My 360 died this weekend

[BrianK]

I've been busy and haven't played much the past couple of weeks so I finally got some time to sit down and continue Gears of War. A minute or so into the game it froze. I restarted. Froze again. This continued several times until I got the three flashing red lights. I unhooked everything and started it up. Flashing red lights. I called tech support a total of four times and each time after going through "Max" the automated tech support, I was disconnected. Finally I emailed support and got a reply back today. Sounds like I need to send it in for repair but I have to call the tech support number. Hopefully I'll have better luck tonight.

 

[mwgiii]

Try the Towlie trick before you send it off to MS.

Take off your hard drive.

Wrap your 360 in a towel and turn it on, let it run for 15 or 20 minutes.

Unplug it and unwrap it to cool. Careful, it's really hot.

Let it cool for about 30 minutes, plug it in, and fire it up.

There have been reports that this will fix the problem. If it doesn't, you are just out of some time.

 

[kenny911]

Why would he do that when its still under warranty. MS extended everything to 1 year.

 

[shanewalker]

My 7-week-old Xbox 360's optical drive went belly-up this weekend, too.

Very disappointed. Hope this doesn't lead to 2-3 more replacements like some of the owners I've heard from. Really ridiculous, the failure rates on these systems. I figured the problems were over, a year into the production runs. I figured wrong.

 

[mwgiii]

Why would he do that when its still under warranty. MS extended everything to 1 year.

Some people don't like to go 3 weeks without their system.

 

[Ramy]

I belong to XMG which is a site for Adult gamers that don't want to play with smacktard kids. (It is an invite only site)

There have been about 70 of 150 members who own 360's that have had their 360 die. Out of those there have been 20 more replacements of replacements. It is a great system when it stays running. Luckliy I have had mince since the beginning and it is still running like a champ. I have had an intercooler on mine since the intercooler came out so I thing that has helped.

 

[skidog]

When I read "Try the Towlie trick" I thought you were suggesting he smoke a joint, I was wondering how that would fix it.:haha :haha

 

[BrianK]

I talked to a techie last night and I'm going to send it in as it's still under warranty. Wrapping a towel around it and heating it up sounds kind of scary. Maybe bake it at 350 for 15 minutes instead? I guess I'll invest in one of the intercoolers when I get it back although it has at least 6 inches of space around it.

 

[Brewer4]

Try the Towlie trick before you send it off to MS.

Take off your hard drive.

Wrap your 360 in a towel and turn it on, let it run for 15 or 20 minutes.

Unplug it and unwrap it to cool. Careful, it's really hot.

Let it cool for about 30 minutes, plug it in, and fire it up.

There have been reports that this will fix the problem. If it doesn't, you are just out of some time.

Love the Towlie. However that just sounds crazy.

 

[mwgiii]

It sounds nuts, but I have seen multiple reports on the game boards where it has worked.

Also, the Wii editor at IGN is now on his 5th 360. He has made a contest and is giving away a free Wii game to the person who guesses how long this 360 will last. :haha

http://blogs.ign.com/Comments.aspx?blog=Matt-IGN&entryid=44363

 

[corydbstv]

I belong to XMG which is a site for Adult gamers that don't want to play with smacktard kids. (It is an invite only site)

Congrats to you. Me on the other hand, I don't mind beating the crap out of them. It only raises my levels.

 

[BobMurdoch]

360s are like E* PVRs..... get the extended warranty and be sure to get it replaced when you need it...

I'm still on my original that I got on launch day..... Let's see how long I can buck the trend....

 

[Ramy]

360s are like E* PVRs..... get the extended warranty and be sure to get it replaced when you need it...

I'm still on my original that I got on launch day..... Let's see how long I can buck the trend....

Mine is original also.

 

[hpman247]

Mine is original also.

On my 2nd

 

[SatinKzo]

man, the towlie trick is like the alter ego of the old HD in the freezer days when a PC HD died. I would try the towlie trick as I know the freezer trick worked at least 10 times for me.

 

[BobMurdoch]

Reminds me of the legend of the green marker around the perimeter of a CD that would "improve the sound"...

http://www.snopes.com/music/media/marker.htm

 

[KwestJones]

360s are like E* PVRs..... get the extended warranty and be sure to get it replaced when you need it...

I'm still on my original that I got on launch day..... Let's see how long I can buck the trend....

how long is ur extended warranty and where did you buy it from?

 

[BobMurdoch]

Microsoft directly, via the card that came in the box..... It was something like $60 for three years additional.... Given the stories about heating issues, I jumped at it to insure I was covered.....

 

[Madtown HD Junkie]

My 7-week-old Xbox 360's optical drive went belly-up this weekend, too.

Very disappointed. Hope this doesn't lead to 2-3 more replacements like some of the owners I've heard from. Really ridiculous, the failure rates on these systems. I figured the problems were over, a year into the production runs. I figured wrong.

I will be on 4th one after current is fixed