[B]I'm ridiculously thorough with the old thermal paste removal (35 minutes on thermal paste removal alone).

What are you using to get the paste off? I use Goo Gone. It takes no time and it just disolves the stuff away. A good cloth at first and a q-tip for the left over and it is clean and shiny. Takes 10 minutes tops.

A friend wanted me to fix him up with a system cheap so I picked another up on ebay. By looking at the case, I could tell someone had opened it up so I hoped they hadn't damaged it beyond repair. The board looked ok but when I took the heatsinks off I discovered that the person tried to fix it by adding more thermal paste to it. It was that cheap white silicon grease. They didn't even clean off the old MS paste. :rolleyes: Luckily once I did the overheating trick, replaced the x-clamp, used Arctic Silver, it has been running steady ever since.

Just a warning on buying from ebay. Make sure you ask if it has the security sticker and that the dvd drive will open. If they say it has a security sticker and it does not or it is broken you have a case to get your money back. And if the dvd drive will not open or they say they can not test it (and it will open even with the 3 red lights) I would not buy it because it could have the laser missing. I have had this happen to me and when I called the sellers on it I ended up getting my money back. Mainly because I only pay with a credit card, even thru paypal.

Alcohol does wonders as well with qtips. Thats how I removed mine. Its good you are thorough like that. Getting a mirror finish on the chips is one of the most important parts. Ive seen pics of thermal paste on the old thermal paste. How lazy can people be?

What are you using to get the paste off? I use Goo Gone. It takes no time and it just disolves the stuff away. A good cloth at first and a q-tip for the left over and it is clean and shiny. Takes 10 minutes tops.

A friend wanted me to fix him up with a system cheap so I picked another up on ebay. By looking at the case, I could tell someone had opened it up so I hoped they hadn't damaged it beyond repair. The board looked ok but when I took the heatsinks off I discovered that the person tried to fix it by adding more thermal paste to it. It was that cheap white silicon grease. They didn't even clean off the old MS paste. :rolleyes: Luckily once I did the overheating trick, replaced the x-clamp, used Arctic Silver, it has been running steady ever since.

Just a warning on buying from ebay. Make sure you ask if it has the security sticker and that the dvd drive will open. If they say it has a security sticker and it does not or it is broken you have a case to get your money back. And if the dvd drive will not open or they say they can not test it (and it will open even with the 3 red lights) I would not buy it because it could have the laser missing. I have had this happen to me and when I called the sellers on it I ended up getting my money back. Mainly because I only pay with a credit card, even thru paypal.

What are you using to get the paste off? I use Goo Gone...
Goo-Gone, while fast, has great potential to cause problems with your board, among other things. If you need to do a quick job, Zippo lighter fluid, some Q-Tips, and a "credit card type" device works wonders, but always followed up with alcohol for purity. (3-4% Ethanol is a better solution for pure cleaning purposes, but not likely a drugstore purchase...I make mine in a lab.) :)

Goof-Off is an absolute NO-NO! Never, ever, ever use that product. It can peel paint off walls just with its fumes. :eek:

I can't stand the smell of lighter fluid. After I use the Goo Gone I then go over everything with Everclear. That way if I screw it up I can take a swig or two and not care. :D Actually, I only use it as a cleaning agent.

Alcohol does wonders as well with qtips. Thats how I removed mine. Its good you are thorough like that. Getting a mirror finish on the chips is one of the most important parts. Ive seen pics of thermal paste on the old thermal paste. How lazy can people be?


He means rubbing alcohol, not Coors, BTW. :D

Has anyone had any experience with the new Intercooler EX from Nyko. It supposedly has an improved metal design for better contact with the 360's power outlet. It's probably too early to tell since it was just released. The improved design is supposed to guard against draining power from the 360 like the previous version to prevent premature failure of the 360.
I went buy gamestop to look at one and the gamestop geek recommended their(Gamestop) brand cooler that sits on the side of console( not the back like the Nyko) and blows air but can only be used in the upright position. It was $10. I had my doubts it looks pretty flimsy and it runs off the usb outler on the console.
If the Nyko is much improved, I may be leaning that way!!

Anything that says GameStop on it is typically junk...nearly as bad as Pelican.

Oh.....my......hell. Now I've seen everything.

Fourth 360 resurrected today...only to find....TIN FOIL atop the CPU!!! Not the back of some thermal pad, not anything else...TIN FOIL! (The thermal paste seen on the left was from the GPU/memory.)

The MS seal was fully intact on this one, so I guess we know how they "refurbish" these things. Ridiculous. :mad:

http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n172/spyderswebphotos/360foil.jpg

The foil was an experiemental TIM (Thermal Interface Material). They didn't stick with it, but it was intentionally placed there.

Yeah mine had that crap on it too. I'm currently doing the x-clamp fix. (waiting to round up the washers) Hopefully I'll be able to bring my box back. It was a launch console but recently it's been locking up and 3 ringing. I'm out of warranty and sick of hearing about the refurbs going belly up so I guess it can't hurt. I'm hopeful this fixes it.

Anything that says GameStop on it is typically junk...nearly as bad as Pelican.

I completely agree. I 've never heard anything good about "gamestop" branded items. Almost all of their stuff looks like garbage.

Horrorscope, and everyone else, it has been confirmed that Microsoft is adding an additional heat sink to the GPU of returned/refurbished consoles.

Has anyone here been able to determine if their returned console has this new heat sink? Is it possible to look through the vent holes with a flash light and tell? I ask because I'm due to get my 360 back from the refurb center today.

The foil was an experiemental TIM (Thermal Interface Material). They didn't stick with it, but it was intentionally placed there.

Intentionally...just like the X-Clamps. :mad:

Has anyone here been able to determine if their returned console has this new heat sink? Is it possible to look through the vent holes with a flash light and tell? I ask because I'm due to get my 360 back from the refurb center today.

Some "new and improved" heatsink isn't going to do anything unless they eliminated the X-Clamps. The only way to tell if those are gone is to open the system, thus voiding your "warantee" (which would probably be the best thing that could happen to you in the long run). Expect your "refurb" (er, replacement) to die within the year. :(

Has anyone here been able to determine if their returned console has this new heat sink? Is it possible to look through the vent holes with a flash light and tell? I ask because I'm due to get my 360 back from the refurb center today.

Try this site:

How to look for new heat sink (http://www.weplayxbox.com/2007/06/20/feeling-cool-how-to-tell-if-your-repaired-xbox-360-has-the-new-additional-heatsink/)

Peace,
Dreamaster

If there is enough interest, maybe we should have a single thread on how we repair the xboxes. Share our ideas and such. Someone could host pictures and that way you wouldn't have to go looking all over the internet searching for what works and what doesn't. Just a thought.

I just got my 360 back yesterday. I looked inside with a flashlight and I do have the new heat sink that they have been talking about. It was about a 3 week process all together and I have missed my 360 so much..........

I just got my 360 back yesterday. I looked inside with a flashlight and I do have the new heat sink that they have been talking about. It was about a 3 week process all together and I have missed my 360 so much..........

Did you get back the same console as you sent in? (Same serial number)

No it was a a different serial number......

...I looked inside with a flashlight and I do have the new heat sink that they have been talking about...
Did you notice if they also put in the new dilithium stabilizer? MS keeps talking about it in their TPS reports.

Did you notice if they also put in the new dilithium stabilizer? MS keeps talking about it in their TPS reports.

lol.............

just though i'd let everyone know.... i did the x-clamp mod last week (after permanent 3ROL and no more towel trick fixes worked) and my system runs better than it did when it was new.

Has anyone here been able to determine if their returned console has this new heat sink? Is it possible to look through the vent holes with a flash light and tell? I ask because I'm due to get my 360 back from the refurb center today.

the new heatsink piece would have to be seen from the bottom, you're not gonna see it from the back, not with the fans and the shroud.... should be possible without opening anything up though

edit: i see the link above, and that its possible :)

Just thought I'd post this link for people who have had a problem with their 360. Who knows maybe it will turn into a product recall or something: http://www.360-gamer.com/xbox360hardwarefailuresurvey.asp

My unit (manufactured in March 2006) was occasionaly locking up (maybe 5-10 times over the past few months). Then it started having trouble connecting to wireless controllers. Finally I would intermittently get the 3 red lights (error code 0102).

My unit lies horizontal in a fairly cool basement, on an open shelf with at least 6 inches of clearance on the sides and about 12 inches above. I don't play it daily and rarely for more than 2 hours at a time-pretty light use. I would say my unit is one of the best treated and yet it failed. I think MS has a serious problem with the 360 and I wouldn't be surprised if nearly all of them failed within a year or two.

Oh and since my unit was out of warranty, I replaced the X-clamps and did some simple cooling mods. It ran fine for 2 hours and the case seems cooler to the touch now. When I opened it up, it was very clean inside with no dust blobs that might have caused overheating.

Mine got error 0102 after very light use as well.

I play one or two hours a week max and bought mine in Nov '06 (GOW bundle).

I returned my 360 to costco yesterday.

Just thought I'd post this link for people who have had a problem with their 360. Who knows maybe it will turn into a product recall or something: http://www.360-gamer.com/xbox360hardwarefailuresurvey.asp
"Overall 3675 (65.33%) of submissions claim to have experienced Xbox 360 hardware failure."

Pathetic. :mad:

This is truly sad. The fact that people are still getting the red ring of death. I bet ms is just refurbing these and throwing them back on retail shelves. By the way, mine doesn't read discs anymore. Once ps3 starts releasing games, I am done with this thing for good, halo or not.

From 1UP:


A Tale of 11 Broken Xbox 360s
One person's bad luck or proof of a serious problem? You be the judge.
By Philip Kollar, 06/26/2007

"I can't comment on failure rates, because it's just not something - it's a moving target. What this consumer should worry about is the way that we've treated him. Y'know, things break, and if we've treated him well and fixed his problem, that's something that we're focused on right now."
-- Peter Moore on Xbox 360 failure rates

Average, Aggravated Gamers
Justin Lowe is your average hardcore gamer. He's fully embraced the HD era, owning both PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, and loves his Nintendo DS and PSP for gaming on-the-go. He even helps run Aggravated Gamers, an indie gaming podcast. What's special about Justin, though, is he's currently on his twelfth Xbox 360.

Rest of story is at:

http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3160603

From 1UP:


A Tale of 11 Broken Xbox 360s
One person's bad luck or proof of a serious problem? You be the judge.
By Philip Kollar, 06/26/2007

"I can't comment on failure rates, because it's just not something - it's a moving target. What this consumer should worry about is the way that we've treated him. Y'know, things break, and if we've treated him well and fixed his problem, that's something that we're focused on right now."
-- Peter Moore on Xbox 360 failure rates

Average, Aggravated Gamers
Justin Lowe is your average hardcore gamer. He's fully embraced the HD era, owning both PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, and loves his Nintendo DS and PSP for gaming on-the-go. He even helps run Aggravated Gamers, an indie gaming podcast. What's special about Justin, though, is he's currently on his twelfth Xbox 360.

Rest of story is at:

http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3160603Geez I am only on my fourth..... :eek: I am still waiting to get mine back as they have had it for going on two weeks. Is there a shortage?

Geez I am only on my fourth..... :eek: I am still waiting to get mine back as they have had it for going on two weeks. Is there a shortage?

There are reports that in the U.K. the service center is recieving almost 2,500 broken consoles a day. I doubt it's much better here. I've noticed a trend, including my own, that Xbox's bought in December '06 are failing this month. Must be the summer heat?

:eek:
Dreamaster

My 360 just came back and working great so far. They had it back within a week. Included was a free month of XBOX LIVE. With the fix, the LIVE card and the one year warranty, I'm glad I sent it. Yes that's right I said it.

There are reports that in the U.K. the service center is recieving almost 2,500 broken consoles a day. I doubt it's much better here. I've noticed a trend, including my own, that Xbox's bought in December '06 are failing this month. Must be the summer heat?

:eek:
Dreamaster

Mine was Dec. 06 and failed last Friday. Don't know why but it did.

My UK launch day 360 failed last weekend playing Forza 2. Charge of £85 for repair with a 25 working day turnaround. I just found out this 25 days starts from when it is received at the service centre (which is now not in the UK), so in practical terms it could be at least another week on top of that. Now looking at maybe the second week of August before it might be returned.

First console I ever had fail on me. Very disappointing, as I really rate the 360 above my PS3 and Wii, but all the tales of constant hardware failures certainly make me think twice about switching to PS3 for multiplatform titles.

I got my 360 back on Tuesday. It was not the model I sent them, fortunately this one is newer (Oct '06 mfg date vs the Nov '05 model they sent my last time) and looking through the vent holes, it does have the new heat sink.

I ran it for about 8 hours straight on Tuesday -- what can I say, I had some catching up to do. Out of curiousity, and in a completely unscientific experiment, I felt for heat around the unit before shutting it down. I have my 360 sitting horizontally and could feel the cool air being sucked in on the right side and fairly warm air being blown out the back. The top of the 360 and the HDD side were not warm at all. I lifted the 360 and felt the bottom, which was moderately warm.

