The red flashing lights, and what they mean.

[TVRKing]

Now, I'm pretty sure alot of people already know what the red flashing lights mean, but I'm doing this thread for people who, having just bought a 360, might not.

They are:

FOUR FLASHING RED LIGHTS
Your AV cable has not been detected - Either it hasn't been connected properly, or the cable itself may be faulty.

THREE FLASHING LIGHTS
General hardware failure - Contact Microsoft Support.

TWO FLASHING RED LIGHTS
Overheating. Turn your 360 off, let it cool down and make sure that the ventilation holes are not blocked.

ONE FLASHING RED LIGHT
Hardware failure. A message on your screen will read E64 to E66 (DVD drive error) and E67 to E69 and E79 (Hard drive error). Again, contact Microsoft Support.

 

[Eric.]

In other words, if you see an odd number of lights, just throw the thing out the window and go buy a new one. At least you'll get a decent system when you buy a replacement. I've been given two launch consoles after my first (January 2006 build date) 360 was hit by lightning. That first replacement died after a month.

 

[Touring Mars]

NO FLASHING RED LIGHTS

You don't have an Xbox360 you pillock... j/k




Helpful list, TVRKing 👍

 

[Joey D]

I'm surprised at the number of people that have had problems, I've had my 360 for a year and haven't even had a overheating problem. I think a lot of it comes from the care one takes of it. I have my 360 on a wood base and I used canned air to blow away the dust about every other week, I also give it a rest after a few hours of playing (typically because I need a break as well).

I see people all the time complaining of overheating and when I ask them if they've ever cleaned their 360 they tell me no. It's just like every other electronic device, you have to use care with it.

 

[Dave A]

Sometimes I switch it on and get no lights except the center light in th emidle of the button, no picture, no sound, nothing. But when i switch it back off then back on it works fine. My XB360 has been the poorest quality console I've ever owned, good job theres some good games out or coming out for it.

 

[Digital-Nitrate]

NO FLASHING RED LIGHTS

You don't have an Xbox360 you pillock... j/k

:tup:

I'm surprised at the number of people that have had problems, I've had my 360 for a year and haven't even had a overheating problem. I think a lot of it comes from the care one takes of it. I have my 360 on a wood base and I used canned air to blow away the dust about every other week, I also give it a rest after a few hours of playing (typically because I need a break as well).

I see people all the time complaining of overheating and when I ask them if they've ever cleaned their 360 they tell me no. It's just like every other electronic device, you have to use care with it.

Overheating is but one of many problems that cause the dreaded "Red Ring of Death"...

From the Offices at Daily Tech:

Another Xbox 360 Bites the Dust
Marcus Yam - April 5, 2007 7:13 PM

Two Xbox 360 consoles dead in two weeks

There must be some sort of epidemic spreading through DailyTech, crippling our Xbox 360 consoles one by one. Two weeks ago, Brandon’s Xbox 360 was struck by the notorious Red Ring of Death. Like Brandon, I too was naive about the fragility of my Xbox 360, as I was sure that I wouldn’t have any problems since I kept my console very well ventilated and in an abnormally cold environment (I’m Canadian, and yes, I live in an igloo).

As much as I love games and reporting on them, I really don’t have much time to play. For the hardcore gamer, my Xbox 360 is largely underused, which is why I was in disbelief that my console could be afflicted by a Red Ring of Death. But it happened, and it did so slowly and with telling symptoms – I was just in denial.

It all started weeks ago, while starting up a co-op game of Marvel Ultimate Alliance over Xbox Live, when I noticed some screen corruption. It wasn’t the rainbow checkerboard pattern that Brandon saw, but it was something else. I restarted my console and everything was fine again, and so continued my adventures as a comic hero.

Days after, the console hummed (or screamed, if you have the noisier Hitachi drive) along, providing problem-free sessions of Gears of War and TMNT co-op. The graphical corruption was nearly forgotten, when at a later session of co-op Marvel Ultimate Alliance, the game hard locked. I reset the Xbox 360 and, to my complete horror, the dreaded Red Ring of Death flashed at me. So I turned the machine off and on again, and it loaded the main menu with the Ring of Light green again. By that time, my co-op partner decided to call it a night and so the console went to rest.

