360 hard locks after 2-3 min ... what to do

I

icetrey47

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jun 3, 2006
Messages
163
I'm trying to decide what to do with my current 360 situation ... any advice is greatly appreciated. I got this thing this past Christmas (Dec. 06), and over the course of time it crashed more and more in games, to the point where it is now. It doesn't matter what you're doing ... maybe just sitting at the dashboard, maybe in a game, no matter what, after a few minutes the whole thing just freezes. One time I even got the red lights when I power-cycled it, but it usually will just restart and then lock up again after a few minutes.

Obviously I could call MS and get them to "fix" it, but I'm not very confident in what I have to look forward to after I do that. It seems most people have horrible experiences in which their 2nd unit breaks after a few months, and maybe even their 3rd too. Is it even worth me trying to get MS involved?

The only legit option I can come up with would be to bring it to Gamestop and trade it in for a PS3 (I think they told me $240 on trade-in), or hold on to it and trade it up for a 360 Elite whenever it comes out.

The unit came from Target, but it was purchased almost 2 months before Christmas and Target doesn't want anything to do with it. Walmart doesn't either, tried the classic no-receipt trick with them and they basically told me to go play in the traffic.

I guess my question is, should I just RMA it and hope for the best, or should I try and salvage whatever I can and just move on?
 
That's a pretty tough thing to give advice on, If you are interested in trading it in for something else that one may have less risk if you are able to do it but if your really happy with your current games you man not dig the selection on other consoles. Also it is very possible the refurbished unit will give you issues as I know my own did.

You could trade it in then rebuy your xbox when a new must have game comes out like mass effect or something. MS should have the kinks worked out by then hopefully.
 
Yeah ... to be perfectly honest, there's nothing for the 360 that I can't get on the PS3 right now. I've played Gears of War and beat it on every difficulty, played Lost Planet ... my 360 has just been collecting dust aside from the fact that it crapped out. I was hoping to play Blue Dragon and Eternal Sonata, but by the time they're out, so will be the 360 Elite.

I doubt I'd get anymore than $240 on a trade towards a 360 Elite if I waited till then anyways, so I guess the question is whether or not it's worth having a PS3.

That's going off-topic though, I'm really just trying to find out if it's a wise decision to bother with MS on a repair ... if I'm just going to get another broken console then I'm just going to quit while I'm ahead.
 
You were talking about trading it in for a PS3. Are you wanting to just not have one anymore and trade all your games also or just keep your stuff and pick up a new/different 360 system later? I called my local EB and they said trade in for a 360 is $190 (I assume you got to $240 with some games and/or accessories) and the refurb fee for a broken system is $100.

Either way I would tell you to have MicroSoft fix it. Your not going to be out anything but time either way. If you trade it in and they see it's broken you're only going to get $90 for it. If you send it to MS for the fix and trade in after they return it to you, then you get the full $190. So you might as well have them fix it just for the guaranteed $100 bump in credit. If you keep it then they will still be fixing it for free and you'll just be out shipping/repair time if it happens again. Or do the $190 trade thing for an Elite or a newer model sometime later.
 
I say send it in to MS. They pay shipping and everything. You should also see your new one within 10 days.
 
The $240 is for the 360 console, 1 wireless controller, and 1 20gb HDD. I guess I should have specified that. How long will Gamestop test it before they decide whether or not it's acceptible? If they just power it on and see the dashboard will they turn it back off and say ok? Or do they actually pop a game in and play with it for a bit? I guess I'd be taking a risk, but I'm fairly confident it would work long enough to pass their test.

I do have a handful of games that would go with it, plus my 10% discount card, so the trade-in would most likely cover half the cost of the PS3.
 
If you think think it will work for 10 minutes at least (probably closer to 2-3, depends on the employee), then I suspect you could trade it in and not have any problems. Karmically speaking, you'd be knowingly screwing the next person that buys your machine, but that's a decision you'd have to make. Although they will be in the return window so they can just return it when they find out it's hosed. Still a judgement call with whatever you're comfortable with.
 
theNoid said:
You have a 1 year warranty, why would you not return it ? :confused:
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I'm just worried that I'm going to go through the trouble of returning it, only to be in the same situation all over again (receive a defective 2nd unit) ... maybe the defect wouldn't show up for a few months, and by that time, the current non-elite 360s will have decreased in value.
 
icetrey47 said:
Yeah ... to be perfectly honest, there's nothing for the 360 that I can't get on the PS3 right now. I've played Gears of War and beat it on every difficulty, played Lost Planet ... my 360 has just been collecting dust aside from the fact that it crapped out. I was hoping to play Blue Dragon and Eternal Sonata, but by the time they're out, so will be the 360 Elite.

I doubt I'd get anymore than $240 on a trade towards a 360 Elite if I waited till then anyways, so I guess the question is whether or not it's worth having a PS3.

