3 RED LIGHTS! nuuuuuuu!!!!

[Saner]

Waaaaaaaah! this is terrible, I had this xbox360 since last year and it's been working fine until tonight I hosted a L4D room and 1 person came in, left, then 2 people joined, and then it froze, with green and transparent box patterns, freezing the screen.

so after turning it back on, I see teh 3 red lights. I turn it off and turn it back on, then
I decide to unhook the HDD and turn it on, it works normally! with the NXE intact too!

but then when I start messaging someone about it. it freezes the same way again, and when
I turn it back on even without HDD, the 3 red lights appear.

:salad:

hmm I heard a towel trick that can fix it but not sure if that works. I wonder if MS will fix it for free even without receipt.

but ya I can't wait a month for them to fix/replace it and deliver it. I gotta buy a new X360 before HD Remix is released next week!

:frenchfries:

but it would be a waste to just let this 3 red light system just sit there, might as well send it in, huh?

but before that I wonder what is the towel trick, and if it's only a temporary solution?
you know I'm starting to think it's L4D's fault.

or maybe I shouldn't of installed it onto the HDD,
maybe that involved too much internal processing or error somewhere, ya maybe I pushed my luck using the install game feature onto HDD so the disc tray doesn't have to work as hard. >________________________<

[Shadowpawn]

This sounds like a rant...from Saner. A Saner rant (quite rare.)


Um, dude that sucks. I would just wait for them to repair and send it back. Why throw 300-400 dollars down the drain for one game?

[Kent]

Go to Xbox.com, register your console. It'll tell you if it's eligible for the free repairs (odds are, it still is), put in a repair request, and they'll send you your Xcoffinpre-paid shipping container.

The process of getting it "repaired" takes approximately one week. Surely, you can go that long without killing infected, and go play some Castlevania, right?

[Saner]

tanks but HD Remix comes in 5 days!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!

besides Xbox360 is 200 dollars currently, and 150 refubrished I heard. ^^ I'm not planning
on buying anything else until RE5, anyways, and after that, nothing till FFXIII, so really,
getting a new xbox360 now wouldn't hurt. besides, doesn't the newest models have a new
chip that prevents RROD?

I have a conspiracy theory that installing games and playing them off HDD is a bad thing.
it would be less taxing on the system if the disk reading mechanisms did part of the work
like they originally do.

I don't think it's NXE but I'm sure if I didn't install L4D, the console would be fine right now, I'm sure.

[Majarra]

try this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLRYrFyzrik&feature=related
pretty good vid

[Kent]

...Okay. Five days, so what? You might have your 360 back a few days after it comes out, no big deal.

Besides, the cause of the Red Ring of Death has to do with melting of the GPU connectors. It has nothing to do with discs spinning or installing things to the hard drive, it's something that happens from use over time, and poor ventilation conditions only make it happen faster. You probably wouldn't have seen those green boxes on-screen before it crashed if it wasn't a GPU problem.

The bottom line is... You'd be saving yourself a nice chunk of money if you got the free repair. You've been waiting months of Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix, you can wait a couple more days. :/

[Saner]

um i checked and it says Standard warranty Expired....so looks like I can't send it in even if I wanted to, time to buy a new one. ^^;

hey since this current one is as useful as a paperweight now, do you think vaccuuming might fix it?

[Shadowpawn]

Since it's dead weight, I think you should mod it. Either that or take out the hard drive and search the net for any other use it may have.

[Saner]

try this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLRYrFyzrik&feature=related
pretty good vid

oh thanks, maybe I'll give it a try. there's still the weekend to do this. ^^

WTF LMAO! THEY expect people to PAY for the guide??? xD :lol:

the video seems to already detail what needs to be done.

[Saner]

Microsoft should supply that kind of repair guide on their site for free, but still offer the
service they have for RROD as well.

it's kinda highway robbery making a profit selling a repair guide for a console that
they didn't even develop. such guides should be free and especially MS would know about
this method.

[Rubius-sama]

Buy a new Xbox at Wal-Mart.

Go home and swap the consoles (and power supplies if you have an old zephyr model). Return it to the store and say your son didn't like it.

