An Xbox 360 Story

Alex Yusupov from XboxFocus.com writes:

"So recently I learned the secret behind the towel trick. Most of you already know this one; wrap a large towel or two around your 360, let it overheat and BANG! no more red ring of death. This works because the heat welds something inside, I'm really too stupid to know what, but it welds it and is basically a temporary fix. This was interesting because I had countless people tell me that the towel trick is actually a method to STOP it from overheating. I was just as dumbfounded as you were, because obviously the towel will make it melt in a fiery cesspool of death...somewhat like that."

More story after the link.

[Breakfast]

"Who knew that kicking your Xbox could work so well? I sure as hell didn't."

lol...does he think hes gonna get away with that? The xbox will get its revenge. Im guessing another month, till it burns down his house.

[Xlll]

the grinding noise is the 360 striking some flints together to get that fire started.

[jadenkorri]

your warranty, gone,3 year extended warranty is only for the dreaded rrod...yes the towel trick does fix it, but still a bad thing to do, if there is any external damage, and im sure stomping on top of it and kicking it is gonna due damage, which means when you do send it in, MS is not gonna fix it... I know people who had other problems like you mentioned discs not reading, i know they did the towel trick till they got the rrod, then sent into MS for rrod problems, and luckily the disc was fixed by getting a refurbished one, rather than their original back....which is fine, but external damage is another thing, im sure MS will not fix your xbox...

[BattleAxe]

Anybody who actually tries this has got to be dumb as nails.

[boogeyman999]

I loved that line particularily.

[gonzodamus]

Interesting stuff!

[hokiebonoz]

what idiot thinks it would cool it down?

[etownone]

i have 2 360's, one of which is having problems reading discs now.

i called MS for replacement, but they said disc drive warrenty was only for one year. dammit.
so, i've been trying to get the RROD by doing the "towel trick" till it overheats but the damn thing wont die!! it gets 2 red lights, then powers down, but when i turn it back on, all green again. dammit!!
if If get the RROD, then they will replace my 360 for free.

so anyone got the scoop on how to get the RROD on purpose??

[thekingofMA]

i'd suggest placing the 360 and the power brick on a thick carpet and just letting it sit for a little bit

or else you could put it in a confined space like i stupidly did

[roflcopterattack]

Put it on some carped, wrap it in towels, leave it on for a few nights.

[LevDog]

Trade both your 360s in and Pre Order your MGS4 bundle PS3.. They are going fast

[qwertyuiopasdfghjkl]

Here I thought only the uneducated own XBox 360s. What do I call someone who owns two or more? Brain Dead?

Did someone throw a brick at your head when you were younger?

[tehReaper]

Nah, it was probably just a PS3. It works just like a brick.

[PopEmUp]

Work like a brick but it never break like the 360 lol

[Pain]

Is This a Horror Story?

[Venomous Fire]

I hate the towel trick lol, all it is is a temp fix that harms the 360 in the long run

[ReBurn]

It's already experiencing a general hardware failure. How could it hurt the thing any worse?

[life_sucks244]

good thing i dont have to kick the sh!t out of my ps3 to make it work

[moodymofo]

you may not have to kick your playstation to get it to work but what else will you use to keep your door open

[Xlll]

A copy of splinter cell : bum fights works fine.

[SlyGuy]

I know I can't use my PS3 to keep the front door open...

we know how easily PS3's get stolen!

[Mc Fadge]

I use my power brick ofcourse :D!

[Close_Second]

...if in any other industry their had been such a high failure rate there would have been a partial or full product recall. MS must be credited with being able to prevent such a recall occuring as if there had been one the 360 would have been crucified. You have to wonder how much better the 360 would have done if it had not suffered from the well publicised technical issues.

I for one have never had any issues with my 360 however, its not been switched on for almost half a year - about the same time I got my PS3 as chance would have it. I do have 3 friends with 360's and all of them have had technical issues that required them to make use of their warranty.

[jadenkorri]

ms avoided a recall by paying a fine, and it was a fine directed towards ms knowingly released a faulty product to beat sony/nintendo in the next generation console...it would a been a bad thing to happen if they did a recall of the 360...

[SlyGuy]

...in possible/potential sales.

I for one would have bought a 360 if it weren't for the reliability issues.

