Generic Bitching About Xbox 360 console hardware thread

[chronovore]

For a couple months now my drive drawer doesn't want to open or close on its own anymore. Sometimes it takes a few tries just to get the thing to open so I can insert or swap a disc. So I'm thinking there is an alignment or general optical drive problem that is causing my drive to not play a brand new, scratch-free, crack-free disc which I only received new three weeks ago and has not been transported anywhere since then.

The console says the disc is unreadable, and that I need to clean it with a soft cloth and reboot. There are no marks, not a one, on this disc. It can't be played normally, and can't be installed to the HDD.

I'll try a few other uninstalled discs tomorrow, and try the same disc on a different 360 just to be sure. But it looks like I may be purchasing a slim earlier than I'd expected. I may just hold off and wait for the Kinect bundle, but that's a month or two away at least. 

[archie4208]

My console makes a grinding noise when it boots up and a popping noise during gameplay.  I just hope it dies before my warranty expires.

[chronovore]

FWIW, this is the same non-HDMI 360 which was repaired after an E74 error; they charged me 12,000 yenz, then later MS admitted the error was a precursor to RRoD and had to refund the money.

[chronovore]

My console makes a grinding noise when it boots up and a popping noise during gameplay.  I just hope it dies before my warranty expires.

I think I'd return it now, claiming that it is so hot you can hear the circuit boards popping. Or something. Get in while you can do it for free.

[magus]

i don't have a 360

[Great Rumbler]

For a couple months now my drive drawer doesn't want to open or close on its own anymore. Sometimes it takes a few tries just to get the thing to open so I can insert or swap a disc. So I'm thinking there is an alignment or general optical drive problem that is causing my drive to not play a brand new, scratch-free, crack-free disc which I only received new three weeks ago and has not been transported anywhere since then.

I have that problem too, except that it stills plays discs.

[chronovore]

I may have a dust infestation as well; I can see some dust just inside the optical drive bay, so I'm worried that it may be a fur factory nearer to the fans and such.

[maxy]

Get some compressed air...maybe it will work

[Mupepe]

Mine scratched my Halo 3 disk.    it hasn't scratched any other games and I didn't move the 360 while it happened.  I just heard a noise, popped it out and I have a ring around it. So now it won't play past level 3.  Is ms still doing the thing where I can send it in?

[maxy]

Can you install it?

[Mupepe]

Can you install it?

nope.

[maxy]

Hmm...doomed

As for MS stuff,i don't know

[Mupepe]

Holy fucking shit.  They charge 20 bucks.

[The Sceneman]

My console makes a grinding noise when it boots up and a popping noise during gameplay.  I just hope it dies before my warranty expires.

lol, I read that as "pooping noise"

[The Sceneman]

i don't have a 360

is not the correct smiley here. Personally I would use: magus

[The Sceneman]

Finally, I have reported this thread, as it is blatant sfag FUD

[iconoclast]

I think my Japanese 360's DVD drive is barely clinging to life, so every time I turn it on I fear death.

I hope when it does break I'll be able to repair it and get a Japanese console in return. If I get a US system back, I'll just flash its firmware.

[brawndolicious]

Holy fucking shit.  They charge 20 bucks.

Try getting the disk buffed first.  I think gamestop does that for free.

[Bildi]

For a couple months now my drive drawer doesn't want to open or close on its own anymore.

My previous 360 had this problem and I found tapping on the drawer made it cooperate.  It had major trouble opening when there was no disc in so I just always left a disc in.

Also, it might not be in the spirit of the thread but my 360 got repaired for free a couple or months back for RROD and it's way outside the three years.

Microsoft

[Smooth Groove]

Finally, I have reported this thread, as it is blatant sfag FUD

Yeah, this thread is disgusting. I've cosigned your reports of everyone who's propagated sfud ITT. 

[chronovore]

Finally, I have reported this thread, as it is blatant sfag FUD

Shut your face, Scenester. I have a PS3 and a 360 and a Wii, and I hate them all. Actually, I think I dislike my PS3 more than the others, so I can't claim to be an "equal opportunity hater."

[chronovore]

Oh, by the way: crapcakes galore, my disc was not readable by an entirely separate, identical region 360 this morning, so it's the disc not the drive. Which is kind of good but means the disc --which is from freakin' Amazon.co.uk through a friend who had it shipped to her mom-- is defective.

