Last 360 to die?

I was pretty smug about my 360, bought in March 06, still going strong while others were on their 6th and 7th. Didn't know what all the fuss was about, heh.  Its actually the first time I've seen an RROD!  I'd just set up my internet connection (4Mb yey!) and was looking forward to getting back on LIVE, but alas.

So question is, is mine the last of the originals gone on this forum, or are there still others on their first unit?

I got mine imported from Germany, and I dunno how to fix it with towels etc so I'm tempted to throw it away and just upgrade my PC.  Gears 2 was the only game I was looking forward to on 360 this year.

I could get a PS3, but I'd only really buy MGS and then wait for FFXIII and whatever Quantic Dream are making.

The main game I'm after this year is Left 4 Dead.

Hmm, where did that big towel go?

My second 360 is still going.

Gears 2 and Fable 2 will both likely come out for the PC eventually so I would just upgrade your PC. 

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It could take over an year for fable 2 and gears 2 to come out for the pc . Why would you want to wait for an year ? Just buy a new one and hope you get one with the new falcon chipset ..

  [image]http://gdpit.com/avatars_pictures/animated/gdpit_com_45464555_806.gif[/image]

Didn't CliffyB already say that Gears 2 would not be going to PC due to piracy? Personally, if I were you, I'd just do the permanent fix. If you don't know how, I'm sure you can find a link or something, or even better, perhaps eddie der hated could help you. Just don't throw it away.

Yeah I dunno, if I can't fix my 360 with a towel, I don't think I want to buy another one for a while.  Theres just something wrong about paying for something twice, y'know, even if it is 2 years later.

And true should be staight forward to get a guide to fixing it...its actually doing it myself that scares me!  I had a quick look, there are soooo many people trying to cash in on broken 360s, charging money for guides.  Scary.

the best combination is PS3 and PC, you can play most multiplatform and 360 exclusives with the pc, considering you have at least a 7900 GTX and a core 2 duo above the 2.4 ghz with 2GB ram. the rest you can enjoy it on PS3. there will only be a very few games that will be truly exclusif to the 360 but these are not worth it. And you will surely avoid another 360 breakdown.

Listen to the wise

If you bought it in 06 then it still should be under the 3 year warranty. If you can still get something for nothing, I say go for it. The refurbed ones they send out are now the "Opus" model so they should last a good while longer. Once that one bites the dust, it'll probably be close to 2010 anyway.

And don't do the towel trick. Whoever came up with the idea was very short-sighted. It just screws over your console even more by heating up other components (such as capacitors and other critical parts) to dangerous levels. It's not even a very good method of repairing the BGA. You're more likely to fry it than fix it.

Towel Trick

...No.

X-Clamp Replacement Repair

...Yes.

I can mail you some parts if you can't find them online, or at a big chain. I bought in bulk from my local hardware store.

Seriously, it's about as simple as simple can be, so long as you have a logical head on your shoulders. In the event of your box actually seriously being broken, new ones are dirt cheap. Torr just picked one up for under fifty USD.  You don't even have to repurchase parts. You can just swap 'em out.

"I'll wager sixty finest English pence that you defeat Big Sister in the end by shagging her to death."

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Chuopolo, I think you and me were the last survivors on here, and mine bit it a few weeks ago.  Just got my replacement in the mail today. 

You're still within the 3 year warranty so why not get a replacement?

Zoy's right on that. If you're still warrantied, let Microsoft deal with it.

By now, folks in the UK should be getting the Opus SKU, and that (in theory) should last you longer. Though, they've been saying each hard-released SKU would "cure" the RROD problems since Falcon.

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Are you sure you don't mean Jasper, Eddie?  I was looking into this since I was curious as to what exactly I'd be getting back.  I thought Opus was only available as the refurbished version that you get back when you send in the original Xenon; Opus has a 65nm CPU but still with a 90nm GPU (like Falcon, but without an HDMI output).  So Opus isn't going to retail, it's just available as a repair/replacement. 

