How many times do you have to buy an xbox 360?

VR3

I have used IPods and Zunes ---

Zunes interface is so much better than the IPod. But about 6-7 months ago they released an update in which you could not load lossless media on the Zune. And it would not convert it to the bitrate they wanted it to be. If you tried to change the songs already on there - it would just delete it and that was it...

Before that point, I was EXTREMELY happy with my Zunes. I had one in my house, my truck, a dock, a car fm transmitter, I had some money invested in that stuff...

I know it was my files (which were WMA lossless) that were the problem and their update. I wiped the Zunes clean and reloaded the GUI and sold them on EBay. Worked fine for the new owners.

LAME

Sorry for the derail.

Oblique

I also really like my zunes, but just like you I have run into problems. The one I bought for my wife died a couple weeks after I bought it, and then a year after the replacement one microsoft sent me also died (these were both the pink 30GB) so now I have bought her the 16GB flash, my 30GB is fine though.

But on the OP's original question I had my first 360 over a year and a half then it got red ringed and the replacement microsoft has sent me has been fine except for disc read errors that I sometimes get. so I would say you will eventually need to buy a second one after a year or two.

kuntasensei

Okay, funny story... I'm on my 11th 360 since launch, and I have two of them. Unfortunately, both of mine are non-HDMI and I'm rewiring my home theater to go all HDMI. So I decided I would just buy one of the new Jaspers, then trade my other 2 in.

Yeah... the Jasper arrived today, 256mb internal memory, 150w power supply, etc. Works fine on composite video... on component or HDMI, nothing but green static! I tried resetting, the video reset trick, etc. It's freakin' DOA!!!!

So that makes TEN DEAD 360S since launch!

polkatese

I think your house is possessed, sensei!

kuntasensei

It actually worked via HDMI at 1080p for like 30 seconds before it went green. The shame of it is... as good as the 360 looks on component, there was a noticeable improvement with HDMI for that 30 seconds. I had time to put up my 1080p resolution chart, and you could definitely see more fine detail.

That said, I'm starting to wonder if I should even bother going HDMI now, since it seems like I'm cursed!

polkatese

I still have my Jasper connected via component. Too lazy to rewire it. But now, that you mentioned it, perhaps I should do HDMI, to get those fine details of those **** before I kill 'em. (right in the middle of COD2, again).

kuntasensei

BAH HA HA HA! Okay... I tried to set my old 360 to 1080p (which used to work over component) - same green static. So apparently, my PLV-Z2000 went screwy with any 1080p input. So... the new 360 is probably fine. Glad I kept fiddling!

VR3

My 360 no longer will open the disk drive while sitting vertical.

I have to open and close it horizontally.

*sigh*

howie777

I have no idea what you peoples problems are. I have had an XBox 360 ever since the Elites came out with no issues. All you need to do is make sure it is horizontal, with pleanty of air space and never turn it on. Never has a problem if you follow those simple rules. duh!

Honesly, I would not put a PS3 or XBox vertically. neither seem to hold up well that way. I also try to keep lots of open space and don't ususally have mine on long unless I'm visiting friends with Rock Band. Guess mine won't fail as I don't use it that much and wouldn't miss it. If I find a game I really like I'm sure it will crap out, its due.

Sucks all the issues.

Howie

wingnut4772

howie777 wrote: »

I have no idea what you peoples problems are. I have had an XBox 360 ever since the Elites came out with no issues. All you need to do is make sure it is horizontal, with pleanty of air space and never turn it on. Never has a problem if you follow those simple rules. duh!

Honesly, I would not put a PS3 or XBox vertically. neither seem to hold up well that way. I also try to keep lots of open space and don't ususally have mine on long unless I'm visiting friends with Rock Band. Guess mine won't fail as I don't use it that much and wouldn't miss it. If I find a game I really like I'm sure it will crap out, its due.

Sucks all the issues.

Howie

I put mine vertically but I lifted it a bit so air could get under it.

polkatese

I have a unit that die of RROD, and thought about fixing it myself (not sure if I really want to do this, but since it is sitting unused) is it worth the efforts? another option is to sell it, and wondering if anyone knows what is the approximate value of it? (again, whether it worths the effort).

TIA

howie777

I should have kept my mouth shut.

Just printed out my shipping label to send my Xbox back to MS. Oh well, I need to spend some time with Mario and Metroid anyway. Maybe do some boxing too.

Howie

wutadumsn23

lol Howie, seems to be only a matter of time with those 360's.

mantis

Well it's still working ( Knocking on my Maple Dinning room table as I write this). I don't use it as much as the last ones. I don't play as much and my son uses his Mac for games more then anything.

I don't really ever spin any HD DVD disc's anymore, but I do however use it for Netflix from time to time. If and once the PS3 gets Netflix, I will use it even less.

I got the Terminator game here and already beat it. It was a short game but fun. I like the 3rd person shoot em up style better then 1st person.