I've not a clue how to get a return on it, so I'm going to get the disc refinished at lunch if possible.

[The Sceneman]

Finally, I have reported this thread, as it is blatant sfag FUD

Shut your face, Scenester. I have a PS3 and a 360 and a Wii, and I hate them all. Actually, I think I dislike my PS3 more than the others, so I can't claim to be an "equal opportunity hater."

, you know I simply be trollin'

PS. you down for some Red Dead tomorrow?

[naff]

My disc drive has started bein super loud recently so put it down flat. Still is louder than usual so I always install my games now. Installin is awesome though, the thing is almost silent without the disc spinning.

[chronovore]

Ran out in the rain during lunch just now, clerk at the "Gang*Star" shop across the way saw a MINISCULE scratch. I didn't have much hope that it would prevent reading the disc, but now it loads normally, and I was able to install the disc on a machine at work. So I'll be installing at home and BABYING the disc from here on out. Man, I can't be without my sing-along '80s tunes. 

Finally, I have reported this thread, as it is blatant sfag FUD

Shut your face, Scenester. I have a PS3 and a 360 and a Wii, and I hate them all. Actually, I think I dislike my PS3 more than the others, so I can't claim to be an "equal opportunity hater."

, you know I simply be trollin'

PS. you down for some Red Dead tomorrow?

Bro, I know you stone-trollin' like a denizen under the proverbial bridge. I forgot to include a smooch, so: 

Yeah, I'm hoping to be on this weekend, but Sunday's more likely than Saturday at this point. Kids got a bunch o' stuff happening this weekend.

[Smooth Groove]

Finally, I have reported this thread, as it is blatant sfag FUD

Shut your face, Scenester. I have a PS3 and a 360 and a Wii, and I hate them all. Actually, I think I dislike my PS3 more than the others, so I can't claim to be an "equal opportunity hater."

Why the sfud then?

[magus]

I'm always baffled by these responses in threads dedicated to a specific topic.

"I don't have anything to do with this platform/product you've mentioned. "

Smoove, you're a good poster, so don't take this personally. I just see it as shitting up someone else's perfectly reasonable thread.

it was just a joke,i swear :'(

[Mupepe]

Holy fucking shit.  They charge 20 bucks.

Try getting the disk buffed first.  I think gamestop does that for free.

Everytime I've had that done it makes it worse

My poor Resident Evil 1 and 2 discs :'(

[chronovore]

Holy fucking shit.  They charge 20 bucks.

Try getting the disk buffed first.  I think gamestop does that for free.

It depends on how they buff it. The Japanese shops use a process that is entirely automated, takes about 10 full minutes, and (swear to god) returns a disc that looks like it is brand new. Newer than new.

OTOH, the Gamestop register monkeys like to use an over-the-counter solution purchased for $20 at Sam Goody, and enhance the disc polish formula with their own saliva and jizz.

[Don Flamenco]

Just trade your 360 for a ps3.  Killzone, folklore, heavenly sword, haze, etc.

[Mupepe]

haze?  really, don?? HAZE?

omg

Holy fucking shit.  They charge 20 bucks.

Try getting the disk buffed first.  I think gamestop does that for free.

It depends on how they buff it. The Japanese shops use a process that is entirely automated, takes about 10 full minutes, and (swear to god) returns a disc that looks like it is brand new. Newer than new.

OTOH, the Gamestop register monkeys like to use an over-the-counter solution purchased for $20 at Sam Goody, and enhance the disc polish formula with their own saliva and jizz.

yeah, i went to a place that just destroyed my discs when I got them back so I don't think I'm ever trying that again.  At least i can still play multiplayer.

[Smooth Groove]

Just trade your 360 for a ps3.  Killzone, folklore, heavenly sword, haze, etc.

Ironic post?  It's got to be. 

[brawndolicious]

Holy fucking shit.  They charge 20 bucks.

Try getting the disk buffed first.  I think gamestop does that for free.

It depends on how they buff it. The Japanese shops use a process that is entirely automated, takes about 10 full minutes, and (swear to god) returns a disc that looks like it is brand new. Newer than new.

OTOH, the Gamestop register monkeys like to use an over-the-counter solution purchased for $20 at Sam Goody, and enhance the disc polish formula with their own saliva and jizz.