No guilt/sin is incurred. Wal-mart is like Sony... they screw millions.


um i checked and it says Standard warranty Expired....so looks like I can't send it in even if I wanted to, time to buy a new one. ^^;

hey since this current one is as useful as a paperweight now, do you think vaccuuming might fix it?

Standard warranty is one year, and the RROD warranty is three years... you you're fine if you decide to take the repair route. Oh and vacuuming doesn't fix a processor that's fallen out of it's socket. Seriously, go to Wal-mart.

[Saner]

Buy a new Xbox at Wal-Mart.

Go home and swap the consoles (and power supplies if you have an old zephyr model). Return it to the store and say your son didn't like it.

No guilt/sin is incurred. Wal-mart is like Sony... they screw millions.

LOL :lol: that might work. ^^ but what if they are smart enough to verify the serial #? :p

[SpikeOtacon]

Go to Xbox.com, register your console. It'll tell you if it's eligible for the free repairs (odds are, it still is), put in a repair request, and they'll send you your Xcoffinpre-paid shipping container.

The process of getting it "repaired" takes approximately one week. Surely, you can go that long without killing infected, and go play some Castlevania, right?

Actually I just had to send my console in. They apparently make you get your own box and you have to print your shipping label. I was also told to expect it back in 3 weeks.

I want whatever customer service you had.

[Rubius-sama]

Then they wouldn't be working at Wal-Mart. :lol:

Honesly though, if they find out, they'll just deny the return, at which point you ask to speak to a manager and claim that the right unit is in the box. Bitch about it if you have to... they eventually let you return it.

A lot of places don't even scan the serial number anymore, so you might get lucky with that.

[MetaZedlen]

The method shown in the video seems VERY legitimate, being that if the GPU does come loose, then the RROD would make perfect sense, being that no picture comes up.

It seems like MS actually did a different approach on the "BIOS startup" being that the 360 tries to "boot" from the GPU first, but that is the only option on the list of startup locations.

I love being a techy :D

[W0LB0T]

I used to use the towel trick, but it only used to work for one day at a time. I'd get up, put the 360 on to bake, then before you know it, a fresh warm 360 ready to play.

but it only worked about 10 times before it termanaly fucked it. then i bourght a new one, and made the hell sure i only ran it with an intercooler attached.

[SubstanceD]

Sorry to hear that you got the RROD Saner. Sadly it seems to be somthing that happens to every 360 owner sooner or later ( at least those that bought a 360 in the first 2 - 3 years ).

I heard about your little conspiracy theory in Off Topic, I'm not exactly sure where you heard that rumor but it does not seem logical to me, in theory downloading the a game to the hard drive should mean less work for the CPU since it means that the console is not wasting power with the dvd drive so I don't think that caused your problem. Of course I read an article on game spot that says that there is an exception to the rule ( Halo 3 ). Apparently Halo 3 was designed in such a way that burning the game to the HD actually means the 360 CPU has to work more ( stupid fucking Microsoft, they did not test the NXE with thier most important franchise ) , apparently it also takes longer to load this way as well.




Actually I just had to send my console in. They apparently make you get your own box and you have to print your shipping label. I was also told to expect it back in 3 weeks.

I want whatever customer service you had.

Same here.

My 360 died last year. Fucking broke my heart. I called up the store I bought it from and turns out it was just a few days out of the 1 year warranty. They gave me the number for Microsoft support , they talked me through various things in order to prove that I had the RROD and then they gave me the same spiel they gave SpikeOtacon. I got it back in a bout 2 weeks.

[Monochrome]

Aww Saner that sucks. It's obvious how much you have been looking forward to SFII HD..so I feel for ya. My friend's 360 keeled over a couple days before GTA IV released. So he sent his Xbox for repair. His girl told me he used to just sit and read the (GTA) box each night, waiting for his 360 to be returned. :lol:

[Powder Keg]

Exact same thing happened to me. Call 1-800-4-my-xbox and they'll have to troubleshoot it to make sure it's eligible (Check the light on the power supply, turn the system on with and without the HDD, and have the serial number ready. If you have a nice box to put it in they send you an electronic label you can just print up right from your computer.