The next day, I was curious to see if my Xbox 360 would wake up, and it did. I decided to give it a bit of warm up by playing some game trailers that I downloaded, but it hard locked again at the very end of a video, which I figured was just a software glitch. Yes, I was still in denial, but my confidence in my Xbox 360 was dropping quickly. I then popped in my NIN HD DVD into the add-on since I was writing a story on it, but it didn’t even make it past the main menu before locking up again.

Maybe it’s a video problem, I thought, so I started up the Def Jam Icon demo and made it through half of a fight before the screen blanked out into a series of grey squares. I attempted to power cycle the console once more, but it had enough. Red Ring of Death, it showed me again, this time more convincingly than ever.

Well played Red Ring, well played. So I dialled 1-800-MY-XBOX and jumped through the automated system and smirked when I heard that “three flashing red lights” was actually a troubleshooting option. I actually muttered “Red Ring of Death” to see if the system would understand it, but sadly it wouldn’t. After jumping through a few hoops to disconnect and reconnect various things to and from my Xbox 360, an agent took down my information, gave me a reference number, and apologized for the inconvenience.

I asked the agent if he knew what the odds were of me getting my original console back, as I didn’t want a refurbished one, and actually pointed him to the news of the recent changes to the warranty. He wasn’t aware of any recent changes to the policy, but as soon as he confirmed that Microsoft would be covering shipping costs, then I knew that the new warranty terms were in effect, whether or not he was aware of them.

So here I sit, waiting for my Xbox 360 coffin to arrive so that I can send my console to Texas for repairs. This all had to happen just before the start of a holiday weekend, adding additional wait time and insult to injury.

If it weren’t for Microsoft extended the Xbox 360 warranty from an embarrassing 90 days to one year, I’d be SOL. I’d also be paying shipping costs had Microsoft not made further revisions. I’m satisfied with the ease of getting my RMA process started, though the jury will still be out on that one until my Xbox 360 returns to me.

No matter what Microsoft does to improve its warranty, I will not applaud the company for that. The improvements in customer service are something they are being pressured to do in midst of Xbox 360 consoles dropping like flies.

The real issue here is that the Xbox 360 hardware is terribly, horribly and utterly unreliable. Microsoft beefing up its customer care to better help customers is a clear testament to the fragility of its the hardware.

 

[Joey D]

I still say a lot of it stems from console abuse, if you knock it over or are just plain rough with it, it's going to break. Like I've said time and time again, more people have working 360's then do not, just a few people b***** and moan about it making it seem like the system is bad.

I've had just about every gaming system dating back to the original Nintendo and Sega Genesis and the only system I ever had break down on me was me big PS2, the disk drive froze up and literally exploded a game inside of it, this was back around the time of GT4's release. Was I pissed? Not really, I had used the system every day since I had bought it on it's release in 2000.

Because of one incident do I think PS2's are unreliable? No, not at all. I bought my slim line (more with the thought of putting it in my truck) and I haven't had a problem with it.

I'm seriously sick of people thinking the 360 is a bad system, it's not and most people that own one will tell you that.

 

[Digital-Nitrate]

I'm seriously sick of people thinking the 360 is a bad system, it's not and most people that own one will tell you that.

Much in the same way many people are likely seriously sick of people thinking the only problems with the 360 is due to misuse despite obvious proof that isn't the case.

Just because you personally have not had a problem doesn't mean real serious problems exist, and that many of these problems have nothing to do with misuse.

To suggest otherwise is not only ignorant of the facts, but it is insulting to everyone that has had problems with their XB360 at no fault of their own.

 

[Joey D]

Since you keep refusing to go over to the xbox forums and see how many people are playing trouble free I can't do anything else. A majority of the people that have 360 are experiencing zero problems and if they encounter problems it's typically from them blocking the air vents or letting the system fill up with dust.