However, Jasper (65nm CPU and 65nm GPU) is supposed to start showing up any time now in retail.

opus dos not exist in retail

Listen to the wise

GOW2 isn't coming to PC, FFXIII is coming to 360 as well.

With the extended warranty up at the end of the year I have been trying for the past while to make my 360 RROD with no results. I have put big comforters (blankets), a sleeping bag all on top of my 360 and left the damn thing running for over 3 days with no RROD.

I am sure that I don't have the new improved heatsink as I got my last replacement I believe last Summer.

Now with the upcoming holiday season just ahead of us I don't want my 360 to RROD, and I have a nagging feeling in the back of my head that it will RROD either just before Fable 2 and Fallout 3 are to released, or just before Gears 2.

Most wanted games:

Mass Effect
Assasins Creed
Crysis
Little Big Planet
Drakes Fortune
UTIII
Kane and Lynch
Heavy Rain
Alan Wake

Mine actually got the RROD after I got back from vacation, having not used it for 2 weeks.  So it seemed like more a matter of having plenty of time to cool down rather than being intensely heated up (moreso than normal use). 

But then again... Over the past several months I've really only been using it two or three days a week, and I figure it must completely cool down within just a few hours after you shut it off.  Who knows.

Well mine is getting plenty of use at the moment between myself and my brother in-law. He plays it pretty much every night on COD4 with his GF in Texas, and I try to get on on the weekends.

With my luck the damn thing will RROD on Jan 1, 2009. :(

Most wanted games:

Mass Effect
Assasins Creed
Crysis
Little Big Planet
Drakes Fortune
UTIII
Kane and Lynch
Heavy Rain
Alan Wake

I bought mine second hand (nearly new) from an import store, so I don't know if I have free replacement rights or not.  Will probably try Eddie's link at some point.  Thanks Eddie.

Its wierd I hadn't been using my 360 excessively or anything either, I watched a DVD the night before, then after work the next day I got my internet up and running and wanted to test LIVE, and it RROD'd as soon as I switched it on. 

Maybe my 360 has feelings and its in a permanent huff because I did something wrong although haven't got a clue exactly what...  oh well I'll fiddle with its insides later maybe it'll feel better.

Are you sure you don't mean Jasper, Eddie?  I was looking into this since I was curious as to what exactly I'd be getting back.

No, I meant Opus. I failed to clarify that it was repair centers getting the Opus, not retailers. I contacted a friend on XS last night, because I was curious, and he told me that (contrary to what I"d heard) the repair centers soft-launched Opus all at the same time.

So, when he gets it back, it should have the revised CPU heatsink (I tooled around with one the other day, they're slick), the HANA scaler, meaning that someone could hack an HDMI port in the future, and possibly some re-oriented RAM (I don't know about the last one. I know Jasper has reoriented ram chips, moved to the top of the motherboard for heat reasons, but I didn't get to pop off the sinks and see for myself).

I thought Opus was only available as the refurbished version that you get back when you send in the original Xenon;

Well, that's the game plan anyway. It's HANA (digital scaler) compliant though, so them using the board in HDMI-enabled configurations is unlikely, but not out of the question entirely.

Thanks Eddie.

Its wierd I hadn't been using my 360 excessively or anything either,

Any time.

The general consensus is that sporadic heavy gaming might actually be worse for your box than constant heat. I'd explain the science, but I don't think I could do it justice.

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CanadaGamer if your 360 still works why would you want to give it the 3 red rings? Well anyways I had a 360 at launch which died a few months after launch and my second one which I got from MS repair stopped reading discs like a couple of months ago and I tried to give it the red rings of death because its out of warranty and I don't currently have the 100 plus dollars they wanted to repair it and I don't wonna pay them for another faulty system, so I tried the towel trick to give it the 3 red rings like some people online have claimed to have done but it didn't work.

