My 360 Died: Advice?

[RAW-Raptor22]

Well... its official. After two years you can now add my name to this RROD cool crew. It all started when I was playing Forza and it would just freeze with weird graphical distortions and lines on the screen. It finally got to the point to where the console would freeze after 2-5 minutes of operation and finally I started it up to eject my disc and it gave me the dreaded RROD. I called Microsoft and they said they would send me a box to for me to ship it to them and they would fix it and send it back. However here is the issue: I originally won this particular console in a contest from Ford Motor Company (http://www.genuineservice.com/genuineservice/inthelane/html/itl_rules.html) and I really want my console back instead of a replacement one, even if mine cannot be repaired. I am worried that if I send it in to Microsoft that I will never see my Xbox again and that I am somehow going to be duped by their system. I have heard about the horror stories, like the kid who had many autographs and personal memorabilia erased off of his console, and I really do not want it to happen with me. Any advice?


FINAL UPDATE: I received my 360 back yesterday and it works great, they even included a free month of live. :D
I have rediscovered how fun Forza is, and I cant wait for GTAIV (even though I cannot afford to buy it when it comes out :p:). Thank you all for your support and advice in this thread. You guys are awesome. XS rocks. :rocker: :up: :toast:

[Asgard_thor]

well, you don't send in the hard drive, it says that on a the box " don't send in hard drive"

I understand you won it in a contest, but does it have any physical characteristic different then a normal xbox 360? if not you will likely get a newer improved system probably one with a newer heat sink and a 65nm processor, depending on your luck./

My advice is...if you wont want to take a chance with microsoft, look on ebay they have people that fix RROD, for $50, it is really up to you, my friend did that, and he got his back..you could try to find one locally

[tbone8ty]

take it apart and re-apply the thermal paste on the gpu heatsink.



plenty of mods/fixs u can do...check out this forum.

http://forums.xbox-scene.com/index.php?showforum=132

[RAW-Raptor22]

take it apart and re-apply the thermal paste on the gpu heatsink.



plenty of mods/fixs u can do...check out this forum.

http://forums.xbox-scene.com/index.php?showforum=132

I really thought hard about this but the indian guy on the phone said that they know if someone tampered with it or not, so if I screw it up more... then am I up a creek without a paddle?

[tbone8ty]

yeah if u open up the case you will void the warranty. cause they have a sticker, but since u won it, its no sweat off yur back right? haha

i think you should ticker with it, but thats just my opinion.


one of the main reasons why u get a rrod is because the gpu is overheating.

if u lookat that forum there are certain codes that the lights give u and u can check what the solution is from others people trials and errors.

http://forums.xbox-scene.com/index.php?showtopic=484726

[Linchpin]

Look if you can get it repaired it by MS or get a new one do that rather. I know a guy who bought 3 dead 360's for like $50 and just took apart the cooling, re-applied thermal paste and wham they all work now so you could try that. In some cases though the heatsinks are mounted badly and cause too much pressure on the PCB and the CPU or GPU and damage them over time.

[Asgard_thor]

I bought my 360 off ebay for $70, RROD, but I was goign to try to fix it but it ended up working, I borrowed all cords from a friend with a broken xbox lol and a controller and bought Halo, (btw im a Colonel ;) )

[hstuehmeyer2000]

if it looks just like a regular 360, just send it back and get a new one

[[XC] Lead Head]

Put in a special request that you want YOUR console back, put a sticker or 7 on it saying you want YOUR console back, and if they don't give it back, raise a big stink about it.

[Monkeywoman]

Buy a PS3!




lol, send it in and hope for the best

[RAW-Raptor22]

Lead Head;2899390']Put in a special request that you want YOUR console back, put a sticker or 7 on it saying you want YOUR console back, and if they don't give it back, raise a big stink about it.

Thats what I will try to do. I will update thread with pics and everything. If I dont get my console back, somebody will be hearing from me.... ;)

[linflas]

Raptor22;2899499']Thats what I will try to do. I will update thread with pics and everything. If I dont get my console back, somebody will be hearing from me.... ;)


I have fixed about a dozen RROD consoles from ebay, and sold them on craigs list. It requires a bit more than new heatsink paste. If your console has never been opened, then for sure take advantage of the m$ repair. If you have opened it, like all of the ones I purchased, the fix takes a bit of time but easily done with a heatgun and a few washers.

[YukonTrooper]

If it's under warranty you obviously send it in. Is there anything particular about your console, either than the fact you won it in a contest?

You could always just let is sit around and collect dust.

[RAW-Raptor22]

If it's under warranty you obviously send it in. Is there anything particular about your console, either than the fact you won it in a contest?

No, not really. Thats the only reason I guess. Maybe I'm weird...:shrug:



You could always just let is sit around and collect dust.