I'm not ignorant of the facts either, I know perfectly well what is going on with the 360's. Most of the issues that aren't caused by misuse come from early models of the 360, which Microsoft even said would probably be buggy. All consoles have issues at launch, hell most products are iffy at launch because a large scale test has not been performed on them.

Everyone of your posts I've read suggest you hate the 360 for whatever reason. You somehow think I'm a 360 fanboy (which you accused me of in the GHIII thread), which I'm not, I've clearly stated that the only reason I do not have a PS3 is because I can not afford a $600 system right now. Give it up, the 360 isn't bad, there are no bad current gen systems and try as you might the 360 isn't nearly as unreliable as you are making it out to be.

 

[Dave A]

I can honestly say, of all the consoles I've owned from launch or near launch, the XB360 has been the worst of them, and I got my XB360 a good 6 months or more after launch. It's been sat in it's spot for most of that time and never abused. The problem isn't if the consoles will have issues or not, all consoles will have issues, especially near launch, it how many problems and with how many systems thoes issues are pooping up on. Theres no denying that the 360 is reigning king in that department. Imo the actual hardware and software built into the 360 is a pile of crap, I bought the console for the games, but if it breaks down properly, I'm not replacing it after the warranty is up. I disslike the 360 because of how buggy it's been, but I don't disslike many of the games I own for it.

 

[Digital-Nitrate]

Since you keep refusing to go over to the xbox forums and see how many people are playing trouble free I can't do anything else. A majority of the people that have 360 are experiencing zero problems and if they encounter problems it's typically from them blocking the air vents or letting the system fill up with dust.

I'm not ignorant of the facts either, I know perfectly well what is going on with the 360's. Most of the issues that aren't caused by misuse come from early models of the 360, which Microsoft even said would probably be buggy. All consoles have issues at launch, hell most products are iffy at launch because a large scale test has not been performed on them.

Everyone of your posts I've read suggest you hate the 360 for whatever reason. You somehow think I'm a 360 fanboy (which you accused me of in the GHIII thread), which I'm not, I've clearly stated that the only reason I do not have a PS3 is because I can not afford a $600 system right now. Give it up, the 360 isn't bad, there are no bad current gen systems and try as you might the 360 isn't nearly as unreliable as you are making it out to be.

Too many untruths to even bother with, and if you had really read all my posts you would know most of what you just said is untrue.


I posted actual facts, and from reliable sources with recent problems with their XB360... you chose to react by immediately trying to discredit them.. The only one acting like a fanboy is you. Although predictable considering how most of the time you have reacted in a similar fashion any time anyone even dares point out any problem or criticism over anything related to the XB360.

I personally have nothing against XB360 or Microsoft. In fact, as a long term shareholder of Microsoft, I would like nothing more than for them to succeed in all their endeavors. However, I am not prone to be influenced by these types of bias, as I am much more interested in learning and discussing actual facts, even when they may make companies and products that I support look bad.

For instance, as much as I can appreciate what the PS3 has to offer from a technical standpoint, I have expressed and pointed out several negative issues about Sony and their PS3. Although perhaps some Sony fanboys would also claim I'm being biased because I have some financial stake in Microsoft and not Sony - although I own more Apple stock then Microsoft, so clearly I'm not biased in my investments either.

I am only interested in facts, and discussing them. I wish you would do the same, without also trying to discredit and insult anyone that disagrees with you, espcially when they have real facts that support their point.

 

[Joey D]

You posted from an internet tech blog and you think it's fact. I posted about the GHIII from and internet tech blog and your thought it was garbage. Please explain, if my sources aren't reliable what is it that makes yours?

If I'm a fanboy of anything it's PC gaming, I would rather play games on my computer then on a console any day of the week and I try to get every game I can for the PC and I will only buy it for a console if I have to.

But with the 360, I suggest going to the xbox forums, looking around, and seeing that there a more people that are happily playing with there Xbox then waiting around on a broken one. That right there is strong evidence that their isn't as big of a problem as people make it out to be, if it was a huge problem you'd see millions of threads complaining about a dead xbox.

 

[TVRKing]

Woah lads. I only posted what the red warning lights meant. I didn't want it to turn into a debate about reliable they are.