Then I looked up how to repair 360 disc read error on youtube and found a vid but instead of it repairing my system it gave it the 3 red rings (hurray for free repair) so if you really want the red rings just look up a repair vid on youtube that involves sticking a piece of paper with a decent thickness into your closed disc tray and sliding it from left to right. But you might want to wait because I recieved the free shipping label from MS but haven't sent it in yet and I am a bit worried that upon recieving my console and checking it out they might refuse the free repair cause I tried frying it with the towel trick so I'm not sure if they will be able to tell or not. But once it has been sent out and received by MS I will post back here and let everyone know if they fixed it for free or not then everyone who needs a free repair can try the same fix I did.

Yuskei


CanadaGamer if your 360 still works why would you want to give it the 3 red rings? Well anyways I had a 360 at launch which died a few months after launch and my second one which I got from MS repair stopped reading discs like a couple of months ago and I tried to give it the red rings of death because its out of warranty and I don't currently have the 100 plus dollars they wanted to repair it and I don't wonna pay them for another faulty system, so I tried the towel trick to give it the 3 red rings like some people online have claimed to have done but it didn't work.

Then I looked up how to repair 360 disc read error on youtube and found a vid but instead of it repairing my system it gave it the 3 red rings (hurray for free repair) so if you really want the red rings just look up a repair vid on youtube that involves sticking a piece of paper with a decent thickness into your closed disc tray and sliding it from left to right. But you might want to wait because I recieved the free shipping label from MS but haven't sent it in yet and I am a bit worried that upon recieving my console and checking it out they might refuse the free repair cause I tried frying it with the towel trick so I'm not sure if they will be able to tell or not. But once it has been sent out and received by MS I will post back here and let everyone know if they fixed it for free or not then everyone who needs a free repair can try the same fix I did.

Microsoft isnt Wolfram & Hart, moron. They dont have psychics who know how a box got RROD'd, as long as the little stickers on the inside are intact showing you havent opened it they'll give you a new one.

I dont want to celebrate, I want to sell you hate.

immortaldanmx

Yuskei


CanadaGamer if your 360 still works why would you want to give it the 3 red rings? Well anyways I had a 360 at launch which died a few months after launch and my second one which I got from MS repair stopped reading discs like a couple of months ago and I tried to give it the red rings of death because its out of warranty and I don't currently have the 100 plus dollars they wanted to repair it and I don't wonna pay them for another faulty system, so I tried the towel trick to give it the 3 red rings like some people online have claimed to have done but it didn't work.

Then I looked up how to repair 360 disc read error on youtube and found a vid but instead of it repairing my system it gave it the 3 red rings (hurray for free repair) so if you really want the red rings just look up a repair vid on youtube that involves sticking a piece of paper with a decent thickness into your closed disc tray and sliding it from left to right. But you might want to wait because I recieved the free shipping label from MS but haven't sent it in yet and I am a bit worried that upon recieving my console and checking it out they might refuse the free repair cause I tried frying it with the towel trick so I'm not sure if they will be able to tell or not. But once it has been sent out and received by MS I will post back here and let everyone know if they fixed it for free or not then everyone who needs a free repair can try the same fix I did.

Microsoft isnt Wolfram & Hart, moron. They dont have psychics who know how a box got RROD'd, as long as the little stickers on the inside are intact showing you havent opened it they'll give you a new one.

Are you retarded do you really think the only way for them to know if someone intentionally fried the system is if the stickers have been tampered with? Don't you think if they open up the system and see that the insides are more fried than than the typical RROD systems they receive and repair that they will know something is up?

Yuskei

immortaldanmx

Yuskei


CanadaGamer if your 360 still works why would you want to give it the 3 red rings? Well anyways I had a 360 at launch which died a few months after launch and my second one which I got from MS repair stopped reading discs like a couple of months ago and I tried to give it the red rings of death because its out of warranty and I don't currently have the 100 plus dollars they wanted to repair it and I don't wonna pay them for another faulty system, so I tried the towel trick to give it the 3 red rings like some people online have claimed to have done but it didn't work.

