360 blown by power surge....

[AnnabellaRenee87]

I was wrong. It was just the power brick and oddly enough I have a spare.

WOOT!!!

[BIG OLAF]

Exceptionally bad advice.

Not really, because it's true. If it weren't true, sure it would be bad advice. The 360 is quite good at halting power surges on it's own. Hell, mine's been through it's share of thunderstorms, and is still kicking. Compare that to my old Xbox, which fried after one or two power surges (being plugged into a protector). Plugging it into a surge protector throws off it's power sensors, and makes it unable to stop an incoming surge. In fact, Microsoft has even stated that plugging a 360 into a surge protector is one of the leading causes of a premature RROD. I'm glad one of my friends told me about this trick.

[amtalx]

Not really, because it's true. If it weren't true, sure it would be bad advice. The 360 is quite good at halting power surges on it's own. Hell, mine's been through it's share of thunderstorms, and is still kicking. Compare that to my old Xbox, which fried after one or two power surges (being plugged into a protector). Plugging it into a surge protector throws off it's power sensors, and makes it unable to stop an incoming surge. In fact, Microsoft has even stated that plugging a 360 into a surge protector is one of the leading causes of a premature RROD. I'm glad one of my friends told me about this trick.

You've got some nice anecdotal evidence there. In an effort to prevent the OP and anyone else from doing anything monumentally stupid, here is a quick and dirty lesson on how surge protectors work and why this is 100% wrong:

First, the whole "Xbox 360s are highly sensitive to reductions in power" is a line from their legal team handed to support staff, not an advisory from their engineers. Second, even a mid range surge protector will have a delta of less than one volt under heavy load; however, I would recommend high end protection for expensive devices. Surge protectors are designed to regulate spikes and surges (excess voltage) in power, and do not reduce properly regulated voltage. By not using a surge protector, you are exposing yourself a known risk in exchange for a fallacy created by an MS policy. Also, you should replace surge protectors regularly. They protect your equipment by absorbing excess voltage. It's a finite ability and degrades over time. Old surge protectors provide no protection and are no better than a power strip. Power strips provide no protection, as they are only designed to let you expand an outlet.

If you are really worried about power fluctuations, use a UPS. It provides the most consistent power output possible, even more so than an outlet because there are minor fluctuations in the power supplied to your house.

First year EE classes. Try them.

[Volcompat321]

I used a surge protector once.

You know what happened to it?
The whole $75 surge protector...
It got obliterated during a hurricane, along with the computer, printer, lolfax machine, and fish tank filter that was plugged into it.

I'll never spend so much money on a surge protector again.
As of now, my laptop, and Playstation3 are just plugged into the wall, and I'm okay with that.

[HAYABUSA-FMW-]

I don't think its the surge protector's fault it wasn't a Hurricane Protector.

But I guess that $75 could have went towards cleanup/moving expenses/power generator in the meantime while awaiting insurance settlement.

Gotta be careful with tricks from your friends and Microsoft said. "Towel trick" melting together plastics/chipset/firehazard is not quite on the level of turn your PSone sideways/upsidedown to use the other side of the bands that aren't worn out or blowing on your NES contacts (swabbing with isopropyl alcohol is better - less stank breath/moisture you don't want that could rust them).

-
House has old wiring, probably not grounded, requiring 3 prong adapters. + that ol Earthquake San Andreas fault line this way. But I do unplug the stuff I'm not using. Maybe do the "Jay Leno" hit the power off on the strip for them all. Power strip/Surge Protector using currently cost $7.50 clearance with two warranty types:

"Connected Equipment Warranty:
We will repair or replace any equipment damaged by a surge, spike, or lightning strike while properly connected to our surge protector, up to the maximum value stated on the front of the package. (*)

Lifetime Product Warranty:
We will replace, free of charge, any surge protector that is defective or expires after protecting your electronic devices."

(*) $100,000 Bling. But I don't know if Target sold Belkin brand will be around forever. Plus money can't be a direct substitute for data/things lost I suppose.

[amtalx]

I used a surge protector once.

You know what happened to it?
The whole $75 surge protector...
It got obliterated during a hurricane, along with the computer, printer, lolfax machine, and fish tank filter that was plugged into it.

I'll never spend so much money on a surge protector again.
As of now, my laptop, and Playstation3 are just plugged into the wall, and I'm okay with that.

A surge protector protects against surges...not an overload due to a failure somewhere in the grid. Nothing will protect you from that. Not using a surge protector now is like driving a car without an airbag because it didn't prevent injury when you got hit by a train. Common sense people!

[Volcompat321]

Hey, I didn't use the air bags after an accident, because the insurance I had didn't cover fixing them!
(almost true story).

I just unplug my important stuff when there's a hurricane.
This past year though, I guess Melbourne got lucky. There were very small hurricanes, and non of them hit near my house.

So yea, I'll just unplug my stuff, rather than spending so much money on a surge protector.
I have my handhelds to play while the other things are unplugged.
Almost nothing can go wrong with the system/PC being unplugged, unless it's physical damage by something that comes into the house, like a tree branch, cow, dog, fence, or something.

[BIG OLAF]

First year EE classes. Try them.

I would, but I don't have spare money for college right now, and even if I did, i'm not interested in electrical/engineering jobs. But thanks for the advice, because I don't know shit about this stuff. I just tell myself it's "magic", and am usually done with it.

[Volcompat321]

Oh crap. We should probably stop using surge protectors because they clearly cause hurricanes.

Yup, that's the point I was trying to make. Duh.


I didn't tell anyone to stop using them. I just said I don't use them because they haven't been useful to me.

That's it.