Based on this, I think I may get a few large rubber washers or spacers to put under the 360 to give it around a quarter of an inch of breathing room.

Question. Especially with GOW if you just so happen to have it. When playing games for about 2hrs or so. Do your disks come out warm or hot on this new system you got back?

I got my 360 back on Tuesday. It was not the model I sent them, fortunately this one is newer (Oct '06 mfg date vs the Nov '05 model they sent my last time) and looking through the vent holes, it does have the new heat sink.

I ran it for about 8 hours straight on Tuesday -- what can I say, I had some catching up to do. Out of curiousity, and in a completely unscientific experiment, I felt for heat around the unit before shutting it down. I have my 360 sitting horizontally and could feel the cool air being sucked in on the right side and fairly warm air being blown out the back. The top of the 360 and the HDD side were not warm at all. I lifted the 360 and felt the bottom, which was moderately warm.

Based on this, I think I may get a few large rubber washers or spacers to put under the 360 to give it around a quarter of an inch of breathing room.

http://www.n4g.com/xbox360/News-48129.aspx

XBOX 360 - Micromart has now withdrawn from offering a Repair Service for the dreaded 3 Red Lights fault.

This problem is endemic on the XBox 360 console and the volume has made this repair non-viable.

Other repairs to the XBox 360 are still being supported.

en·dem·ic (ĕn-dĕm'ĭk)

adj.

Prevalent in or peculiar to a particular locality, region, or people

I think they meant:

pan·dem·ic (păn-dĕm'ĭk)

adj.

So pervasive and all-inclusive as to exist in or affect the whole world

Even this would be more accurate:

ep·i·dem·ic (ĕp'ĭ-dĕm'ĭk)

adj.

Widely prevalent

:D :D :D

Finally received my replacement. It is a lot quieter than my old one. Haven't checked if it has the new heat sink, but I assume it does. The fans didn't kick up hardly at all playing Forza2.

I also just got mine back today. It took close to a month it is an older build date but hey it was fixed without a ton of hassle. Hopefully it is a little more quiet and does not brick on me again. A month without playing was terrible. Also when I picked it up at the UPS facility there were three more waiting to be picked up.

After speaking with a few people today, apparently Spiderman 3 ramps up the fans quite a bit. Perhaps this game would be a good one to put newly returned systems to lengths and peace of mind?

Question. Especially with GOW if you just so happen to have it. When playing games for about 2hrs or so. Do your disks come out warm or hot on this new system you got back?

I did notice that my disk was warm/hot when I took it out....I have never noticed this on my original system.......But the new heat sink model is running great so far.......

I bought mine back in Nov-Dec of last year. It just started giving me red lights and locking up when the temp started to rise this summer. I can't find my reciept either. Am I out of luck or will they still warranty it?

My next question would be what if I just bought an Elite and scrapped my old one? How do I transfer all my profile and account info to a new box?

I blew it out with a shop vac and got it working for a little while, so I'm assuming it's an overheating/heatsink/cooling fan issue. I got a 0102 error.
Is there a way to take the case off and clean it?

I bought mine back in Nov-Dec of last year. It just started giving me red lights and locking up when the temp started to rise this summer. I can't find my reciept either. Am I out of luck or will they still warranty it?

My next question would be what if I just bought an Elite and scrapped my old one? How do I transfer all my profile and account info to a new box?

I blew it out with a shop vac and got it working for a little while, so I'm assuming it's an overheating/heatsink/cooling fan issue. I got a 0102 error.
Is there a way to take the case off and clean it?

Just call M$. They new mine was under warranty. They just ask for serial #.

My next question would be what if I just bought an Elite and scrapped my old one? How do I transfer all my profile and account info to a new box?

I blew it out with a shop vac and got it working for a little while, so I'm assuming it's an overheating/heatsink/cooling fan issue. I got a 0102 error.
Is there a way to take the case off and clean it?
You transfer your files from Premium to Elite via a data transfer cable, should you decide to go for the upgrade.

Cleaning the inside won't do anything to solve your problems at all. Do not open the unit unless you're certain you're out of warantee or know what you are doing for the repair. I won't even attempt to fix a unit I know has been opened by someone else, because who knows what they've possibly screwed up in there. If you do decide to upgrade, we can talk about your old one in a pm.

Just to reiterate the above post, DON'T open your xbox unless you are certain you can fix it. Microsoft will refurbish any xbox (original or 360) and give you a 90 day warranty for a fee, but they will not touch any xbox that's been opened by anyone but microsoft.

I was told by customer service that the service center will not fix, just send it back if they see broken seals.

For example, I have a 2001 1st batch of the original xbox. I got a price of $90 or so to fix my HD and check everything, including a 90 day warranty even though I've been out of warranty for 5+ years. When I mentioned that the seal had been broken that nixed the whole deal. Now I'm stuck with it, and most console repair places won't touch it.

I called customer support and luckily I had until Jul 3rd left on my warranty. Phew.. They are sending me a box and I will have it back in 8-10 days. Very good experience with their CS, all things considered.

I have the option to purchase an additional year service plan for $25. I think I will do this for sure.

In the meantime I just went and got another console today. I can't live without it since I use it more for Media Center and HD-DVDs (which I'm addicted to) than games. I'll keep the repaired unit for my theater room that should be done later this summer.

Thanks again guys.

...For example, I have a 2001 1st batch of the original xbox. I got a price of $90 or so to fix my HD and check everything, including a 90 day warranty even though I've been out of warranty for 5+ years...
That's hilarious and sad at the same time. For that same $90, I could install a 300GB (or larger) hdd + mod. :confused:

I bought mine back in Nov-Dec of last year. It just started giving me red lights and locking up when the temp started to rise this summer. I can't find my reciept either. Am I out of luck or will they still warranty it?

My next question would be what if I just bought an Elite and scrapped my old one? How do I transfer all my profile and account info to a new box?

I blew it out with a shop vac and got it working for a little while, so I'm assuming it's an overheating/heatsink/cooling fan issue. I got a 0102 error.
Is there a way to take the case off and clean it?


Unless you're out of warranty and have a little knowledge of fixing computers I would recommend the X-clamp fix. (Google it) My launch console started acting up and so did a buddy of mine so I repaired both. They're both running great and I'm more confident in my repairs then Microsofts. Once you see how the heatsinks and heatsink materials were used by MS you'll realize how most of these things are eventually going to fail. I think the Elite's have had a few tweaks to the motherboard to resist heat failures but I've read about some of those doing the same thing. If I had to do it again an extended warrranty from a place that will let you just bring in your dead one and walk out with a new one would be in order. Even though MS is fixing these, having the hassle of shipping and waiting is a PITA.

/\ Someone isn't reading before posting. :D

From "The Inquirer":

http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=40710

Meanwhile more horror stories of Xbox 360 failures have seen the light of day in the press this week.

Microsoft’s UK repair centre in Havant is now redistributing faulty consoles to foreign repair centres in order to clear an overwhelming backlog and keep up with the 1,500 to 2,500 Xbox 360s arriving at its doors on a daily basis, according to customer reports.

"A shocking statistic we found out though is that between 1,500 to 2,500 consoles get sent to Havant by three UPS lorries per day, to then be shipped to Prague for repair" reported a reader discussing his repair story with 360-gamer.com.

Whilst UK-based repairs specialist Micromart has told GamesIndustry.biz that it has had to refuse to service Xbox 360 consoles that display three red lights, dubbed the Red Ring of Death.

"We were seeing about 30 a week before we pulled the plug on the service," said Jeff Croft of Micromart.

"We saw it over a period of several months and it was just getting worse. It began towards the end of last year. Once the twelve month warranty finished then we started to see more and more machines being sent in to be looked at."

I emailed MS directly regarding this x-clamp design issue and here is what I got:

My original email is below after MS's respone(which is what I expected to hear, basically the company line)


Hi Eric!



Thank you for writing Xbox Customer Support!



I appreciate your taking the time to send us your thoughts. Although we can't respond to your suggestion individually, we review all feedback daily and your feedback is important to us.



We consider all of the suggestions and comments sent in by our members, and we maintain an internal database of suggestions that we consult and prioritize.



We are committed to improve our service to you, and you can expect to see many improvements in the near future.



For further assistance, please don't hesitate to write back or call Xbox Phone Support at 1-800-4MYXBOX (1-800-469-9269) at your earliest convenience. We are open everyday from 9am to 12mn Central Time.



To expedite service, please provide Service Request Number 1037700377 when you call.



For more information about Xbox360, please visit http://www.xbox.com or http://www.xbox.com/360.



Sincerely,

July

Xbox Customer Care Team





--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



--- Original Message ---
From : "Eric Pinho"
Sent : Thursday, June 28, 2007 4:06:46 PM UTC
To : "Xbox_Email_HW_EN"
Subject : RE: SRX1037700377ID - Xbox Hardware:repair inquiries/question


Jim,
Thank you for your timely reply. Its unfortunate that phone support and I could not come to an agreement regarding the repair of my 360. Although through some research on the net I have found a common thread related to an inherent design flaw in the 360. If you look on the net you will undoubtedly see an alarming # of 360 owners with failed consoles( 3 red rings/Hardware failure). Many are fixing them on their own, like I did. The x-clamp design on the motherboard is flawed in that there is only one pressure point(the middle) supporting contact between the CPU/GPU and their respective heatsinks. Over time, their is too much movement of the motherboard that solder loses contact and the box fails. There are a significant # of people that removed these x-clamps, like I did, and their consoles are running like new, mine included.
Now I am not sure if MS/you know this, but others have apparently troubleshooted this problem. Many users are getting refurbed(with x-clamps) consoles that are failing at an unacceptably fast pace. A $400 piece of electronic equipment should not have such poor reliability.
Something/Someone should find out why these consoles fail so often. Users will assuredly leave the 360 for other gaming alternatives. Especially when we're asked to pay $140 repair fee for a refurbed console that is flawed and will fail sooner rather than later.

Eric

Cool article on some stats:

DailyTech Article (http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=7892)

Unfortunately Microsoft was so obsessed with getting a marketing advantage by releasing the 360 early they let quality control slip through the cracks. It appears the design hardware the same way they design software - with a lot of bugs.

Fix turn around time:

I sent my Xbox 360 back (for a second time) on June 22nd. What turn around time are people getting on recent repairs?

Cool article on some stats:

DailyTech Article (http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=7892)
Now factor in; ones that were just sold as broken, people that simply fixed the unit, etc., and I'd bet it would be much closer to a 50% failure rate...that number can only continue to grow as time marches on.

And XBox fanboys said the PS2 had issues...:rolleyes:

Fix turn around time:

I sent my Xbox 360 back (for a second time) on June 22nd. What turn around time are people getting on recent repairs?

We are looking at 15-25 business days my friend. I sit here with my shiny new Transformers game in my hands just staring at the pretty box. :(

Dreamaster

Well it finally happened. Last Thursday I got the RROD for the first time. Tried CPR (remove HDD, unplug it, and it boot it back up). Worked great for a couple of days. On Monday it froze while I was playing GH2. RROD. Tried CPR on her again, this time I wasn't so lucky.

BORN: 7/14/06
DIED: 7/2/07

Services will be held in 3-4 business days.

Surprisingly, I'm not extremely upset. I knew this day would happen eventually. I'm just glad I caught the 1 yr. warranty (by 12 days!) and don't have to pay anything. Customer Service threw in a free month of Live without me even asking. They must be giving those out like candy. Kinda like the lolipop bowl at the doctor's office.

It seems like this issue is really starting to get some mainstream media attention, so hopefully, this will put the pressure on Microsoft to permantely fix this issue. Doubt it though. I'm still in shock that a little country like the UK is seeing 1,500 to 2,500 returns a day! The US must be at least double that!

I think I will purchase the 2 yr. extended warranty for $50. I would be a fool not too ... I don't trust this console at all.

Most unreliable piece of hardware I have ever owned. Hands down. Best games I have ever played. Hands down.

Fix turn around time:

I sent my Xbox 360 back (for a second time) on June 22nd. What turn around time are people getting on recent repairs?

It took me 26 days from start (call placed) to finish (UPS delivering a refurbed console). That was one week ago.

It took me about 24 days from start to finish also. And that free month of Xbox live is technically not free I paid for a year, it took them a month to get my console back and so they are just reimbursing me for the month I lost. The worst part is I get it back and I am redoing the bathroom and painting the house so here goes another week without playing.

Fix turn around time:

I sent my Xbox 360 back (for a second time) on June 22nd. What turn around time are people getting on recent repairs?

if mine is delivered as scheduled, it'll be almost 5 weeks.

...I think I will purchase the 2 yr. extended warranty for $50. I would be a fool not too ... I don't trust this console at all...
Here's the funny part. MS whined and cried and bitched and moaned it's heart out, telling us all again and again how charitable and fantastic they were by taking a "loss" on the 360 console and how we should all feel so lucky. Then, they turn around and make a system with POS hardware in a desperate attampt to beat Sony/Nintendo out of the gate.