Then I looked up how to repair 360 disc read error on youtube and found a vid but instead of it repairing my system it gave it the 3 red rings (hurray for free repair) so if you really want the red rings just look up a repair vid on youtube that involves sticking a piece of paper with a decent thickness into your closed disc tray and sliding it from left to right. But you might want to wait because I recieved the free shipping label from MS but haven't sent it in yet and I am a bit worried that upon recieving my console and checking it out they might refuse the free repair cause I tried frying it with the towel trick so I'm not sure if they will be able to tell or not. But once it has been sent out and received by MS I will post back here and let everyone know if they fixed it for free or not then everyone who needs a free repair can try the same fix I did.

Microsoft isnt Wolfram & Hart, moron. They dont have psychics who know how a box got RROD'd, as long as the little stickers on the inside are intact showing you havent opened it they'll give you a new one.

Are you retarded do you really think the only way for them to know if someone intentionally fried the system is if the stickers have been tampered with? Don't you think if they open up the system and see that the insides are more fried than than the typical RROD systems they receive and repair that they will know something is up?

"More fried"? Youre a fucking idiot. Its either fried or not. I personally used the towel trick to jumpstart mine, then intentionally RROD'd it again and sent it in. As long as you havent tampered with the system they give you a new one. How about you understand how shit works before you talk next time, asshat.

I dont want to celebrate, I want to sell you hate.

So choupolo my original one failed a few months back with the rrod. Just register the problem at xbox.com. You'll get a shipping label sent to you, then put it in a box, ring ups to pick it up and you have it back in 2 weeks, with the innards fully replaced and not a single penny out of pocket. What's the problem with doing that, while the rrod is a bit inconvenient its not the end of the world - and forget any of these halfbaked ideas from anyone else, just send it back to get it properly fixed. Then carry on gaming

I would have if it weren't for the fact that curiousity has already led me to break the unit open!  It was a second hand unit from Germany anyway so I dont think I have a warranty.  Plus everyone I've heard stories from say their replacement box only lasts so long itself. 

My friend bought one after a lot of deliberation earlier this year - it RROD'd within months and he sent it in for a replacement which fried itself within a few weeks.  So he gave up and bought a PS3 - heh, his favourite game is Disgaea 3, so he's not really missing his 360. :P

Anyway, I've only got so far into my box - I need a different type of screw driver to open the metal casing and some parts from Eddie's guide.  Although I have no idea what parts would be similar to the ones recommended or where to get them from here in the UK.  Anyone any ideas?  They're only some screws and washers.

unless you know of a local specialist, try a maplins, they've got a good selection of electronics stuff and parts

immortaldanmx

Yuskei

immortaldanmx

Yuskei


CanadaGamer if your 360 still works why would you want to give it the 3 red rings? Well anyways I had a 360 at launch which died a few months after launch and my second one which I got from MS repair stopped reading discs like a couple of months ago and I tried to give it the red rings of death because its out of warranty and I don't currently have the 100 plus dollars they wanted to repair it and I don't wonna pay them for another faulty system, so I tried the towel trick to give it the 3 red rings like some people online have claimed to have done but it didn't work.

Then I looked up how to repair 360 disc read error on youtube and found a vid but instead of it repairing my system it gave it the 3 red rings (hurray for free repair) so if you really want the red rings just look up a repair vid on youtube that involves sticking a piece of paper with a decent thickness into your closed disc tray and sliding it from left to right. But you might want to wait because I recieved the free shipping label from MS but haven't sent it in yet and I am a bit worried that upon recieving my console and checking it out they might refuse the free repair cause I tried frying it with the towel trick so I'm not sure if they will be able to tell or not. But once it has been sent out and received by MS I will post back here and let everyone know if they fixed it for free or not then everyone who needs a free repair can try the same fix I did.

Microsoft isnt Wolfram & Hart, moron. They dont have psychics who know how a box got RROD'd, as long as the little stickers on the inside are intact showing you havent opened it they'll give you a new one.

