbox minus the hard drive?

I've done that twice at Best Buy. They didn't even ask me about the hard drive. They just removed the drive from the new 360, put it on the bad 360 and handed me the new system.

I haven't had any problems to speak of over the last 4 months that I've had my 360. However, lately its been freezing quite frequently and I have a sneaking suspicion that it is a prelude to a much more significant problem forthcoming. I tried calling support, but i was on hold for 20 minutes and gave up. I have the 3 year warranty so there shouldn't be any problems. I would like to know though if the newer 360s have solved the problems or if I should wait for a more significant change to the system. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

I got a 360 on launch day. @ 4:00 am in the morning at target (yeah, to you guys I'm one of the "old dudes" looking to score). ;)

Anyway, I have my 360 in an HT cabinet with at least 6 inches of clearance all around. Door on that side of the cabinet stays open...lots of ambient air.

I am on my 4th return to 800-4my-xbox....my fourth.

We have a forum (see sig) where we discuss certain things concerning HT, 360, PC's blah, blah, blah. I have no idea why I continue to go through 360's. The members of the forum have affectionately named it "the Girr effect". Bascially, I touch something electronic and blamo...thing is shot.

I have been told to try and cool the HT cabinet down (gots me a lot of stuff that produces heat (http://www.betraythis.com/forum/gallery/albums/userpics/10002/equipment.JPG)) but don't feel I should have to cool my HT cabinet....which I don't even thing to be the problem to begin with.

I think the failure rate is much higher than M$ would lead you to believe.

Just my .02

rmcgirr83,

Dude that sucks. Mine broke just recently too. ( I play with the BetrayThis guys a bunch)

I filed a complaint with the BBB and hopefully get some kind of discount to fix my 360

360 ($400) + console repair ($140) + 2 year extended warranty on 2nd console ($60) = PS3???? ($599)

nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!! not RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIDGGGGGGE RACCEERRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!

I had my 360 for awhile now and I just thought Sega/Visual Concepts screwed up on a launch title like NBA2K6 but there is some serious overscan on my DLP. I realized this after looking through the booklet included with COD2 and said to myself, my display looks different than ones shown here. :rolleyes: The model is a Toshiba 52HMX84. I used this image pattern which are both available in 720p & 1080i but since the native resolution is 720p then I didn't bother with any other resolution. Overscan is seen on both HD settings and I was wondering if there are any set of instructions fellow members can share to fix this setting. Hopefully this can be adjusted in the service menu but if it's a bit too complicated then I'll look towards a professional who might be able to help.

http://members.chello.se/zacabeb/repository/scaling_chart_720.jpg

http://members.chello.se/zacabeb/repository/scaling_chart_1080.jpg

Now here are my results, the area inside the red border shows what is not visible. I double checked time and time again and it's more or less the same situation when running in 1080i.

http://img84.imageshack.us/img84/7544/scalingchart720xf3.jpg

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

read this. here you can a detailed error code instead of just a ring of light. involves holding down the sync button and pressing eject.

http://forums.xbox-scene.com/index.php?showtopic=484726


then this,

http://forums.xbox-scene.com/index.php?showtopic=539063

within the second thread he talks about using a heatgun to heat up the solder joints on the BGA chips to get a better connection. seems the manufacturing process where they put these things through an 'oven' to solder the joints sucks. from what i'm reading the manufacturing process still hasn't been fixed.

here is a youtube video of the heat gun process, please read the thread first to understand what is going on..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYv6b7MndJk

also, look into whether your state legal code has, ' Implied Warranty of Merchantability '. You can pull this with MS to get around their $150 replacement fee garbage.

just had my first burn in/ image retention problem. After playing madden 07 360
for a three hours a day over a few day period i now have a faint but detectable ea logo and ticker tape on my 42" panny plasma. I have noticed minor ghosting in the past but it always goes away quickly. this has been there for a week now.

anyone have a similar problem? how can i fix it? it does not seem to be burn in but more like image retention if i understand the difference between the two.

you really can't see it when watching tv (unless you look really closely on certain frames.
you can see it when the screen is black or light and it still very faint.

bottom line. i know its there and i want it to go away. the store i purchased it from says the extended warranty i purchased does cover burn in, but i would rather fix it/
i love this tv!

any suggestions?

Use the snow dude. Snow works great. Unplug your TV from any type of cable source and just allow the snow to sit there for a couple of hours. Sometimes plasmas will suffer from some faint image retention and all that is needed is to change the image and play that for a while, e.g. pop in a movie or something with some motion. Sometimes, however, this is not enough. Sometimes you need something that can create an all white screen, as is required when the burn-in is caused by a bright white "Ticker". There are plasmas that have a feature like this built in, which is awesome, but for those of us whose plasma does not, a screen full of white and black snow for a couple of hours will do the trick.

Hello,

I have a Sony Grand Wega 46" LCDRP. It has a beautiful image on all inputs except for my xbox 360.

On the 360, there is a thick scan line that runs slowly and repeatedly up the screen, causing a lighter image and some discolouration.

I had this problem on my first 360, and returned it thinking it was the unit. Then this one worked perfectly for two days, but suddenly started the problem again.

I am using component cables. I have tried switching the component cables and it didn't work.

I have tried switching inputs on the back of the tv, and it didn't work.

My original xbox (component), Gamecube (RCA) and digital cable (HDMI) do not have this problem.

I have checked the firmness of the cables.

The problem is bad on 720p, but far worse on 480p, making DVD's unpleasant to watch.

The AV switch is set to HDTV.

People have suggested that it could be a power supply issue. But i have tried unplugging everything except the tv and xbox, but no improvement, also I don't see why only the 360 would have this problem if it was a power issue.

I've called 4MyXbox and recevied no help, they say it's the tv, and sony says it's the xbox.

I'm at my wits end, can anyone help me? I don't know what might be causing this. Or direct me to a better thread?

I just have a crappy power bar that everything except the 360 is plugged into.

Thanks.

I'd suggest you try the Xbox 360 on another TV that is similar to yours and see if the problem follws the 360.

Why can't the Xbox360 (or any console for that matter) just come without any case (or housing). Wouldn't that solve the overheating problem?

I recently picked up a 360 and hooked it up to my new Sony KDS-60A2000 and when I've played Halo 2 it is not displaying in widescreen. When I adjust the set to Full view (vs. Normal), the image is stretched (I can tell easily because the radar is oval, not round). I have it connected by component to Input 4, which is designated as an HD input. On the Xbox cable, I have it switched to HD and in the Xbox settings, I have it output in 720p. What am I missing? Do I have to set it to 1080i to get widescreen? Any thoughts would help. (keep in mind that these components are new, so I could be missing something obvious).

Teammca... it sounds like you have it set up correctly. I believe the image you are seeing isn't really stretched, it just looks that way because Bungie stretched the HUD overlay so the targeting circle looks like an oval.

Find a warthog and look at the tires. They should look round to you... correct?

Hi guys,

Sorry I'm new, this may have already been answered in the thread or elsewhere but I can't seem to find it.

The Problem: I was playing a game the other day and the colors started messing up. Like they became too light and too dark and also very blocky (I thought it was the game messing up). I turned my 360 off immediately and didn't play it anymore for a day or two. Then I put a dvd and everything is well and good until I start the movie, then the same thing starts happening and the dvd freezes up. I decide to switch to TV setting and plug in the yellow red white cables and then when I turn it back on I get sound and no picture. So I plug the blue green red cables back in, and then I get picture and sound (picture is messed up as previously described). But when I go to change display settings it says HDTV is disabled and I realize I didn't switch the cord back to the HDTV setting. It all goes to hell from here. I switch it to the appropriate HDTV setting and then get nothing but an array of white/gray rectangles. I try the yellow red white (with the cord set to TV) on a different tv (non-HD) and get nothing but sound. So I take it back to my main tv and get very faint vertical white/gray lines when hooked up with yellow red white (and still get horizontal boxes when component is hooked up and set to HDTV).