Can anyone imagine just the ridiculous shipping bills they have per month alone? Paying to send out coffins, paying for shipping to repair, shipping thousands upon thousands of them back and forth...again, and again, and again. Now, add in actual repair-related costs; labor at repair facility, labor for phone facility, labor at the PR department trying fantically to deny the problem, then toss in; lights, water, land, lease, and on and on. How they can offer a 2-year warantee for $50 is beyond me, considering it's likely to be returned a minimum of 2 times in that span.

Here's the funny part. MS whined and cried and bitched and moaned it's heart out, telling us all again and again how charitable and fantastic they were by taking a "loss" on the 360 console and how we should all feel so lucky. Then, they turn around and make a system with POS hardware in a desperate attampt to beat Sony/Nintendo out of the gate.

Can anyone imagine just the ridiculous shipping bills they have per month alone? Paying to send out coffins, paying for shipping to repair, shipping thousands upon thousands of them back and forth...again, and again, and again. Now, add in actual repair-related costs; labor at repair facility, labor for phone facility, labor at the PR department trying fantically to deny the problem, then toss in; lights, water, land, lease, and on and on. How they can offer a 2-year warantee for $50 is beyond me, considering it's likely to be returned a minimum of 2 times in that span.

"Penny wise, pound foolish"

Well as much money as they make in their other products I would in no way feel sorry for them. They don't make money on the consoles it's all in the game licensing. Free razor, back for blades approach. The sad thing is they actually have a good console this time. The graphics by far are better then previous gens. Xbox Live has matured and offers way more then Sony's or Nintendo's tries at it, and the game releases are relatively quick and appeal to a broad range of players.

Now in order to live up to the Halo 3 hype they indeed need to keep these things working and put a fix in play for all the dead consoles lately. It's quite interesting to see how at around the year (year and half) mark these things are starting to die. If the X-clamps are the source of the majority of these, get on it and fix them free! Save some face and man up MS!

Just got mine back after a 4 weeks. I must say it sounds much quieter then the other one. They also gave me a free month of XBOX Gold Subscription.

Just got mine back after a 4 weeks. I must say it sounds much quieter then the other one. They also gave me a free month of XBOX Gold Subscription.

"Just got mine back after a 4 weeks."
"They also gave me a free month of XBOX Gold Subscription"

My Math says you rec'd nothing for free. You would have been paying for Live for a month but not have a system to play it on. IMO they don't deserve any real credit here, imo customers early on complained about this, legal looked at it and imo they pretty much had to offer this. Now if they would have given yourself two months then you would have rec'd something extra worth noting.

My Math says you rec'd nothing for free...
C'mon, Horror, what about the "free" PITA of dealing with a dead unit? What about all the "free" time you get by not having a 360 to play anymore? What about the "free" hood ornament (extra heatsink) they throw into the unit to make you feel like it's really fixed? I'd chastize you for for your words some more, but I guess it's a "free" country, so say what you will. ;)

Well, apparently our complaining and more importantly the fact that the 360 has some serious reliability issues has finally prompted MS to do something:
This was found on xbox.com, there is a link on the first page! !

Open Letter From Peter Moore

To our Xbox Community:

You've spoken, and we’ve heard you. Good service and a good customer experience are areas of the business that we care deeply about. And frankly, we've not been doing a good enough job.

Some of you have expressed frustration with the customer experiences you have had with Xbox 360; frustration with having to return your console for service after receiving the general hardware error message on the console.

The majority of customers who own Xbox 360 consoles have had a terrific experience from their first day, and continue to, day in and day out. But when anyone questions the reliability of our product, or our commitment to our customers, it's something I take very seriously.

We have been following this issue closely, and with on-going testing have identified several factors that can cause a general hardware failure indicated by three flashing red lights on the console. To address this issue, and as part of our ongoing work, we have already made certain improvements to the console.

We are also implementing some important policy changes intended to keep you in the game, worry-free.

As of today, all Xbox 360 consoles are covered by an enhanced warranty program to address specifically the general hardware failures indicated by the three flashing red lights on the console. This applies to new and previously-sold consoles. While we will still have a general one year console warranty (two years in some countries), we are announcing today a three-year warranty that covers any console that displays a three flashing red lights error message. If a customer has an issue indicated by the three flashing red lights, Microsoft will repair the console free of charge—including shipping—for three years from the console’s purchase date. We will also retroactively reimburse any of you who paid for repairs related to problems indicated by this error message in the past. In doing so, Microsoft stands behind its products and takes responsibility to ensure that every Xbox 360 console owner continues to have a fantastic gaming experience.

If we have let any of you down in the experience you have had with your Xbox 360, we sincerely apologize. We are taking responsibility and are making these changes to ensure that every Xbox 360 owner continues to have a great experience.

This will take a few days to roll out globally, and I appreciate your continued patience as we launch this program. I've posted an FAQ that should address some additional questions, and we'll update it over the next few days.

I want to thank you, on behalf of all us at Microsoft, for your loyalty.

Bout Freakin Time!! :rolleyes:

..."The majority of customers who own Xbox 360 consoles have had a terrific experience from their first day, and continue to, day in and day out"...

I guess 51% does constitute a majority. :D

Well, apparently our complaining and more importantly the fact that the 360 has some serious reliability issues has finally prompted MS to do something:
This was found on xbox.com, there is a link on the first page! !

Open Letter From Peter Moore

To our Xbox Community:

You've spoken, and we’ve heard you. Good service and a good customer experience are areas of the business that we care deeply about. And frankly, we've not been doing a good enough job.

Some of you have expressed frustration with the customer experiences you have had with Xbox 360; frustration with having to return your console for service after receiving the general hardware error message on the console.

The majority of customers who own Xbox 360 consoles have had a terrific experience from their first day, and continue to, day in and day out. But when anyone questions the reliability of our product, or our commitment to our customers, it's something I take very seriously.

We have been following this issue closely, and with on-going testing have identified several factors that can cause a general hardware failure indicated by three flashing red lights on the console. To address this issue, and as part of our ongoing work, we have already made certain improvements to the console.

We are also implementing some important policy changes intended to keep you in the game, worry-free.

As of today, all Xbox 360 consoles are covered by an enhanced warranty program to address specifically the general hardware failures indicated by the three flashing red lights on the console. This applies to new and previously-sold consoles. While we will still have a general one year console warranty (two years in some countries), we are announcing today a three-year warranty that covers any console that displays a three flashing red lights error message. If a customer has an issue indicated by the three flashing red lights, Microsoft will repair the console free of charge—including shipping—for three years from the console’s purchase date. We will also retroactively reimburse any of you who paid for repairs related to problems indicated by this error message in the past. In doing so, Microsoft stands behind its products and takes responsibility to ensure that every Xbox 360 console owner continues to have a fantastic gaming experience.

If we have let any of you down in the experience you have had with your Xbox 360, we sincerely apologize. We are taking responsibility and are making these changes to ensure that every Xbox 360 owner continues to have a great experience.

This will take a few days to roll out globally, and I appreciate your continued patience as we launch this program. I've posted an FAQ that should address some additional questions, and we'll update it over the next few days.

I want to thank you, on behalf of all us at Microsoft, for your loyalty.

Bout Freakin Time!! :rolleyes:Good to see they really care! Thanks MS.

It's on Major Nelson's latest podcast as well. Seems like the 3 year goes back to your original postage date. This November I'll only have a year left. That sucks but at least I'll get my $70 back. I got my second round of the 3 Red Rings back in May and it was out of warranty.

C'mon, Horror, what about the "free" PITA of dealing with a dead unit? What about all the "free" time you get by not having a 360 to play anymore? What about the "free" hood ornament (extra heatsink) they throw into the unit to make you feel like it's really fixed? I'd chastize you for for your words some more, but I guess it's a "free" country, so say what you will. ;)

Spyder you may think you chastised me but you refuse to see both sides. I know you are the master of all things fixing 360's but what you do is out of warranty, that is the only reason I don't take those steps. Believe me I could be the 360 repair God if I wanted to but at this time I choose to keep it in warranty that is all, nothing more. I'm sure your fix (a fix others have come up with) is a much better fix but again I call WARRANTY. Please understand that and yes any aid to keep the system cooler will help, is it enough? We can't say 100% because even being a commi-console they still aren't all created equally. I have two right next to each other the produce two totally different thermal results.

I'm still confident that putting the 360 on the top-shelf of a mini-fridgerator and the beer on the bottom could do wonders for the 360 and be that good reason to finally get a mini-fridge in the family room!

But imo it’s not about is your solution better or not. It’s "Does the owner want to void the warranty?" And imo it’s more then fair for an owner to come back with NO I DO NOT! If they answer "I want to keep my warranty" (now up to 3 years) your solution then isn't an answer for them, so they look for something else to help reduce trips to Texas. Comprende?

Hi, Gamers-
Here's a little article I got this morning about the XBOX. Thought you would find it interesting-
L
http://www.smarthousenews.com.au/Games_And_Devices/Console?Article=/Games%20And%20Devices/Console/A5K8K9E4

Hi, Gamers-
Here's a little article I got this morning about the XBOX. Thought you would find it interesting-
L
http://www.smarthousenews.com.au/Games_And_Devices/Console?Article=/Games%20And%20Devices/Console/A5K8K9E4

when did you come out of a coma? :p

Having read all the horror stories about refurbed xbox's being DOA I can assure you though I'm wondering if I made the right choice to send it in versus trying the xclamp fix myself... of course, now I have a 3 year warranty instead of a 1 year. But waiting is so hard.

Peace,
Dreamaster

...Comprende?
Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Hold up there, big fella. I wasn't actually chastising you, I was AGREEING with you on the comment you posted below (and above), with what I thought was obvious in the repeated reference to the word "free" again and again. Perhaps I was too subtle or you didn't fully read the post, or you just wanted to rant, but if you look back, perhaps you'll see I said nothing to earn your latent, and somewhat scathing comments. :confused:

The point I was getting at clearly lies within the fact the MS continually makes lame-duck attempts to remind us again and again how much they love us in their supposed "good deeds" like "free" Live on dead units, extended so-called "warantees" or "losing money" on consoles. The fact of the matter is that MS loves our money, not us, and is desperately trying (and failing) to stop the devestating force known as Wii from turning the tide once again in the console wars. Class-action lawsuit threats seem to have a way of suddenly and magically bringing out "the best" in people. ;)

"Just got mine back after a 4 weeks."
"They also gave me a free month of XBOX Gold Subscription"

My Math says you rec'd nothing for free. You would have been paying for Live for a month but not have a system to play it on. IMO they don't deserve any real credit here, imo customers early on complained about this, legal looked at it and imo they pretty much had to offer this. Now if they would have given yourself two months then you would have rec'd something extra worth noting.

Well my 360 has been revived by the x-clamp fix. So now if my console fails(3 red rings) I cannot send it back to them to be fixed for free, because I fixed it myself before?? If so, thats a bummer but my 360 is running like a champ right now!

I'm happy about the extended warranty. More importantly they said that they believe they've solved the problem. Not sure if my newly replaced 360 has the 'fix' or not, but even if it doesn't I feel good knowing I can send it back again if it breaks.

They said that they carefully analyzed the problem of 3rr and found out that there was more than just one issue with the system. So I wonder if the x-clamp fix would really work for everyone. Probably not everyone.

considering that we are all under warranty now, and that MS is claiming to have fixed the issue, I guess the best advice to give people would be not to fix it yourself but let MS do it (even though it takes a month).

Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Hold up there, big fella. I wasn't actually chastising you, I was AGREEING with you on the comment you posted below (and above), with what I thought was obvious in the repeated reference to the word "free" again and again. Perhaps I was too subtle or you didn't fully read the post, or you just wanted to rant, but if you look back, perhaps you'll see I said nothing to earn your latent, and somewhat scathing comments. :confused:

The point I was getting at clearly lies within the fact the MS continually makes lame-duck attempts to remind us again and again how much they love us in their supposed "good deeds" like "free" Live on dead units, extended so-called "warantees" or "losing money" on consoles. The fact of the matter is that MS loves our money, not us, and is desperately trying (and failing) to stop the devestating force known as Wii from turning the tide once again in the console wars. Class-action lawsuit threats seem to have a way of suddenly and magically bringing out "the best" in people. ;)

Ok then I took it all wrong and we are on the same page. We both aren't happy how they are dealing with it. IMO dealing with it means fixing it and not extending warranties and we agree. You also favor the "out of box" fix which I would do as well if I were out of warranty, that is where our differences lie and not like even those difference arer "put'em up and lets get after it" differences. Just differences in how we look at what is best for each of us. No problem, sorry I took it the way I did, all good yadda yadda!

PS: I still got my eye on you. lol

Well my 360 has been revived by the x-clamp fix. So now if my console fails(3 red rings) I cannot send it back to them to be fixed for free, because I fixed it myself before?? If so, thats a bummer but my 360 is running like a champ right now!

Joe I think you have an interesting point. For the person who went out of warranty, red-lighted then took it upon themselves to fixit. They get a bit screwed over by this turn of events.