[amtalx]

LOL :lol: that might work. ^^ but what if they are smart enough to verify the serial #? :p

You can usually get those stickers off with a blow dryer and some patience. However, I don't condone this type of activity...

[Outrider]

I used to use the towel trick, but it only used to work for one day at a time. I'd get up, put the 360 on to bake, then before you know it, a fresh warm 360 ready to play.

but it only worked about 10 times before it termanaly fucked it. then i bourght a new one, and made the hell sure i only ran it with an intercooler attached.

That's funny. I've read time and again that the Intercooler is actually worse for your Xbox 360.

Good luck!

[Aisha379]

I switched 360's with Walmart once. And they actually DID scan the serial number...well...tried to. luckily (and hilariously), my dad put the 360 in the box facing the wrong way, so it had the front showing through where the serial number should have been.

The lady was like "Oh nevermind then, I'm sure your honest people"

We just kinda nervously laughed and then gtfo.


Later on my mom tried to guilt trip me by saying some poor little kid was going to open up a broken 360 on Christmas day (was right around this time last year), but after reading most 360 owners are around 25 and seeing how kids act on Xbox Live anyway, I think I'd be doing the community a favor (plus Walmart will always replace it with a new one anyway...so yeah.)

[W0LB0T]

That's funny. I've read time and again that the Intercooler is actually worse for your Xbox 360.

Good luck!

Since when? unless your talking about that model that short curicts and welds its self to your power input.

I'm using a intercooler like this one:
http://gearmedia.ign.com/gear/image/article/797/797819/pelican-air-flo-360-20070619034419236_640w.jpg
Its usb powered.
Multiple video outputs and extra USB ports FTW.

But anyway if you try the towel trick Saner, make sure you do it in an area that won't catch fire easly, if it decides to go tits up.

[Outrider]

Yeah, looks like it's only the older model that would kill your console.

[amtalx]

The problem with those coolers is they don't work in conjunction with the existing cooling system. Strapping exhaust fans on the back != better cooling. Just like a PC, you want cooling through proper throughput of air, not just MOAR FANS. Unbalanced throughput WILL increase the operating temps of your system.

[Sinue_v2]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v203/Sinue/1220614998391.jpg

I use the Pelican cooling fan that sits on the bottom of your console and has one singular fan with a low RPM. Doesn't seem to stress out my system fans, I assume it helps keep the components cool, and it plugs in via USB so no worries about spontaneous welding and power outages. I've noticed a VERY little bit of extra dust on the bottom plate, but it doesn't seem to be enough to make any kind of substantial contribution to the natural dust collection which can retain heat and fry your system if you don't clean it out regularly. I also lay mine on it's side atop a few old packs of cigarettes so that all the vents have optimal airflow.

I also have my 360 (and a few other devices) on a battery backup to keep power surges and interruptions to a minimum. The 360 is rather particular about it's power supply I hear.

[HAYABUSA-FMW-]

The problem with those coolers is they don't work in conjunction with the existing cooling system. Strapping exhaust fans on the back != better cooling. Just like a PC, you want cooling through proper throughput of air, not just MOAR FANS. Unbalanced throughput WILL increase the operating temps of your system.
"Speed holes, they make your car go faster."

Or even fart coke can exhausts. Civics/Pontiacs go faster.

If anyone's had a laptop its kinda the same deal, so work with that as said above, with levitating/raising the units and keeping it horizontal. Adequate air flow all around. Coolers on the bottom/internal if possible are better. Don't keep it on 24/7 or do many super gaming marathon sessions, that sorta thing.

Dust it out if in a high dusty traffic area. Might require case opening, just don't touch anything, put it back how it was and your warranty should be intact; what are you going to do- tell them you opened it, even just for dusting out?

[Typoe]

I don't have an X-Box but you could try this seems legit...


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bo2dl2vlwis

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvdJ-Q_T6Js

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-wni_SNFXU

[Delete]

Just be happy yours didnt red ring you 5 times like myself......one of those times it took a month to get my 360 back.