I'm hoping that its just the cable and not the 360 and I plan to buy a new cable when I get money to see if that resolves the problem.

Anybody have any ideas?

EDIT: When the colors started messing up it wasn't the "checkerboard" that I've seen images off. It was more like pixelated (spelling?).

Anybody have any ideas?
I'm not an expert, but it sounds to me like the GPU might be heating up. Are you getting any red warning lights on the console? Do you have it well-ventilated as opposed to confined in your entertainment center? When was it manufactured? 2005?

Call 1-800-4MYXBOX, it can't hurt.

I'm not an expert, but it sounds to me like the GPU might be heating up. Are you getting any red warning lights on the console? Do you have it well-ventilated as opposed to confined in your entertainment center? When was it manufactured? 2005?

Call 1-800-4MYXBOX, it can't hurt.

No red lights. I have it sitting on top of a box (laying down, not standing) in such a way that both bottom vents hang off the edge. The first time it did it, I was playing Saint's Row and I had only been playing for 15 minutes.

I just hooked it back up to my tv with the switch on HD and now I get about 6 columns of alternating long and short white bars (probably 20-40 rows) that squiggle. I also tried yellow red white again on TV setting and got a flicker of white bars for 1/2 a second and then black screen. Sound still works. It was purchased on the release day and has been good up until now.

It was purchased on the release day and has been good up until now.
Call Microsoft. They're fixing all consoles manufactured in 2005 for free, so all it will cost you is about two weeks without your 360.

No red lights. I have it sitting on top of a box (laying down, not standing) in such a way that both bottom vents hang off the edge. The first time it did it, I was playing Saint's Row and I had only been playing for 15 minutes.

I just hooked it back up to my tv with the switch on HD and now I get about 6 columns of alternating long and short white bars (probably 20-40 rows) that squiggle. I also tried yellow red white again on TV setting and got a flicker of white bars for 1/2 a second and then black screen. Sound still works. It was purchased on the release day and has been good up until now.

Hi Jethromoore..........I just wanted to chime in here because you appear to have the same problems that I had last week. It first occurred when I was playing GRAW for about 15 minutes (I got the same type of pattern of colors on the screen) and then it inevitably froze up on me. Well, I turned it off and let it sit for a few days before I was able to get back on. Again, it started acting up on me (alternating color bars and freezing) but no red lights had appeared. I then proceeded to unplug everything (hard drive, all cables, ect) and got it to work again for the rest of the day (perhaps an hour or two of total playing time). However, the next day when I went to turn it on and start gaming again, the 3 Red Lights of Death reared their ugly head indicating to me that the system was toast.

As a lot of others have indicated (not everyone mind you), once the problems started, they only seemed to get worse over time. It took about a week for my Xbox to go from slight freezing/color bar issues to the 3 Red Lights. Like yourself, I have an early 360 (my mfg date was listed as 11/28/05) so I called it into the help line and they are in the process of sending me my shipping box in order to send it back for a free repair or replacement. Before last week, my machine ran perfectly with not so much as a hiccup, so I was of course a little disappointed. The only consolation is that it happened now instead of the week when Gears of War releases! Anyway, I am not trying to scare you as your machine might be just fine, but the Microsoft C.R. was very courteous and helpful so it may be in your best interest to at least contact them and describe your exact situation. Although they may suggest that you should send in your system for a possible manufacturing defect, you may at least have a little peace of mind come November when the big name games start hitting the store shelves. Good luck!

Call Microsoft. They're fixing all consoles manufactured in 2005 for free, so all it will cost you is about two weeks without your 360.

Well I just went out and bought a new video cable, and it did not fix it (so much for optimism :() . So I called them and during our "troubleshooting" session I got the red lights of death. Anyways they are fixing it for free (kind of). I still have to pay for a box and packing to ship it in and postage to send it to freakin' Texas, but I guess that's better than $130.

Thanks for the help guys!

Well I just went out and bought a new video cable, and it did not fix it (so much for optimism :() . So I called them and during our "troubleshooting" session I got the red lights of death. Anyways they are fixing it for free (kind of). I still have to pay for a box and packing to ship it in and postage to send it to freakin' Texas, but I guess that's better than $130.

Thanks for the help guys!

Hey Jethromoore.......sorry to hear that you have to send it in. Seems like your machine followed the same exact pattern of failure as mine. At least you can get it taken care of now for a relatively minor inconvenience. I am curious as to why you are paying for a box and postage to send it back to them. Of all the reports that I have read (myself included), Microsoft offered to send the shipping box with prepaid postage within 3 to 4 business days of my phone call. Did you just want to send it in earlier so you would not have to wait for a box to arrive? I am just curious as I would probably have bit the bullet and paid for the box and postage if I could have sent the machine out the day I called it in (which was this past Saturday and I am still waiting for their box to arrive). Oh well, I guess I have a little more time to spend admiring my $400 doorstop while waiting for the box to arrive. :) Anyway, good luck!

So I have been saving money and buy Best Buy gift cards for like 2 months to buy a 360 .This mourning I went to BB and got a wireless network card .Im supper excited to get a 360 in about 4 weeks or so. AND THEN IT HAPPENS. I go snooping were I should not. I found this thread!
Now I am about 90% shere Im taking back the network card and 1 game I bought for it already and saving a extra 3 or 6 months for a PS3. Why cant company's release product that is 100% working perfect instead they ALL rush stuff and it always works hafe a$$. I guess Im glad I seen this thread before I wasted $500 big ones.

Eric... not to sound harsh, but what makes you think a PS3 will have no problems?

MS has been excellent with support for these issues -- I'm not sure how good Sony will be.

It's very simple... make sure the unit has good ventilation, buy an extended warranty from either Best Buy or Microsoft and if a problem does happen it will be fixed or replaced pronto.

I'm not sure. I want SOOO bad to get a 360 since I am a loyal fan of the x-box and the demo's I have seen and played just look/are fantastic. I think I will still buy a 360 ,but wait until Thanksgiving or so to do so. Maybe they will have more bugs worked out by then...maybe... :(

In this thread you'll hear mostly about problems. That's the name of the thread. The majority of us have had none, but a thread called "The NO PROBLEM thread" would not get as much attention. If you were to read forums covering problems with cars, you could easily decide never to buy a car based on the problems people report. Relax. The worst that will happen is that you'll be sending the box back to get fixed and be without it briefly. And that's unlikely. Base your decision on the games and the positives, and don't assume that a console that is yet to be delivered will be perfect or even any better in reliability.

...Of all the reports that I have read (myself included), Microsoft offered to send the shipping box with prepaid postage within 3 to 4 business days of my phone call. Did you just want to send it in earlier so you would not have to wait for a box to arrive? I am just curious...

No they said that I had to send it in. They also told me to NOT write the words microsoft, xbox, 360, or anything of that nature on the package because they have had a problem with boxes marked this way getting "lost" in the mail. It may have something to with that...?

No they said that I had to send it in. They also told me to NOT write the words microsoft, xbox, 360, or anything of that nature on the package because they have had a problem with boxes marked this way getting "lost" in the mail. It may have something to with that...?

Wow.....I was not informed of this on the phone by the Microsoft C.R. I understand the logic behind not putting the words "Microsoft", "Xbox", etc on the shipping box, but I don't know why I was not told to do this. Well, I am still waiting for their box to arrive, so I guess I will wait and see what instructions (if any) are included with it. The rep on the phone just gave me a reference number and told me to send in the console only (nothing else - he stressed that repeatedly as if others have been sending in all sorts of accessories). Hopefully the box will be waiting for me when I get home today from work and I can get this ball rolling. I will let you know if I get any out of the ordinary instructions from Microsoft regarding shipping. Take it easy.

