The General 360 Owners/Buyers FAQ Thread (Updated 1/15/10)

[quote name='woominlee2']Well, as I have come to learn, my X-box 360 will need to be repaired over and over. Microsoft wants me to pay $100 to get it repaired and I thought I'd check if others have had this problem and what they did to fix it.

So, I was playing online the other day when the images on screen started to get distorted. Things started to turn gray and there were unusual lines on the screen. I thought I'd start the Box over, but when I turned it back on I only got audio and no visual. I did some minor trouble shooting but no luck.

Has this happened to any one else?
Any one have any suggestions?

Thank you![/quote]

My Elite has the exact same problem. This is a known problem for 360's. I can "towel trick" it into working for about a week or so, then the video goes out again. Like yours, mine is out of warranty for everything except RROD, so I am hoping for that.
 
[quote name='dman1869']Does anyone know what "Secure HDCP link restored" means? I get this everytime I turn on my 360 now.[/QUOTE]

It would be something to do with the encryption between the 360 and TV, but I've never seen a message like that. Does it happen with other HDMI devices? Like a PS3 or Blu Ray player or something? Maybe it's just normal for that TV or something?
 
If you bought Microsoft's cables all the adapters are in there. That looks right though, assuming your speakers have that same kind of input (might need a gender changer, or something else).
 
[quote name='God of War']Do you have to have a TV tuner card in your computer in order to watch live TV through your XB360? I'm mostly just wondering because i want to be able to record things. So if you do please post, and if you know of a good one that i can get for cheap that would be great![/QUOTE]

Yes, you do.

I have a Hauppage (I think that's spelled correctly) older style PCI card. I think it's a WinTV PVR-250 or something like that. Mine has one analog cable coax connector and an FM tuner connector (which happens to be a coax connector as well). I run Media Center 2005 (IE: XP with Media Center) with my 360 being my "extender". My Media Center box is actually in my closet with only a power cable, ethernet cable and coax cable TV line running into it.

Live TV is cool, doing TiVo like DVR stuff is cool. I'd recommend it if you've got an extra PC laying around.. it was a fun project and I dig it.

No HD though... you can't build your own HD DVR rig (at least using Microsoft OS'es).
 
[quote name='dman1869']Does anyone know what "Secure HDCP link restored" means? I get this everytime I turn on my 360 now.[/quote]
Hey,

I get this message when turning on my TV after my Xbox is already on. For example when I'm watching a film, if I leave for a while I pause it and turn off the TV and when I turn the TV back on I get this message.

I believe it just means the connection between your TV and 360 was interrupted and then re-established.
 
[quote name='fuerstma']
No HD though... you can't build your own HD DVR rig (at least using Microsoft OS'es).[/QUOTE]

You can't use cable cards with a system you built yourself (and it's supposed to be super buggy with a pre-built system.

You CAN do HD just fine though through ATSC or QAM.
 
[quote name='StealthSoul']Hey,

I get this message when turning on my TV after my Xbox is already on. For example when I'm watching a film, if I leave for a while I pause it and turn off the TV and when I turn the TV back on I get this message.

I believe it just means the connection between your TV and 360 was interrupted and then re-established.[/QUOTE]

Oh, okay. That makes sense. I just wanted to make sure my Xbox isn't going to take a dump on me.
 
I'm going to try to see if my 360 passes warranty inspection so I'm shipping it back to Microsoft. I already have a box for it. Is it possible I can call XBOX support and tell them to just send me a shipping label?
 
Yay, just called and I'm getting a label shipped via email. However, the guy told me I can't ship it via the console box, because it might get stolen -- I have to send in a new box or something.
 
I hope they're still shipping you the "coffin" if you want it though :(

My Wii's dying, and I don't want to mess with finding a box, etc., etc. I'm guessing I'd end up with a worse unit than I shipped out :whistle2:/
 
I want to buy a Holiday 360 Pro bundle off of ebay, but I'm concerned that the official Microsoft Warranty will be invalid for it because I won't have an official store receipt from a Target or Wal-Mart or whatever. I heard when you want to send in your 360 for repairs if it RRODs, they want to see the dated receipt to know when you purchased it.

