Author Topic: Forcing red light (Read 3725 times)

TJ Spyke · « **on:** February 05, 2010, 02:51:13 PM »

Is there a way to force a Xbox 360 to get 3 red lights? The disc drive on my system seems to be shot (it will not read any discs, it just says "Open Tray") and I don't want to pay Microsoft $100 to repair it.

BlackNMild2k1 · « **Reply #1 on:** February 05, 2010, 03:48:31 PM »

remove the heat sink and turn it on?

Someone was just talking about this in the Xbox popped my stress ball thread in the Staff Blog section.
check there.

edit:

Quote from: Ymeegod on January 30, 2010, 09:08:21 PM

Yeah, E74 is basically either the GPU or the scaler chip overheated. You should get 2 rings of death but for some reason you get just the 1 meaning hardware failure.

To fix the issues you can fix them yourself 90% of the time. You just remove the GPU's fan; restart the console--you'll get the 2 rings then which means overheating; reinstall the fan and use LOTS of thermal paste; and then buy an Ram heatsink and chop it to fit on the scaler chip; install it and add a bit of weight on it (people use stacks of pennies--I used cast iron bits). Once you restart the system it should be fine.

There's plenty of youtube files to help you. I fixed one myself so it's fairly easy.

NWR_DrewMG · « **Reply #2 on:** February 05, 2010, 04:00:07 PM »

I've heard that you can wrap it in a towel and let it run for awhile.

vudu · « **Reply #3 on:** February 05, 2010, 04:03:19 PM »

If you send Microsoft a 360 with a RRD and a busted disc drive won't they fix the RRD but still charge you for the disc drive?

TJ Spyke · « **Reply #4 on:** February 05, 2010, 04:18:26 PM »

A lot of people I have talked to online have said that they did not get the same system they sent to Microsoft. Someone on IGN's Command Prompt Podcast said this happened to them to. They sent their Xbox 360 Pro system in to Microsoft and got sent back a Xbox 360 Arcade instead of just getting their system repaired. I guess the worst thing is that I would just get it back again.

Maybe I will see how much GameStop will charge to fix it.

BranDonk Kong · « **Reply #5 on:** February 05, 2010, 04:22:37 PM »

It depends on the error that you get whether you get your system back or a different one. It's actually pretty easy to fix it yourself, and if it's an older system it's pretty easy to do it "without voiding your warranty." It could be something as simple as a cable that went bad (especially if you get "Open Tray" right when the tray closes and the disc never even tries to spin up), too, I fixed one of these problems yesterday.

Dirk Temporo · « **Reply #6 on:** February 05, 2010, 04:50:18 PM »

Walmart switcheroo gogogo.

TJ Spyke · « **Reply #7 on:** February 05, 2010, 05:44:43 PM »

Dirk, I heard Walmart put an and to that by now checking the serial number on the system when you try and return it.

Brandogg, the system will spin the disc for about 1 second (I can hear it) before giving me the Open Tray message. My system was manufactured in May 2008 (I bought it in August 2008), so the warranty is long gone for anything other than RRoD.

ThePerm · « **Reply #8 on:** February 05, 2010, 06:33:18 PM »

back in the day the wal-mart switcheroo was the best way to replace shitty breaking n64 gamesharks.

I finaly got one that lasted, but then my brother bought me a totally better gameshark pro...so i had two game sharks, but then the gameshark pro broke. By that time they weren't carrying them in stores anymore. Fricken Datel/interact... can't make hardware that doesn't break. My Dex Drive stopped working too, and all my Interact rumble paks!. Oh yeah, and their memory cards suck too!

UncleBob · « **Reply #9 on:** February 05, 2010, 08:16:25 PM »

Thanks for ripping off my employer guys. That's probably why we all get paid so little.

BranDonk Kong · « **Reply #10 on:** February 05, 2010, 10:44:42 PM »

I don't condone the Wal-Mart swap - that's fraud anyway, which is a felony. TJ - before paying someone else to fix it, I suggest searching for eBay for something called "X360 tool" or something like that, as well as "Xbox 360 SATA cable" and "Xbox 360 DVD-ROM power cable" (maybe not exactly those terms). You can use a hair dryer to take the warranty sticker off, then use the tool (there are many tutorials) to pry it open without leaving any marks. Swap the cables (don't take the drive out, just lift up the rear side) and see if that fixes it, if not, then you can go a few different directions, depending on which kind of drive is in your system (it's either a BenQ or a LiteOn).

Dirk Temporo · « **Reply #11 on:** February 06, 2010, 12:59:06 AM »

Quote from: TJ Spyke on February 05, 2010, 05:44:43 PM

Dirk, I heard Walmart put an and to that by now checking the serial number on the system when you try and return it.

That's why you peel off the serial number stickers and switch them.