^Yea let me know how that goes. I still haven't mailed mine in yet because they have been updating their system and they cannot create a work order for me while their system is updating (they assured me last night that the upgrade would be finished today). I still got the reference # and the spiel about sending the console ONLY. But from what I have been reading about the launch 360s possibly having an actual failure rate of 40-50% (as opposed to the claimed 5-6% or something) then they may be trying to get customers (like me) to absorb the shipping costs. I have no other clue as to why they would change this policy between the time that you called and I called. Let me know what that box says on it...

EDIT: So I just got off the phone w/xbox and they created a work order for me and whatnot. The guy told me that the policy was that I had to pay to ship it and they would pay return shipping. No response on why. But whatever, I am not going to argue with them because I have had the thing for almost a year and they said it was still under the 90 day warranty.

I plan on buying one of them intercooler things for the new xbox...

Well I got a 360 PRO tonight. Got it home and it was dead out of the box. First thing the circle of light gave me a red light in the 4 o'clock position. Looked it up and found the code to mean hardware error. Took it back 2nd 360 is golden so far ( Knocks on wood ). I have one question to anyone.
I have a GREEN light in the 11 o'clock position of the circle of light & on the controller. What does this mean?

I have a GREEN light in the 11 o'clock position of the circle of light & on the controller. What does this mean?

It means that you have one controller connected. You'll notice that if you stand it up (or lay it down) the green light will switch to stay in the 11 oclock position. One little trinket microsoft decided was more important than resolving heating issues :rolleyes: . It also helps you see who is player 1, 2, 3, 4 when you have multiple controllers connected (player 2's controller will be lit up upper right corner and the upper right green light will be lit, etc.)

Thanks Jeth

Eric... did you go for warrenty too?

^Yea let me know how that goes. I still haven't mailed mine in yet because they have been updating their system and they cannot create a work order for me while their system is updating (they assured me last night that the upgrade would be finished today). I still got the reference # and the spiel about sending the console ONLY. But from what I have been reading about the launch 360s possibly having an actual failure rate of 40-50% (as opposed to the claimed 5-6% or something) then they may be trying to get customers (like me) to absorb the shipping costs. I have no other clue as to why they would change this policy between the time that you called and I called. Let me know what that box says on it...

EDIT: So I just got off the phone w/xbox and they created a work order for me and whatnot. The guy told me that the policy was that I had to pay to ship it and they would pay return shipping. No response on why. But whatever, I am not going to argue with them because I have had the thing for almost a year and they said it was still under the 90 day warranty.

I plan on buying one of them intercooler things for the new xbox...

Thanks for the update Jethro........I wish I could give you an update as well, but unfortunately my shipping box did not arrive last night. Hopefully tonight (although I am not holding my breath)! Again, I will let you know what the box says when (and if) I get it. Later.

Well last night my 360 croaked on me :mad: . I have the three red lights flashing, all but the top right one! So back to FRY's it goes for a replacment unit, BRAND NEW! :D I've had my 360 since Jan 2006. I hade the intercooler, rubber feet and the whole nine. Still died on me. I have a 2 yr warranty though.

Are the current builds of the 360 stable? Any changes under the hood?I have the HD-DVD addon preordered and would hate to get it home and have the 360 take a nose dive. This sucks!

Well on sunday I got the "3 Rings". I called Best Buy's 1-800 number to get a replacement, as I got the 2-yr warranty for it and i've only had it since may... The lady I talked to said since its been more then 90 days since original purchase, I cant go instore to get a new one I have to deal with mailing it (Which is BS I think). They are going to send me a box and then I am supposed to ship everything that the system came with and then I should get a gift card back with the exact amount I paid for it. I am a little wary of this cause I don't really want to get rid of my HD... Its got my achievements and gamer points on it, plus my saves for the past 4 months. Anyone have any experience with B.B. and their policies??? Were they lenient on the HD??? Thanks.

I don't really want to get rid of my HD... Its got my achievements and gamer points on it, plus my saves for the past 4 months.

fyi.. you will loose your saves, but your achievements, gamerpoints and I believe bought Arcade titles can be recovered to a completely new system.

My Xbox is not connected to the internet, I have online been online with it once and that was when the Dead Rising Demo came out... I dont play it that much so never wanted the online subscription, plus I hate multiplayer. I was thinking that if I took my HD to a friends house and went online with it there, I should be updated right? And then maybe buy a Memory Card and my saves on the and then put them on the new HD when I get it?

My Xbox is not connected to the internet, I have online been online with it once and that was when the Dead Rising Demo came out... I dont play it that much so never wanted the online subscription, plus I hate multiplayer. I was thinking that if I took my HD to a friends house and went online with it there, I should be updated right? And then maybe buy a Memory Card and my saves on the and then put them on the new HD when I get it?

Which update do you want? BC or OS? You can download Backwards Compatibility updates or get a CD with them on from MS/Xbox.com. OS updates are released on newer games. I believe GRAW was the first one most people noticed this on.

Is it normal for the 360 to erase the full percentage of a download that hasn't finish it's full completion, after the 360 has been turned off? I understand if u turn off the machine while downloading this may happen, but what if u stop the download to complete it later? I thought the partial download was saved if u cease it to complete it later. This has happened if few times, i'll download something and because my broadband is so slow, I cancel the download (and then it says it can be continued at a later date) then I exit out of "active downloads" then I sign out. I then turn the 360 off. Later I come back to it and reactivate the download and sometimes the 30% has gone missing, other times it's like the original download never existed.
I'll admit im a bit of a goon when it comes to things that are crystal clear to other people, so please someone explain this to me to understand cause theres something im missing here. everything ive read on 'live' says i should be able to pick up where i left off, but that isn't the case.

Eric... did you go for warrenty too?
I sure did!
So far so good with it.

Well Gentleman, i thought i was one of the lucky ones who picked up the 360 on day one, but had no issues. Instead i woke up to the 3 rings of death saturday morning. It all started as everyone said, playing the Demo of Dead Rising. I first got the vertical lines, and was downloading the new Tiger Demo and thought it may have been an issue with xbox live. I had to go on a business trip so no xbox for a week, came back and bam. End Game of my xbox. I have the extended warranty under Microsoft, so no shipping fees/repair costs, but it looks like im waiting at least 2 weeks to have it repaired.

I downloaded the demo and nothing bad happen.
I have only played it once ,out of fear for my box ,I deleted it. You play one zombie game ,you played them all. :)

It wasnt till the 3rd time i played Dead Rising that i encounterd problems

No they said that I had to send it in. They also told me to NOT write the words microsoft, xbox, 360, or anything of that nature on the package because they have had a problem with boxes marked this way getting "lost" in the mail. It may have something to with that...?

Just this past Sunday evening (10/22/06), after a couple of freezes (with a moire-like overlay), my X360 exhibited the red rings as well.

It actually froze the night before as well, on the main blade screen....not playing or watching anything at the time....same moire-like overlay pattern; but I turned it "off" and then "on" and it worked okay then. And I am not an avid gamer (more into Home Theater & High Def)...so my 360 averages about 4 hours of use maximum per week.

I got mine on Jan 01, 2006, and it has a MFG DATE of 11-14-2005.

I tried all the solutions...e.g., disconnecting/reconnecting hard drive, cables, deciphering the codes, etc., to no avail.

So I contacted the Support Center.....and I was happy they were AT LEAST available on a Sunday evening....it was about 10PM est........ and I was also told I'd have to pay for shipping the unit back to them and how I'd have to secure my own packaging, but they'd repair it for Free.