[ReBurn]

Microsoft offered to fix the things for free within and beyond the normal warranty period. Since many do break outside of the one year warranty period there's really no reason for a recall. That's why there's no recall.

Do you think you'll see any other manufacturer extend their warranty in this generation to make sure that their customers are taken care of? In past generations other console manufacturers had exceedingly high defect rates on their launch models, and knowingly shipping consoles with cheaply made optical drives. One even had to be sued to take responsibility for the problem and fix broken consoles for free.

[OSIRUSSS]

This is prime example as to why MS will never get my money this Gen. Maybe next Gen if MS wants to stay in the game.

[juuken]

Mine neither.
I was contemplating on getting one but I am not running that risk for one game I want on it.

[Montrealien]

Life is all about risk folks, take a plunge! lol

[clevernickname]

Why do people persist in trying to find half assed workarounds for what is an obviously broken 360? Call Microsoft and send the damn thing in for the warranty repair and be done with it.

Should Microsoft have issued a recall? Yes. Are they ever going to initiate a recall? No. Microsoft will continue to sail along with their RROD warranty program, but let's hope that they've learned their lesson and that their next console -- if there is one -- has none of these problems.

[roflcopterattack]

See, I wrote the article because it was a somewhat funny story, rather than a solution or a "workaround." Believe me, I do not recommend kicking your Xbox at the first sign of error, but if it comes down to it, and it's already dead as hell, there is really no reason not to.

Of course, you don't want to tell Tech Support that you kicked it, haha.

[Max Power]

then you sir are an idiot. you wrap your Xbox in a towel to intentionally get RROD so you can send it in to recieve a new one. Why would you think that restricting it to breath and to suffocate with its own extreme heat would "weld something inside to get rid of RROD" Sorry if it seems that i am attacking you but someone has to tell you how dumb that concept is, as i am sure you found out or will soon.

[clevernickname]

Sorry, I misinterpreted the intention of the article. But yeah, kicking your console can never be a good thing, in the long run.

[roflcopterattack]

You're the idiot here, Max. You see, that's only one reason for the towel trick. It also resolders some of the inner workings of the console, resetting something, I'm not sure what. I'm not a tech whiz. But everybody knows that the towel trick IS a temporary fix for certain issues.

[Max Power]

i didn't know weak heat sinks can be fixed by more heat (i do understand that it might not be over heating problem that you are trying to fix but still if my xbox is having difficulty reading a disc i don't think oh man some of the soldering must be f*cked up so let me heat it up ,heat up a console which is known to die from over heating, and it will read a disc afterwards.) And to be honest your article was the first time i have ever heard that the towel scheme was a temp fix to anything, i have only heard (and this is common sense) that it would cause the Xbox to over heat and kill your machine so you can send it back in an get a new one.

[Angelitos]

Good thing I primarily use the PS3.

[Organic_Chemistry]

I dont see why anyone would spend money on anything that unreliable. You would never buy an unreliable car, house, HMO, fridge,tools, condoms etc. How are people content with such unreliability?

[juuken]

Lol, that towel trick has got to be THE dumbest thing eva.

[OJ_juice]

This is pretty funny

[Imallvol7]

I am so glad my 360 seems to have no problems. I do have a newer one though (bought in Sept 07).

[EnforcerOfTheTruth]

Xbots keep your towels ready if you wanna continue playing lololol

[Defectiv3_Detectiv3]

Out of all my friends I'm like the only one who bought PS3 instead of 360, and out of all my friends I'm the only one who hasn't had their console break down. The only person I know w/ a 360 who hasnt had RROD is my bro in law, and that's because he never plays the thing.

They estimate that RROD affects 16% of consoles, in my experience it has been a lot higher. I think that there are a lot of people who barely play their 360, but if they did it would get RROD.

Wii and PS3 both have less then 1% failure rates. A PS3 even has an internal power source and it doesn't get nearly as hot and the fan doesn't sound like a turbine.

And what kind of a moron would think bundling your console up in a bunch of towels would actually cool it down!

[MANTIIS]

That's hilarious, man. I have a friend that was bragging too, talking smugly about how "his system was a launch console, and I've never had any problems." These are people who think Halo (series) is the greatest game in the world (as if it were the only game they know). I told him that the only reason the console hasn't RROD'd is because he doesn't play it that much. I noticed that he was having people come over to his house and have marathon of co-op Army of Two, Halo 3...etc. I knew it was a matter of time, as his game time started increasing. Sure enough the piece of crap died a couple weeks ago, and he is still waiting for his refurb. Fool still refuses to get a PS3. I warned him that all MS does with their warranty/repair program is rotate defective inventory, and that his refurb will eventually die, too. He won't listen. Its okay I will enjoy laughing at him again.