Are you retarded do you really think the only way for them to know if someone intentionally fried the system is if the stickers have been tampered with? Don't you think if they open up the system and see that the insides are more fried than than the typical RROD systems they receive and repair that they will know something is up?

"More fried"? Youre a fucking idiot. Its either fried or not. I personally used the towel trick to jumpstart mine, then intentionally RROD'd it again and sent it in. As long as you havent tampered with the system they give you a new one. How about you understand how shit works before you talk next time, asshat.

You really are retarded if you honestly believe that a malfunctioned system will have the exact same amount of damage as a system wrapped in a towel and intentionally cooked for a set amount of time.

Yuskei

immortaldanmx

Yuskei

immortaldanmx

Yuskei


CanadaGamer if your 360 still works why would you want to give it the 3 red rings? Well anyways I had a 360 at launch which died a few months after launch and my second one which I got from MS repair stopped reading discs like a couple of months ago and I tried to give it the red rings of death because its out of warranty and I don't currently have the 100 plus dollars they wanted to repair it and I don't wonna pay them for another faulty system, so I tried the towel trick to give it the 3 red rings like some people online have claimed to have done but it didn't work.

Then I looked up how to repair 360 disc read error on youtube and found a vid but instead of it repairing my system it gave it the 3 red rings (hurray for free repair) so if you really want the red rings just look up a repair vid on youtube that involves sticking a piece of paper with a decent thickness into your closed disc tray and sliding it from left to right. But you might want to wait because I recieved the free shipping label from MS but haven't sent it in yet and I am a bit worried that upon recieving my console and checking it out they might refuse the free repair cause I tried frying it with the towel trick so I'm not sure if they will be able to tell or not. But once it has been sent out and received by MS I will post back here and let everyone know if they fixed it for free or not then everyone who needs a free repair can try the same fix I did.

Microsoft isnt Wolfram & Hart, moron. They dont have psychics who know how a box got RROD'd, as long as the little stickers on the inside are intact showing you havent opened it they'll give you a new one.

Are you retarded do you really think the only way for them to know if someone intentionally fried the system is if the stickers have been tampered with? Don't you think if they open up the system and see that the insides are more fried than than the typical RROD systems they receive and repair that they will know something is up?

"More fried"? Youre a fucking idiot. Its either fried or not. I personally used the towel trick to jumpstart mine, then intentionally RROD'd it again and sent it in. As long as you havent tampered with the system they give you a new one. How about you understand how shit works before you talk next time, asshat.

You really are retarded if you honestly believe that a malfunctioned system will have the exact same amount of damage as a system wrapped in a towel and intentionally cooked for a set amount of time.

Yes, it will, moron. Its not a fucking steak, it doesnt go rare, medium, or well done. Eddie could go into specifics of exactly what happens when a box RROD's. Its either RROD'd or not, there arent degrees to it. You can either drop your pointless argument or continue to look like a moron with no electronics experience, your choice. Go to another forum where your stupidity is welcome.

I dont want to celebrate, I want to sell you hate.

So you are telling me that if I wrap my 360 in a towel and leave it on all day long it will look exactly the same on the inside as one that has been wrapped in a towel for 5 minutes?

Yuskei


So you are telling me that if I wrap my 360 in a towel and leave it on all day long it will look exactly the same on the inside as one that has been wrapped in a towel for 5 minutes?

Now youre getting it. Solder doesnt melt in different degrees of damage.

I dont want to celebrate, I want to sell you hate.

Ok so I've taken my 360 apart completely, the case is open, the fans and heatsinks are off.  Man it took some doing and so far spent about £10 on a star-bit screwdriver and some plyers to get the x-clamps off.

The screws on the bottom of the heatsinks are incredibly tight and will need a spanner and maybe even a vice to remove.  Then I still need to buy a few screws and washers to attach the heatsinks again.  Maplin in the UK do the nylon washers but the right sized screws and metal washers are not sold separately, so it'll be a case of mix and match, and another tenner...