I was also told to only place REPAIR CENTER, the Return Auth/reference#, and the address on the label as well.

Since I wanted to expedite this entire process, I located a suitable box and some nearly perfectly-shaped styrofoam holders at home, and packed it that night...going to bed 2 hours later than I needed :mad: ....got like 4 hours sleep before work.

The funny thing (well maybe not funny :( ) is that the clerk at the UPS Store I mailed the unit from yesterday saw the label and immediately said, "oh....you got a Xbox 360 there huh?".

But I figure, for $15 to UPS it to Texas is a LOT cheaper than $150. :D

Not wanting to be without it for however long it might take to repair, on the way home from work I bought another one :D . This one has a MFG DATE of 05/2006.

I'd planned on simply getting a CORE, but they didn't have where I purchased the unit (believe it or not....when you don't want a CORE, EVERYONE has CORES :mad: )...because I'd just planned on saving $100 & attaching my hard drive from the original to the Core. The only thing Microsoft wanted me to return was the Premium console.

So eventually I'll have 2 units...hadn't really planned on having two of these.......but like having 2 cars....maybe it will insure I'll have something to fall back on if one of them should develop a problem down the road.

BTW, I think I'll purchase Microsoft's $60 2-year extended warranty for the one I just purchased yesterday. ;) It would probably be "wishful thinking" to believe that Microsoft will provide FREE repair for out-of-warranty consoles exhibiting the red rings of death, with build dates of 2006.

But I figure, for $15 to UPS it to Texas is a LOT cheaper than $150. :D


I sent mine in a flat rate box through post office... the box was free and shipping is a flat rate $8. The box was like the perfect size for the 360.

But 15 or 8 is still more expensive than totally free... :(

I sent mine in a flat rate box through post office... the box was free and shipping is a flat rate $8. The box was like the perfect size for the 360.

But 15 or 8 is still more expensive than totally free... :(

Hey Jethro, sorry I didn't write back sooner as I told you that I would let you know what the deal was with my 360 return. Well, I called Xbox Customer Support to see what the deal was and it appears that if you placed your call in by last Saturday (Oct. 14th) you were provided with a box and free prepaid shipping. The rep said I was "lucky" I placed my call in when I did or I would have had to pay for the shipping myself (like you unfortunately had to). My shipping box finally arrived on Friday (almost a week after the initial trouble call) and contained the prepaid shipping labels and all. Although the reps that I have talked to at Xbox support have been polite and helpful throughout this minor ordeal, I believe they are throwing around the word "lucky" a bit too liberally. :) I don't think that anyone that is without their $400 console can be considered "lucky"! Oh well, at least it is football season! Good luck with your return and lets hope we all get our consoles back soon.

Hey Jethro, sorry I didn't write back sooner as I told you that I would let you know what the deal was with my 360 return. Well, I called Xbox Customer Support to see what the deal was and it appears that if you placed your call in by last Saturday (Oct. 14th) you were provided with a box and free prepaid shipping. The rep said I was "lucky" I placed my call in when I did or I would have had to pay for the shipping myself (like you unfortunately had to). My shipping box finally arrived on Friday (almost a week after the initial trouble call) and contained the prepaid shipping labels and all. Although the reps that I have talked to at Xbox support have been polite and helpful throughout this minor ordeal, I believe they are throwing around the word "lucky" a bit too liberally. :) I don't think that anyone that is without their $400 console can be considered "lucky"! Oh well, at least it is football season! Good luck with your return and lets hope we all get our consoles back soon.

Thanks for the update Cletus, glad to hear you finally got your box and everything. I guess I was "unlucky" that my xbox didn't screw up until after the 14th. Oh well, according to my tracking number, they got my xbox yesterday, and I was told it would be 7-10 days before I get it back. Hopefully they are a little more punctual with the return shipping than they were with your prepaid box. And hopefully the new improved xboxs will last and hold up with the newer games.

Yeah, I just checked my tracking number this morning and it also arrived yesterday. I never heard the 7 to 10 day quote for return of my console, but then again I never asked. I guess I can wait that long (I have no choice anyway), but I sure hope I can get it back and up and running by the time Gears of War comes out! Thats not asking too much I hope. Take it easy!

I just want to know how it seems everyone recently has been able to get their 360 fixed by Microsoft without having to pay the $130. My 360 has officially kicked the bucket with the 3 red lights and nothing coming on the screen no matter how many times i plug/unplug everything. I have called Microsoft and they will not help me at all unless I cough up the $130 plus shipping because I am past the 90 day warranty and my 360 was built in 2006. Does anyone have any ideas that I can try, or am I SOL and need to stop moaning? I have tried nearly everything in this forum and nothing works. Please someone tell me to shut up and suck it up and move on with my life. I'm sorry, I just feel cheated somehow and want to curl in the fetal position and cry myself to sleep.

I just want to know how it seems everyone recently has been able to get their 360 fixed by Microsoft without having to pay the $130. My 360 has officially kicked the bucket with the 3 red lights and nothing coming on the screen no matter how many times i plug/unplug everything. I have called Microsoft and they will not help me at all unless I cough up the $130 plus shipping because I am past the 90 day warranty and my 360 was built in 2006. Does anyone have any ideas that I can try, or am I SOL and need to stop moaning? I have tried nearly everything in this forum and nothing works. Please someone tell me to shut up and suck it up and move on with my life. I'm sorry, I just feel cheated somehow and want to curl in the fetal position and cry myself to sleep.

Hey Casper........sorry about your situation. The reason why I, as well as others, have gotten their 360 fixed for free is that Microsoft admitted that there was a high defect rate among the initial production batch made in 2005. Due to this issue, Microsoft decided to provide free repairs for any console that was manufactured BEFORE Jan. 1, 2006. I know that is not good news for you because you have a 2006 console in need of repairs, but that was the deal that Microsoft decided to implement. Again, I wish I had better news, but unfortunately that is situation at hand. I don't blame you for feeling cheated, so I will not tell you to shut up and move on :D Good luck!

My guess or suggestion it to complain that it broke du2 software(dead rising) and that xbox is responsible for the repair. Ask for a supervisor if you need to.

Cletus: I just got of the phone with microsoft and I have the tracking number for my fixed xbox... should be here 31st. You have any luck with yours?

Or anybody else?

Cletus: I just got of the phone with microsoft and I have the tracking number for my fixed xbox... should be here 31st. You have any luck with yours?

Or anybody else?

What's up Jethro......that is a pretty quick turn around to be getting you console back. Pretty impressive. I totally forgot to call this weekend to find out what the situation was with my Xbox, so I will have to wait till I get home from work today to find out my repair status. Waiting for the prepaid shipping box to arrive seemed to increase my overall turnaround time (obviously). I think I would have rather just took the hit and paid for the shipping myself in order to get the console out the door and to the repair center faster as you did. Oh well, no worries I guess. I will let you know my status as soon as I find out later on today. Out of curiosity, did they mention that they actually fixed your console that you sent in or are they just sending a different unit than the one that was originally yours. If I am going to get a refurbished unit back (which I am pretty sure I will - not a new unit like some have claimed to have received), I would at least like to know that it was my original unit as I know the entire history of the console. I know that is being a little bit anal, but I think it is a fair request. Anyway, have a good one!

They didn't mention it to me when I called to get an update. But I think during my initial call, they mentioned to me that once they got my xbox, they would do 1 of 3 things.

A) Fix it and return it.
B) Send a refurbished console.
C) Send a new console.

I find it highly unlikely that they would send out a new console, unless they had a huge pile of broken 360s and no refurbished units on hand. I considered making some sort of mark on the bottom of my console to see if I get the same one back, but then I figured that just because you get the same outer case back, does not mean that what is inside is the same (except for the fixed part). If I remember correctly, the manufacture date was on the plastic outer cover, so you could get an outer shell that said the manf. date was x-x-xxxx but the actual guts were actually manufactured y-y-yyyy.