If I buy a new and sealed one off ebay, what happens? Do I need to print the ebay invoice/Paypal invoice? Will Microsoft want/need to see the receipt at all if it's for an XBox that was produced within the last 3 years and thus can't be any older than that?

Any suggestions?
 
[quote name='KingofOldSchool']Keep the transaction receipt from PayPal.[/quote]

Is that really good enough? Storebought 360's don't have the Lot # or anything like that on the receipt?
 
If you really want to protect yourself with a warranty, you can always go to SquareTrade, which you can buy warranty protection on items you get on ebay or any retailer. I used them for the Elite I bought over the summer from Amazon and haven't had a problem with them so far.
 
To be honest, MS fixes anything if you tell them you have a RRoD. They never ask for any proof of purchase and I have never heard a story where customer service asks for one.

EDIT: And apparently you're supposed to register your console for the warranty. I never did that with my 360 and when it got one red light, I called and they sent a coffin. Only asked for an address and the console number.
 
[quote name='shinryuu']To be honest, MS fixes anything if you tell them you have a RRoD. They never ask for any proof of purchase and I have never heard a story where customer service asks for one.

EDIT: And apparently you're supposed to register your console for the warranty. I never did that with my 360 and when it got one red light, I called and they sent a coffin. Only asked for an address and the console number.[/quote]

Prolly pre-registered.
 
Buying something from eBay is just like buying something secondhand. It may not be used, but it's not the first sale of the item. As for the warranty, if the seller bought the item at a regular store (walmart, Gamestop etc) then the serial number was registered at the time it was sold and the warranty started that day. If it wasn't then you would need a receipt of some kind to show proof of purchase. Good luck either way and I hope you don't have any problems in the first place.
 
Definately would recommend the SquareTrade route because whomever bought the original console would have their info on Microsoft's end.

Also my podcast co-host bought a "new and sealed" 360 off EBay 3 weeks ago and it was used and broken with 3 red lights. Luckily, he got a refund from PayPal.

The 360 is the one thing in this world I would NEVER buy used.
 
Well just got my 20GB refurbished hard drive as part of the Xbox Experience upgrade program for my new Arcade machine. 10 minutes after installing it, it froze. After restarting it I got an E68 error code. Now it alternates between freezing up and giving the E68 error. Looks like I get to experience my first warranty hassle with Microsoft and it hasn't even been a week since I've owned this machine.

In just 5 days I've had to reformat my PC to get it to work with the Media Center feature, found out since I used my Zune ID to get my GamerTag as directed in the instructions I don't qualify for a free month of Live Gold, and now the hard drive they sent me is essentially DOA.

Never had any problems with any of my 12+ gaming systems compared to this Xbox mess. I'm seriously considering returning my Xbox 360.
 
I've never had issues with game systems until this generation either. My Wii is dying (not that it's really a member of this generation) and my 360's have had issues until my current Falcon model.

Can you reformat that drive through the Xbox's interface? If it lets you do a true, real reformat that might help. I imagine it's just a bad drive, which is exactly why it's "refurbished".

You can't really refurbish a hard drive-frankly the whole idea of a used drive terrifies me.

At least if you buy a new 360 or drive it SHOULD be fine...I've never had issues related to that. Though not that I'm thinking about it, it's kind of creepy that these systems and their hard drives are just being crashed around through the mail or by stock people who don't care or have a clue what they're doing :whistle2:(
 
[quote name='Wolfpup']I've never had issues with game systems until this generation either. My Wii is dying (not that it's really a member of this generation) and my 360's have had issues until my current Falcon model.[/quote]

Having owned the previous two Sony home consoles, I have gotten quite use to having console issues, unfortunately. And so, of course, my PS3 has given me zero issues in almost two years, whereas my original 360 died, and this refurb probably ain't far off...and that's in less than a year.

You can't really refurbish a hard drive-frankly the whole idea of a used drive terrifies me.
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Agreed 100%. Having dabbled pretty heavily in building and repairing computers, any time you have a component with moving parts (drives, fans, etc.), you shouldn't be getting anything used. You're simply asking for issues.
 