After all that, if the overheating to resolder the chips trick doesn't work then I'll be throwing the whole heap of silicon junk in the skip, and never buying another 360 again.  Either I'll get a PS3 later, maybe when they release a 'PSthree' shrunken version or I'll just save up for a 720 or PS4. 

Taking apart my 360 was an interesting little project though.  Its just a small form factor PC at the end of the day.  I'll let you know if it works.

I would be surprised if it worked... I doubt those things are supposed to be separated

Choupolo, don't mess about with testing for the right size screws. It's not worth any potential extension of the problem.

LINK

Eight USD, shipped. He's always been prompt and cordial with me. Sorry it took me so long to get back to you.

You really are retarded if you honestly believe that a malfunctioned system will have the exact same amount of damage as a system wrapped in a towel and intentionally cooked for a set amount of time.

Are you retarded do you really think the only way for them to know if someone intentionally fried the system is if the stickers have been tampered with?

I looked up how to repair 360 disc read error on youtube

...You're a fucking idiot. Are you sure you're twenty-six?

You registered here to make an argument using your ignorant opinions on the inner mechanizations of consumer electronics... because that's really all they are. You haven't the foggiest as to how these sorts of things work, and are pretending to have some sort of clue? Have a seat, I've been fixing these things since mid 2006. I'll bring you up to speed.

There aren't various stages of "fried" on an Xbox. When the console reaches a certain temperature [as a result of extended play, exorbitant RAM usage, or improperly applied thermal paste], the structural integrity of the PCB begins to deteriorate, resulting in a separation of crucial BGA joins due to faulty heat-sink clamps flexing the area on and around the Northbridge. This causes the GPU to lose connection to the motherboard, which then results in a General Hardware Failure error, also known as the Red Rings of Death.

This can be recreated by sealing the Xbox with a towel, and in doing so, preventing heat from exiting the unit.

...get all that?

Why don't you let the big boys fix the car, and run inside to play, mmkay peaches? If you're really nice, I'll bet mum will fix you a hot-pocket.

"I'll wager sixty finest English pence that you defeat Big Sister in the end by shagging her to death."

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Why don't you let the big boys fix the car, and run inside to play, mmkay peaches? If you're really nice, I'll bet mum will fix you a hot-pocket.

If I'm nice, will his mom fix me a hot-pocket?

I'll fix your hot pocket.

"I'll wager sixty finest English pence that you defeat Big Sister in the end by shagging her to death."

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Ooh, tis $20 shipping to the UK that ebay ad.  I think I'll be able to find M5 screws and washers somewhere here I'm sure.  I managed to get the original heatsink screws off with my plyers in the end (I didn't have a spanner small enough), but the screws are so soft they really disintegrated in the process!

Will these do dyu reckon?

M5 10mm pan head machine screws - are these the right length?
M5 steel washers
M5 nylon washers

I'm looking forward to the cooking part.    Btw, what the fecks a hot-pocket?

I'm looking forward to the cooking part.    Btw, what the fecks a hot-pocket?

Basically, a microwavable assortment of things(for example: Pizza or ham and cheese) wrapped in a tortilla.

They're gross.

"This is sad. There's no other word for it. The person who invents a way to punch someone in the face over the Internet will make millions from the demand generated by people like this." Youtube comments

The only time I like them is when they're actually cooked right. Typically, microwaving them leaves the center partially frozen and the outside burning hot. If cooked correctly it tastes like a calizone.

They're disgusting. I'd rather eat that deep fried mars-bar somebody posted a few days ago in my thread about poutine.

Anyway, yeah Chou, those should do you just fine, but...  1000 of those bolts? I'll buy a few off you if that's really the number you're getting.

I'm looking forward to the cooking part.

Yeah. You can fuck it up mightily if you didn't do everything just right in your prep stages. I'd just suggest that I call you, but being on the other side of the pond makes that something of a bitch, doesn't it?

"I'll wager sixty finest English pence that you defeat Big Sister in the end by shagging her to death."

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