Thats another option I have. I never played it much anyway, maybe 2-4 hrs a week... :shrug:

[DoomSayer]

dont they do rma trough serial numbers ?
my friend rma'd his and didnt even had to send in proof of payment.

if not open up your xbox smear some mx 2 on the cpu and gpu and reaply heatsinks and hope for the best.
if that fails set it on fire and buy a 360 arcade :p

[YukonTrooper]

I sent in my modded Xbox that broke down and they replaced it with a new one. Warranty sticker was cut and I did the 12v fan mod. It was also purchased used off eBay. Their exchange is rather straight forward and quick. Perhaps the employees at Microsoft Canada are just really nice. :D

[DoomSayer]

this would never happen in europe

[RAW-Raptor22]

this would never happen in europe

I think M$ is M$ bro... wherever. But read the update in the first post, everything worked out great. :up:

[DoomSayer]

good to hear you have youre 360 back without to much hassle.
my friend is currently on his 3th xbox and it looks like its dying.
my 2nd hand 360 on the other hand keeps on running like a charm :p

[RAW-Raptor22]

good to hear you have youre 360 back without to much hassle.
my friend is currently on his 3th xbox and it looks like its dying.
my 2nd hand 360 on the other hand keeps on running like a charm :p

Well thats great man. I was talking to my friend and he just got his third xbox back from MS... the early ones were garbage im telling you... :down:

[DoomSayer]

yea ppl who buy em now are lucky.
they got hdmi now and better/more heatsinks inside.
oh well ...

[RAW-Raptor22]

yea ppl who buy em now are lucky.
they got hdmi now and better/more heatsinks inside.
oh well ...

Not even that, they have the new CPUs in there that are 65nm not the 90nm ones, meaning less heat output by far. I'm wondering If they retrofitted mine with the better CPU? :D

[[XC] Lead Head]

Raptor22;2949576']Not even that, they have the new CPUs in there that are 65nm not the 90nm ones, meaning less heat output by far. I'm wondering If they retrofitted mine with the better CPU? :D

You can always wish :D

My 360 is one of the newer 65nm ones with the improved heatsink. Runs nice and cool

[RAW-Raptor22]

Lead Head;2949996']You can always wish :D

My 360 is one of the newer 65nm ones with the improved heatsink. Runs nice and cool

Well that's definitely a plus. Im tempted to open up mine to take a peek but I don't want to void the warranty. :p:

I'm definitely thinking about going into the bricked 360 business, buy one for $30 fix it and sell for $120. Easy money unless you get one that's unfixable (core is damaged). :shrug: :yepp:

[RAW-Raptor22]

Good to see you got it back, and godo for you for not listening to the people to open the xbox up. I havent used my xbox360 much over the last 1-2 years just Halo 2-3 and replays, and gears of war and a couple replays but i havent had a problem with it yet and i hope i never do.

Candyman: Well I sure hope that yours doesn't fail, but if its older your chances of survival may be slim. I play most FPS games on the PC, however for simulations consoles are definitely better. Forza2 and AceCombat6 are the best games in their genre and are really fun and easy on the console. :up:

I definitely wasn't planning on opening my console although the thought did enter my mind. I'm actually considering the 360 repair business because seems like a good investment to me. :)

[Linchpin]

Raptor22;2947008']Well thats great man. I was talking to my friend and he just got his third xbox back from MS... the early ones were garbage im telling you... :down:

Not all early ones are bad, only reason I swapped mine out after a year was because the dvd tray would refuse to open or close sometimes and the replacement which was manufactured a day later has been running great for the past 5 months or so.

[RAW-Raptor22]

The one thing i do hate about the 360 is gears of war. The first copies were defective, basicly like 50% of the people who bought the game had problems with the game pausing saying the disk is dirty to clean it even tho nothing was wrong with em, and it only did this on this game no others, eventually they fixed the problem but i dont play gear of war anymore cuss it happens every 10 minutes.

The main cause them dying like this is mainly just a heat issue. The heatsink wasnt fitted on properly or cooled correctly, and alot of people put there systems on the carpet like there not soppose too, they sit em upright on carpets and the vents on the bottom are glogged leaving hardly any air flow.

I personally did this to my xbox, just got a hard board for a flat surface and used 2 broken floppy drives to hold the 360 in the air, while the floppy are underneeth they are on the very edge keep all holes open. Basicly i dont find the leggs the xbox has good enough, the xbox gets extremely warm underneeth so i decited to raise it.

If you wet your finger and hold it next to these holes on the xbox you will feal the air flowing inward, if you glog them by laying them down on carpets your only hurting yourself.

You should do the thing i did to make sure lol



Mine is set up the same way, I have 4 of those large lego blocks (duplo?) to keep it about 2 inches off the carpet. I have always kept my COD2 disc in its case, but it wont load half the MP maps though... says "wrong file version" or some crap and the game is fully updated... probably the disc. All my other games run good though. Whats your gamertag Candyman?

[RAW-Raptor22]

I dont play on xbox live

Thats cool. :)

[UZ7]

Later on when your warranty runs out or dont care about the warranties just replace the fan and reseat the heatsink with better thermal paste (AS5 / MX-1). I'm going to change my fan out tomorrow with Talismoon Whisper Fan which is about the same slightly lower in terms of sound (dB) but has twice the airflow (CFM) than the stock fan.

Glad everything worked out tho!

[RAW-Raptor22]

Later on when your warranty runs out or dont care about the warranties just replace the fan and reseat the heatsink with better thermal paste (AS5 / MX-1). I'm going to change my fan out tomorrow with Talismoon Whisper Fan which is about the same slightly lower in terms of sound (dB) but has twice the airflow (CFM) than the stock fan.

Glad everything worked out tho!

Ive thought about doing just that, but I want to buy a bricked 360 to play with first ($30) fix it and sell it for like $150. :up:

That way I have practice and don't screw up mine. ;)