[quote name='bigdaddybruce44']Having owned the previous two Sony home consoles, I have gotten quite use to having console issues, unfortunately. And so, of course, my PS3 has given me zero issues in almost two years, whereas my original 360 died, and this refurb probably ain't far off...and that's in less than a year.[/quote]

To be fair, I knew about the Playstation 1's early issues before I ever bought one, so I avoided all that. I think it was the third system I bought that generation, and I waited until we were up to maybe the 5000 series models? The early ones with their plastic parts that warped were garbage :whistle2:(

I never had issues with my launch PS2, though I know some people's quit reading CDs (might be the more complex lens system earlier units had to ship with?)

Agreed 100%. Having dabbled pretty heavily in building and repairing computers, any time you have a component with moving parts (drives, fans, etc.), you shouldn't be getting anything used. You're simply asking for issues.
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Yeah. Personally I'd gladly pay the difference for new. If it was actually the hard drive that got "fixed"...yeah, that's not going to work :whistle2:D
 
The plot thickens with my Refurbished HD problem...

I spoke with Microsoft Customer Service who walk me through all the "turn off and unplug your machine" stuff and my hard drive starts up like it sometimes does. I tell the CSR that this usually happens and within a few minutes it will freeze up and give me an error. He says that I can call back if the HD give me another E68 error and I can have it replaced.

10 minutes later, sure enough I get the error, so I'm back on the phone with Microsoft. They want me to send it back for repair. At my expense. I tell them that is unacceptable, as I just received the hard drive and I paid shipping already for one that was supposed to work. Apparently they have no idea about this $29.99 20GB refurbished program as I got put on hold for about 4-5 minutes while the CSR tried to figure out what I was talking about. He comes back on the line and asks "Was it a 120GB hard drive?" I tell him no, its a 20GB one, and I'm back on hold another few minutes.

Finally he gets back on the line and says that he can exchange it for me instead of a repair but I have to pay for shipping. Again I tell him I'm not going to pay for shipping since it was not my fault that the product does not work. He says "The only way I can send you a new one is if you pay to have it returned to us." I say "New? You are going to send me a New one? As in "Not Refurbished"? He says Yes. Well I'm down for that!!! Sounds too good to be true! (I'm happy to pay a few bucks to get a brand new one). But then...

Then he says "we need to create the order but our systems are down right now. I can give you the address to send the HD to but you need to call us in about 24 hours when the system is up so we can place the order."

I get the address, but I'm almost positive that when I call back tomorrow I'll be doing the exact same runaround with no notation on my account that I was promised a "new" hard drive.

Oh, btw....I was told that these hard drives are not refundable even though it states on the website that they are. Again, just a heads up in case anyone else jumps on this deal.
 
What the hell is wrong with like virtually every company? That all sounds insane, and I've heard so many run around stories like that. Do corporations just WANT to piss people off and run things incompetently?
 
This is certainly the last straw with them. If I get anything less than a brand new hard drive shipped to me I'm returning my Xbox and selling the 20GB drive they send me, as well as the 12 Month Gold card I have on the way, and just buying a PS3.
 
Microsoft is the worst company to deal with on the phone. My "fixed" 360 started scratching discs and they wouldn't replace them or do anything about it. At least it's only frozen up once since it's come back.
 
I'd hate worse than Nintendo. They don't have a real method of shipping back a broken Wii, and never sent the label they claimed they were mailing.
 
Ready to buy HDMI cord for my 360 from monoprice. Which ones are the correct ones to use for electronic devices? Some cords are way longer and described as "For In-Wall Installtion". Whatever the case, are these the ones I need HERE?
 
I need to buy a new Xbox, primarily for HDMI output, as the blacks are completely crushed if I run component through my receiver.

Is now a good time to get a new one, or is MS releasing a new chipset or whatever soon?
 
[quote name='Megalith']I need to buy a new Xbox, primarily for HDMI output, as the blacks are completely crushed if I run component through my receiver.