I still stand on my words I will not buy another 360. It's terrible to keep buying the same thing over and over. My Wii and Ps3 are orignal and so is my original Super Nintendo which still works. I keep it in it's original box in my basement in a Rubber maid container with all it's games the same way but when I want to pull it out and play, it works. I just have to blow it from time to time LOL. Nintendo owners know exactly what I mean.

Dan

Sherardp

I still play mario but now that you can just buy old classics via the Wii Channel, I just go that route.

As for my 360 I thought I would never buy a new one either, but I broke down and went for it. I have two, one which is in my main setup, the other in the box as a spare. Sucks, but what can you do when you're addicted to "Shooters".

wutadumsn23

mantis wrote: »

I keep it in it's original box in my basement in a Rubber maid container with all it's games the same way but when I want to pull it out and play, it works. I just have to blow it from time to time LOL. Nintendo owners know exactly what I mean.

Dan

LOL, I remember that, felt like a jacka$$ but it worked everytime. Ahh the good ole days.

RedBull

The one that sits in my basement on the carpet was a launch xbox and is still going strong. With 4 four young boys in the house, and a father that plays at night, it sees a couple hours a day. I don't know if I could live without it if it were to die though. That's why I went out and bought another one for when I move to school in the fall lol.

nguyendot

Bought a 360 RROD for $20 yesterday. Out of warranty. Ripped it open (I've never seen the inside of a 360 before yesterday).

Bought 16 nylon washers #10 and 33 #10 metal washers (walmart sells them in bags of 33). Got some Matching bolts, i think 3/4" long. No need for the nuts, they screw right into the heatsinks.

So I popped the 360 open (it had already been opened...even though the seller told me it had never been). Instant smell of weed.... ew. Used some compressed air to clean it out. Took this thing and completely disassembled it. Cleaned the goop off the heat sinks and replaced it with artic silver.

Bolted the heatsinks directly to the board through the holes in the bottom of the metal chassis. Tightened it and powered it on. Let the GPU burn in with no air for 15 minutes. Powered it back on...4 red lights (whoops forgot the a/v cable).

Plugged it into the tv..and it powered up.

$20 xbox360 + $10 artic silver + $2 in bolts/washers.

$32 xbox360. Not bad huh?

wutadumsn23

Nice fix nguy, I know where I'm sending my sons 360 when it dies again, lol.

nguyendot

Im burning it in right now. Its so simple to do too. $20 to fix it would not only be cheap for someone, but still get me a OK profit lol.

I'm just amazed that the xclamp fix works at all. .We would never try something like that on a pc.

paule05

Amen. My son has killed 6 of these pos 360's. Doesn't MS charge like $140 to fix? Not worth it.

paule05

nguyendot wrote: »

Bought a 360 RROD for $20 yesterday. Out of warranty. Ripped it open (I've never seen the inside of a 360 before yesterday).

Bought 16 nylon washers #10 and 33 #10 metal washers (walmart sells them in bags of 33). Got some Matching bolts, i think 3/4" long. No need for the nuts, they screw right into the heatsinks.

So I popped the 360 open (it had already been opened...even though the seller told me it had never been). Instant smell of weed.... ew. Used some compressed air to clean it out. Took this thing and completely disassembled it. Cleaned the goop off the heat sinks and replaced it with artic silver.

Bolted the heatsinks directly to the board through the holes in the bottom of the metal chassis. Tightened it and powered it on. Let the GPU burn in with no air for 15 minutes. Powered it back on...4 red lights (whoops forgot the a/v cable).

Plugged it into the tv..and it powered up.

$20 xbox360 + $10 artic silver + $2 in bolts/washers.

$32 xbox360. Not bad huh?

Where do you get the Artic Silver? I need to try this on one of my son's dead 360's.

cheddar

Arctic Silver is a popular thermal paste for filling in the gap between computer heatsinks and the chips they are supposed to cool. So it's available pretty much everywhere that sells computer components you would use to build your own PC. Just make sure you spell it right if you do a search.

paule05

nguyendot wrote: »

Bought a 360 RROD for $20 yesterday. Out of warranty. Ripped it open (I've never seen the inside of a 360 before yesterday).

Bought 16 nylon washers #10 and 33 #10 metal washers (walmart sells them in bags of 33). Got some Matching bolts, i think 3/4" long. No need for the nuts, they screw right into the heatsinks.

So I popped the 360 open (it had already been opened...even though the seller told me it had never been). Instant smell of weed.... ew. Used some compressed air to clean it out. Took this thing and completely disassembled it. Cleaned the goop off the heat sinks and replaced it with artic silver.

Bolted the heatsinks directly to the board through the holes in the bottom of the metal chassis. Tightened it and powered it on. Let the GPU burn in with no air for 15 minutes. Powered it back on...4 red lights (whoops forgot the a/v cable).

Plugged it into the tv..and it powered up.

$20 xbox360 + $10 artic silver + $2 in bolts/washers.

$32 xbox360. Not bad huh?