...So I wonder if the x-clamp fix would really work for everyone. Probably not everyone...
You'd be correct in that assumption. (Current stats below)

Fixed the 3RLOD, No issues at all now, No freezes, works fine - 453
Fixed the 3RLOD, still video freezes occasionally. 7
Mixed results, sometimes works with no 3LOD - 3
Didn't fix the 3LOD. - 30

Still, 453 out of 493 = a whopping 92% complete and total success rate, far, far better than MS' supposed fix. Even then, I would wager large chunks of change that of the mere 40 that didn't absolutely work, many rushed at least one part of the job (particularly the cleaning) or didn't comprehend the instructions fully. Now, account for those like myself that haven't yet posted their numberous fixes (my buddy and I are at 30+ fully successful so far), and the rate climbs vastly higher.

All that said, at least MS has given the option to those that don't mind multiple failures and the headaches and hassles of repeated returns with down times of up to 6 weeks on their beloved game systems.

Now I'm not sure how MS repairs/refurbs these failed consoles, but it could make a difference in terms of which customers get replacements or not. Now I have seen some accounts of users sending a box that has been opened back to MS and they have simply sent it back because of voided warranty by opening the console. But how do they test/troubleshoot these things?
For example they plug it in and see 3 RROD and simply replace, or do they always repair them?
I guess what I am asking is the possibility of sending a 3RROD console back to MS and having it replaced without them finding out that the user has opened/altered the innards of the console??? Seems unlikely !!

I was told by MS that broken seals = returned to sender.

Now I'm not sure how MS repairs/refurbs these failed consoles, but it could make a difference in terms of which customers get replacements or not. Now I have seen some accounts of users sending a box that has been opened back to MS and they have simply sent it back because of voided warranty by opening the console. But how do they test/troubleshoot these things?
I guess what I am asking is the possibility of sending a 3RROD console back to MS and having it replaced without them finding out that the user has opened/altered the innards of the console??? Seems unlikely !!

I couldn't care less what MS says about broken seals. I can guaran-damn-tee that if I was out of warantee, broke my seal to fix the 3ROD, then somewhere down the line decided that I wanted MS to "unfix" the unit, given the new 3-year "warantee" that there's no way on Earth that it wouldn't get done.

Sadly, there are many out there that aren't so persistent or commanding. Maybe they opened the case for a repair, but maybe they simply wanted the uber-cool clear case mod, or even the Black Knight casing put on since MS went out of their way to paint the original in designer crapbag, wonky white, thus guaranteeing more than a few Elite sales based on color alone.

If I were one of these people that (might) end up getting screwed because of MS' foot-shuffling, side-stepping, and blatant skirting of the real issues, there would be absolute and utter hell to pay.

I would love to see one of the MS techs face if he was to open one of the prepaid boxes and saw a diamond clear case 360. :eek: If you were lucky they would mail it back to you without charging you return postage. They just might throw it in the trash.

Just finished the x clamp mod, and the sh_ t!!!!!
Very frustrating it took my son and me almost 3 hours.
Im hoping tomorrow it would have cooled of completely and miraculously work.
What an optimist!!!

Just finished the x clamp mod, and the sh_ t!!!!!
Very frustrating it took my son and me almost 3 hours.
Im hoping tomorrow it would have cooled of completely and miraculously work.
What an optimist!!!
If you have questions, a PM would be in order. I'd be happy to help.

If you have questions, a PM would be in order. I'd be happy to help.

I think the mod was pretty straight foward.
The only thing I could think of is the amount of compound I used. Maybee not enough. After installing the heat sinks I turned it on and got the the 2 red lights as indicated.

I think the mod was pretty straight foward.
The only thing I could think of is the amount of compound I used. Maybee not enough. After installing the heat sinks I turned it on and got the the 2 red lights as indicated.

No, I'd say more than likely you've got more compound than you need, but the heatsink isn't contacting the chip. You've either got one too many washers or you haven't applied enough pressure to the bolts.

Good observation,

I used the indicated washers metal and fiber.
But, the 10 mm screws were not the indicated ones. The head on the screws are just a tiny bit to large. So I hade to carefully place the mother board so it would line up properly, but it did.

I am going to try removing the metal washers to see if I get a tighter fit.

If the motherboard flexed even a little bit, you will have problems. It should drop in and line up without having to put any pressure on it.

Then thats might be the problem, should I remove the metal washers to give me more clearance?

I also cleaned the compound off the heat sinks, I dont think that matters.

Your going to need those washers. You will need to make room for the head of your bolts in the bottom of the metal pan. Either by drilling or using a dremel. Perhaps spyder696969 has a recommendation. I use a 1/4" drill bit and make the hole bigger where the x-clamps were screwed on and it works perfect for the bolts I usually use.

Here is a look at the type of bolts I use. It is 10mm. I then have 1 metal washer and 1 nylon washer on both sides of the board.

I think the mod was pretty straight foward.
The only thing I could think of is the amount of compound I used. Maybee not enough. After installing the heat sinks I turned it on and got the the 2 red lights as indicated.
Whoa. Let's back up here. Are you saying that you got 2 red lights immediately upon powering up instead of three, or that you got 3ROD, which then turned into 2?

I also cleaned the compound off the heat sinks, I dont think that matters.
Are you saying that you don't think it matters that you did it or that we know you did it?



Also, an alternative to the suggested screws is Lowe's part #138240, which I actually prefer over the original.

Well my 360 has been revived by the x-clamp fix. So now if my console fails(3 red rings) I cannot send it back to them to be fixed for free, because I fixed it myself before?? If so, thats a bummer but my 360 is running like a champ right now!

Yup all of us that took matters into our own hands are screwed. I was out of warranty and at the time was not going to pay MS $140 to fix what I could do for $6.00. The warranty extension is only for the 3 ring issue anyway so the fact that my box is working again doesn't worry me.

If my box craps out for something else I'll be buying another one hopefully with the 65nm cpu and updated cooling fixes from MS later in the year.

Nobody is screwed. Allow me to illustrate, with little subtlety to get the point across, from Peter Moore's statement:

"As of today, all Xbox 360 consoles are covered by an enhanced warranty program to address specifically the general hardware failures indicated by the three flashing red lights on the console. This applies to new and previously-sold consoles. While we will still have a general one year console warranty (two years in some countries), we are announcing today a three-year warranty that covers any console that displays a three flashing red lights error message. If a customer has an issue indicated by the three flashing red lights, Microsoft will repair the console free of charge—including shipping—for three years from the console’s purchase date. We will also retroactively reimburse any of you who paid for repairs related to problems indicated by this error message in the past. In doing so, Microsoft stands behind its products and takes responsibility to ensure that every Xbox 360 console owner continues to have a fantastic gaming experience."

Is it clear now? :D

That may be his statement but I am sure the fine print of the warranty will not cover an XBOX that has been opened and modified.

Well, I gobbled up two more complete 360s for a mere $60 each today and hit the Lowe's for the whopping $7 in parts each. Mods done to one, the other was already working great, so I didn't mess...yet. Seals were intact on both, but I thought, "Why bother?" In retrospect, I should have sent the one in, if only to see firsthand the "new, improved, well-reasearched, and miraculous" so-called "fix" that MS is shouting about. Maybe next time. ;)

Quick question.
My screen was freezing and I got the three red lights the other night multiple times. I played most of the day yesterday without a problem. Is it possible that Microsoft would want me to send it in, or does it have to be locked on the three red lights?

So, people are selling red ring of death Xbox 360's on Ebay for 60 bucks?

So, people are selling red ring of death Xbox 360's on Ebay for 60 bucks?
Not even close. I have far better resources than eBay.

Quick question.
My screen was freezing and I got the three red lights the other night multiple times. I played most of the day yesterday without a problem. Is it possible that Microsoft would want me to send it in, or does it have to be locked on the three red lights?
I'd bet it has to be permanently boned, as the MS techs aren't going to try to recreate the problem.

Just finished my second attempt at the mod for thr three lights with the right size screws this time.

I powered it up before putting the whole thing back togrther and I got two flashing left red lights around and then the fan turns off. I hae evrything connected except the case.
Any suggestions before I box swap...

Just finished my second attempt at the mod for thr three lights with the right size screws this time.

I powered it up before putting the whole thing back togrther and I got two flashing left red lights around and then the fan turns off. I hae evrything connected except the case.
Any suggestions before I box swap...

You sure you have the heat sink compound and the heat sinks are snugged down correctly? Something isn't set right. I would recheck your screws and make sure your heat sinks aren't sitting o far above the chips from to many spacers. Also make sure your video cable is properly plugged in and the dvdrom drive.

Good observation, becouse after allowing a cool down I got the green leds flashing in a circle then the fan turned off and I got the two red lights.

DAm I put together already!!!

Just finished my second attempt at the mod for thr three lights with the right size screws this time.

I powered it up before putting the whole thing back togrther and I got two flashing left red lights around and then the fan turns off. I hae evrything connected except the case.
Any suggestions before I box swap...

If you didn't hose the unit by not using the correct parts the first time, then you need to "cook" the unit before you reconnect the fans. Turn the unit on, wait for the unit to overheat and get 2 red lights, then power down. This reseats the die to the board.


...after allowing a cool down I got the green leds flashing in a circle then the fan turned off and I got the two red lights.

DAm I put together already!!!...

Pffft. You should always test the unit before you put it all together again if you want to save endless time and wear on your 360. Try cooking it, as stated. If that doesn't work, PM me and we'll set up a time when I can walk you through it step-by-step.

will do, if that does not work I will PM.

Thanks

Mine just died last night waiting to play "Cloning Clyde". Hardly had it turned on so it wasn't heat that had developed at that moment. Managed to get it running again after a while but after it locked up a few times the Red Ring returned. Already lined up a return kit. Really wish I'd been luckier...

Im done with the mod, time for box swap. My son threw out the x clamps.

At best buy should I tell its boken or just refund? Will they plug it in??
I switched the covers so the serial #'s will match.

Im done with the mod, time for box swap. My son threw out the x clamps.

At best buy should I tell its boken or just refund? Will they plug it in??
I switched the covers so the serial #'s will match.
Are you saying you swapped a 3ROD unit with a good one you bought from BB and are now taking the (swapped) dead one back to BB in order to get a refund? What do you mean when you say you swapped the serial #s? Did you fix the 3ROD or not?

No I could not fix it.

And I porchased a new one, but I am hesitant on returning tho broken one for refund.

What I'm asking is if you are thinking of pulling the ol' switcheroo on BB. If I'm seeing this situation correctly:

1. You originally had a 3ROD unit.
2. You went and bought a brand new, working 360 from BB.
3. You switched the external cases so that the serial numbers of the broken unit you've had (and couldn't fix) would then match the brand new unit's box that you just bought.
4. You plan on returning your old, 3ROD unit in the new box and hope to get a full refund...assuming that BB thinks that the unit inside the box is actually the new unit you just bought from them and not the old, dead 360 you've had for some time.

Correct?

Correct,

But I dont think I have the KoJons to go thru with it. I am trying to find one that fell off the truck first.

That's what I thought. Just curious...why should BB eat $400+ instead of MS? :confused:

At best buy should I tell its boken or just refund? Will they plug it in?? I switched the covers so the serial #'s will match.That might pass a cursory glance test, but since Xbox Live games detect that they are playing on the right machine (no simple hard drive swap allowed) I think later on someone will track down whoever registered the serial numbers involved and ask questions...

If they want to track it down, they can. It wouldn't be hard. You would be better off either taking the loss or sending the motherboard to someone who will try to fix it for you. Plus now, unless you were real careful, you messed up the seal on the new xbox and if you have a problem with that, what will you do?

Plus, if you just return it, it is very likely some othe rpoor schmuck will get stuck with your old 360 and habe to explain their way out of that one with the BB CS dolts.

so is the main issue just heat issues? if so then thats no biggie for me to fix. however i'd just like to know before voiding my warranty (and yes i have full knowledge of electronic, and computer repair). my 360 is in perfect working order, but why let it fail when it can be fixed.

so is the main issue just heat issues? if so then thats no biggie for me to fix. however i'd just like to know before voiding my warranty (and yes i have full knowledge of electronic, and computer repair). my 360 is in perfect working order, but why let it fail when it can be fixed.
The problem is, you will only get anecdotal evidence of what the main issues are.

MS just says that there were several issues that needed to be resolved.

Spyder does have fairly convincing argument that 90+% of people found the 'x-clamp' fix to resolve their issues - but thats an internet poll, so take it for what it is.

so is the main issue just heat issues? if so then thats no biggie for me to fix. however i'd just like to know before voiding my warranty (and yes i have full knowledge of electronic, and computer repair). my 360 is in perfect working order, but why let it fail when it can be fixed.
No, the issue isn't just heat. It's the craptacular design of the X-Clamps themselves that were created by MS engineers making millions of dollars each that are "flawed" in many ways.* The unavoidable heat created and building from the moment the unit is turned on only intensifies the problem, slowly (or not so slowly) educing it to the breaking point, and thus, resulting in the 3ROD. Throwing on 50 additional heatsinks and/or fans won't fix the problem. Delay its coming to an inevitable head, yes. Fix it, no.