From what I've read about the numerous problems people are having with the original builds, I just imagine there being 3 piles of stuff at the repair center: Broken 360 innards waiting to be fixed, working 360 innards waiting to be shelled and sent back, and outer shells. I would doubt that they could actually tell you if you were getting your 360 back or not, but I would guess the chances are slim. Hopefully for your sake Cletus (and mine as I would like to get my original 360 back) I am wrong.

Heck, i'd take a new model. I didnt write down my tracking # when i sent back my unit last wednesday. I'll call them this wednesday to see if it has been received and if i can get any timeframe.

They didn't mention it to me when I called to get an update. But I think during my initial call, they mentioned to me that once they got my xbox, they would do 1 of 3 things.

A) Fix it and return it.
B) Send a refurbished console.
C) Send a new console.

I find it highly unlikely that they would send out a new console, unless they had a huge pile of broken 360s and no refurbished units on hand. I considered making some sort of mark on the bottom of my console to see if I get the same one back, but then I figured that just because you get the same outer case back, does not mean that what is inside is the same (except for the fixed part). If I remember correctly, the manufacture date was on the plastic outer cover, so you could get an outer shell that said the manf. date was x-x-xxxx but the actual guts were actually manufactured y-y-yyyy.

From what I've read about the numerous problems people are having with the original builds, I just imagine there being 3 piles of stuff at the repair center: Broken 360 innards waiting to be fixed, working 360 innards waiting to be shelled and sent back, and outer shells. I would doubt that they could actually tell you if you were getting your 360 back or not, but I would guess the chances are slim. Hopefully for your sake Cletus (and mine as I would like to get my original 360 back) I am wrong.

OK Jethro, you may get a kick out of this........So after a long day of work, I pull into my dark driveway (damn you daylight saving time!) and hit the garage door opener. Just as I was pulling my truck into the garage, I noticed something laying on the ground right in front of my bumper. I stopped and got out of my truck only to discover an oddly familiar box lying about 3 feet from my front tire. Well, not to drag this out too long, I go over and pick up the box (encased in a huge plastic bag) and realize that it is from the Repair Center in Texas. I was a little confused because it had these seals all over the box that said "If seal is broken, do not sign for package until inspection of the content has been made." (not the exact wording but it was something along those lines).

Anyway, I opened it up and checked out the serial number, etc, and it is the exact same console as I sent in. However, like you said, I have no idea what they actually did to the unit (I really wish they would tell you upon return of the console) so the innards could have totally been gutted out for all I know. I eventually got around to plugging it in and everything seems to be running smoothly (only messed around with it for an hour or so). It was a pleasant surprise that it was returned so quickly to me (and that it was my original unit to boot), but I was not too thrilled with the way that it was just dropped off at my house in a place where I almost ran over it. I am assuming that it was an UPS mishap and not a Microsoft error. However, both the MS reps on the phone, as well as the UPS tracking web site, specifically stated that a signature was absolutely required for me to receive the unit upon delivery.

Oh well, all's well that ends well I guess. I just find it funny that I ordered a $5 dollar hat for a Halloween party this past weekend and UPS refused to leave it at my doorstep as I specified, however, they have no problem dropping off my $400 electronic console in a dark corner of my driveway (on Hell night none the less!) :rolleyes: Anyway, good luck with your console return today Jethro (Just be careful not to run over it if you are out and about today). If you are ever up for a game a Gears in the near future, my gt is McCletus74. Later!

My repair unit was just sitting at the front door too. This was after they told me several times I'd have to sign for it.

I got mine back about 3 weeks ago. Haven't had a single problem with it. It was a different unit than the one I sent in, which is fine with me.

Good news... I got my 360 back a little while ago.

Bad news... The ups driver told me that whoever sent the package did NOT pay extra to get my signature. The driver came to my door and gave it to me, and I asked them if they needed me to sign anything.

More bad news... My "new" 360 will not display 720p properly... i get like overlapping 3 images of the same thing on my tv... it worked perfectly on my old 360. When I set it to 1080i it looks ok to begin with, but when I play a game, I get the top and bottom of the screen cut off...

Oh well I guess microsoft will be hearing from me again... I'm going to be really pissed if they want me to pay to ship it back AGAIN. :mad:

I ran a quick search here (and at xbox.com, and several other places) and haven't found an answer; hopefully someone here can help me.

I'm having trouble with the Right Trigger of my wireless controller. Whenever it's pressed, it repeats that action continuously until I mash the buttons again. Occasionally, it even activates without being pressed at all.

Example: firing a single shot in doom will result in a continuous firing until I'm out of ammo.

I had the controller about 1 month before this started to occur. My primary controller does not exhibit this problem.

This doesn't happen with every game. (So far, only Doom and the FEAR demo.) I tried BC games (Halo:CE and Halo 2), and didn't experience the problem. I tried Burnout and Dead Rising (my only two disc-based 360 games) and didn't experience the problem.

So as of now, the problem is only manifest on games off the HDD, but I don't really have a large enough sample of games to thoroughly test it. Incidentally, I also tried other demos, like Vegas, and I didn't experience the problem - so at present, I've only experienced it on Doom and the FEAR demo.

Seems to me it's not the controller, because I would be able to replicate the problem in every game if that were the case.

Is there some sort of profile created on the 360 when a new controller is synced/registered? Perhaps it is corrupt, and I that I might erase or overwrite it? Would any of the HDD related commands possibly correct this?

Any help would be appreciated.

Good news... I got my 360 back a little while ago.

Bad news... The ups driver told me that whoever sent the package did NOT pay extra to get my signature. The driver came to my door and gave it to me, and I asked them if they needed me to sign anything.

More bad news... My "new" 360 will not display 720p properly... i get like overlapping 3 images of the same thing on my tv... it worked perfectly on my old 360. When I set it to 1080i it looks ok to begin with, but when I play a game, I get the top and bottom of the screen cut off...

Oh well I guess microsoft will be hearing from me again... I'm going to be really pissed if they want me to pay to ship it back AGAIN. :mad:

Sorry to hear about your problems Jethro. I would be extremely ticked off if they made me pay to ship it back again. If the problem cannot be resolved over the phone (unfortunately, that is the most probable scenario), I would try and see if they would be willing (again, not likely) to send you a new console immediately so you don't have to wait again. You might have to still pay for the shipping to send it back (which is most certainly unfair), but at least your downtime will be significantly reduced. I am not sure that I have heard of their policy referring to a situation in which a repaired console was returned to the owner broken. Realistically, someone like yourself could be without a console for over a month which is totally unacceptable (I would think any rationale person/company would agree).

By the way, was the console that they sent back to you the original one that you sent in for repairs or an entirely different unit? Just curious. Also, I think the whole UPS deal with them leaving the box (fortunately you were home at the time) unsigned for at one's door is completely unacceptable. Good luck Jethro and please keep us updated on your ordeal as it good to understand as much of this return process as possible.

So here is a picture of what my 720p setting looks like on my tv.

http://www4.ncsu.edu/~wjmoore/xbox360/720p.jpg

Also, Cletus... My original 360's build date was in october, and the one I got back is november... :mad:

You might want to see if you can dispute the charge if you put it on a credit card jethro. Give your CC company a call and see if you have a chance to dispute it.

Does the xbox 360 only output movies in 480i ? I can set the resolution to 480p, 720p or 1080i on the console and the games will run at the correct resolution, but all DVD movies seem to be at 480i, or at least that is what my Sharp LCD reads and reports the signal as.

