I recently aquired an XBOX 360 from my brother that wasnt working properly. The warranty was expired and I cant find anyone on the net that will fix it for a reasonable price. It has that 3 red light problem that apparently is so common. My question to you folks is, do any of you know of a place that can make the needed repairs? If not, anyone know of anyone that will buy this thing off of me for parts or something. Thanks in advance.

try the warranty route anyway. M$ may help anyway.

--M

I had the three red lights of death as well. Called up Microsoft and they told me to send it in. Turns out they are extending there warranty out to 1 year.

RED RING of DEATH (sorta like MS's blue screen of death for it's op system )

My son's did the same thing and it was a unit built AFTER the thanksgiving models (big problems with those). Used a CC that extended the warrenty x2. Couldn't find the receipt so went out, got a core unit. If there wasn't so much invested in games/hardware, would have just written it off. Got 2yr extended warranty from Bestbuy this time. Found receipt 2 months later . So, opened up a "event" with my credit card company, then opened up a RMA return with MS. Sent it in. 140.00 later, got it back. Not sure if it's a refurb since it didn't say on the paperwork and the unit was "built" 1 month ago. I have to assume it's new. Got my refund check so I'm back at square one but got a core unit for about 150 bucks (got some discounts from BB due to getting their credit card and using some bonus points). If you got the unit for free, send it in. Get it fixed and you got a system for 140.00. You will want to get a HD (look on ebay). I know people who have gone through 3 in less then 18 months. A game maker fired an employee (pressure from MS no less) because he said these things have a 50% failure rate. These things are the yugo's of game systems and there is just too much online hype to argue otherwise just like I know somewhere out there, someone still has a yugo and it runs .

Mine just crapped out the other day. Got the 3 red lights. Called MS and did the automated troubleshoot. Didn't work. so i spoke with somebody and they were like "Oh great news the warranty was extended, but since the original warranty has expired you have to pay a flat rate of $100 for the repair". I was like "huh? You extended my warranty but I have to pay $100?".

Luckily i had the 2 year warranty from Best Buy when I bought it. I took it back yesterday and got a new one......and bought another 2 year warranty so i'm covered. The customer service guy said they're still coming back somewhat frequently so I don't wanna get caught with my pants down. BUY THE WARRANTY from your retailer! I can't stress that enough! It's a great gaming machine and all and has by far the best game library of the next gen but it's suffering from some QC issues.

Met.. you did the right thing. Betting the extended warranty and having that over the counter exchange from Best Buy is a good investment. I think we paid 30 bucks.. not really sure because we got a bunch of discounts by signing up for a BB credit card, got extra points that were applied to the sale.. People say that getting extended warranties are stupid, but not for the xbox 360. When we were getting our CC, I spied three 360's just sitting on the service desk counter. I asked one of the service people what was up with the xbox's and he said they were what was returned "so far" that day. It was 2pm.. He said they get about at least 1 a day (and thats just from people who got their insurance). But consider yourself lucky. 100.00 for it's repair isn't that bad. I just paid 140.00. And yes, it came with a 1 year warranty.

Actually, I think it was $140 they wnted to charge me.

Wellll, my younger brother made sure I would not be able to go through the good folks at Microsoft. When the thing stopped working, he decided to open it up and see if there might be a mouse or an elephant running around in there making it crap out. In an instant, he voided the warranty. Apparently the techs can tell when they open it up if you have opened it up yourself. If they determine you have done so, you dont get your hundred bucks or so back. Sucks. Guess I have a mighty fine lighted paperweight to find a spot for.

I have one possibility but it will still run you a couple hundred bucks possibly.

I have read that the ring of death is not caused by the hard drive. Therefore, you can keep the hard drive and then get on e-bay and purchase one without the hard drive. I have seen these on there a lot but i forget how much they are running. It a crappy possibility but it might get you out of buying a whole new one. Good luck.

Here's a podcast regarding the three red lights of death I came across today from IGN.com (which I consider to be the best gaming website by far). Haven't had a chance to watch yet.

http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/801/801589p1.html

MS also just extended that warranty again.

http://www.gamespot.com/news/6173633.html?action=conver...g=latestnews;title;0

Yep Met.. you beat me too it. Looks like no only will they reimburse those who have gotten a console fixed, they will fix ANY box up to being 3 years old free of charge, including shipping both ways. Guess all those MS hatters (including me) finally did some good after sending nasty emails about these units.. Now, I got 2 units (1 fixed and 1 new). The one they sent me back was a new unit, not referb'd because the date was like 2 months old.

Thanks MS for standing behind your units and doing the right thing.

http://www.xbox.com/en-US/support/petermooreletter.htm

the crack box warrenty has been extended to 3 years...

as long as you havent opened the crackbox to void that warrenty send it in.