[Defectiv3_Detectiv3]

Yeah, I know, I can always tell when someone has no taste because they claim that either Halo or GTA are the best games ever.

But seriously, I keep my PS3 on 24/7. I let folding@home run for days and it goes into powersave mode. I have a launch console and it still works perfectly fine.

And a 16% defect rate is unheard of for a console! If it's not less than 1% there is something seriously wrong going on.

[LevDog]

I got a story.. My PS3 works fine.. The End

[qwertyuiopasdfghjkl]

The ring was destroyed. PS3 still working. The End.

[qwertyuiopasdfghjkl]

360's break, stupid people own them. Tell me something I don't know. Useless ******* article.

*PS: The phrase "hit the jump"(and all other forms) are being vastly overused and it's starting to get annoying. I can see the next paragraph, its less than an inch below this one, theres no need to tell me, "hey, the next paragraph is coming up, look down!"

-SS

[roflcopterattack]

You can't see the next paragraph. And you're an all around dipshit so I'm not gonna dignify the rest of your comment with a reply.

[qwertyuiopasdfghjkl]

See Title Above. Hit the Jump for more.

Only the uneducated own an XBox 360.

-SS

[roflcopterattack]

Right. The link takes you to the full story, however on the site it is posted as a news story, so it makes perfect sense, retard. And it's "Xbox."

Furthermore, only a true idiot would hate a console the way you do. Every console has their pluses and minuses. The 360 has the best library of games, the Wii is the most innovative, and the PS3 shows the most potential in the long-run.

Bang bang.

[qwertyuiopasdfghjkl]

Let's get a few things straight. I don't hate the 360.

I hate Microsoft. I have every right to hate Microsoft, along with their evil, half-assed, money grubbing products and devious schemes.

In the grand scale of things, I look at a companies overall view towards any of its products. Every company seeks to produce something that makes them money, but at the same time produce something that is beneficial to the consumer. What I look for is tell tale signs that the company outweighed the "Making Money" part, and the "Consumer Benefits" part.

With that said, I've taking a good hard look at the Zune, the Xbox 360, and Windows Vista... Each one seems to be heavily balanced on the "Making Money" part, with little support and benefits left for the consumer. The equivalent of each being that of an "As Seen On TV" super knife.

So when tallying a consoles Pluses and Minuses, don't forget the 360 automatically gets a 0. Simply because it doesn't work.

-SS

[yanikins111]

.

[tehReaper]

SilentShank

Are you a hippy? The crap you're talking about is very similar to that of a hippy.

Sure, Microsoft is a shady company. But isn't Sony as well? Sony will tell you ANYTHING to get you to buy their products. They hardly ever back what they say up and when they do, it's years later from when they originally said something.

Your problem is that you look at companies before you look at anything else. Sure, it's nice to know the track record of past activities and products, but it's also nice to experience it first hand for yourself. To me, nothing can beat a relaxing day of playing different games with my friends on Xbox LIVE.

Windows, aside from Vista, generalized personal Home PCs. It's a user-friendly interface that anyone can learn. There are hiccups in the software, but there are always hiccups in any product nowadays. Microsoft did us a favor by developing these operating systems and made money in the process(which every company strives to be successful in, making money).

If you really think Sony is an innocent sheep and Microsoft is a hungry wolf, you're naive. Every company works the same, and if you had any experience in business, you would know this. Microsoft has made a lot of mistakes in the past, but they have also brought a lot of good things to the table. No company is perfect, don't judge the Xbox 360 because of its company, judge it by the gaming experience it provides.

If you got the RROD in the past, give the 360 a second chance. The newer consoles are pretty reliable. So yeah, don't condemn something just because of one batch of sour apples.

[roflcopterattack]

Demon here is right. And did we all forget about Sony installing spyware on our PCs via their CDs? You know, to prevent us from ripping stuff. But apparently that's not corrupt right there at all.

[SKUD]

Never had to kick my X360 but I've have done the towel trick many times with success!. Only a temp fix though.