Thanks

Well I sent my 360 out last mon (10/23) to the Best Buy Distribution Center in Texas via regular mail... and I have still yet to here from them! They are suppopsed to send me a Gift Card back for the exact amount I paid for the system and I want it before next week, Im getting behind in the Gaming!!! (I still need to play Double Agent, Marvel:UA, F.E.A.R., and then Gears Of War/Call of Duty 3 next week!!!). Has anyone on here had any dealing with B.B. and their return policies??? I know since it went out regular mail (Their preference, not mine) its going to take a while but its getting on 2 weeks and still no word. Thanks!

When playing Godfather the game I get dirty disc messages. I take the disc out, the disc is fine. Restart the game. It happens on and off, not consistently. Dont know if other 360 games do this yet.

I have the video from my xbox 360 hooked up to my Sammy HLS5687 via component (1080p looks great; HLS supports it through component). Because I have a 4+yr old Sony receiver with an inadequate number of digitial optical/coax inputs, I have the audio going via digital optical cable (premium from Monoprice) to a Toslink 3x1 manual switch; the audio from my Directv HD dvr also goes into the switch.

Here is the problem: I never have audio issues when watching tv, but when I am playing my xbox the sound will at times go dead/ loud piercing wail/ loud cracking or popping/ loud static. Again, this has never happened with tv. I have replaced all the digital optical cables, the switch, and even bought a new 360. It still is happening! (I took the new 360 back). I would blame my old crummy receiver, except that it has never happened when watching tv. Any ideas on what is happening and how I can fix it?

Thanks, and sorry for the long post.

Called the replacement center today. Xbox will be in on monday. Hopefully it was just a swap for a new model. They received it Wednesday, and sent it out Friday.

Well I am going to be on 360 number 3 now. Freakin thing died today. This reall sucks big time since I am getting GOW and the HD-DVD on wednesday. Oh and BTW no shipping charges for me either. That may just be because I have already sent one back and they are lucky I didn't tear into them.

I read jeepwrang3’s comment about turnaround time (2 posts ago) so I called the repair center. I must say I’m impressed. I live only 2 days (UPS shipping time) from the repair site. I sent my 360 in for repair late last Wednesday and it’s scheduled for UPS return delivery today (Tuesday). They must either be in a slow period or they are staffed up for an increase in future repairs.

I just purchased the Xbox 360 premium and hooked it up to Sharp aquos widescreen lcd using component cables. Set up to work on 720P. For games, DVDs, etc. when the xbox is on there is one dark black line going down middle of screen and each 1/2 of the screen has slightly different contrasts. This is very annoying and was wondering if anyone new what is causing this. It appears to be the xbox because this doesn't occur in any of the other inputs (tv, vcr).

Thanks

Just as Vandu said, 2 day turnaround. Im guessing it's a refurb, when i powered it up it had my locale/time zone as UK. I was afraid i was going to have to get another replacement, the new unit sounded extremely loud for the first hour. Everything has calmed down on the sound, and i'm back to gaming, just in time for GOW

I will start by stating I am a complete novice with home theatre systems.
I am currently having a problem with the color in Ghost Recon while playing it on my big screen. When I fisrst started playing the game I was disapointed in the quality of the graphics for being HD but I could not quite put my finger on just what was really lacking. I had never played the game before so I had not reference point. A while later I had a friend over with his Xbox 360 and we hooked his up to my older Sony Vega 36 inch TV. My system is a Optoma DLP Projector model EP738 hooked up to a Denon AVR-485 The Xbox 360 is hooked up with the component cables. I was stunned to see how much richer the colors were on my old TV vs my HD system. Surely I have something really screwed up here. The room was totally dark, I tried image sizes from 5' to 11' which made no difference. We had the game in co-op mode so we were looking at exactly the same image. My screen is made of material from Dalite. Movies look pretty good on the screen and some of the HD channels from Direct TV are nothing short of stunning but the games just seem to be lacking. Anyone have any advice as to where I should start?

Does the xbox 360 only output movies in 480i ? I can set the resolution to 480p, 720p or 1080i on the console and the games will run at the correct resolution, but all DVD movies seem to be at 480i, or at least that is what my Sharp LCD reads and reports the signal as.

Thanks

The Xbox will only upconvert DVDs over the VGA connection. It'll give you 720P over vga at least.

See the attached pic. Notice that slight green tint on top. Is this normal? I only see this tint in any grey screen in xbox live (screen you download items from)
I hooked up the console to my LCD pc monitor and the same effect is there. I'm wondering if this is normal and I jsut never noticed it before (i rarely use the console). Can someone goto a grey screen in xbox live on their 360 and tell me if they see this green tint on top
PIC OF TINT (http://m.domaindlx.com/celwin/pic.JPG)

I have a question on XBox Live

Does Anyone Connect there Xbox live with Comcast ? I'm having problems getting the IP address established ... it won't get passed that part on the TEST screen


I bought an XBox Live starter Kit for my Xbox but never used it .......now I have a 360 can I use it for my 360 ?

and if I can How do I do it ?

I bought an XBox Live starter Kit for my Xbox but never used it .......now I have a 360 can I use it for my 360 ?

and if I can How do I do it ?

I don't think you can. It's my understanding that the Xbox starter codes won't work on the 360 and vice versa. The 360 has "silver" and "gold" levels of XBL subscriptions, and for the original xbox is was just a straight subscription.

You can use the headset though.

I have a question on XBox Live

Does Anyone Connect there Xbox live with Comcast ? I'm having problems getting the IP address established ... it won't get passed that part on the TEST screen


I bought an XBox Live starter Kit for my Xbox but never used it .......now I have a 360 can I use it for my 360 ?

and if I can How do I do it ?

You can use the 1 year subscription code that came with the Xbox Live Starter Kit on your Xbox 360. I purchased one years ago and did not use the code until the beginning of this year, and it worked on my Xbox 360.

If I format my xbox to delete everything on there, does it still keep the stuff that was Defaulted on the Hard drive out of the box when I got it ...... or is EVERYTHING Deleted ? if everything is deleted is there anything on there originally that I should definetly keep ?

My problem is when i go to open my disc tray i press it, and it opens then it closes again i have to do this about 4 or 5 times for it to stay open, then to do it when im closing what should i do, ask microsoft just incase it doesnt escalate in a even bigger problem or should i just leave it alone, or do you know.

Im having issues with something, but Im not sure what. It started two days ago when I played CoD2 online for the first time. I would join a game, play for about a minute, and then the game says all the players in the game quit and that the game becomes unavalible. What's really happening is my internet and phone connection just die, right there just stop working. All i have to do to fix it is unplug my modem and router and Im good to go. Problem is now I cant play my game Ive been waiting months for. To test my problem I went into CoD2. No problems whatsoever, played the whole game through. I cant figure out what would cause my internet and phone to go just because of a game. My dad thinks it might be the router. Anyone know whats wrong? router? modem? game?internet service?

Im having issues with something, but Im not sure what. It started two days ago when I played CoD2 online for the first time. I would join a game, play for about a minute, and then the game says all the players in the game quit and that the game becomes unavalible. What's really happening is my internet and phone connection just die, right there just stop working. All i have to do to fix it is unplug my modem and router and Im good to go. Problem is now I cant play my game Ive been waiting months for. To test my problem I went into CoD2. No problems whatsoever, played the whole game through. I cant figure out what would cause my internet and phone to go just because of a game. My dad thinks it might be the router. Anyone know whats wrong? router? modem? game?internet service?

That has happened to me while playing various games, so I don't think it is CD2 (why did you wait until now to play online!?). Also because your connection is still "working" is probably is not your modem or router as I think that would cause a complete shutdown.