Yeah at gamecrazy (which  is out of business) they used the machine.  When my baby brother took my Modern Warfare 2 disk and tried putting it in a dvd player, the disk looked like it was in an elephant's asshole but they buffed it for 3 minutes and it came out all shiny and new.

[The Sceneman]

lol @ everyone who fell for Don's troll

[chronovore]

RROD

My pre-HDMI unit, which was already repaired for the E74 (a paid repair, later refunded), just RRoD'd. 

I'm thong-deep in Deathspank, on the verge of finishing Red Dead Redemption, and singing LIPS stuff pretty much every day. Now tonight consists of doing the dishes and going to bed on time. WTF Microshaft?! 

Getting it repaired by MS wasn't too hard the first time, they transferred my licenses to the new mobo's UID (except my videos, which remained licensed to the previous box for some reason, rendering them unusable) and otherwise sent me back the same box (same s/n on the box), but I'm really hoping I'm not going to have to pay 12,000 yen again for a congenital defect in the machine, just to get my old box with no HDMI back.

spoiler (click to show/hide)

DAMNIT.

[close]

[The Fake Shemp]

You can transfer the licenses yourself, chronovore, if you know the old number and the new one.

[chronovore]

Yeah, thanks for that. I had actually been thinking about transferring licenses because a couple of things I bought, I initially downloaded on a machine at work -- a couple of Rock Band items before I knew that it was locked to the box -and- the gamertag. Since that can only be done once a year, I'm pretty glad I didn't use it.

I'll keep my s/n on record just in case their same-unit-repair policy has changed.

[chronovore]

No love from MS Japan.

Despite the fact that they treated the unit once already for essentially an identical issue (E74 is a precursor to RRoD) which should reset the warranty time period, they want 12,000 yen to repair it. They said my previous repair, which was 26 months ago, which is within the 36 month extended warranty for RRoD repairs, doesn't count because the unit itself is from 2006 and therefore out-of-warranty. If I was stateside, I'd just buy a new Arcade unit to replace it, fixing my drive drawer, memory card door, USB door problems, and get HDMI in the trade. Or get the new model and get wifi.

But if I get a local one, over half my games won't run on a Japanese system due to region coding.

I'll see if Microsoft's North American office can help me pressure Japan's office to handle the repair for free.

[The Sceneman]

ugh  If I were you Id probably just bite the bullet and pick up a new slim console.

[chronovore]

ugh  If I were you Id probably just bite the bullet and pick up a new slim console.

Agreed. Let's take a look at the Cost-Effectiveness Table of Elements:

299USD gets me:
- black, glossy but somehow cheap looking new-form-factor case
+ 250GB HDD (+130GB from my current)
+ HDMI
+ lower power consumption
+ quieter fans
+ quieter optical drive
+ wifi built in so I can give my adaptor to my nephew (is it 802.11/n does anyone know?)

150USD gets me:
+ Lovely platinum grey 360 Arcade unit with faceplate compatibility and no silly, silver tray
+ HDMI

130USD (12000JPY)
- same exact box
- NO HDMI
- unhinged memory card cover
- unhinged USB cover
- unreliable optical drive drawer
- likely still suffering from dust infestation effects

[maxy]

299USD gets me:
- black, glossy but somehow cheap looking new-form-factor case
+ 250GB HDD (+130GB from my current)
+ HDMI
+ lower power consumption
+ quieter fan
+ quieter optical drive
+ wifi built in so I can give my adaptor to my nephew (is it 802.11/n does anyone know?)

Fixed...only one fan

802.11/n

Yes,but for some reason it is restricted to 2.4 GHz,i think...

[chronovore]

Ooh. That's kind of neato. I will probably get one in a couple weeks in the USA.

I had a stroke of good luck; I remembered that my nephew is one of the few Japanese 360 owners, his dad won it as a prize at pachinko. I think it was labeled as "American room heater." Anyway, it's a 60GB model, which they've almost never used. My nephew lent it to me today until I leave for the USA. Toss on my 120GB HDD and stick in my Gamertag MU... RED RING OF DEATH REDEMPTION. (plus actual Red Dead Redemption  -- it's not region locked)

I will say that it is weird trying to get a pre-NXE box It looks like  my original, official wireless adapter is running 802.11/a on a network which supports /a/b/g/n

Crap! I wonder why it's running /a. I don't have anything else on /a. Even this netbook's running /n

[chronovore]

Several times over the past month my new 360 has been able to connect to the internet but not Xbox Live. On those days, I've played singleplayer stuff, not wanting to troubleshoot my network instead of playing a game. Understandable, right?