*I say "flawed" because there's a part of me that thinks this was an intentional flaw, engineered to cut some initial losses by MS on the 360 units. Sure, MS, in the end (and in the face of a class-action lawsuit) did withdraw from their stance on raping people for an additional $140 for 3ROD repairs, but they also played with other people's money for quite some time. Give me $140 X 100,000 units, I invest that $14 million, make a small fortune, then give it back, without interest. No harm, no foul, some might say. I, myself, call BS on MS.

No, the issue isn't just heat. It's the craptacular design of the X-Clamps themselves that were created by MS engineers making millions of dollars each that are "flawed" in many ways.* The unavoidable heat created and building from the moment the unit is turned on only intensifies the problem, slowly (or not so slowly) educing it to the breaking point, and thus, resulting in the 3ROD. Throwing on 50 additional heatsinks and/or fans won't fix the problem. Delay its coming to an inevitable head, yes. Fix it, no.

*I say "flawed" because there's a part of me that thinks this was an intentional flaw, engineered to cut some initial losses by MS on the 360 units. Sure, MS, in the end (and in the face of a class-action lawsuit) did withdraw from their stance on raping people for an additional $140 for 3ROD repairs, but they also played with other people's money for quite some time. Give me $140 X 100,000 units, I invest that $14 million, make a small fortune, then give it back, without interest. No harm, no foul, some might say. I, myself, call BS on MS.
forgive my uninformativeness, but the x-clamps simply hold down the heatsinks through the mobo, correct? and the x-clamp mods out there simply apply more pressure. so knowing this, is it the solder that is failing by reach the appropriate temp and therefore causing failed solder points, which the x-clamp mods fix by adding more pressure to them allowing contact again?

sorry, its just i've never been inside a 360, and don't plan on having to unless i have to, so untill then i'm just trying to geta feel for the inner working of the 360 and the so called x-clamp problem. but my question is, if it is truly the solder points that are failing by the badly implemented x-clamps because things get a bit too hot which will cause the solder to fail, then how is this not a heat problem? if my understanding is correct you could simply replace the heatsink with a better one and create ti to work with the existing mounting holes, therefore causing the final product to run cooler than previously, therefore avoiding the bad solder points anyway? though, it may also just be a bad connection between the heatsink and heat spreader, of which the x-clamp mods would fix too.

If you saw an X-Clamp first-hand, you'd immediately see the problem. The first time I pulled one, I nearly fell on the floor with laughter. It's one of the most whacked-out, asinine designs a person could imagine. It creates many conflicting pressure points across the flimsy motherboard that MS chose to install, which leads me believe it was quite possibly done on purpose with planned failure in mind.

Without actually seeing the thing, it's difficult to explain, but I'll attempt to give you a very simple idea in the primitive, 2-D diagrams below. Sorry, but I'm no graphic artist and I'm not about to spend an hour drawing this up on Paint. ;)

Before POS part removal:

LLLLLLLLLLLL heatsink
----------------- die
_>---//\\---<_ motherboard
-I-----/X\-----I- X-Clamp

Notice how the bolts "I" are pulling the mb away from the attached die while simultaneously the X part of the X-Clamp "/X\" is pushing toward, and thus, compounding to the problem?


After POS part removal:

LLLLLLLLLLLLL heatsink
------------------ die
------------------ motherboard
I....................I bolts

You can easily pull cold solder points away with enough force...and there is quite a bit of force applied by the X-Clamp. Heat simply makes it easier. All the heatsinks in the world (regardless of price or capabilities) won't fix a flimsy motherboard being forcibly pulled away from the die. Period.

oh ok, thanks. if that truly is how it all fits together then yeah, that is a really bad design. though i wouldn't put it past the engineers as a mistake really, often engineers get "bored" and decide to try the most complex (read annoying) approach to things that already have a good, simple solution. perhaps they need to hire someone with no engineering experience, but instead some common sense to assist them ;-)

I wonder how much the "X" design itself played a role in MS engineers decision?? I mean this is the "X" box 360 they built. Maybe they just wanted to have an "X" something inside the machine and decided on the clamps. They could have simply overlooked the actual performance of the design just to have an "X" somewhere inside the console. If so, I bet they thought it was pretty clever. Nonetheless it turns out that it made the console fail. So Nice try MS , forget about being clever and actually make a product thats reliable.
Can it be just a coincidence that they built the "X"box 360 with an "X" clamp inside?
I don't know its just sounds stupid

I had two friends get the RRofD in the last week. One guy though got it on a Friday, but it started up in the morning. He has gotten it 3 more times and was able to just reboot the box. I hadn't heard of this before, it must be in its "death throes". I told him to call now so the Return box will be there waiting for him when it does crap out.

I had two friends get the RRofD in the last week. One guy though got it on a Friday, but it started up in the morning. He has gotten it 3 more times and was able to just reboot the box. I hadn't heard of this before, it must be in its "death throes". I told him to call now so the Return box will be there waiting for him when it does crap out.
That's extremely common and an indication that he's about to permanently get 3ROD.

If you saw an X-Clamp first-hand, you'd immediately see the problem. The first time I pulled one, I nearly fell on the floor with laughter. It's one of the most whacked-out, asinine designs a person could imagine. It creates many conflicting pressure points across the flimsy motherboard that MS chose to install, which leads me believe it was quite possibly done on purpose with planned failure in mind.

Without actually seeing the thing, it's difficult to explain, but I'll attempt to give you a very simple idea in the primitive, 2-D diagrams below. Sorry, but I'm no graphic artist and I'm not about to spend an hour drawing this up on Paint. ;)

Before POS part removal:

LLLLLLLLLLLL heatsink
----------------- die
_>---//\\---<_ motherboard
-I-----/X\-----I- X-Clamp

Notice how the bolts "I" are pulling the mb away from the attached die while simultaneously the X part of the X-Clamp "/X\" is pushing toward, and thus, compounding to the problem?


After POS part removal:

LLLLLLLLLLLLL heatsink
------------------ die
------------------ motherboard
I....................I bolts

You can easily pull cold solder points away with enough force...and there is quite a bit of force applied by the X-Clamp. Heat simply makes it easier. All the heatsinks in the world (regardless of price or capabilities) won't fix a flimsy motherboard being forcibly pulled away from the die. Period.
from scanning pics around the net i feel the x-clamps don't quite act like you describe. you leave out the fact that they push up against the motherboard, but only to have the heatsink have a slight extrusion that the chips die gets pushed onto. this kind of design would keep it even on both sides allowing little pressure upwards that wouldn't be pushed down by the heatsink.

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c208/jarrod1937/heatsink_xbox_design.jpg

so, considering this, the only way it could malfunction in the way you describe is if the heatsink's extrusion was miscalculated and therefore not long enough, therefore allowing too much force to be applied upwards onto the die. so this would make the flaw on the heatsink.

p.s. please excuse the crappy drawing, lol, i did it in about 2 min.

edit: actually, if you think about it, if the x-clamps hold down the heatsink, and the heatsink holds the x-clamps, then under any and all circumstances they should have even pressure on both ends. put more pressure on the bottom by bending in the clamps more, you get the heatsink being pulled down more.

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c208/jarrod1937/heatsink_xbox_design.jpg
No offense, but have you ever actually seen either an X-Clamp or the 360's heatsinks?

Given your arcane logic, how is it then, that MS' replacement units continue to fail again, and again, and yet again, while simply removing the clamps brings greater than 90% success? What you are suggesting is ignoring the contradicting forces placed upon the motherboard entirely. The simple truth that a square peg doesn't fit in a round hole, so to speak.

I'm not calling you out, I'm simply stating that if you have worked with the parts themselves, as opposed to looking at images and making even perhaps thoughtful assumptions, theory gives way to reality and it becomes extremely obvious what the true problems are.

I think it is a bad design but it surely wasn't done on purpose. I have seen plenty of them and if the motherboard was thicker the clamp would probably be ok. It seems that when the clamp goes thru the assembly line sometimes, because of uneven pressure being applied, the heatsink material is being squeezed from between the chip and the heatsink. I have seen where the material was covering only about half of the chip leaving large air bubbles on the rest of the surface. This would obviously cause it to overheat and eventually fail.

I completely agree with what you're saying, johnbe. The thermal paste application method is yet another flawed component in the 360's overall design, and the mobo is far too thin. Maybe on my next mod, I'll leave the clamps in and just redo the paste and see what happens. My guess is that it might work, but not for long.

Having replaced x-clamps in 2 360's already I can say it was definatley a crappy design.

And lets not all forget the crappy thermal paste (tape in some cases) MS used on these heat sinks. I think the combination of both the clamp and thermal paste (lack thereof) is what has caused a large majority of the failures. However, you must also take into account HD, DVD-rom, power supply, etc. failures that can not be addressed by the x-clamp fix when you look at total number of 360 failures.

No offense, but have you ever actually seen either an X-Clamp or the 360's heatsinks?

Given your arcane logic, how is it then, that MS' replacement units continue to fail again, and again, and yet again, while simply removing the clamps brings greater than 90% success? What you are suggesting is ignoring the contradicting forces placed upon the motherboard entirely. The simple truth that a square peg doesn't fit in a round hole, so to speak.

I'm not calling you out, I'm simply stating that if you have worked with the parts themselves, as opposed to looking at images and making even perhaps thoughtful assumptions, theory gives way to reality and it becomes extremely obvious what the true problems are.
i have seen enough to make a very good conclusion. just because it doesn't fall into place with your claims doesn't mean its not true. and if you say what i typed above is wrong then you have a severe lack of judgement when it comes to physics. however, you say you don't want to single me out, but what you just typed is very direct. "Given your arcane logic", for example.
"how is it then, that MS' replacement units continue to fail again, and again, and yet again, while simply removing the clamps brings greater than 90% success?"
learn to think out of the box a bit, the applying a clamp mod affects many, many other things, which indirectly may be fixing the problem. point being, the actual physics don't matchup with the conclusion, solution? that is not directly the problem, solution? find the problem directly. if you get a failed power adjustment/monitoring intergrated circuit that is sending too much voltage and blowing the fuse, do you simply fix the problem by following the evidence and find that it is the fuse and therefore replace the fuse with a higher rated one? or would you find the direct source of the problem? sure the higher fuse would indeed make the unit operational again, sure it made sense, but was it the problem?
"how is it then, that MS' replacement units continue to fail again, and again, and yet again, while simply removing the clamps brings greater than 90% success?"
and lastly, this was not me trying to say that all xbox's are problem free, because obviously they're not, as you say in this quote, i was never in disagreement with this of course.

Having replaced x-clamps in 2 360's already I can say it was definatley a crappy design.

And lets not all forget the crappy thermal paste (tape in some cases) MS used on these heat sinks. I think the combination of both the clamp and thermal paste (lack thereof) is what has caused a large majority of the failures. However, you must also take into account HD, DVD-rom, power supply, etc. failures that can not be addressed by the x-clamp fix when you look at total number of 360 failures.
the x-clamp design is fundementally the same design used on many motherboards for north and south bridge cooling along with some video cards using the same design. the design, while not perfect, is perfectly functional.
however i do agree, and have often seen that crappy thermal paste and its application can cause heat related problems, which is quite possibly a large influence on the problem.

now you all may disagree with me, lets discuss things civilly.

and i am basing my observations on these collection of images along with your descriptions. which is really more than enough to get a good understanding:
link one (http://content.techrepublic.com.com/2346-10878_11-5652-40.html)


link two (http://www.engadget.com/2007/04/25/how-to-make-an-xbox-360-laptop-part-2/)

link three (http://img207.imageshack.us/img207/8515/picture0265au.jpg)

link four (http://images.gametronix.net/xbox360-cpunofoil.jpg)

Again, jarrod, theory is one thing, real-world experience is another. When you personally SEE and FEEL the actual item, you WILL understand. I, too, thought I had a damn good grasp on just what the clamp design was all about, having SEEN each and every one of the pics you linked to (along with hundreds of others) but I hadn't quite understood the absolute horror of it until getting tactile input.

Your words on not addressing the real problem apply to adding/swapping heatsinks (ala MS' repeatedly failed attempts to put a band-aid on the issue) and throwing a plethora of turbine fans into a unit that does not need them, save but for locations that are saunas or outside in the desert.

That said, you're free to theorize all you want. It's apparent you have experience with other electronics, and your theories likely apply to them, so knock yourself out. I apologize for the snarky tone of my comments, it's just that I'm growing increasingly tired of addressing constant questioning in regard to a repeatedly proven and highly successful method that I have performed many times myself without a single failure. I simply post information here to help others, but it appears that no good deed goes unpunished.

Good luck.

Again, jarrod, theory is one thing, real-world experience is another. When you personally SEE and FEEL the actual item, you WILL understand. I, too, thought I had a damn good grasp on just what the clamp design was all about, having SEEN each and every one of the pics you linked to (along with hundreds of others) but I hadn't quite understood the absolute horror of it until getting tactile input.

Your words on not addressing the real problem apply to adding/swapping heatsinks (ala MS' repeatedly failed attempts to put a band-aid on the issue) and throwing a plethora of turbine fans into a unit that does not need them, save but for locations that are saunas or outside in the desert.

