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The Xbox 360 Is A Broken Console

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Explanation - I Demand One Demotivational Poster

Tomorrow I will be faxing through my forms to MI Digital to have my broken Xbox 360 replaced. While you always hear about the RROD, the Xbox 360 still seems to have quite a lot of other issues that go fairly unnoticed.

When I get a swapped out console back from MI Digital I won’t be on my second, or third, or even fourth console. That’s right folks, I will be on my fifth Xbox 360 since purchase.

So what is so amazing about that? I mean, besides the obvious.

A lot of people have gone through 360’s because it is a well known fact that the Xbox 360’s design team didn’t deserve their Christmas bonuses (or salaries for that matter).

Here’s the thing, I have never had a Red Ring of Death. Yup, not one, yet I am still averaging a ludicrous average of around 2 consoles swaps per year. The reasons for the swaps for each console have been the following:

1. All games were freezing (lasted about a year)
2. Faulty/Broken eject button (straight out of the box)
3. Console only reads game discs after roughly 5 – 10 attempts (After about a year)
4. Refuses to read game discs most of the time, gives disc read errors randomly and also freezes in most games after roughly 30 – 60 mins of play. (Newer Model with HDMI, only lasted 6 months.)

So that is four console replacements without a Red Ring of Death. The major issues that I have had of late are all related to the disc drive. The console would either recognise game discs as video DVD’s or it would just ignore the disc altogether, usually making some really strange ticking and mechanical noises in it’s attempt to read the discs.

It starts off slow at first, with only a few problems reading a disc but then gets progressively worse until the point where it takes 10 – 15 minutes of constantly opening and closing the disc tray in order to get a game to boot up. I find that it is not too long after these disc issues that the console starts with it’s freezing issues, so it is possible that they are directly related to issues with streaming information off of the discs.

It is absolutely insane to think that this console is so riddled with issues. The sad thing is that when I realised that I was about to run into more issues right before I go away on vacation to our family holiday home, I actually went out and bought an Xbox 360 Arcade just so that I could keep playing if I had to send my Pro model in ( You may think I am nuts but I’m not the only one to do it ), meaning that Microsoft actually benefited from this whole fiasco.

As much as I like my Xbox 360, I am really starting to crack. What good are amazing games, multimedia features and online communities when the console that runs them all is about as stable as a one legged man after 2 bottles of Vodka.

Last Updated: January 6, 2009

21 Comments

  1. Let us know how it goes. I have been waiting for my replacement (which will also be my 5th) for the past 2 weeks even tho MI Digital said that they have plenty of stock.

    Reply

  2. koldFU5iON

    January 6, 2009 at 08:37

    wow that it is bad luck, I had only 1 console RROD on me and that was from the very first batch after 2.5 years and I was about to sell it to upgrade to an elite, but then I got the swap out and sold the “new” console for a little more to get my elite and haven’t had any issues yet 🙂

    Reply

  3. janrik

    January 6, 2009 at 08:49

    Jeez, 5? You keep them on top of the microwave?

    I’m on a 2nd one now, and the swap out took 3 days (November 2008).

    Reply

  4. Werner

    January 6, 2009 at 08:51

    After I received my RROD swap out earlier this year, my “new” XBox lasted a whole week before it got a E76 error code. At least I didn’t have to wait another month for the second swap out.

    Reply

  5. Milesh Bhana ZA

    January 6, 2009 at 08:51

    yeah that’s the thing, RRoD is a really well publicised problem and the 3 year warranty covers it, but that DVD drive (especially on the original batch) was dodgy as well.

    My DVD drive phucked out 13 months after I bought it, so warranty was void. (i lied and said I had an RRoD to get a free swopout) That extended warranty really needs to cover the DVD drive as well.

    And the new swopout process stinks! From minor inconvience (call MS and swop where you bought it… have a new one in a day) to a farking schlep of note (1-3 months to a new one). MI Digital really dropped the ball on this one. I can see people who can do repairs making lots of money soon. I would rather pay someone R400 to fix my xbox than wait 2 months without my console.

    Reply

  6. al360

    January 6, 2009 at 09:00

    damn thats bad i had a drive problem as well but thats about it xbox been working like a bomb thou the software still sucks from MS!

    Reply

  7. Goose ZA

    January 6, 2009 at 09:10

    That is unfortunate. I’ve had mine for 13 months now and no problems (touch wood)

    Reply

  8. Fred

    January 6, 2009 at 09:20

    You’d better hold onto that piece of wood.

    Reply

  9. Lupus

    January 6, 2009 at 09:37

    My very first 360 RROD, this was from the first batch and it lasted 19 months, that one is still sitting in a cupboard somewhere, went out and bought a brand new arcade, just put my HDD on there and touch wood, a year down the line no issues.

    Reply

  10. Banana Hammock

    January 6, 2009 at 10:25

    Strange, my PS3 is still working perfectly…

    Reply

  11. Arc316

    January 6, 2009 at 10:35

    Mine to. he he he.

    Reply

  12. Milesh Bhana ZA

    January 6, 2009 at 10:38

    Original Post made at 8:00am
    First PS3 comment 10:25am

    You guys are slipping. 🙂

    Reply

  13. Banana Hammock

    January 6, 2009 at 10:44

    Lol, true. I think it’s cause we are busy gaming and not waiting for replacement machines.

    Lol, not that the PS3 doesn’t have some drive issues of it’s own…

    Reply

  14. naeem

    January 6, 2009 at 11:03

    I’m on my 3rd one.

    1st one RROD after 11 months of ownership.

    2nd one never RROD but gave constant Disc Read Errors. about 10 months after receiving the first swopout. Had to do the MI Digital route, i pestered em and went to their offices in Bedfordview to collect myself.

    Reply

  15. ShadowOfDawn

    January 6, 2009 at 12:58

    I bypass my disc read errors and freezes by installing the game to the hard drive. Another one tired of the issues.

    Reply

  16. Roland Browning

    January 6, 2009 at 13:24

    I’m on my ninth PS3. They seem to keep breaking when I open up the tray to put the bread in. You’d think such an expensive toaster would be more reliable!

    Reply

  17. Evilredzombie

    January 6, 2009 at 13:47

    Get a ps3.. Problem sorted

    Reply

  18. Fox1

    January 6, 2009 at 14:04

    I never have optical drive issues. It depends on how much you move the console around. Especially do not move it with the disc inside.

    I read on another forum that somebody had their PS3 blue-ray laser break twice and the second time was after warranty. It cost the guy something like R2500 or so to get a replacement.

    Reply

  19. Maxiviper

    January 6, 2009 at 17:10

    I have had my 360 since December 2006 and I have had NOT one problem with it at all!!

    Reply

  20. EchoZA

    January 7, 2009 at 18:00

    I’m onto unit # 2 1st one lasted 1 year and 2 days 🙂 new unit arrives tomorrow!

    Reply

  21. Brenden

    February 3, 2009 at 13:00

    See, I hear horror stories like this and I have to wonder. I’ve heard of and know of just as many people who haven’t had a problem. From my own personal experience, I’ve had the same box since launch and it still runs beautifully. It makes me wonder if half the reason these things are crapping out is because people just don’t know how to take care of hardware. Gaming is becoming so mainstream now, that wouldn’t surprise me. I mean, seriously, 5? What the hell man? I’d be frustrated too, but maybe if you didn’t toss it around like a UPS package sentenced to night shift, you’d have better luck.

    Reply

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