 

[Digital-Nitrate]

I posted about the GHIII from and internet tech blog and your thought it was garbage.

Where did I say it was garbage? This is the same BS posts you have made in the past. Try as much as you like to exaggerate, misquote, blatantly lie about what I or anyone else that you try and fight with online has said (yes, I know about your history), the facts speak for themselves, and real people are having real problems with their XB360's that have nothing to do with misuse. That's all I have and other have said... nowhere have I ever said all or even the majority of XB360's are pieces of junk.

You jumped in to try and discredit those observations and facts simply on the basis that you and many others you know have not had the same problems - which of course has no barring on the simple fact that many others have.

If you want to start a flame war, please do it in another thread, and leave me out of it.

 

[Joey D]

You claim that the tech blog you posted is fact, I posted a blog concerning the pricing of the GHII song packs from another blog that comes from the director of XBL, Major Nelson. Either they both contain factual information, or they both are based on opinions. One can't be factual and one can't be opinion based. I would tend to lean towards both being more opinion based then fact based, but that's just the way I take it.

I tried to discredit that information because the amount of people having problems with their 360's is low when the ratio of working 360's to broken 360's is compared. The "facts" you tried to use are both bias and wrong, but if you want to believe them go for it, most people would see that that article is opinion based.

 

[Dave A]

There's always been more working consoles than faulty with every significant console made, but the ratio of faulty 360's per 100 units or a similar figure is whats important.

 

[DuckRacer]

I still say a lot of it stems from console abuse, if you knock it over or are just plain rough with it, it's going to break.

Not really. An example is my first 360. I needed more shelf space for my PS2, Xbox, and N64. Because of that, I set my 360 vertical, and it started scratching discs like a blind man with steel wool, and that continued to happen even after I put the console horizontal afterward.

After returning the 360 to Costco and replacing my borked discs of Battlefield 2 and PGR3, I tried setting the 360 vertically again. And guess what, it started making funny noises. Thankfully, those have been my only problems thus far.

You posted from an internet tech blog and you think it's fact. I posted about the GHIII from and internet tech blog and your thought it was garbage. Please explain, if my sources aren't reliable what is it that makes yours?

You claim that the tech blog you posted is fact, I posted a blog concerning the pricing of the GHII song packs from another blog that comes from the director of XBL, Major Nelson. Either they both contain factual information, or they both are based on opinions. One can't be factual and one can't be opinion based. I would tend to lean towards both being more opinion based then fact based, but that's just the way I take it.

Major Nelson also works for MS, and considered a PR mouthpiece. While he's a heck of a lot better than Sony's retarded damage control army (with the exception of Philly Cheesestake and some other guy I can't remember), he gets stuck between a rock and a hard place. I mean, I don't think your higher-ups would like it if you said that the GH2 add-ons are complete microrapements.

And down to the Guitar Hero content itself, I understand that there's licensing fees and that they're interactive... but they shouldn't bundle a good song and 2 so-so songs together, forcing people to buy those so-so songs.

But whatever. If this debate continues I'll print it out and read it while I'm on the crapper. 💡

 

[LaBounti]

My disc drive works 80% of the time. also You cant blame the users for any careless behavior that could lead to system failure. I'm 99% positive all if not most 360 don't treat the system any different than their last. If the build and design quality requires lots of care (like PSP) it is an issue with MS and not the users. I dont think PS3 has these problems wide spread yet because it hasn't seen a majority of warm weather yet. My 360 was loud as heck in the warm summer months but in the cold months it wasn't as bad.

I don't play it much any so that may extend the life.

 

[godzilla_GTR]

oh no i left my 360 on overnight downloading crackdown(been 12hrs and it's at 67% ) and i came back down to check on it and the screen(sitting in the marketplace area) was like a checker board, from about 1/3 down i pressed a button on my controller(either up on the d-pad or a) and it came right? Should i be worried? a few hours after i was playing foraza online and got kicked out of a room(don't no why i was still selecting my car?) and when i got kicked out it froze, but it still made the sounds when i pressed the middle green X.

