Red Ring of Death Question

[Yojimbo]

So, right as I was attempting manipulate Nico Bellic through an alternate ending for GTA, my 360 starts to repeatedly freeze necessitating system restarts. One of the restarts ended up with a System Error message being displayed on the screen in multiple languages with a numerical error code being displayed (which escapes me now) and a red light where the green light used to be on the front of the unit.

I was able to sucessfully shut down and restart the game, but am still experiencing frequent freezes, usually happening at exciting moments like just as I am about to shoot at an enemy, or midpunch during a fight. While the screen displays what looks like a very exciting moment frozen in time, I do not find any of this amusing to say the least.

I tried my 360 with other games from my collection - Kane and Lynch, Saint's Row, Bully -- and get frozen there too. So now I fear that my box is way past it's half-life point- indeed, this might be that red ring that I have heard about.

Has anyone else experienced this? I am actually a victim of the red ring of death? Does anyone know what causes this, and is there a fix to this other than replacing my 360? Should I now use my 360 as a very expensive paperweight or door stopper? Can I sue Microsoft? (Ok I know that I probably can't do that, but would like to berate them at least)

[acealive1]

take it back to the store.........never pay full price for a half broke merchandise

[Yojimbo]

take it back to the store.........never pay full price for a half broke merchandise

I wonder how long after I purchase a product that a store will accept a return. I think I may be way beyond my window of returnability since I got the 360 in order to play Dead Rising on it's day of release, which was over 2 years ago if I am not mistaken. Stupid xbox!

[capncnut]

Your console has not fully red ringed if there is only one red light. That is 'error E74' and that, I'm afraid is not even covered by Microsoft if your console is out of warrantry. :(

[Yojimbo]

Your console has not fully red ringed if there is only one red light. That is 'error E74' and that, I'm afraid is not even covered by Microsoft if your console is out of warrantry. :(

That sounds like the error code and light config that I am experiencing. Just as I feared, I think that I am going to lose out on this one. Guess I might have to either replace my console at my own expense or just give it all up and sell my games for whatever I can get.

Quite depressing, actually!

[clanglee]

Can't get a repair shop after it?

[Danny]

That sounds like the error code and light config that I am experiencing. Just as I feared, I think that I am going to lose out on this one. Guess I might have to either replace my console at my own expense or just give it all up and sell my games for whatever I can get.

Quite depressing, actually!

i get that, mine will turn on, the lights come on, but never show up on the screen, and require restarting up to 7 times, but its never frozen, ever. odd, but its been happening on mine since december and its never red ringed form it so it shouldn't be anything major, just a mild annoyance.

then again mine is before its on, never during running.

[capncnut]

That sounds like the error code and light config that I am experiencing. Just as I feared, I think that I am going to lose out on this one. Guess I might have to either replace my console at my own expense or just give it all up and sell my games for whatever I can get.

Quite depressing, actually!
Yeah, it can be a bit of a gutting feeling to lose your console but I dunno what else can be done. With that said, however, if you carry on using it, the chances are it will red ring for real. Microsoft might go easy on you if you suck up on the telephone. They are offering an additional three years in the case of red ringers and I have heard a few success stories with unregistered consoles.

Other than that, it's a new 360, man. :(

[Tricky]

Its all about the PS3 ;)

[capncnut]

Its all about the PS3 ;)
Well it would be if it actually had any decent games. ;)

[CoinReturn]

Well it would be if it actually had any decent games. ;)

Indeed :p

My 360 froze up during a co-op session of Army of Two. The screen got all pixelated and then bam, I got 2 red lights, signifying my GPU had been fried. MS wanted me to pay $100 for repair, and I didn't feel like waiting the 3 or 4 weeks, so I just went out and bought a new Arcade unit. I'd have abandoned Microsoft after that incident if it werent for the awesome library of games and an unmatched online service. How can you say no to Left 4 Dead??