That said, you're free to theorize all you want. It's apparent you have experience with other electronics, and your theories likely apply to them, so knock yourself out. I apologize for the snarky tone of my comments, it's just that I'm growing increasingly tired of addressing constant questioning in regard to a repeatedly proven and highly successful method that I have performed many times myself without a single failure. I simply post information here to help others, but it appears that no good deed goes unpunished.

Good luck.
while i fail to see how tactile information is needed to fully understand it, i will take your word for it and reserve any more of my judgments until I've taken apart a 360 amd have thoroughly felt and seen the heatsink and clamp. however once again, i am not doubting the clamp mods success, never have, because the stats are there to show it. but once again, i guess i'll see for myself soon enough (well, lets hope not :eek: ).

I completely agree with what you're saying, johnbe. The thermal paste application method is yet another flawed component in the 360's overall design, and the mobo is far too thin. Maybe on my next mod, I'll leave the clamps in and just redo the paste and see what happens. My guess is that it might work, but not for long.

I've tried it and and it doesn't work. You can't get equal pressure on the clamp to keep from damaging the paste. You end up squeezing out the paste out just like the problem in the 1st place. And it makes the heatsink wobble introducing air bubbles. At least I couldn't figure out how to do it without screwing it up. But you might have success where I didn't because I still think this is one of the problems.

Thanks for the info, johnbe. That's pretty much what I thought might happen, and the reason I haven't bothered with it so far. I would think one would have to actually build an entirely original device that applied equal pressure to all four points at the exact same time. Seems like a ton of bother to go the extra mile for a likely failed result...particularly when a successful method takes far less time and energy at virtually no cost.

If I feel like completely wasting some time someday, I may still do it...just for "fun."

I've tried it and and it doesn't work. You can't get equal pressure on the clamp to keep from damaging the paste. You end up squeezing out the paste out just like the problem in the 1st place. And it makes the heatsink wobble introducing air bubbles. At least I couldn't figure out how to do it without screwing it up. But you might have success where I didn't because I still think this is one of the problems.
the paste should be squeezed out, only question is if it is squeezing it out more on one side than the other. that is because paste is only meant to fit into the near micro scratches and grooves on the heatsink and die to allow better heat transfer. if you apply too much you'll be hindering heat transfer. for something like this though i'd need to bhe there in person to observe, simply because the paste could be uneven simply because the user is applying the heatsink wrong and installing it with uneven pressure and therefore look like the heatsink is wrong but could infact be the user squeezing out the paste unevenly while they're installing it. if it is the heatsink, then the clamp and heatsink could be tweaked to allow even pressure.

hi, my name is rakesh and my 360 died.

the paste should be squeezed out, only question is if it is squeezing it out more on one side than the other. that is because paste is only meant to fit into the near micro scratches and grooves on the heatsink and die to allow better heat transfer. if you apply too much you'll be hindering heat transfer. for something like this though i'd need to bhe there in person to observe, simply because the paste could be uneven simply because the user is applying the heatsink wrong and installing it with uneven pressure and therefore look like the heatsink is wrong but could infact be the user squeezing out the paste unevenly while they're installing it. if it is the heatsink, then the clamp and heatsink could be tweaked to allow even pressure.

That is the problem with this design. You can't really do this manually. This is done on some robotic manufacturing line where the heatsink, motherboard, paste, and clamp are going thru and being assembled at the same time. If one of those processes is off by even a fraction then you get a bad seal probably. Even though it is a robotic process, and I have been involved in production using robotic equipment, they do not do it 100% the same every time. Pressure is being applied during assembly from the top and bottom at the same time, I believe. But then again, they didn't pay me to come up with this design and I am not an engineer even though I slept at a Holiday Inn Express last night. :p

hi, my name is rakesh and my 360 died.

Thats sucks Rakesh. Mine has been at the M$ repair center since July 4th. Luckily my buddy loaned me his spare.

Console repair update:

Coffin recieved: June 22
MS Recieved xbox 360: June 28
Email telling me repairs are complete: July 17
UPS tracking number issued: July 18

So it should be here in a few days.

Peace,
Dreamaster

Here's just part of this week's pile o' crap:

http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n172/spyderswebphotos/x-clamplot.jpg

I got bored and decided to have the X-Clamps do a little seance, trying to resurrect their buddies from the dead:

http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n172/spyderswebphotos/x-clampseance.jpg

Seance 2:

http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n172/spyderswebphotos/X-clampfire.jpg

Sometimes, I think I have too much time on my hands. ;)

hi, my name is rakesh and my 360 died.

welcome to the club. our list is long and distinguished.

The guy over the phone said to stick the reference number on the console (with a post-it or whatever).

Is there anything else that needs to be done? I really don't want to call them again...minimum hold time is 25 minutes. I have better things to do.

The guy over the phone said to stick the reference number on the console (with a post-it or whatever).

Is there anything else that needs to be done? I really don't want to call them again...minimum hold time is 25 minutes. I have better things to do.
I taped it to the top of the console and I wrote it on the shipping box with a sharpie.

There's other things that need to be done (like sticking the return label on the box) but I believe they gave you a sheet that explains all the rest.

The guy over the phone said to stick the reference number on the console (with a post-it or whatever).

Is there anything else that needs to be done? I really don't want to call them again...minimum hold time is 25 minutes. I have better things to do.

They didn't tell me to do that. They sent an empty box that has everything you need including instructions.

They received mine on the 4th and I got an email yesterday the 20th that it has shipped. So they had it for about 11 business days.

Dumb question about the extended warranty. Does it cover all systems(core, premium and elite) including new ones that haven't been purchased yet and are still in the stores or just systems with a build date between such and such a date?

I'm going to upgrade from my premium to the elite, even thought I've never had a problem with my 360 that I picked up at launch. Also, my brother will probably end up getting my premium system, so if that console fails on him before the 3 year extended warranty is up (roughly 16 months), would it still be covered even though he didn't buy it?

Dumb question about the extended warranty. Does it cover all systems(core, premium and elite) including new ones that haven't been purchased yet and are still in the stores or just systems with a build date between such and such a date?

I'm going to upgrade from my premium to the elite, even thought I've never had a problem with my 360 that I picked up at launch. Also, my brother will probably end up getting my premium system, so if that console fails on him before the 3 year extended warranty is up (roughly 16 months), would it still be covered even though he didn't buy it?

As far as I understand it, the console covers the 3 RROD problem 3 yrs from purchase, even for new units. However, remember that this only includes the 3RROD problem.

I have had my 360 since launch with no problems. I do not play it much but will start to again when Madden. NHL08 and Halo 3 comes out. I am wondering if I should call MS and say that I experienced the 3 rings send it back to them and let them put the new Heat Sync in to avoid any problems when I do get these games.


Rob

I am wondering if I should call MS and say that I experienced the 3 rings send it back to them and let them put the new Heat Sync in to avoid any problems when I do get these games.
Or, you could just write "heatsink replaced" on the case with a Sharpie to obtain the exact same result. :confused:

Just got the 3 rings o death myself.
Last week it was frezzing after 5min of play. So I shut it off for a week. Turned it back on and got the 3 rings.

The error code says it a DVD-rom issue. 1023 code

I may send it in but I've had it since launch and never sent in for the ext. War.


How much do they cost to fix on average. If to much I may just upgrade to the elite. Can afford any thing for a few months.

Just got the 3 rings o death myself.
How much do they cost to fix on average. If to much I may just upgrade to the elite. Can afford any thing for a few months.
Cost is nothing for MS' so-called "fix" for 3 years on 3ROD.

Just got the 3 rings o death myself.
Last week it was frezzing after 5min of play. So I shut it off for a week. Turned it back on and got the 3 rings.

The error code says it a DVD-rom issue. 1023 code

I may send it in but I've had it since launch and never sent in for the ext. War.


How much do they cost to fix on average. If to much I may just upgrade to the elite. Can afford any thing for a few months.
Yes, MS will repair your xbox for free. Just give them a call at 1800-4my-xbox. EVERYONE now has a 3 year extended warranty for the 3 red lights error condition.

MS will send you a postage paid cardboard box for you to ship back your 360 console.

In 3-4 weaks you will receive a working (hopefully) xbox 360.

To go with the discussion about the clamps and replacing them I'll add my personal experience.

I first pulled the 360 apart early 06 after my 3 month warranty was up, and I was getting consistant freezes, that were only becoming more frequent.

Clamps were a **** to get off, but the real surprise was the thermal tape or pad they used, it was crooked and way over-done. Easily the biggest mess I've ever seen, took me a while to clean it up and get some AS5 on it. Never had a freeze or even a lockup (other than an occasional disc read error) since.

2 weeks ago, for no reason, after very 2 weeks of very little use the 3rrod's showed up, so I pulled it apart, replaced the x-clamps just with some bolts and washers, (standard fix, instructions from the internet). 2hrs and $7 later it was back in action. Left it on, running some demo's for 24hrs without issue, and it's been playing whenever I need it ever since without issue.

In the end I think it's more cheap pcb and perhaps a poor soldering process than the clamps however, I really think they do add to the issues. I think the stats from people who tried the x-clamp replacement(and voted) are around 480 successfull, 30 failed...which is remarkable when it's just random people doing the work. A large part of the 30 failed could be the person actually doing the work.

Either way, if you don't have a warranty for whatever reason, it's really not hard to do, and definitely worth the effort if your out of options.

...I think the stats from people who tried the x-clamp replacement(and voted) are around 480 successfull, 30 failed...which is remarkable when it's just random people doing the work. A large part of the 30 failed could be the person actually doing the work...
Exactly.

My coffin is on its way to me.

My Xbox began acting up earlier this week. Games would simply freeze. Once, I got the 3RROD. But at other times, it would play normally for a few hours.

Last night was bad. Both NCAA 08 and Shadowrun would freeze. I'd power off and back on - sometimes I'd get a red checkerboard pattern. Sometimes I'd get .25 seconds into the splash screen and then it'd freeze with a red checkerboard pattern.

I turned it off, and back on - 3RROD.

Turned it off, let it sit for 1/2 hr, tried again - 3RROD.

I called MS, and they're sending a coffin. This Xbox 360 was purchased early last spring and has been 99.9% trouble free.

A couple hours later I was able to boot and play an hour of Shadowrun before bed. I'm still sending it in, but the 3RROD is not constant.

My coffin is on its way to me.

My Xbox began acting up earlier this week. Games would simply freeze. Once, I got the 3RROD. But at other times, it would play normally for a few hours.

Last night was bad. Both NCAA 08 and Shadowrun would freeze. I'd power off and back on - sometimes I'd get a red checkerboard pattern. Sometimes I'd get .25 seconds into the splash screen and then it'd freeze with a red checkerboard pattern.

I turned it off, and back on - 3RROD.

Turned it off, let it sit for 1/2 hr, tried again - 3RROD.

I called MS, and they're sending a coffin. This Xbox 360 was purchased early last spring and has been 99.9% trouble free.

A couple hours later I was able to boot and play an hour of Shadowrun before bed. I'm still sending it in, but the 3RROD is not constant.

Exact same thing happened to my 360 last night while playing Dirt. I have a replacement plan with BestBuy, so i'll just return it for a new one. This will be my 3rd 360 in less than 2 years.

same thing on mine as well....i just thought this problem was also classified as RROD

Heeheee. It's technically 3 red lights that form an incomplete ring.

I think if any one really had 4 red lights it means that the audio/video cable is not plugged in properly.

Is this the graveyard society?

My second Xbox 360 is still going strong guys, although I didn't turn it on in more than 2 months...

My second Xbox 360...
"Second" :D

Heeheee. It's technically 3 red lights that form an incomplete ring.

The Red C of Death? Too localized...

I got the 3RROD last night. Started freezing when I played the MotoGP 07 demo, I rebooted, it froze at the 360 splash screen. Turned it off and back on and it froze again at the splash screen. Last reboot I got the 3RROD. I took out the game in the DVD drive and it started working again.

I bought my 360 in April 06. It will be dead soon. :(

I got the 3RROD last night. Started freezing when I played the MotoGP 07 demo, I rebooted, it froze at the 360 splash screen. Turned it off and back on and it froze again at the splash screen. Last reboot I got the 3RROD. I took out the game in the DVD drive and it started working again.
DVD drive causing overheat. Another reason to want a quieter drive...

I got the 3RROD last night. Started freezing when I played the MotoGP 07 demo, I rebooted, it froze at the 360 splash screen. Turned it off and back on and it froze again at the splash screen. Last reboot I got the 3RROD. I took out the game in the DVD drive and it started working again.

I bought my 360 in April 06. It will be dead soon. :(

After having my original xbox 360 since 12/05- it died last night too. Also while trying to play MotoGP 07. Waited on hold for 35 min to talk to customer service. I am now a proud member of the circle of death club. Funny thing- I just got the ps3- so now I have something to play with for the next month and a half while I wait for the repair. Is there anybody out there with and xbox that hasn't died yet? I am surprised I lasted this long.

...Is there anybody out there with and xbox that hasn't died yet?...
Now, that is a good question!