So, I tried the fix (sort of - I made some modifications) and it worked on my son's xbox also. While I was at it, I disassembled the DVD drive and gave it a good cleaning. It now works much better also.

I couldn't see the logic of the washers and larger screws and leaving out the X-clamp. So I modified the fix to only a 1/32" nylon washer on the studs before putting the X-clamp back on. The washers are on the back side of the circuit board and the X-clamp is actually pushing against them. Doing this removes the free play that existed between the X-clamp and the board, thereby holding the heat sinks tighter against the GPU and CPU permanently. That should provide the same effect as your method and the one found online. The other reason I wanted to keep the X-clamps in use is because in the center of the X-clamp there is a raised plastic part that is applying pressure on the back side of the circuit board in the spot where the GPU and CPU are mounted. The screws, while smaller, are still **** the heat sinks directly to the the metal chassis, just as you did. It seems to me this would be desirable as the X-clamp should help to keep the chips tight against the heat sink if there is any flex in the board itself.

Now I want my son to get some of his friends to let me try the fix on their RROD Xbox.

That was fun to do and appears to be very successful.

Paul

kuntasensei

Actually, the issue with the x-clamp is that it presses against the PCB. With heat, it can actually CAUSE the mainboard to flex. There was actually a Youtube video of it happening, which is why everyone trashes the x-clamps and just secures it directly to the board.

Still, if it's working, you're probably fine.

nguyendot

I trashed the x-clamp for exactly that reason. It pulls on the heat sink and pushes on the middle of the pcb under the GPU. (the part that fails). This causes the center of the gpu to have good contact but the outer edges to seperate under heat eventually. Using the screws and drilling out the bottom (my screws pass through the entire chassis) evens out this pressure and allows it to make full contact. So far I've had 3 successes out of 4. Not bad for $100 total spent. We're going to sell one of them and that will make all our money back and still have 2 good ones left over. The fourth we'll have to spend more time on.

paule05

kuntasensei wrote: »

Actually, the issue with the x-clamp is that it presses against the PCB. With heat, it can actually CAUSE the mainboard to flex. There was actually a Youtube video of it happening, which is why everyone trashes the x-clamps and just secures it directly to the board.

Still, if it's working, you're probably fine.

Wow, how in the heck we're they able to make a video with the heat sinks and chassis all in place and still see flex around the GPU/CPU? Would love to see that if you have link. Removing the free play under the X-clamps with washer should make it impossible for the board or chip to flex unless the heat sinks themselves also are flexing. I suppose that is possible, but then the fix without the X-clamps should flex even more since there is no counter balance to the effects at each corner. Wouldn't the chips/board be able to flex AWAY from the heat sinks in the center? Anyway, I'm no engineer, just one who likes to DIY and so far so good.

My fix is getting an extreme test since my son's setup is two xboxes and tv's in a 10 x 13 room with the door closed. He and a buddy then play for long periods of time (12 - 18 hours) and only occasionally come up for air and food. With the current heatwave here, that room is never going below 90 degrees.

I will try it on other xboxes when/if I get the chance and post the successes or failures.

Paul

Knucklehead

From my own personal experiences, when i first bought my XBOX360 ELITE i had it sitting vertical, worked great for about 3 months, plenty of airflow etc...crapped out. Sent it out for warranty repair, since then I've had it horizontal and that was about a year ago, no problems, with some heavy playing from the kids with Rock Band and Call of Duty. Hope it lasts.:o

paule05

nguyendot wrote: »

I trashed the x-clamp for exactly that reason. It pulls on the heat sink and pushes on the middle of the pcb under the GPU. (the part that fails). This causes the center of the gpu to have good contact but the outer edges to seperate under heat eventually. Using the screws and drilling out the bottom (my screws pass through the entire chassis) evens out this pressure and allows it to make full contact. So far I've had 3 successes out of 4. Not bad for $100 total spent. We're going to sell one of them and that will make all our money back and still have 2 good ones left over. The fourth we'll have to spend more time on.

Again, I'm no engineer, but it appears to me that once you've put the original screws back in (they also pass through the entire chassis) into the mounting studs where the X-clamps are clipped on, it can't pull on the PCB any more and actually, couldn't anyway without heat sink flex. It does apply pressure up against the center where the CPU and GPU are but can only flex the board as much the heat sinks themselves flex. And if that does occur, it would just mean that the chips can't separate from the heat sinks which seems good to me.

All my theory of course and I only have one fix under my belt and it may very well have just been luck. Anyway, I still thought it was a fun project.

Paul

kuntasensei

paule05 wrote: »

Wow, how in the heck we're they able to make a video with the heat sinks and chassis all in place and still see flex around the GPU/CPU? Would love to see that if you have link.

No no... they got the whole board to visibly flex. I'll poke around to see if I can find the video again, but I watched it back when people first figured out how to fix this problem... which has been some time ago.

As someone who is on his 11th 360 since launch, I'm glad you got yours working though.