[Tricky]

Well it would be if it actually had any decent games. ;)

It does!im starting to see quite a few juicy titles on the shelf for the PS3,i dont own one yet though,got too much other stuff to spend my money on rather than gaming these days

[Danny]

Indeed :p

My 360 froze up during a co-op session of Army of Two.


no loss there :lol:

[CoinReturn]

no loss there :lol:
You're tellin me. My friend only rented it, thank jebus.

[Yojimbo]

I looked online and saw some advice about wrapping a towel around the unit so that I can purposely overheat it. Apparently this is supposed to remedy the error code 74 & 79.

Really? Purposely overheat my machine to fix the error code? Is this just some disinformation spread by Microsoft to cause folks like me to void their warranty or to sell more units?

So, I guess I am doomed to sending this out for repair, unless I can con my local store to accept it in trade for alternate!

[MikePizzoff]

The towel trick re-melts some of the sodder you lost, and a good amount of the time you can get lucky, and it'll fix itself. But I've never heard of a permanent fix. In fact, most accounts I read state that it only fixes their system for a few hours.

[Eyebiter]

Talked to a buddy, he is on xbox 360 number four. Had red ring of death THREE TIMES since he bought it.

[darth los]

Talked to a buddy, he is on xbox 360 number four. Had red ring of death THREE TIMES since he bought it.


That kinda stuff is common knowledge yet people still keep buying 360's. The ps3 an as good, if not better console and you never hear of stuff like that happening.

[CoinReturn]

That kinda stuff is common knowledge yet people still keep buying 360's. The ps3 an as good, if not better console and you never hear of stuff like that happening.

Indeed, the PS3 has much better build quality than 360, and it's quieter too. On the other hand, I think the PS3 situation with games is dire. With Metal Gear Solid 4 out the door, what else is there to look forward to this year? Resistance 2 and LittleBigPlanet? They look great, but in the face of Gears 2, Fable 2, Fallout 3, Too Human, Banjo Kazooie, Left 4 Dead, and Castle Crashers, plus all the multiplatform games that are coming to both systems, it just seems like the pendulum is swinging 360's way when it comes to software. Plus, Sony's biggest gun for next year (Final Fantasy XIII) has gone over to the 360 as well.

Also, with this Fall's dashboard update, you can fully install games on your 360's hard drive, so that your disk-drive stays silent, load times are faster, and there's less wear and tear on the system itself. Here's a nice video preview that just came out today showing how it's done:

http://www.vimeo.com/1479143?pg=embed&sec=1479143

As far as the RRoD goes, if you've got a "Falcon" chipset in your 360, chances are it's not going to fail. You can tell if you have it by looking on the power brick. If it says "Output: 175W" on the sticker, then you've got it.

[Andy]

That kinda stuff is common knowledge yet people still keep buying 360's. The ps3 an as good, if not better console and you never hear of stuff like that happening.

My 360 is over 2 years old now, got it to play dead rising when it first came out and had it since.. and it gets used ALOT, most of you will know most recently i got the 7 day survivor acheivement on dead rising which requires you to play the game for 16 hours constantly, but in reality my xbox was on for 3 days solid due to work and sleep commitments.

My point is, ive never had a glitch, never had a slow down and NEVER seen a single red light, let alone the ring of death.

I Personally think these stories are exagerated and many people have had good experiences with their xboxs, and i dont think their any less reliable than the PS3.

[MinionZombie]

My 360 is over 2 years old now, got it to play dead rising when it first came out and had it since.. and it gets used ALOT, most of you will know most recently i got the 7 day survivor acheivement on dead rising which requires you to play the game for 16 hours constantly, but in reality my xbox was on for 3 days solid due to work and sleep commitments.

My point is, ive never had a glitch, never had a slow down and NEVER seen a single red light, let alone the ring of death.

I Personally think these stories are exagerated and many people have had good experiences with their xboxs, and i dont think their any less reliable than the PS3.
If things are going alright for people, they have little reason to comment - hence the low level of "it's going great" chat you see online. Meanwhile, if something buggers up, they have all the reason to comment - hence the apparent vast volume of complaints...which, on the grand scheme of things, is still in the minority.