My problem was my internet service (Comcast). It did not always mean that my internet was down, although sometimes it was, but more often that my connection speed was too slow. At risk of incurring a series of more technically informed and precise replies, my cable internet speed suffered when my neighbors also were online due to an inherent limitation in the aggregate traffic cable can handle. When this happens try going to a test site such as at dslreports.com to ping your connection. This will tell you what your actual speed is at that particular point in time and may diagnose your problem.

After months of really crummy speed and customer service that only soon-to-be-dead Hussein would envy, I switched from Comcast to Bellsouth and have not had a single instance in 5+ months.

I don't claim any expertise, just a similar experience. Hope this helps.

GoW seems to be giving my 360 fits. I have been able to play it for 2 hour stretches at times. Other times it will kill the system in less than 5 minutes.

The "kill" has been manifested in several ways:
- Standard freeze up
- A high pitched squelch, followed by the video signal being lost
- A checker board overlay when trying to reboot
- Three Red Rings on attempted reboot (code 0102: Unknown)

I couldn't play GoW for more than 10 minutes last night, but then switched over to GRAW and got 90 minutes on online play in.

I am just past the 90 warranty period and do not have an extended warranty at this time.

How is MS at repairing intermittent units? Should I just wait until it is DOA, or should I start the repair process now?

Ninthos...

I hate to say it, but from the description your 360 is in bad shape -- I wouldn't call that "intermittent".

Call MS right away and see if they will repair it ASAP.

Well I am waiting on my 6th repair from Microsoft. I am selling the one I get back from them and buying a PS3. Didn't want to do it but I have got nothing but defect from XBOX. Also it would give me a universal HD player because I have a HD-A1 already.

Over the past year I have had all of the problems you listed and they sent me a repair box right away. You can still purchase the warranty even after the 90 days.

I am just past the 90 warranty period and do not have an extended warranty at this time. How is MS at repairing intermittent units? Should I just wait until it is DOA, or should I start the repair process now?

Call and check on the warranty date. I think that some time ago they started providing a six month warranty. I got my xBox 360 in June and when I called in a month or so later to buy the extended warranty they told me the MS warranty ran out in December and that my extended warranty would begin after that. I had heard about the six months, but this confirmed it for me. You may still be covered.

my 360 just died a couple of days of locking up and freezing and today three red lights. I called Microsoft and it is covered they are sending a box to ship to them in two days.

Call and check on the warranty date. I think that some time ago they started providing a six month warranty. I got my xBox 360 in June and when I called in a month or so later to buy the extended warranty they told me the MS warranty ran out in December and that my extended warranty would begin after that. I had heard about the six months, but this confirmed it for me. You may still be covered.
I can only hope.

I will give them a call tonight. I ment to right down the info so I could do call over my lunch break.

I called back today and asked when I would get the box to ship my xbox 360 because I was told yesterday I would get a box to ship the console. The CSM looked up my information and then told me I needed to cover shipping. I am glad I called today because based on what the guy told me yesterday I'd still be waiting for a box. I packed the 360 up and shipped it today. What is the turnaround on these things?

Call and check on the warranty date. I think that some time ago they started providing a six month warranty. I got my xBox 360 in June and when I called in a month or so later to buy the extended warranty they told me the MS warranty ran out in December and that my extended warranty would begin after that. I had heard about the six months, but this confirmed it for me. You may still be covered.
Nope, they want $140 to repair the unit.

They will not give me 25% off, they will not allow me to extend the warranty, nothing.

From what I have been able to determine Error 0102 is caused when the GPU gets too hot and the solder points on either the GPU, RAM, or Soutbridge get microfractures due to this heat expansion. Obviously a hardware design error, bastards. Maybe I should just reflow the solder myself or take a hotair gun to it for a minute or so.

How long has it been talking to get a return box lately? I've waited a full week at this point. I was bricked the day of the update BTW.
Edit:FWIW: My box came, it took eight working days to show.

OK i have a problem with my i-pod pluggin up to my 360. My 360 wont play my i-pod for some reason. I downloaded the i-pod firmware to play on my 360 but it still wouldn't play. I tried redownloading the little firmware for it and it keeps on sayin error with some number across from it sayin 8088****** sayin that your item can't be downloaded. What should I do about that.?????????

OK i have a problem with my i-pod pluggin up to my 360. My 360 wont play my i-pod for some reason. I downloaded the i-pod firmware to play on my 360 but it still wouldn't play. I tried redownloading the little firmware for it and it keeps on sayin error with some number across from it sayin 8088****** sayin that your item can't be downloaded. What should I do about that.?????????


...try this. Erase the ipod download (under system items in memory)...create a new profile with a silver membership...redownload the ipod file....sign in with your usual profile and see if you're pod will play...

Hi.

I just picked up a 360 on friday (great deals abound with the release of the PS3 :) ) and I'm having a slight problem with how it displays on my monitor.

I have a Pioneer Elite 53" rear projection (PRO-520HD) that only supports 480p and 1080i. I have hooked up the 360 with the component cables through a component switch (i can't remember the model off the top of my head - it's not a consumer one, I had to special order it years ago and it cost me 300 bucks :( ) that then goes into my reciever.

When I set the 360 to 1080i, the screen crops a bit at the top and right. This is very noticible on Marvel Ultimate Alliance (the top enemy health bar HUD is almost completley cut off) and with 2 player Gears of War.

The screen doesn't crop in 480p, but it doesn't look as good (obviously).

I have tried directly hooking the 360 into my other "free" component input directly on the tv, but the result is the same.

Does anyone have any suggestions? (I have tried every combination and even followed the advice from the 3rd post of this thread - with the exception of trying a different 360). Could it possibly be the cable? I tried calling MS but the woman on the line had no idea what I was even talking about. All I got was a canned response.

Could it be my tv? I don't have a VGA input, so that cable is not an option...

I have never had a problem with the old xbox and 1080i games (to the best of my knowledge they weren't being cropped).

Thanks in advance.

I am going to be exchanging my Xbox 360 tonight at Gamestop. After the Fall Update I did on 11-3 my games would freeze up on me. When I get the new one tonight should I try and download the Fall Dashboard Update again or should I wait? I didn't know if people that recently did the update were still having the problem. I don't really play online so I don't need it but would like to have it for the streaming options with MP11.

Could it be my tv?
Can you adjust the overscan on your TV? This should solve your problem.

...try this. Erase the ipod download (under system items in memory)...create a new profile with a silver membership...redownload the ipod file....sign in with your usual profile and see if you're pod will play...

Man thanx I got a chance to make a new account and it work perfectly now I really thankful for the help :D

Man thanx I got a chance to make a new account and it work perfectly now I really thankful for the help :D

..no problem..glad it worked for ya...I tried calling ms tons of times before someone told me this..it really should be posted on one of ms's help pages.

Purchased a new 360 premium from the local Microcenter 2 days ago. They are giving 100 dollar mail in rebate. Noticed right away that the graphics had artifacts and colored lines that appeared during game play. I wasnt sure if it was my DLP or the game itself. My gut feeling told me the xbox was the issue.

I returned it tonight, purchased the extended service plan, and hooked it up to the DLP. The difference was night and day. I'm not experiencing any of the issues I had previously. The sales person at the store was kind enough to grab me a 360 from a new shipment. He was afraid that the entire lot could have issues.

Nope, they want $140 to repair the unit.

They will not give me 25% off, they will not allow me to extend the warranty, nothing.

From what I have been able to determine Error 0102 is caused when the GPU gets too hot and the solder points on either the GPU, RAM, or Soutbridge get microfractures due to this heat expansion. Obviously a hardware design error, bastards. Maybe I should just reflow the solder myself or take a hotair gun to it for a minute or so.
I talked them into extending my warranty to cover the repair free of charge. Yippie. The turnaround time was quoted to be 10 days. That seems extremely long to me. We have a 3 day turnaround in our repair shop.

