Xbox 360 and the Red Ring of Death! >=(

[Jack T. Chance]

From the time the Xbox 360 was introduced in 2005, until the system was completely redesigned from a hardware standpoint in 2010, the Xbox 360 has been plagued by a serious issue... the various hardware design flaws that can lead to a premature system death, as indicated by the infamous Red Ring of Death:



For this very reason, all original model and Elite Xbox 360s had their warranties extended to 3 years by Microsoft, as it was inevitable that many would experience this fate.

I was one of the lucky/smart ones. I bought my 360 Elite in October or November of 2007, when Bioware's masterpiece Mass Effect was released. I purchased an Intercooler cooling device and used it from day one, to create the continuous airflow necessary to keep the system from overheating and experiencing the dreaded RRoD.

A year and a half ago, my Intercooler died, and was promptly replaced. The new one that replaced it apparently moved even MORE air, and kept my system even COOLER! Combine that with the fact that I played my games on a Standard Definition TV, running at a measly 480p resolution, and my system should have kept running fine for years to come!

But tonight, on the evening of August 10th, 2011, at almost 4 years old and no longer covered by Microsoft's warranty, my Xbox 360 gave me the message I never wanted to see...



Somebody find me the Microsoft engineer that's ultimately responsible for this massive cock-up, I want to punch him in his TAINT!!!!

[insertNameHere]

Yeah my brothers did this now that he bought a replacement slim model, I'm gonna try to do the oven reflow once i learn what it is , I was told it more effective than an heat gun version and well I have an oven. basically game makers now want to design systems cheap and breakable because they LOOSE money initially so by the time it breaks 2-3 years later. wouldn't you know it they have production costs to the point they making money on each system.

[Jack T. Chance]

I'm at the point now where the new one will be purchased from a retailer that has an extended warranty such that I can just bring it to their store and get a new one if I have any issues at all. Since I have no choice now but to buy the new 360 S model, I intend to buy such an extended warranty, but it needs to be for 3-5 years, not just 1 or 2. I'm currently doing some research online into what various retailers offer.

And of course, since the new model no longer uses the same model(s) of hard drive as my Elite, I'll have to spend extra money on a Hard Drive Data Transfer Cable to copy my data over to the new system's hard drive.

[jackfaire]

And of course, since the new model no longer uses the same model(s) of hard drive as my Elite, I'll have to spend extra money on a Hard Drive Data Transfer Cable to copy my data over to the new system's hard drive.

Can you use an external drive? If so I would recommend doing so. I have all of my things on an external so in the event my computer crashes I just plug the external into another computer.

[insertNameHere]

Actually, there is a method of opening the old drive case and getting it to fit in the the slim, I can't remember if i might void slims warranty or if they finally selling a drive cady to fit hte slim.

but inside of the old harddrive is a standard laptop sata drive

[Jack T. Chance]

Can you use an external drive? If so I would recommend doing so. I have all of my things on an external so in the event my computer crashes I just plug the external into another computer.

The Xbox 360 CAN access external USB hard drives for purposes such as:

• Playing media files located on the drive, such as movies or music.
• Copying game save data and other player profile information to the drive, just as you would with a USB flash drive or an Xbox Memory Unit.

But think of the Xbox 360 as what it is; a highly customized Windows gaming PC. The hard drive that's included with the system has the Xbox Live Console (AKA customized version of Windows) installed on it, and just like a Windows PC, many things have to be saved or installed on that drive for it to work properly. As Far As I Know, there's no way to install the Xbox 360's OS on an external drive and have it run from that drive.

Actually, there is a method of opening the old drive case and getting it to fit in the the slim, I can't remember if i might void slims warranty or if they finally selling a drive cady to fit hte slim.

but inside of the old harddrive is a standard laptop sata drive

Well, in this case, my Elite came with the 120 GB hard drive, and the new Xbox 360 S comes with the 250 GB hard drive, which I had already been thinking about upgrading to on the Elite since I install games to the hard drive for better performance. So there's really no point to putting my 120 GB drive in the new system. Better to transfer my data onto the 250 and be done with it.

The thing that really sucks is that, over on one of my other message boards, a member actually won one of the rare Xbox 360 S systems that was given away in a contest, decorated with images from the Green Lantern movie, as part of the marketing push for the movie. They only made something like 10 of them. I'd LOVE to have it! But he's looking to get AT LEAST what he paid in taxes, and he supposedly paid $400 in taxes because the retail value was claimed to be $1200... and it's the Xbox 360 S that comes with a 4 GB USB flash drive in lieu of a hard drive! A system that sells for only $200 at retail! No thank you.

[jackfaire]

Meh still might be an easier way to at least back up your data

[Jack T. Chance]

Meh still might be an easier way to at least back up your data

It would have been if my 360 wasn't DEAD.

[jackfaire]

It would have been if my 360 wasn't DEAD.

Sorry was more a kind of well for the future kind of suggestion I guess.

[Jack T. Chance]

It looks like I'll finally be able to afford to buy a new 360 this weekend.

So, OF COURSE Microsoft has announced the next round of upgrades... a system that comes packed with a 320 GB hard drive and 2 of the new, improved controllers (upgraded digital + pad)... but ONLY if you shell out $400 for either the Gears of War 3 Limited Edition System or the Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Limited Edition System!

[siead_lietrathua]

i heard rumor, or at least a really bad joke once, that Microsoft found the ultimate solution to the red ring of death, guaranteeing it would never happen again, EVER!
...
they removed the red LEDs.

also i totally recommend just the beater x-box with the 4gig HD and copping the extra cash for their external drive. we had ours redring on us but didnt lose any data that way.

[Jack T. Chance]

I heard rumor, or at least a really bad joke once, that Microsoft found the ultimate solution to the red ring of death, guaranteeing it would never happen again, EVER!
...
they removed the red LEDs.

Actually, I believe that was confirmed as true shortly after the current model was released.

EDIT: Okay, found it! As reported by Kotaku last year, it is true and verified that Microsoft has stopped putting red LEDs in the "halo" of lights surrounding the system's power button. So it IS physically impossible for the newer Xbox 360S system to give you a Red Ring of Death.

...It now displays a Red DOT of Death instead.