I posted the same in the 360 Elite thread:

I have my 360 Elite since launch and today I get the ring of death :mad: . the Elite is in the top shelf of my open rack and the power supply is in the lower shelf of my rack behind the PS3 due to the lack of space. Could the hot air from the PS3 damage the PS and bring the 3 red rings? Aren't the Elite less sucebtible to the "ring of death"?

I'll join this club! My Elite just RRoD after just 2 months. It's my 4th 360 and all died a horrible RR death. I called and they're sending a coffin. Sadness... :(

I posted the same in the 360 Elite thread:

I have my 360 Elite since launch and today I get the ring of death :mad: . the Elite is in the top shelf of my open rack and the power supply is in the lower shelf of my rack behind the PS3 due to the lack of space. Could the hot air from the PS3 damage the PS and bring the 3 red rings? Aren't the Elite less sucebtible to the "ring of death"?

See above... :rolleyes:

My second unit got the RROD last night. Coffin is on the way (only reason i posted was to say that). Oh well off to play PS3 to keep me busy until the replacement gets here....

What are you guys doing to save your saved games and moving them to your new consoles?

What are you guys doing to save your saved games and moving them to your new consoles?

You keep your HDD now when you send them in for repair. They are supposed to be sending back your orig console now. Mine will be here today and then I can confirm if its the same one or not.

Ahh - Well is there any other way to save your saved games?

Best Buy here is willing to replace my 360 premium for a 360 elite (I pay the difference of 60 bucks) because they are out of the premiums. I wouldn't mind doing that but I need to get the saved games off.

Ahh - Well is there any other way to save your saved games?

Best Buy here is willing to replace my 360 premium for a 360 elite (I pay the difference of 60 bucks) because they are out of the premiums. I wouldn't mind doing that but I need to get the saved games off.
A simple Google turned up: Results 1 - 10 of about 1,690,000 for xbox 360 memory transfer. (0.12 seconds)

http://www.amazon.com/Intec-DUS0150-I-Xbox-360-Transfer/dp/B000G02KGG

http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=69982

http://www.xbox.com/en-US/support/systemuse/xbox360/console/datamigration.htm

my 360 from way back in dec 05 just gave me 3 rings of DEATH.

i'm not happy.

my 360 from way back in dec 05 just gave me 3 rings of DEATH.

i'm not happy.

Get in line, this is my 4th unit to Red Ring! :eek: :mad:

In preparation for its trip to the morgue. I placed some Sharpie dots in multiple areas behind the plastic grills. I figures maybe they'll keep the skin (marked too) and change out the innards. We'll see.

After having my original xbox 360 since 12/05- it died last night too. Also while trying to play MotoGP 07. Waited on hold for 35 min to talk to customer service. I am now a proud member of the circle of death club. Funny thing- I just got the ps3- so now I have something to play with for the next month and a half while I wait for the repair. Is there anybody out there with and xbox that hasn't died yet? I am surprised I lasted this long.

Took over 7 days to get my 3 day mail coffin...

So is it confirmed that the heatsink fix is happening on all RROD repairs?

Got my RMA box today. Going to send it off tomorrow.

Add me to the brotherhood of the 3 red rings. No warning what so ever, turned it on and bamm. I don't know what is the bigger turd, Xbox 360 or Vista. Nice Job Bill

after getting the three red rings on thurs. night, it's back to working. Let it sit unplugged for the night. Still, I am worried this is a bad sign for my 360 obviously.

My 360 just suffered the horrible 3 RRoD. I played R6:V the other day and it kept freezing. I played GoW, no problems. Went back to R6:V today, froze, and was graced with the rings. Off to Best Buy for a replacement! Maybe I'll wait until next week after the price drop.

My 360 just suffered the horrible 3 RRoD. I played R6:V the other day and it kept freezing. I played GoW, no problems. Went back to R6:V today, froze, and was graced with the rings. Off to Best Buy for a replacement! Maybe I'll wait until next week after the price drop.

I'm pondering the same thing. Can't decide to get a core for what $279 after price drop or a premium for $349 so I could have 2 sets of HD hookups. I have 2 TV's I play on and it would be nice just to leave the cables there so it would be easy to change locations. Mine lasted 7 months so sounds like you need 2 consoles just to keep one running all the time. Sad but true :(

I have my 360 Elite since launch and today I get the ring of death. Aren't the Elite less sucebtible to the "ring of death"?[/QUOTE] I guess not.

Well, add me to the club. 3RROD reared its ugly head last night. Coffin enroute. I guess I will have to spring for the Gen 3 HD DVD player in October. These movies are too expensive to be completely reliant on the add-on drive. Especially after Microsoft told me last night that greater than 25% of the consoles have failed.

Especially after Microsoft told me last night that greater than 25% of the consoles have failed.[/COLOR]

Would have to well exceed 25% as EVERYBODY I know who has one has now sent it back at least once. I have coffin coming for #2 and multiple freinds have more than one.

I agree I don't know anyone who hasn't had one go bad. If you play a lot its going to die, its just a matter of when. My son's died after 12 months, mine died after 7 months. :(

I agree I don't know anyone who hasn't had one go bad.

I actually didn't know anyones who died.... until a few days ago when mine died. :(

Just when I got a new HDTV, too. :(

I agree I don't know anyone who hasn't had one go bad. If you play a lot its going to die, its just a matter of when. My son's died after 12 months, mine died after 7 months. :(
Maybe consider yourselves lucky. An associate brought his son's unit to me for 3ROD repair, and the son's friend had just purchased a unit at BB that didn't even last 24 hours! :eek:

"Thankfully, I bought a BB warantee." Those words were astonishing. Warantee or not, I can guaran-damn-tee that I'd be getting a refund on something that lasted less than one day. But hey, the kid's only 16, so he'll learn. :D

Note: There is the possibility that the unit he got was from someone that already had the 3ROD and pulled a fast one on BB somehow. Further evidence that this tactic is a selfish deed that simply screws somebody else down the road. :mad:

My 360 is in Texas getting fixed for the second time this year. Although it's due to a disc drive error, not the 3 red lights.

They've had it since 21 July. I can't stand it much longer, I may just get an Elite when the prices drop and use the premium as a back up. Or give it to my little brother.

My 360 is in Texas getting fixed for the second time this year. Although it's due to a disc drive error, not the 3 red lights.
How much did they charge for that?

my Xbox360 died this past Friday ... started freezing up about a week ago, then it died - 3 red lights. I bought it in Jan 07 and had less than 100 hours on it.

the coffin is on it's way.

Without the promised email alert, my DIFFERENT 360 is due in today. The Xbox CSR couldn't find my old serial number but did find the return ticket code. Best guess: when they send you someone else's repaired 360, they scrub your old serial number from being 'active'.

So the joy of testing for new problems will soon be mine. I wonder if they have 3 years worth of old units to keep sending out, since scrapping them and sending new, redesigned units instead was probably NOT part of that $1B+ price tag for all this...

When the UPS guy brought the coffin, I said to him..."Oh. my empty box! I bet you're delivering a lot of these?! He smiled and said Yes I Am!" :( :( :(
When the UPS people know, it must be huge! :eek:

When the UPS guy brought the coffin, I said to him..."Oh. my empty box! I bet you're delivering a lot of these?! He smiled and said Yes I Am!" :( :( :(
When the UPS people know, it must be huge! :eek:

Brought my coffin/box to the UPS store. The guy took one look at me, before I even handed him the box and said "A broken xbox, huh?, we've been getting a lot of these".

UPS defintely knows.

Brought my coffin/box to the UPS store. The guy took one look at me, before I even handed him the box and said "A broken xbox, huh?, we've been getting a lot of these".

UPS defintely knows.

This reminds me of a Fat wallet deal a few years ago. The item (I forgot what) was delivered by UPS in a distinctive but not well marked box. The UPS guy asked what the hell is this, I got a bunch to deliver?!? I told him, he asked, What's Fat Wallet? ;)

Well, my box just gave me the red ring salute this morning. It worked flawlessly yesterday yet this morning, it instantly went to RRoD without doing anything at all. Coffin is on teh way, they gave me a total ETA from call to getting the 360 back of 3-4 weeks. Hopefully it is not much more than that. At least it happened now instead of when Halo 3 came out.

I was very close to deciding to do the reapair myself, but since I have had some flakiness with the ethernet connection lately which I would like to rule out as being the box itself, the new, improved heatsink and with the extra warrantee, I just figured it would pay to send this one off.

...new, redesigned units...

...new, improved heatsink...

Redesigned? Sort of.

Improved? Resoundingly no.

With a dirge of Elites already biting the bullet, nothing has changed. If anything, it's gotten worse.

Well, just waiting for the coffin now. This is my 4th time amazingly. This console was sent to me back in January, and last Friday it started spazzing out. Going offline, interrupting games inexplicably, checkerboard freezing either at start up or soon into playing.

Whats sad, is that I call MS and when the support girl starts trouble shooting I'm like, don't bother, it ain't the first time, just send the damned box.

Great games, lousy hardware.

Heat sink Failures?

As I await the return of my "refurbished" 360, I am curious if anyone, or how many people, have had failures of their "fixed" 360's with RROD once Microsft started putting in the new heatsinks. Is the fix working out there in the wild?
Thanks

I've read two failures of refurbs with the new heatsink. I'm sure there will be more.

Once a unit has had its solder joints 'reflowed', it is by no means as good as new. The reflow process introduces impurities (oxygen) and the joints are simply not as strong as they were when factory new.

Having faith that the heatsinks will be a long term fix where refurbs are concerned is foolhardy.

Jury is still out when it comes to brandnew units with the new sinks, but the design flaws that exist haven't been addressed, so only time will tell.

You can only hope that you recieve your original unit back with a new motherboard.

well after one Red Rings episode last week that my 360 recovered from, now it appears that the RRoD have finally killed my 360 (that dated back to 2005). Guess I should be thankful it lasted that long.


They quoted me a turnaround of 8+ weeks. Great.

Does everyone know you can now handle your RROD return through the website? No more need to call over the phone anymore.

Probably not, because the site is brand new IIRC. FYI, it is http://service.xbox.com . You have to register your box if you have not already. Once registered, you can submit for a repair.

So the joy of testing for new problems will soon be mine.

I received my "reburb" today. My 360 died June 17th. I said a few choice words when shortly after plugging it in I decided to put a game in and the DVD tray wouldn't open. It took 3 tries before it finally opened and so far seems ok. It also looks like the new heat sink upgrade is not installed either. After a miserable repair experience I'm afraid another one is in my future.

I received my "reburb" today. My 360 died June 17th. I said a few choice words when shortly after plugging it in I decided to put a game in and the DVD tray wouldn't open. It took 3 tries before it finally opened and so far seems ok. It also looks like the new heat sink upgrade is not installed either. After a miserable repair experience I'm afraid another one is in my future.
I've been wondering if MS is going to start sending out replacements again, rather than the original units. Send yours in for 3ROD (Hey, it's free! :rolleyes: ) and get one back with a squiffy drive or something else that's barely gasping its last breath. :mad: Then, 30 days down the road, MS can use the ol' "Listen up, youz, the 3ROD fix is free. We didn' say nuttin' 'bout no DVD drive fix. Now cough up the dough or da bunny gets it."

My premium 360 that I bought in November of '06 died a couple of nights ago. I had bought the Circuit City extended warranty because the kid told me that if it ever broke I could just bring it in and they would swap it out. Well, I found out thats not true. You have to send in the 360 and then they send out a gift card for the value of the item.

I didn't want to give up my hard drive with all my saved games, items I've bought from live, etc. so I talked them into letting me buy a new 360 and then when I get the gift card I bring it and my receipt into the store and they will reimburse me the $$.

So I bought an Elite and ordered the migration cable (free from M$) so I can transfer all the content from my 20 gig HD to the new 120 gig HD. Then I can send in the junk 360 and get my $$ back.

Hopefully this Elite will last longer than my old 360.

I've been wondering if MS is going to start sending out replacements again, rather than the original units. Send yours in for 3ROD (Hey, it's free! :rolleyes: ) and get one back with a squiffy drive or something else that's barely gasping its last breath. :mad: Then, 30 days down the road, MS can use the ol' "Listen up, youz, the 3ROD fix is free. We didn' say nuttin' 'bout no DVD drive fix. Now cough up the dough or da bunny gets it."

Sad isn't it. I did buy the extended warranty because I felt it was needed (which is sad also). When I called to see if my warranty was transfered to the new system it was and they gave me an expiration date of 2009 (I don't remember the month). So if they sent me out another faulty console I guess I'll be digging into some of $1 billion set aside once again.

Mine has been sitting for a week wating the coffin and come to find out they never sent one. When I got the email telling me they were sending a coffin it said SHIPPER: NULL and a tracking number. Turns out if it says NULL they think you are shipping it to them!! Now I have one coming and get to wait another week. So verify your shiiping on the box if you see NULL call them and bitch.