Anyhelp, advice would be appreciated, and this is probably the 3rd time i have had it sat up vertical if that has anything to do with it...

And it's out of warrenty, dashboard 2.0.4552.0
manafacturer date, 2006/02/04

 

[Joey D]

My god how slow is your internet connection? I think that might be part of the problem.

 

[godzilla_GTR]

ye i know it's pretty crap(nz is one of the slowest in the oecd)

how slow you ask? This slow



it's usually a bit better then that but still...



this is what it usually is

 

[Joey D]

This might be the reason you are having issues with the 360 when it comes to being online. It's extreme lag, the 360 doesn't handle it well. Before I switched to Comcast I was having games freeze on me all the time because the console was thinking faster then the internet and the thing just had an overload.

Come to think of it every now and again I get the same thing happening when I'm playing TD:U and my internet connection slows down.

 

[godzilla_GTR]

ok then, ye well i rank 19% so i'm only beating 19% of the world.
stupid bloody government i pay $58 a month for this aswell

 

[Eric.]

Everyone of your posts I've read suggest you hate the 360 for whatever reason. You somehow think I'm a 360 fanboy (which you accused me of in the GHIII thread), which I'm not, I've clearly stated that the only reason I do not have a PS3 is because I can not afford a $600 system right now. Give it up, the 360 isn't bad, there are no bad current gen systems and try as you might the 360 isn't nearly as unreliable as you are making it out to be.

So, the fact that I'm on my third console is clearly from abuse and misuse, when each one was moved maybe twice a month. That definitely clears up my views of the system of MS's awful "tech" support.

 

[godzilla_GTR]

my connection is downloading crackdown at 2% an hourman this sucks so all up it's gonna take 50hrs, im at 74% after 2 days on and off.

back on topic, i havn't had any problems since, so hopefully it was the connection, and ive never had red lights so it must've been the connection.

 

[G.T]

I'm on my 3rd replacement now. Both of the previous consoles had 3 flashing lights but there were symptoms that were happening before they both appeared. The console would keep freezing on start up (when the Xbox 360 logo appears). After about 5 tries, the red lights appeared consantly.

I was pretty annoyed, actually, because 3 months after the first console was replaced, the exact same thing was happening again!

Touch wood, nothing has gone wrong with the third console for over half a year now..

 

[godzilla_GTR]

oh that sounds good(for me, sorry to hear about your luck), myns only frozen once and that was when i got kicked from from a server online, so it probably wasn't a hardware problem. Thanks for the info.

 

[Joey D]

So, the fact that I'm on my third console is clearly from abuse and misuse, when each one was moved maybe twice a month. That definitely clears up my views of the system of MS's awful "tech" support.

Did you ever clean it out?

 

[CAMAROBOY69]

Just like with any other console especially at launch. PS1, PS2, PS3, xbox, xbox360. There are bad ones and good ones. My girlfriend and I bought our 360s around the same time. Mine failed with the 3 red lights of death after about 4 months. COD3 did not help at all. COD3 had many online problems. My girlfriends is still running strong. We never had a single problem with our original xbox consoles.
My first PS2 never even worked at all. My 2nd one had smoke pour out after about a week. My 3rd one lasted still to this day.
I take care of all my consoles and if they are going to break they will just simply break. Its the same with any electronics in the world. Or anything else in the world. Some things work well some are crap.
The funny part is that I still have my original Genesis and Sega CD and they still work flawless. Those are over 15 years old. That is a well built machine.

 

[Max_DC]

I'm getting my FORTH Xbox360 soon, having over 20 consoles connected and ready to play I can say that Xbox360 is not really a great piece of hardware when it comes to reliability...

Note that I never abuse my consoles, they never run longer than 12 hours in a row, most of the time not even 5 hours and not every day. They are never getting moved, but cleaned regulary and all of them have more than enough room for air circulation. My last Xbox360 worked for like 30 or 40 hours of gameplay, got it 6 weeks ago.

At least we have a law based 2 year warrenty on every electronic product in Germany. In combination with the great support of MS I can live with this problem, but it's kinda poor nevertheless....