That's going off-topic though, I'm really just trying to find out if it's a wise decision to bother with MS on a repair ... if I'm just going to get another broken console then I'm just going to quit while I'm ahead.
Click to expand...


iirc Microsoft is now covering the costs for shipping both ways.If you send in your unit, you get the same unit back. (obviously repaired) I can't speak from first hand experience since this change took place, but it's either sell your 360 or take your chances with Microsoft.Honestly, I think you should send it in and see what happens.If it breaks more then 4 times.Demand a new unit.(interesting to see if you could pull it off)
 
Isn't it a bit unethical to trade in something you know is broken? that's kind of dirty IMO.. i would say have it fixed by Microsoft.. and then trade it in.. you want.. but don't trade in a broken 360... that's just douche bagery IMO..
 
If I thought I was getting a brand new unit back, I'd do it for sure. I absolutely refuse to go through the hassle of 4 broken units just to hope that one day I'll actually receive a new one. This is exactly what I'm talking about. You make it seem like there's a really good chance that my 2nd unit will fail as well.

The fact that I'm in this situation to begin with is what makes me want to just get rid of the 360 completely. I'm surprised there isn't some kind of class-action lawsuit against MS for selling defective products.
 
icetrey47 said:
I'm trying to decide what to do with my current 360 situation ... any advice is greatly appreciated. I got this thing this past Christmas (Dec. 06), and over the course of time it crashed more and more in games, to the point where it is now. It doesn't matter what you're doing ... maybe just sitting at the dashboard, maybe in a game, no matter what, after a few minutes the whole thing just freezes. One time I even got the red lights when I power-cycled it, but it usually will just restart and then lock up again after a few minutes.

Obviously I could call MS and get them to "fix" it, but I'm not very confident in what I have to look forward to after I do that. It seems most people have horrible experiences in which their 2nd unit breaks after a few months, and maybe even their 3rd too. Is it even worth me trying to get MS involved?

The only legit option I can come up with would be to bring it to Gamestop and trade it in for a PS3 (I think they told me $240 on trade-in), or hold on to it and trade it up for a 360 Elite whenever it comes out.

The unit came from Target, but it was purchased almost 2 months before Christmas and Target doesn't want anything to do with it. Walmart doesn't either, tried the classic no-receipt trick with them and they basically told me to go play in the traffic.

I guess my question is, should I just RMA it and hope for the best, or should I try and salvage whatever I can and just move on?
Click to expand...

Call Microsoft and have it replaced.

Just a tip, DO NOT solicit advice / give advice on how to scam stores in the forums (no receipt trick). Thanks
 
Steve said:
Call Microsoft and have it replaced.

Just a tip, DO NOT solicit advice / give advice on how to scam stores in the forums (no receipt trick). Thanks
Click to expand...

lol no prob, I called them at lunch and the replacement box is on the way ... I may still sell it when it is returned though, we shall see. Thanks all for the advice.
 
icetrey47 said:
If I thought I was getting a brand new unit back, I'd do it for sure. I absolutely refuse to go through the hassle of 4 broken units just to hope that one day I'll actually receive a new one. This is exactly what I'm talking about. You make it seem like there's a really good chance that my 2nd unit will fail as well.

The fact that I'm in this situation to begin with is what makes me want to just get rid of the 360 completely. I'm surprised there isn't some kind of class-action lawsuit against MS for selling defective products.
Click to expand...

the thing is.. you're basing this on anecdotal evidence.. obviously the one's who have problems with MS's replacement are the one's that will speak out the loudest.. so there is an element of percieved problems on replacement units...

is there really any hard data out there that say's "the majority of replacements MS sends out are always defective?"

most people who recieve a working replacement aren't gonna go on to forums talking about it.. where as.. people who got defective units are more likely to go on forums and start bitching about microsoft.. i'm not saying microsfot is perfect.. i'm sure they are sending out many defective units. but you're making it sound like every unit is defective..
 
My first return with the MS service dept was entirely painless. less than 10 day turn around, got a brand new unit back.

Just thought I'd speak to the positive.
 
RancidWAnnaRIot said:
the thing is.. you're basing this on anecdotal evidence.. obviously the one's who have problems with MS's replacement are the one's that will speak out the loudest.. so there is an element of percieved problems on replacement units...

is there really any hard data out there that say's "the majority of replacements MS sends out are always defective?"

most people who recieve a working replacement aren't gonna go on to forums talking about it.. where as.. people who got defective units are more likely to go on forums and start bitching about microsoft.. i'm not saying microsfot is perfect.. i'm sure they are sending out many defective units. but you're making it sound like every unit is defective..
Click to expand...

While what you say is true, there is a lot of screaming, more so than I have heard in the past about consoles. People shouldn't hate on it, but be cautious.
 
The rep. on the phone told me I'd either be receiving my 360 back, but fixed, or I would receive a working unit (not new). I think the chances are slim to none that I'll receive a new unit.

The rep. logged the reason for repair as "Screen Freezing Issue" ... I found it funny that he asked me if the 360 was overheating ... I asked him if he expected me to use a thermometer to answer that question and he started laughing.

I guess all I can hope for is that MS replaces the mobo and internals of my 360 and I get back essentially a new unit in the same shell. Needless to say, I'm not expecting very much from this.
 
I had very similar behavior with mine once. Have you tried disconnecting ALL cables, peripherals, etc (including the hard drive!)? I know that sounds like a stupid read-by-numbers level zero support response, but it did actually fix my similar problem and I've been fine ever since.
 
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