Xbox 360 technical problems

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Since its release the Xbox 360 has had technical problems, including occurrences of total failure, i.e., the unit becomes completely unusable, which gamers have speculated that Microsoft rushing the system out for Winter 2005 sales without proper testing was the main reason behind it. Microsoft has stated that the overall return rate (i.e., the failure rate) of the Xbox 360 is far below the consumer electronics industry average of 3-5%. IGN journalist Matt Casamassina did publish a blog entry on IGN about having to replace his Xbox 360 multiple times.^[1] Many have recently complained of hardware malfunction after playing Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2.^[2]^[3]

1 General hardware failure
2 Diagnosing errors and troubleshooting
3 Overheating
4 Disc recognition issues
5 Fall 2006 update technical issues
6 DRM restrictions and complications
7 Disk Drive Complications
8 References
9 External links

[edit] General hardware failure

An Xbox 360 showing 3 red lights, the "Ring of Death".

When a Microsoft Xbox 360 console experiences a "general hardware failure", on the front of the console three red lights appear, nicknamed the "Ring of Death", "3RL"(Three Red Lights), or "Doom Bug". Another notorious moniker for the problem is the "Red Lights of Death", which derives its name from the Screen of Death (the infamous Windows "Blue Screen of Death"). To date, Microsoft has not commented on the source of the general hardware failure, but many believe it is related to the console overheating or the motherboard PCB warping and flexing due to poor mounting, causing the board to bend away from the CPU and GPU and lose contact with those components. It is also shown if the console is not getting enough power to run certain components, the most affected being the fans. Some people have experienced system failure after updating the firmware of their system through Xbox Live or installing the update through a CD.

[edit] Diagnosing errors and troubleshooting

Photo of the Xbox 360 error screen on a Wal-Mart kiosk

The Xbox 360 will display a "Screen of Death" if the system experiences a serious error. In such instances the user is prompted to contact.Xbox customer support

In the case of certain specific errors the Xbox 360 system will display a diagnostic pattern of red lighting in place of the standard green "Ring of Light" if after 12 hours of no sign of red lights goin away the hardrive is corupted and will need repair. These patterns indicate the following: A screwed up Xbox

Quadrants lit in red	Indicated error	Troubleshooting
4	The A/V cable is either not properly connected to the Xbox 360 system, or is not being detected.^[4]	Check cable and connector.
3	Console is experiencing a hardrive corupt (aka the Ring of Death)	Contact Xbox customer support
2, left	Console is overheating	Turn console off, unplug power supply
1, bottom left	General hardware failure	Contact Xbox customer support	drive

If three red lights are flashing at the same time ("The Ring of Death") a general hardware failure has occurred and the unit needs to be sent to the repair center.^[5]

[edit] Overheating

Because of its high power consumption, the Xbox 360 console poses a moderate risk of overheating if users do not follow the guidelines prescribed by the user manual. Users are advised not to obstruct air flow to the enclosure vents or power supply. Problems associated with overheating include reduced system performance and instability that may result in crashing or hardware failure. Some Xbox 360 owners have even installed custom cooling solutions in their consoles to prevent this from happening.

Microsoft has been working with a Singapore-based company, Chartered Semiconductor, to create new 65-nanometer chips, however due to development issues these chips will be unavailable for manufacturing within the new Xbox 360 'Elite' system. These new chips have reduced power consumption and in turn, run cooler. They will also be cheaper to manufacture than the current 90-nanometer chips. Because the logic design and clock speed will remain unchanged, performance will not be affected.^[6] However, less heat may result in less warping of the printed circuit board, a major cause of hardware failure.

[edit] Disc recognition issues

On rare occasions when a user inserts a game disc the game will not load and a prompt will appear on screen saying "This game can only be played on an Xbox 360" despite the fact that the console is, indeed, an Xbox 360. The error may be accompanied by a short and low buzzing noise. The best way to fix this is to either restart the console, eject the disc and re-insert it or power-cycle the console.

This could, however, be the initial symptoms of a hardware failure. (Note: This problem sometimes arises when no Xbox 360 controller either wired or wireless is connected to the console when loading a disc, or the disk may need cleaning)

Another problem has occurred wherein discs of any type will not be recognized by the reader, and the dashboard will display an "Unplayable Disc" prompt. This is accompanied by a similar buzzing noise from the disc reader, although it affects all media and not just Xbox 360 game discs. This is due to a total failure of the disc-drive; the console itself still functions for Live and Arcade purposes, but discs can not be read, and the drive itself will fail to even spin up or read any discs.

Another error that will pop-up during actual gameplay is "This disc is unreadable", with little indication as to why its unreadable, other than sounds of the drive straining to read the disc.

There have also been reports of certain HD DVD movies (i.e. Children of Men) not being read by the external HD DVD drive. As of April 2, 2007 there is no fix for this problem from Microsoft.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Fall 2006 update technical issues

This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources.
Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. (help, get involved!)
Any material not supported by sources may be challenged and removed at any time. This article has been tagged since April 2007.

The first Fall of 2006 update patch released on November 1, 2006 is known to lock up consoles, rendering them useless. The most obvious issue occurs after the installation of the patch, the console immediately reboots and shows an error message. Usually, the error code, E71, is shown during or directly after the booting animation.

The origin of this problem is not fully understood. Much of the Xbox community believes it was caused by the lack of an installed Summer 2006 update patch.^{[citation needed]}

The problems caused by the first patch range from slow, unstable performance to effectively bricking the system. The latter is the usual result.

In response to the Fall Update error that "bricked" (rendered useless) his console, Mr. Kevin Ray of California has filed a class-action lawsuit against Microsoft in Washington federal court in early December of 2006. The lawsuit seeks $5 million dollars in damages and the free repair of any console bricked by the Fall Update. This will be the second such lawsuit filed against Microsoft, the first having been filed only one year ago in December of 2005, shortly after the 360's launch; that lawsuit was based on the 360's overheating issues, but the case was withdrawn by the plaintiff in March of 2006.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] DRM restrictions and complications

An issue has surfaced regarding Xbox Live downloadable content when users return consoles to Microsoft for in-warranty repair. If a user purchases and downloads DRM-controlled content such as game expansions (e.g. Knights of the Nine for Oblivion), that content is dually licensed: both to the Xbox Live account which downloaded it as well as the console onto which it was originally downloaded. If the Xbox is sent to Microsoft for repairs and is subsequently replaced rather than repaired, only the original Xbox Live account may utilize the downloaded content. This is the situation if one person owns two Xbox 360s, if the console containing the content is stolen, or if a broken box is exchanged at the store from which it was originally purchased. As of March, 2007, Microsoft has yet to address the problem, other than grant Microsoft Point credits in rare circumstances. Unfortunately, content can only be downloaded one time per Xbox Live account, so this is only a partial solution as it requires users to purchase or utilize a separate Xbox Live account and many people are refused the workaround if they are out of warranty or do not have proof of their replacement.^[7]

[edit] Disk Drive Complications

A common problem is when the disk tray jams or struggles to open. This can be caused by the 360's faceplate being loose or not properly secured to the unit.

Tilting or even slightly moving the console when a disk is inside, or having the console on a uneven surface while running can potentially cause the disk inside to become severely scratched. This is a very widespread problem and has rendered many discs unusable. Generally, this is not covered by the warranty.