I just dropped my dead 360 off at the UPS store and the guy was walking around straigtening up when I came in and said I need to drop a package off. He turned around and saw the box and immediately said , "Oh, an Xbox 360? It never ends". Guess that says it all.

my 360's coffin is on its way to me, but these reports of poorly refurbished/not really fixed units coming back to people is really disheartening. i'm surprised they're not giving us new 360's, the labor for fixing/updating can't be much cheaper for them....can it? Especially if it means the difference between an item they're going to have to keep fixing and a brand new replacement?

my 360's coffin is on its way to me, but these reports of poorly refurbished/not really fixed units coming back to people is really disheartening. i'm surprised they're not giving us new 360's, the labor for fixing/updating can't be much cheaper for them....can it? Especially if it means the difference between an item they're going to have to keep fixing and a brand new replacement?
Replacement or brand new...doesn't matter. All made with the same crappy design. Elite failures already rolling in at an alarming rate.

Replacement or brand new...doesn't matter. All made with the same crappy design. Elite failures already rolling in at an alarming rate.

ugh...and i was gonna get an Elite on the way home so my brother and I could play Guitar Hero tonight. Guess not!

Well I got the red rings for the first time and this makes it my 4th 360 being sent in total due to other hardware issues in the past. I just have a question regarding what the fellas over at the Xbox forums are saying. It seems a select few of service reps are saying to not connect the X360 to a surge protector. Any reason why this would make sense?
0020

It seems a select few of service reps are saying to not connect the X360 to a surge protector. Any reason why this would make sense?
0020
:rolleyes: http://www.neoseeker.com/news/story/6889/ :rolleyes:

Absolute nonsense. Pretty soon, MS is going to start blaming their mountain of faulty units on the alignment of the planets, as there won't be anything else to divert their shame.

From that article:

"They're starting to recommend that users run their consoles straight from the wall outlet, sans surge protection." :p

Never have plugged mine in to one, straight to wall. Two of mine have died without the surge protector.

:rolleyes: http://www.neoseeker.com/news/story/6889/ :rolleyes:

Absolute nonsense.

Yeah... next they are going to be telling us that putting the xboxs on solid surfaces is bad and that we should lay it down on a carpet and cover the air holes with tape. :rolleyes:

If you truly don't want your 360 to get the 3ROD, don't ever use a surge protector! In fact, don't even plug the unit in at all. Guaranteed to extend the life of your Xbox by at least a full year. Thanks, MS! ;)

The surge protector comment by them makes no sense.. because my other equipment was fine and has been for the past several years..yet the 360 is the only piece of equipment that conks out.

I call ********..

Agreed. I personally use a Monster Stage 2 surge protector. The 360 is getting good clean power to the unit. How can they say its better just plugging it into a wall outlet?!?! My first 360 died from board warpage. It was a launch system and lasted until May. Done the xclamp fix and worked for awile. Then broke again. Then they turnaround and offer a 3 year warranty. Went out and bought another premium. Its been fine. This time I picked up the intercooler ex. Keeps it extremely cool. This should prevent board warpage.

The surge protector comment by them makes no sense.. because my other equipment was fine and has been for the past several years..yet the 360 is the only piece of equipment that conks out.

I call ********..

On hold with xbox right now. Took 45 min to get sum one. He asked for the information on the machine (S#, when I bought it.). Went thew the standard turn on, off, on cheek power brick.


Put me on hold 5 min. Then asked for adress, phone number. And set up the repair. Went thew all the leagal stuff. What it costs if some how not related to red lights. ($99 bucks). Box is comming by UPS. Says I have to bring to nearest UPs store. (Whcih is a block from work so no big deal)
For the troubles they send you a 3month live card. Which really does me no good as I don't have internet of any kind at the moment. Other then my sidekick cell phone..

2005-12-13 on mfr. Date. So out of regular wrnty. But red lights still covered..

I've got the 1023 er code. Anything I Can do?
Then another 5min on hold. Gave conformation Number. And that was it.

I sent off my premium for the rrod a week and a half ago, they recieved it on wednesday last week and I recieved the email today stating the repair is complete and shipping confirmation will follow shortly. I am very surprised as the CSR that I spoke to warned me that it could take 4-6 weeks. Any chance they just replaced this? I had the rrod issue and my drive was malfunctioning on top of it.

I sent off my premium for the rrod a week and a half ago, they recieved it on wednesday last week and I recieved the email today stating the repair is complete and shipping confirmation will follow shortly. I am very surprised as the CSR that I spoke to warned me that it could take 4-6 weeks. Any chance they just replaced this? I had the rrod issue and my drive was malfunctioning on top of it.

they send you back a different refurbished console. at least they did with me...

they send you back a different refurbished console. at least they did with me...

I know thats what they were doing, but is that still happening?

I sent off my premium for the rrod a week and a half ago, they recieved it on wednesday last week and I recieved the email today stating the repair is complete and shipping confirmation will follow shortly. I am very surprised as the CSR that I spoke to warned me that it could take 4-6 weeks. Any chance they just replaced this? I had the rrod issue and my drive was malfunctioning on top of it.

Same exact thing happened to me, just got the email saying they are shipping me back the 360 just 3 days after they received it. They included the serial number of the unit- I will check once I get home to see if it is my xbox, or a different one. I suspect it is someone elses refurbed one.

I got the email that mine was being sent back today. Exactly one week after the email that they received it. Assuming I receive it promptly, the whole process took about 3 weeks.

Per the emails from the repair center, the serial number of the one being sent back to me does NOT match the one that I sent.

FWIW, my second RROD experience.

Yeah the email with Tracking number says it is the same serial number as the one I sent in. I will be happy for some odd reason if it is the same one. I just have a hard time seeing them repairing it in about 3 days, but then again I'm sure by now they've got plenty of practice.

Same exact thing happened to me, just got the email saying they are shipping me back the 360 just 3 days after they received it. They included the serial number of the unit- I will check once I get home to see if it is my xbox, or a different one. I suspect it is someone elses refurbed one.

Checked- different serial number now.

UPS guy brought me my box today. He says "sending back the xbox huh?" So I asked him if he sees these boxes often. "About three a day" he said. Awesome.

I do like the new http://service.xbox.com site. I checked UPS and my dead 360 was delivered to the McAllen repair Depot yesterday and last night, it showed up as such on the repair site. This way I do not have to call and check.

Now, hopefully they will give the tracking number for the refurb 360 on the service site when it is on the way back so I can avoid calling them then since I have to sign for the thing, I need to know when it is coming.

They provided a tracking number in the email indicating that it has been shipped back to me. Mine's made it to Louisville. They sent 3 day select. Left them on 8/15. Does anyone know if UPS will deliver it on Saturday? That would make my weekend.

They provided a tracking number in the email indicating that it has been shipped back to me. Mine's made it to Louisville. They sent 3 day select. Left them on 8/15. Does anyone know if UPS will deliver it on Saturday? That would make my weekend.

Nope, Monday delivery. If you go to UPS.com and put in your tracking number they will tell you the estimated delivery date. They don't deliver on weekends for 3 day select it seems.

Nope, Monday delivery. If you go to UPS.com and put in your tracking number they will tell you the estimated delivery date. They don't deliver on weekends for 3 day select it seems.

Thanks for the information. I should have looked closer at the tracking site where it plainly states "Scheduled Delivery: 8/20/07." Oops.

Thanks for the information. I should have looked closer at the tracking site where it plainly states "Scheduled Delivery: 8/20/07." Oops.
Oh, and don't be shocked if UPS pulls the ol' "Rescheduled Delivery" thing they've been stiffing me with lately. My last 10 packages have ALL arrived at least one full day later than originally estimated.

Can you pick it up at the UPS store. I'm not around my house midday all the time.
But the UPS store is right next to my work.


Or will they just leave the xbox at your doorstep with out signture?

I mostly have mondays and tusedays off. But it changes every once in awhile

I will be sending the 360 in monday. As it my day off and I don't want to leave my 360 in my car till the place opens. (As ill be working at 8am the next few days)

Also what's a 1023 error code mean and can I fix it?. Has anybody been able to fix a 1023 code.
I'm thinking I may see what I can get for a bunch of older xbox1 games and if its around $200 I may just buy a refurb while the 360 gets fixed. Then ill have 2 for multiplayer

Can you pick it up at the UPS store. I'm not around my house midday all the time. But the UPS store is right next to my work.

Or will they just leave the xbox at your doorstep with out signture?

You can pick it up at the UPS shipping center, but not any ol' UPS "store." They will NOT leave it at your door without a signature. If they try to deliver it the first time and you aren't home, they will leave a slip that you sign and leave on your door, saying either; they can leave it with a neighbor, on your doorstep, or that you are going to pick it up. All of these options are for the following day.

NOTE: If you leave it at the shipping center for more than (is it 3 or 5?) days, they ship it back.

When I did my box the first time, I had no option for them to leave it and I had to go the UPS center where bad customer service would look great compared to what they do. Have they changed it now to allow dropoff with a signed slip?

When I did my box the first time, I had no option for them to leave it and I had to go the UPS center where bad customer service would look great compared to what they do. Have they changed it now to allow dropoff with a signed slip?
I've had the option for them to leave it for some years now. And yes, it seems the UPS shipping centers are plagued by bad CS everywhere, form my experiences.

i made it about 2 steps into my UPS store to drop off my coffin when the clerk said "sorry about your Xbox". This is insane!!!!!!!!

Mine on its way back. I had to call India to get the tracking number but the robot knew me and updated it to fixed and shipped. It arrives Thursday.

Mine on its way back. I had to call India to get the tracking number but the robot knew me and updated it to fixed and shipped. It arrives Thursday.

careful, MAX told me mine was fixed and shipped and I had never received my box to ship it back to them! Get a tracking number to make sure...

Well guys I am a UPS man and there isn't a day that goes by that I don't see at least 2 coffins or returns on my truck. I'm not sure how many UPS routes there are in this country but if you do the math thats a lot of returns. In my area of the country I get to see exactly how long it is between coffin delivery and the replacement Xbox return. And its been running about 4 weeks. My second Xbox is in Texas now getting repaired:(. But today I went to Best Buy and got a new Elite. And I payed $79 (really to high but) warranty for 2 years piece of mind. So if mine dies I just take it back and exchange for new one on the spot. So now more reading all the new rumors of 65nm chips, mobo's etc. Now if mine RRod's on me I get the newest version to replace mine. :)

careful, MAX told me mine was fixed and shipped and I had never received my box to ship it back to them! Get a tracking number to make sure...

All you have to do is right down the tracking number on the ARS return shipping sticker they send you in the coffin and you can track it yourself back to Texas.:p And when MS ships it back to you they email you the return tracking number.

careful, MAX told me mine was fixed and shipped and I had never received my box to ship it back to them! Get a tracking number to make sure...

Got tracking, due on Thursday, 3 Day from TX, may be earlier ad TX is 3 days on ground.
:confused:

But today I went to Best Buy and got a new Elite. And I payed $79 (really to high but) warranty for 2 years piece of mind. So if mine dies I just take it back and exchange for new one on the spot. So now more reading all the new rumors of 65nm chips, mobo's etc. Now if mine RRod's on me I get the newest version to replace mine. :)

That's NOT how BB handled my first dead 360. I had to call it in to the warranty company, then they send me a UPS mailing label, then I sent in the entire box, then they sent me a gift card for the amount and tax. What I did n the interum was buy a 360 at Costco (which was DOA and immediately got a second one) and restored an XSATA backup on to it. That worked perfectly. When I sent back the 360 the giftcard came about 2 weeks or so later. Not an over the counter exchange at all. I wish it was like that as I would have not lost $100 in savings on my original purchase. My gift card didn't include my discount, only what I paid.

That's NOT how BB handled my first dead 360. I had to call it in to the warranty company, then they send me a UPS mailing label, then I sent in the entire box, then they sent me a gift card for the amount and tax. What I did n the interum was buy a 360 at Costco (which was DOA and immediately got a second one) and restored an XSATA backup on to it. That worked perfectly. When I sent back the 360 the giftcard came about 2 weeks or so later. Not an over the counter exchange at all. I wish it was like that as I would have not lost $100 in savings on my original purchase. My gift card didn't include my discount, only what I paid.


They must have changed the deal. I made the dude helping me call his boss to confirm this. And he did, said bring it back, leave with new one.

Irrelevant what's spoken by anyone at any time. If it's not in writing, it's moot.

That's NOT how BB handled my first dead 360. I had to call it in to the warranty company, then they send me a UPS mailing label, then I sent in the entire box, then they sent me a gift card for the amount and tax. What I did n the interum was buy a 360 at Costco (which was DOA and immediately got a second one) and restored an XSATA backup on to it. That worked perfectly. When I sent back the 360 the giftcard came about 2 weeks or so later. Not an over the counter exchange at all. I wish it was like that as I would have not lost $100 in savings on my original purchase. My gift card didn't include my discount, only what I paid.
I had the same thing happen but at Circuit City. The kid that sold me the 360 swore up and down that with the CC warranty I could just bring in the dead 360 and they would swap it out. Like a dummy, I believed him. When it died I tried to bring it back to the store and thats when I found out I had to send it in. I sent the dead 360 in last week and now I'm waiting for the gift card.