Hi.


I have a Pioneer Elite 53" rear projection (PRO-520HD) that only supports 480p and 1080i.When I set the 360 to 1080i, the screen crops a bit at the top and right. This is very noticible on Marvel Ultimate Alliance (the top enemy health bar HUD is almost completley cut off) and with 2 player Gears of War.

This is an overscan issue, and since there are no overscan adjustments available (yet) on the 360, the only way to fix this issue will be to adjust the overscan on the set itself.

This issue seems to be common on most CRT RP sets, for instance when I play Ghost Recon I can barely see the blue visor 'frame' that's supposed to be at the edges of the screen. I also notice the problem in Gears split screen, where the lower strip will be a bit taller than the top section. Luckily my tv doesn't seem to be too bad, and I'm able to live with it, but it sounds like your overscan might be a bit more severe, and actually affecting gameplay...

It's possible that another 360 might have different levels of overscan, so it can't hurt to try a new unit, but other than that there aren't many options besides adjusting tv's overscan setting...

This is an overscan issue, and since there are no overscan adjustments available (yet) on the 360, the only way to fix this issue will be to adjust the overscan on the set itself.

This issue seems to be common on most CRT RP sets, for instance when I play Ghost Recon I can barely see the blue visor 'frame' that's supposed to be at the edges of the screen. I also notice the problem in Gears split screen, where the lower strip will be a bit taller than the top section. Luckily my tv doesn't seem to be too bad, and I'm able to live with it, but it sounds like your overscan might be a bit more severe, and actually affecting gameplay...

It's possible that another 360 might have different levels of overscan, so it can't hurt to try a new unit, but other than that there aren't many options besides adjusting tv's overscan setting...

360s Done have overscan they all output the same, to fix and overscan on a TV picture you'd have to go into the TV Service menu....

I just purchased a 360 last week, primarily for HD-DVD playback, I'm sahring my pictures, music and video files from my PC using windows media 11.
I'm able to view all my files on the xbox except for my home movies. Not matter what I try I can't seem to get them to view on my xbox.
I would appreciate any solutions.

I just purchased a 360 last week, primarily for HD-DVD playback, I'm sahring my pictures, music and video files from my PC using windows media 11.
I'm able to view all my files on the xbox except for my home movies. Not matter what I try I can't seem to get them to view on my xbox.
I would appreciate any solutions.

The Xbox will only see videos in the WMV format. You'll have to convert the files using something like TPMGENC, or something similar. Or you can install software that on the PC that streams other formats, but I've seen folks complaining about it not working. Do an internet search and you'll find both.

There is a known bug.

The console software is unable to connect two of these new wheels simultaneously. They hope to have a fix "in December" maybe.

The recommended action is to "be patient while they fix it".

My confidence in their beta testing has plummeted.

My confidence in their beta testing has plummeted.

Because they didn't test the capability of 2 or more wheels?

Get a grip. The average console is only going to have one wheel. Sheesh. Having more than one wheel connect to the box is a RARITY in itself.

I work in the software industry and have done for several decades. I have a firm "grip", especially on this subject. Yes, I expect that something as obvious as two or more wheels should work.

It's not like it is a difficult test. For me, the test was over in 5 minutes. Tried it, it doesn't work. Tried with 0, 1 and 2 standard controllers logging in an out too. No luck.

I purchased based on published specs, and as a result have an unusable product until the fix comes out.

Now I would suspect that the most common console config has NO wheels, so using your logic, I'm lucky to have one working. Same with my HD DVD drive and camera.

Microsoft should have tested the 1080p update with more than a Samsung LCD tv also, i guess the money they pay in china does not go far these days.

i recently switched to VGA connection. when i select 720p (the native resolution of the projector), the picture looks sharp with games but everything is pushed over to the left (and info is cut off at the left). i have to select a higher resolution to get everything centered, 1368x768...this is actually the resolution that looks best with HD-DVD's, but it doesn't look as good for games. i would be willing to switch back and forth but the 720p picture being cut off slightly really bugs me....

the 1080 resolutions looks really streched and funky when selected....my projector was able to accept 1080p over component with games when i was testing things, i wonder why it won't accept 1080i/p via VGA?

i'm probably going to keep it hooked up to VGA because HD-DVD looks so good (this was after extensive re-calibration of the vga input).

Dude, call microsoft with this issue. The more people call the better 1080p support we will have

hey ... forgive my newbie-ness... but i just put in a regular dvd of the movie CLICK in to the hd-dvd drive and it doesnt work (says Reading). is the hd-dvd drive only ment for hd-dvd movies?

thanks in advance.

hey ... forgive my newbie-ness... but i just put in a regular dvd of the movie CLICK in to the hd-dvd drive and it doesnt work (says Reading). is the hd-dvd drive only ment for hd-dvd movies?

thanks in advance.
Yes, it's only meant for HD-DVD movies. Why on earth wouldn't you just put it in the main DVD drive if your just watching a DVD movie :confused: That's what it's there for.

Yes, it's only meant for HD-DVD movies. Why on earth wouldn't you just put it in the main DVD drive if your just watching a DVD movie :confused: That's what it's there for.

I was lost with this answer? I can put any movie into the 360 HD DVD drive and it starts right up. HD or not

guys,
do you know if the xbox360 can connect to HTPC via a Holo3d card ?
I have a component input on the card, but I cannot visualize anything on screen.
Direct connection (component) to the lcd projector works flawless.

dr

I was lost with this answer? I can put any movie into the 360 HD DVD drive and it starts right up. HD or not
I don't think I could have been any clearer. The HD DVD drive ONLY plays HD-DVD movies. Your obviously confused if you think you can play regular DVD's on the HD-DVD drive.

I don't think I could have been any clearer. The HD DVD drive ONLY plays HD-DVD movies. Your obviously confused if you think you can play regular DVD's on the HD-DVD drive.

that is totally wrong. the hd-dvd drive plays regular dvd's just fine.

I don't think I could have been any clearer. The HD DVD drive ONLY plays HD-DVD movies. Your obviously confused if you think you can play regular DVD's on the HD-DVD drive.

Jack... what DVD title doesn't play in your 360 HD-DVD drive? :confused:

the thing i dislike is how the dam harddrive will over heat and what not. then u get the 3 flashing red lights and ****. i bought a colling fan for it the first time i had this problem in hopes to solve it. but it has happend 3 other times. the 3rd just in the past day. they have sent me a new Xbox every time. Now i have the core system becuz i had to buy ouy of my owen pocket.. does any one see a difrence in this roblem compared with the core as the primium..

if any one has click on dvd try it. it wont work.. maybe sony did sometnig to it (click is a sony movie)? when placing a diff dvd in the hddvd drive it works. crazy huh

Ninthos...

I hate to say it, but from the description your 360 is in bad shape -- I wouldn't call that "intermittent".

Call MS right away and see if they will repair it ASAP.


This is a widespread problem and is apparently spreading. FACT - THE FALL UPDATE IS BRICKING SYSTEMS!!! It’s also happening to me. MS doesn’t seem to care too much about it either.

A mod should start an official thread here at AVS.

http://forums.xbox.com/7864073/ShowPost.aspx

I don't think I could have been any clearer. The HD DVD drive ONLY plays HD-DVD movies. Your obviously confused if you think you can play regular DVD's on the HD-DVD drive.

Just for the heck of it I tried a lot of my dvd movies and they all work in the HD DVD player , I dont have the movie Click so I cant try it.

360s Done have overscan they all output the same, to fix and overscan on a TV picture you'd have to go into the TV Service menu....

Thanks to those who offered info/advice.

Well, I cannot adjust overscan via normal means... How do I get to a service menu?

thanks.