[ShiftyLookingCow]

its hilarious to read of people who think that wrapping a towel around a 360 cools it. They should be from a different Universe.

[qwertyuiopasdfghjkl]

Is just that, a trick. My 360 would work for 5 minutes when I tried this a year ago.

[Bucky Sligo]

"360's break, stupid people own them"

So you are stupid then?

[qwertyuiopasdfghjkl]

I don't own a 360. "Only stupid people do*." The key word there is "DO". Meaning at this moment they have one sitting in their house. A naive Shank bought one over a year and a half ago. Luckily I wised up and pawned off that piece of crud.

-SS

[Kleptic]

the 360 is AWESOME at reliability...

[MANTIIS]

The heat caused by the towel resolders your broken pin connectors of the GPU to the motherboard. As soon as you turn it off, the connections break again and you get the ring next time you turn it on...until you do the towel trick again. Keep doing this, and your 360 will eventually die, never to turn on again. I know from experience. Bad experience. Its comforting to know that when I play my PS3, I don't have to worry about it unexpectantly dying on any given day. Another reason 360's a joke.

[bomberman447]

i wish mine had fixed itself when it threw up the rrod, but i never did try the towel trick.

[n00bPwner]

How the f*ck is this news to anyone?

[Thoas]

That your console is poorly made.

[Thoas]

I dont see any of them chiming in on there dead consoles that RROD's 4 times in 6 months. Xbots come out of hiding and try to defend your 33% failure rate Crapbox 360. Xbox 360 FTL!

[tehReaper]

I've had an elite for a long time, and it rarely gets hot. It has never froze on me, nor has it ever had a RROD. If it does RROD, I'll just send it in for FREE repairs, and just play the Wii or PS3 until it gets back.

PS3 fanboys making mountains out of molehills again.

And sorry, but unlike droids, most 360 owners have lives. We can't be here at 4 in the morning defending against retarded droids spouting stupidity. I'm unfortunate enough to have a computer at work(I work midnights), thus exposing myself to it if I decide to get on N4G.

[Mu5afir]

VOIDS your warranty.

[darkdoom3000]

Im still shocked that the towel trick actually works(well. kinda).

If I had a 360, that F***ed up, and someone told me to do this, I would think they need to go to a nut house.

ah, well. looks like, sometimes you can belive things on the net.

[Crazyglues]

But the console seems to be fine... I hope it doesn't turn out to be more serious. I've been getting that ever since I started playing COD4.

So if it has not messed up by now- ( over 5 months now) I think it will probably be fine. but who really knows.

[roflcopterattack]

Mine has actually been getting the disc error for a few months before it crashed.

[etownone]

advice for both of you.

if your getting disc read errors, and its still in warrenty within a year, MS will replace it for free.

I've sent my xbox to get replaced and it takes about 10 days. from time you get the box till you receive it back.

[Ali_The_Brit]

It is DISGRACEFULL that people have to resort to wrapping there consoles in towels and such just to get them to work. thats why i love my PS3

[GroovyMcCool]

of wrapping some thick towels around your 360 might be that if you're watching a dvd, you'll be able to hear the dialogue over the fan for a change.

[theoneb]

You know what i realized. There is a reason why PS3 cost $600 @ launch

[tojfs7931]

A slow news day. This is old news and everyone knows that Microsoft will replace your RROD'ed 360 free of charge.

[RAM MAGNUMS]

Xbox 360 will break
1.) if you play more than 5 hours a night
2.)if it reads your game wrong & you have to keep ejecting it until it it works
3.) you are having freezing
4.) you keep getting booted from live
5.) the console starts to cough & scream at you for a rest
6.) it onced flashed 3 red rings but you turned it off quickly & turned it back on & it still works
7.) updating your xbox 360 will crash your system. Its not supposed to but they do
8.) placing your console in your entertainment unit will overheat it. The best place to put it varies on you xbox mood. It might work in cold climates but summertime will push that xbox to the limit
9.)if your disc tray is stuck, eventually it will cause your console to fail
10.) moving your console around from room to room or touching the xbox 360 to wipe away dust will break the xbox 360!

The best thing to do if you are broke & can't afford to have a ps3 is to play your xbox 360 in antartica, have someone official from microsoft set up your system, call support each time you download or switch games & time your gameplay to 4 hours a night & give your xbox 360 a rest on weekends!