Is now a good time to get a new one, or is MS releasing a new chipset or whatever soon?[/QUOTE]

I'd wait, probably until you can get one with an '09 manufacter date. Microsoft is in the process of rolling out a 4th generation version (Jasper), but there have been no confirmed sitings yet. It'll be like last year and Falcon, just guesswork as to which you're getting, but presumably everything '09 with be Jasper.

Falcon's been much more reliable than the first two models though.
 
I recently came upon some of the old XBOX Live 12 month subscription cards that came with the Live Starter Kits that came out back before the 360. If you remember, they came packaged with a headset and the game Crimson Skies. I was wondering if these cards will still work to extend my XBOX Live membership now? I use the 360 and not the original one anymore, but I don't know if they will work with Live on the 360 or just on the original XBOX. Has anyone tried using the old cards on the XBOX 360. Thanks for any info you may have as this would save me a lot of money.
 
they'll worked if the damned things arent expired (there is an experiation date some where on it) because i found one from like 2005 and it was expired :(
 
Well I found then in a store selling for pretty cheap. I wanted to do some research first before I bought them all up. But if they will only work for the original xbox, its not worth it.
 
I found an original xbox live card on sears clearance last fall and it was expired but it worked just fine for me when I input it through my 360.
 
[quote name='bbj77']Well I found then in a store selling for pretty cheap. I wanted to do some research first before I bought them all up. But if they will only work for the original xbox, its not worth it.[/QUOTE]

Just remember that you can only go up to two years with the codes.
 
[quote name='pillllow_llll']they'll worked if the damned things arent expired (there is an experiation date some where on it) because i found one from like 2005 and it was expired :([/quote]I've used ones past their expiration date without any issue.

[quote name='cdeener']Just remember that you can only go up to two years with the codes.[/quote]Nope, it's three years that you can stack, not two.
 
This gives me some hope that they will work. They were selling for under 5 bucks each, and there were about 5 of them on the shelf. I think I will go buy one to see. I still have about 4 months left on my current membership, so if I add the code and it works, will it pop up a screen or let me know that I have 16 months left or something like that?
 
Although I honestly don't think the xbox ones work. I know expired 360 ones work but I could have sworn that the xbox ones had to be redeemed on an xbox
 
People have definitely gotten original Xbox cards to work on the 360. But I have seen plenty of people say they got rejected, too. These obviously do stop working at point, but it certainly isn't the "redeem by" date.
 
I sent my RROD 360 off and had it repaired by Microsoft, and got it back in January of this year. Now my 360 is having disc trouble. I keep getting the disc read error message, and I have decided enough is enough. I went to the Customer Service site and saw that I am out of warranty. Now, if I got this one less than year ago, shouldnt it still be under warranty? If I am going to have to pay the $100, then I am just going to buy one at Gamestop and trade mine in. Should my 360 be under a new warranty now, and if so should I call and dispute it? I really dont want to call India, and want this problem to be resolved as cheaply as possible. Have any of you gone through this same problem? Thanks for any answers.
 
[quote name='KillerElDiablo']I sent my RROD 360 off and had it repaired by Microsoft, and got it back in January of this year. Now my 360 is having disc trouble. I keep getting the disc read error message, and I have decided enough is enough. I went to the Customer Service site and saw that I am out of warranty. Now, if I got this one less than year ago, shouldnt it still be under warranty? If I am going to have to pay the $100, then I am just going to buy one at Gamestop and trade mine in. Should my 360 be under a new warranty now, and if so should I call and dispute it? I really dont want to call India, and want this problem to be resolved as cheaply as possible. Have any of you gone through this same problem? Thanks for any answers.[/quote]

By my understanding, it should still be under warranty. When mine got repaired, they added a year of warranty and thats included in the $99 I paid.

If you call tomorrow during the morning-early afternoon hours, you will get someone from the United States Microsoft call center, so your best chance would be to call during those hours. Any calls evening to early morning hours get routed somewhere else.
 
[quote name='KillerElDiablo']My problem is that I did not pay for the first repair. I check the RROD faq, and it said that only a 90 day warranty is place on it.[/quote]

Then yeah, you would need to pay for the repair. After they repair your xbox, or they send you a new one, you will have a 1 year warranty under that xbox for anything that goes wrong with it.
 
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