I myself have had my Xbox since May last year, after 9 months the video component packed up and I had to have it sent for fixing. It got fixed, came back running quieter, was only gone for 9 days total (6 of which were transport days it seems), and since then - *touches wood* - I haven't had any issues.

My only main 'problem', if you will - and it's minor - is sometimes my disc drawer sticks on the way out once you've just turned it on. It'll jam, then go back to it's "in" position, then I press again and it opens ... but that's a very random issue, comes and goes, and always works upon a second press.

If that's the extent of my worries for my Xbox (called "Mason" :)) for the remainder of my using it, then that's fine by me...

*touches some more wood*

...

*goes to touch his own wood* :D

[Yojimbo]

To be fair, I did have in excess of two years of game time with no real problems, however my machine is definetely out of sorts at this time. I get Error 74 and 79 messages frequently, and now when I actually can load a game only get to play for about three minutes before getting frozen.

I am glad to hear that there are users who do not experience these problems, but I can say that for the amount of cash I had to outlay to get this machine, and the hard drive, and the subsequent games, I am displeased to hear that I am going to have to put out more cash to continue playing.



Certainly there are advantages to having a 360 that make it more attractive to me than switching to a competitors console. But I reasonably expected more than a few years of life out of my machine than what I got. Perhaps this is too much to expect, however, having experienced a playstation 2 that is still working 6 years + after initial purchase (that never ate my games or required extra hardware or repairs to keep going), I wonder if I am just unlucky, or is this machine put together poorly. (I say this as a 360 advocate who is feeling a little hurt right now)

[MinionZombie]

I definitely think that MS skimped on the build quality of the 360, no doubt about it with the amount of problems there have been. It's a larger than normal fail rate, which is undeniable - but there are still plenty of people having no issues at all, or people with one or two and then that's it.

I think cases of multiple consoles are either exagerated, or come down to human error/improper use, or come down to dud refurbs getting sent as replacements.

No doubt MS' next console will be built like a brick sh*thouse.

But didn't the PS2 have it's fair share of hardware problems when it first came out? I remember hearing that somewhere...might be mistaken though.

Aside from the build quality, and having to fork out £50 per year to play online (which I personally don't do anyway), the 360 is the best all round console I say, and it certainly has the variety of games.

[Danny]

i think the rrod needs sorting, but when you get a free replacement in a few days you cant really complain.

[Yojimbo]

i think the rrod needs sorting, but when you get a free replacement in a few days you cant really complain.

My fantasy at this point is that the XBOX manufacturers say, "oops, sorry about that" and ship me a new one. But I have a better likelyhood of winning the lottery at this point I fear.

[Danny]

why?, thats what they did for me.

[MinionZombie]

I requested over the phone that I get my console back, not some refurbed bit of tat that'll break quickly and/or probably have other problems.

I got MY console back, which was nice, the service was really quick, the phone line was generally quite an easy experience, the delivery bloke actually came with my sticker (even though I was told I'd get my sticker in the post, then I'd have to ring up - but clearly I didn't have to).

The delivery bloke wasn't at all surprised it was an Xbox, lol, so there we are ... anyway, it got fixed and returned in 9 days, and like I said, since then it's ran quiter, which is nice.

I just hope it doesn't break again! :eek:

[Yojimbo]

I requested over the phone that I get my console back, not some refurbed bit of tat that'll break quickly and/or probably have other problems.

I got MY console back, which was nice, the service was really quick, the phone line was generally quite an easy experience, the delivery bloke actually came with my sticker (even though I was told I'd get my sticker in the post, then I'd have to ring up - but clearly I didn't have to).

The delivery bloke wasn't at all surprised it was an Xbox, lol, so there we are ... anyway, it got fixed and returned in 9 days, and like I said, since then it's ran quiter, which is nice.

I just hope it doesn't break again! :eek:

Minon, was this on a full red ring, or the one red light/Error 74 or Error 79 thing that I am getting? I surely would like to save myself the expense of a new unit if possible!


why?, thats what they did for me.