I've been using an Apple wireless network with the wireless network extending function enabled, giving me radiation-burn inducing signal strength throughout the house. The xbox, however identified both networks as identically named, and mentioned that it could cause problems. So I've been operating without the extender for a week.

But it still refused to connect at odd intervals, so I tried running an ethernet cable from the upstairs router to the downstairs living room. That didn't work consistently, so now I'm guessing it's the router itself. Resetting the router worked when enabling a wired connection to the router, which will dispense its own IPv6 addresses to anything connected to it, didn't fix it. So... bad router? Not really:

What's pissing me off is that the xbox is the ONLY piece of hardware not operating normally. Two laptops, two iPod Touch, a wired desktop PC, a wireless iMac, a VOIP phone adapter and fax machine, all are operating 100% normally. The 360 is just being a little prima donna.

That said, is there a thread for bitching about the PS3? Or is that just generalized as "most threads about the PS3"?

[cool breeze]

I actually discovered this past weekend that my launch 360 that 'died' when trying to play Gay Tony still kinda works.  Even back when the red ring started to happen, I could start up and play a bit of Gay Tony before it would red ring.  Since then it has just sat in my closet in the box of the newer 360 I got. I don't know if that's common.

This was the same 360 that I kept in a closed wooden drawer for a year.  Once I left it on for about 8 hours to download the Crackdown 1 demo with a crack the side of the largest cable width open.  That was in 2006 and it managed to run fine until late 2009, or even longer now I guess. 

[Stoney Mason]

I actually discovered this past weekend that my launch 360 that 'died' when trying to play Gay Tony still kinda works.  Even back when the red ring started to happen, I could start up and play a bit of Gay Tony before it would red ring.  Since then it has just sat in my closet in the box of the newer 360 I got. I don't know if that's common.

This was the same 360 that I kept in a closed wooden drawer for a year.  Once I left it on for about 8 hours to download the Crackdown 1 demo with a crack the side of the largest cable width open.  That was in 2006 and it managed to run fine until late 2009, or even longer now I guess. 

Even when a 360 red rings it can in some cases continue to work for awhile. My 360 red ringed a year ago and I did the penny temp trick and its still working.

[chronovore]

My new 360S does that. Sometimes it acts crashed, like the Guide can't be summoned or dismissed. Turning the power off turns off the console's "ring of light" but the damned thing stays on for a full minute, still displaying the same screen. It's weird.

[chronovore]

Probably a safe assumption. My new 360S vents heat out the side, I think I could bake cookies there.

[huckleberry]

Probably a safe assumption. My new 360S vents heat out the side, I think I could bake cookies there.

Not that you don't know but don't come close to blocking that vent....I had my "S"  about an inch from the side of the TV stand and it kept overheating and doing all kinds of weird shit.  Unblocked the vent and let it cool down and I was good to go though.

[MyNameIsMethodis]

The only thing I hate about the Holy grail I mean Xbox 360 is that when I turn it on my room heats up about 20 degrees.

[chronovore]

So I was transferring files from my XBox memory card to a usb flash drive but it won't transfer most of them cause they don't transfer to other profiles even though it has its profile as "unknown profile". I'm using my roommates old xbox cause the memory card doesn't fit anywhere on the new xbox.

Help?

Pwetty Pweeeeaaaaaaase!!!!

Holy schnikeys, I had not even noticed that about my 360S, since I switched to USB while I still had my old box. Wow, I guess it makes sense to shave off all unnecessary hardware costs.

The box will let you have your way with your data if you're logged in. If you have your profile on your new Xbox, move it to your USB stick. Boot your roomie's old 360 with your MU and USB plugged in, and log in to your account. Copy your files with impunity. Finish with a witty epithet of bad pun, to secure your action hero status.

[chronovore]

Not counting my Rock Band 2 controller set and GH controller and the Street Fighter 6-button fight pad, somehow I have purchased 5 wireless controllers.

FIVE.

Even considering two of them are pack-ins from main unit purchases, it's unclear how I bought three more. I thought I had one more. What the hell? That's one more than can even be used simultaneously.