BranDonk Kong · « **Reply #12 on:** February 06, 2010, 10:13:22 AM »

The stickers don't come off. There is a way to get around this, but again, it's fraud and really shouldn't be discussed here (or anywhere).

Plugabugz · « **Reply #13 on:** February 06, 2010, 01:32:07 PM »

I have a question for generally everyone. Are the "extended warranty" thingies worth it?

BlackNMild2k1 · « **Reply #14 on:** February 06, 2010, 01:51:27 PM »

Doesn't the "extended waranty" allow you to take it back to the store you bought it at and exchange it. Then they send it back to MS and deal with getting it replaced while you are already back at home playing your new system?

BranDonk Kong · « **Reply #15 on:** February 06, 2010, 04:31:08 PM »

It varies store to store, but most of the time (from what I've read) they send it off to a repair center, which will actually void your Microsoft-issued warranty. You can buy an extended warranty from Microsoft (there's a card in the box with the console) if you want to go that route. Either way, store-issued warranties do not deal with Microsoft or it's repair partners.

ThePerm · « **Reply #16 on:** February 06, 2010, 05:04:25 PM »

Unclebob, i don't think what 13 year olds do 12 years ago has any effect on you now, who should be blamed are product makers who don't make products that can't resist wear and tear, and to some extant seem like they are designed to break as soon as their warranty expires(gameshark only had a 90 day warranty) to force you to buy a new one. I wouldn't do that crap now, because there are tracking numbers and stuff now.

http://n-europe.com/news.php?nid=1540

Ymeegod · « **Reply #17 on:** February 06, 2010, 05:18:17 PM »

Actually overheating your system only gives you 2 rings of death. But MS isn't the brightest and if you tell them you had the RROD they don't check and yeah you'll get an refurb unit (not sure why the turn around is so long 8 weeks).

But I really doubt it's just the cables--usually has to deal with the lens/laser not reading right. Sometimes the alignment is off which you can fix yourself but if it's the laser you're better off just replacing the drive.

New drive is around $35-40 and installing it isn't hard but you going have to flash your old drives "key" otherwise you'll brick your system if you just switched drives.

UncleBob · « **Reply #18 on:** February 06, 2010, 07:03:47 PM »

Quote from: ThePerm on February 06, 2010, 05:04:25 PM

Unclebob, i don't think what 13 year olds do 12 years ago has any effect on you now, who should be blamed are product makers who don't make products that can't resist wear and tear, and to some extant seem like they are designed to break as soon as their warranty expires(gameshark only had a 90 day warranty) to force you to buy a new one. I wouldn't do that crap now, because there are tracking numbers and stuff now.

http://n-europe.com/news.php?nid=1540

I don't disagree - product makers who make this crap should be blamed. But I'm not sure why that makes it okay to rip off a retailer. Yes, they sold it - but if they didn't have it in stock, you likely would have went elsewhere to get it anyway and then complained because the first place didn't have it in stock. Blame the manufacturer of the product. Punish them by refusing to buy any more of their junk.

Nick DiMola · « **Reply #19 on:** February 06, 2010, 08:28:53 PM »

Just tell Microsoft you got the red ring, at this point they don't even check anymore. A while back the GPU on mine seemed to die and I called MS all pissed demanding to get my Xbox fixed for free. I eventually got on the phone with a manager who informed me that my machine was actually suffering from a red ring error (wink, wink, nudge, nudge) and that all I had to do is "confirm it" for him by attempting to turn on the system.

So yeah, I'd just call them up, tell them it's a red ring and ship it out. Come to think of it, the same thing just happened to my brother's and he just got it back yesterday with no issue.

TJ Spyke · « **Reply #20 on:** February 06, 2010, 09:28:28 PM »

I'll try that on Monday, it couldn't hurt to at least try it. I wish they were more like Nintendo when it comes to stuff like customer service.

BranDonk Kong · « **Reply #21 on:** February 07, 2010, 11:51:12 AM »

They will test the system, if it boots and it's the drive that doesn't work, they'll ship it back to you unfixed. You can try it, and it's possible they may just send you a refurb, but don't bank on it, I've read lots of times where they just send it back unfixed. Nick - your issue basically is the 3 red lights, which is probably why you got hooked up.

Dirk Temporo · « **Reply #22 on:** February 08, 2010, 02:42:20 AM »

Quote from: Brandogg on February 06, 2010, 10:13:22 AM

The stickers don't come off.

Seeing as I just did it literally a month ago, yes they do.

vudu · « **Reply #23 on:** February 08, 2010, 11:37:53 AM »

I don't like the direction this thread is taking so I'm locking it. I'm also going to contact Microsoft and let them know TJ Spyke's e-mail address so they can be on the lookout for his falsified warranty claim.

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Author Topic: Forcing red light (Read 3725 times)