Same question as above to Brother Hellsing? Is there still hope for me?

[Exatreides]

I got my 360 on launch day. Still works fine, minus a disk tray error that I get. If i take a disc out of the tray, the bitch refuses to open for quite sometime, until I hit the open button aprox 217 times.

Not 216
Not 218
But 217 times, every time it happens. So I just make sure to keep a disc in it all the time.

[DjfunkmasterG]

You know, it is a frigging shame these consoles suck as much as they do. $300-$400, even $600 for some systems and they die off in two years... F U C K THAT! My PS2 is 6 years old and still kicking, and my Atari 2600... that thing is 27 years old and still working, how can a console I bought 27 years ago still work, yet with all the technological advances today they can't get a friggin XBOX or PoS3 to work longer than 18 months to 2 years.

We as consumers should demand better.

The OP, should check with Microsoft, as there was a recall on some XBOX 360's and this may qualify.


I got my 360 on launch day. Still works fine, minus a disk tray error that I get. If i take a disc out of the tray, the bitch refuses to open for quite sometime, until I hit the open button aprox 217 times.

Not 216
Not 218
But 217 times, every time it happens. So I just make sure to keep a disc in it all the time.


So you have counted how many presses it has taken to open the tray unit.

DAMN, and I thought I had a lot of time to kill. :D

[Danny]

actually dj, over here 360's are like 5 quid cheaper than a wii in some stores.

[DjfunkmasterG]

Whats the difference between a quid and a pound? Just so i can follow... you know us dumb amaericans, we use everything in dollars.

[darth los]

LOL DJ. All that stuff gets me confused as well. We should have a legend at the bottom of the screen.

[capncnut]

Whats the difference between a quid and a pound? Just so i can follow... you know us dumb amaericans, we use everything in dollars.
A quid is a pound. And in GameStation a 2nd hand 360 is £189 whereas a Wii is £179. So ten pounds difference...

[Danny]

Whats the difference between a quid and a pound? Just so i can follow... you know us dumb amaericans, we use everything in dollars.

i think ive had to explain this on here like a dozen times, at least, you guys have some kind of mental block about how simple this is.

dollar=a buck

pound=a quid

[MinionZombie]

No, not red ring, but it was a motherboard problem. There were no error messages, just the colours going all weird and then NO picture at all (and NO sound on my telly, but there was on a mate's, as well as a different lack of picture ... weird).

So it wasn't Red Ring, but it was a total loss of image and sound for me.

That was 9 months after getting the console, and when I got the Xbox, I specifically paid for an extra 2 years cover, because I figured I'd need it. I'd rather spend £50 rather than have to spend twice or thrice that to get it fixed without an extended warranty.

[Yojimbo]

That was 9 months after getting the console, and when I got the Xbox, I specifically paid for an extra 2 years cover, because I figured I'd need it. I'd rather spend £50 rather than have to spend twice or thrice that to get it fixed without an extended warranty.

Wise move there. With hindsight, I should have done the same instead of being such a cheap bastard.

[MinionZombie]

Wise move there. With hindsight, I should have done the same instead of being such a cheap bastard.
I was obsessive about the Xbox before getting it, searching around and seeing what the talk was and weighing things up, and with the talk of hardware problems, I figured I'd be better getting the extended warranty with the increased likelihood of it cocking up.

I've still got just under 2 years left on it therefore with full coverage, so that's at least something...and then I assume beyond that, if I got RROD, I'd still be covered on that extended MS thing, which surely must take into account, and add onto, people's extended warranties.

If it doesn't, that's really low.

[Exatreides]

Red ring of death.. One of the reasons why Several people i know dont buy 360s :(

[CoinReturn]

Red ring of death.. One of the reasons why Several people i know dont buy 360s :(


Tell your friends to quit worrying. The chances of the newer (Falcon) model chipsets failing are extremely low. As long as they don't buy a used 360, they should be fine.