The situation really blows, but there's no beating the 360's library of games.

quote:

Originally posted by metallicatz:
The situation really blows, but there's no beating the 360's library of games.

depending on the rumor of a second price drop for the ps3 near the holidays will decide what system i get out of the two...

I have the Wii. by far...the greatest thing ever made...
I have like a dozen games, and i still play wii sports the most.
=X

I dont know if maybe its just me and my attention span but Wii games have very little replay value most of my friends buy a Wii game play it for about 2-3 weeks and then its back to 360 or PS3 games. I ended up selling my Wii to someone who wanted it badly but couldnt get it because they live in a small town for $150.

To me most of the Wii games are kiddie games. if you look at the forecasted lineup from E3 it's amazing how many of the new games are based on the Mario franchise. I think that's pretty lame. I don't want Wii Sports.....I want Madden 08, NCAA Football 08, NHL2K8, etc. (true sports sims). I don't want dumbed down simplistic games.

It's also worth noting that the Wii has the lowest attach rate of all 3 consoles.....meaning that people are buying Wiis, but not many games with it. It was also revealed at E3 that somwhere in the area of 10% of Wii owners never owned a console before. This means that Nintendo is just blowing alot of smoke about how the Wii is attracting non-gamers from all over the place.

I think Nintendo is just picking up alot of the Sony fans who haven't been able to afford dropping $600 for a PS3.

quote:

Originally posted by metallicatz:
To me most of the Wii games are kiddie games. if you look at the forecasted lineup from E3 it's amazing how many of the new games are based on the Mario franchise. I think that's pretty lame. I don't want Wii Sports.....I want Madden 08, NCAA Football 08, NHL2K8, etc. (true sports sims). I don't want dumbed down simplistic games.

It's also worth noting that the Wii has the lowest attach rate of all 3 consoles.....meaning that people are buying Wiis, but not many games with it. It was also revealed at E3 that somwhere in the area of 10% of Wii owners never owned a console before. This means that Nintendo is just blowing alot of smoke about how the Wii is attracting non-gamers from all over the place.

I think Nintendo is just picking up alot of the Sony fans who haven't been able to afford dropping $600 for a PS3.

Now come on now.. You know you want one.. Plus Wii has been outselling the other systems (games or not) and has been gaining.

Hey, any system that can make you loose weight isn't all that bad.. mario party 8 is not only fun but gets you off the couch and giving you a work out. When we first the got it, the wife suffered from "Wii shoulder" after a few bowling matches . That's the hole point though and YOU hit it dead on. NO OTHER system caters to the younger set other or better then Nintendo. Hands down, no ands, if’s or buts. PS3, Xbox are for the older teens and midlife types. I just picked up "The Outfit" for the 360 at sears for 10 bucks but the son has everything from GTar hero. The system is affordable and did I mention frees up lots of "desk" space because of all the systems it can replace? Granted, it's riding the coat tails of older Nintendo games but that’s the beauty of it, with it's ability to play sega games, (someone told me that dreamcast games might be in the pipe too), graphix games and all the older Nintendo 8bit to current game cube games (I have all the above except for the 8bit system but they are now relocated to the attic, awaiting the yard sale month), that's pretty amazing to me. Heck, my 10 year old just got a (older system) Xbox Starwars game. Had to hook the 360 back up to the net to play it because it wasn't "compatible". Lets get realistic. Sony's system from ps1 to ps3 should play ALL games out of the box. Same as for Xbox but instead of adding the functionality, they cripple it. Not that I'm a hater of Sony but I put them in the same box as xbox (no pun there). There is nothing there that I find innovative. Ok, the sword in Oblivion shows more detail in HD mode. Heck after putting a HD cable on the Wii, it looks outstanding too. I feel Sony cut off it's nose despite it's face but putting out a system that costs more then a good laptop. Is just a upgrade from it's previous model. Xbox is in the same boat. And the killer, buy ignoring a large and lucrative market (those kiddies. Sorry DDR and pad just doesn’t make it a have to have item for a 10 year old). The Wii, IMO is a FAMILY system that has a lot to offer other then just a gaming system and we are just seeing the tip of the iceberg. And if a person can play the FREE cd that comes with the system, 30 minutes a day for 6 weeks and loose almost 10 pounds.. hey, maybe the CPOA should stock a few of these in the barracks..

Nah, the Wii ain't for Mii. I just don't like the games. Yeah, they're selling alot but I think the fad will wear off, kind of like Tickle Me Elmo......especially now that we have a PS3 price drop.

Yeah, nobody catches the kiddie market like Nintendo, but i'm not part of that demographic. And if I want to lose wieght, i'll go to the gym.

I think you're right about shelling these things out to the Chief Corps.

I'll take a 360 and "grown-up" games anyday.

BTW, somewhere in the middle of the marathon paragraph you said;

quote:

I feel Sony cut off it's nose despite it's face

I think you meant cut off it's nose to spite it's face.