Strange Xbox Problem

DubbilexDubbilex Chump Join Date: 2002-11-24 Member: 9799Members
<div class="IPBDescription">...huh? A red light and an error message</div> Well, I seem to have found myself in a wee bit of a quandary. For the first time in two years, my Xbox seems to have broken itself.

I'll start from the beginning: My brother (in addition to a small, 4-year-old child0 were using my Xbox earlier today, playing Metal gear Solid 2. Now, anout 10 minutes ago I was beseeched to come and take a look at my xbox - upon turning it on, I saw that the lights on the front of the console (the lights that indicate status) were red - not orangey-yellow (which would denote the console not being hooked up to the TV), but pure red.

After a few seconds, there is a warning notice screen. it reads (verbatim) as follows:

<!--QuoteBegin-Warning Screen+--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Warning Screen)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Your Xbox requires service.  Please call Xbox Customer Support</b><!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->

Under that small message is the same message in a half dozen other languages.


Anywho, would you all suggest that I get on the phone and go through the process of the waits and the holds and the general wailing and gnashing of teeth of being stuck on a tech support line? But, most importantly, does anybody know what could perhaps be the problem? Could the hard Drive have fried itself? Could some other, equally vital function have ceased?


Anyways, if anybody has any insight please let me know - this includes information about places that I can get it repaired, numbers that I can call (I long ago lost my xbox literature, and have no idea where the customer support number is.) - Just basically anything that anybody could do to help me would be very, very appreciated <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif' /><!--endemo-->


Thanks!

Comments

  • SalvationSalvation Join Date: 2003-11-21 Member: 23300Members
    or buy a new xbox...


    i would take the support route and see where it leads <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif' /><!--endemo-->
  • raz0rraz0r Join Date: 2003-07-24 Member: 18395Members
    it may be just general wear and tear, how much do you use it?
    I wish these things come up with error messages, not:
    'j00r XOBX si teh b0rkd3 OHNOES!11!!!!1, j00 msut pya teh xobx dewds mcuh mnoye ot fxi ti!!11!1'

    other than that, i can't help you.

    P.S. did you contact customer support like it told you to, i'm sure they are much more capable at this kind of thing than i am
    wait a minute, we're talking <i>microsoft</i> here <!--emo&:(--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/sad.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='sad.gif' /><!--endemo-->
  • DubbilexDubbilex Chump Join Date: 2002-11-24 Member: 9799Members
    <!--QuoteBegin-Salvation+May 31 2004, 01:50 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Salvation @ May 31 2004, 01:50 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> or buy a new xbox...


    i would take the support route and see where it leads <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif' /><!--endemo--> <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
    I really don't want to end up paying 150 bucks to fix it, because in that case I'd just get a brandy-new one with the nice two free games for less.

    But I'll try to search around xbox.com for the support number. I'm not loooking forward to having to waste my time with this crap tonight, but what else can a guy do?

    keep the help rollin' through!



    HAAAALLLLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO <!--emo&:(--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/sad.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='sad.gif' /><!--endemo-->
  • MulletMullet Join Date: 2003-04-28 Member: 15910Members, Constellation
    This happend to my friend while we were playing halo once...All we did was kick it and restarted it, then it worked.
  • DubbilexDubbilex Chump Join Date: 2002-11-24 Member: 9799Members
    <!--QuoteBegin-raz0r+May 31 2004, 01:53 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (raz0r @ May 31 2004, 01:53 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> it may be just general wear and tear, how much do you use it?
    I wish these things come up with error messages, not:
    'j00r XOBX si teh b0rkd3 OHNOES!11!!!!1, j00 msut pya teh xobx dewds mcuh mnoye ot fxi ti!!11!1'

    other than that, i can't help you.

    P.S. did you contact customer support like it told you to, i'm sure they are much more capable at this kind of thing than i am
    wait a minute, we're talking <i>microsoft</i> here <!--emo&:(--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/sad.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='sad.gif' /><!--endemo--> <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
    I've had it for a few years (basically since December 2002) and have used it on-and-off. I only actually own two games for it, because I'm too lazy to get others.

    So no - I haven't really used it very often at all - just for Halo, basically. Why the hell do they een bother calling them "X-Box"es anyways? Crap - I just call mine "Halo" nowadays. <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif' /><!--endemo-->
  • DubbilexDubbilex Chump Join Date: 2002-11-24 Member: 9799Members
    <!--QuoteBegin-Mullet+May 31 2004, 01:54 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Mullet @ May 31 2004, 01:54 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> This happend to my friend while we were playing halo once...All we did was kick it and restarted it, then it worked. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
    Well uhh....ah why not. what can it hurt <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif' /><!--endemo-->

    But we'll just keep this on the Dee-El in case I ever call the support line. I doubt I'd get much sympathy after telling them I kicked it. <!--emo&::nerdy::--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/nerd.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='nerd.gif' /><!--endemo-->
  • R_A_CR_A_C Join Date: 2003-05-13 Member: 16273Members
    DId you buy any kind of warranty for it? if so, I heard the warranty was good for 2 years so you should be able to just trade it in for a new one. My freind is on his third X-box now and he only had to buy the first one. They'll replace free for whatever reason.
  • DubbilexDubbilex Chump Join Date: 2002-11-24 Member: 9799Members
    <!--QuoteBegin-R A C+May 31 2004, 02:05 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (R A C @ May 31 2004, 02:05 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> DId you buy any kind of warranty for it? if so, I heard the warranty was good for 2 years so you should be able to just trade it in for a new one. My freind is on his third X-box now and he only had to buy the first one. They'll replace free for whatever reason. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
    Unfortunately, I just bought it from, I believe, Best Buy. So unless it comes with a stock out-of-the-box warranty, the answer to that is a big negative <!--emo&:(--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/sad.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='sad.gif' /><!--endemo-->
  • A_Boojum_SnarkA_Boojum_Snark Join Date: 2003-09-07 Member: 20628Members
    <!--QuoteBegin-http://www.xbox-scene.com/articles/leds.php+--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (http://www.xbox-scene.com/articles/leds.php)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->SOLID RED:
    System overheated , hardware failure , ...<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->

    You sir, have a big problem it seems <!--emo&:(--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/sad.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='sad.gif' /><!--endemo-->
  • HumanoidBetaHumanoidBeta Join Date: 2004-03-15 Member: 27342Members
    READ THE MANUAL!!!! The first xbox I had would turn on, then off, on, then off, on... then boot up and just freeze, with the light flashing from red to green. The MANUAL said that this means it isn't proporly connected to the TV, which it was. So I took it in and it was apperently defective. My new one works fine thought =) Anyway, moral is READ THE MANUAL IT TELLS YOU WHY IT DOES THIS AND HOW TO FIX IT!!!!!!
  • 343_guilty_spark343_guilty_spark Join Date: 2003-06-18 Member: 17462Members
    This happened to me about 2 weeks ago, turns out my disk drive and mother board were dead. I heavily suggest you send it in for repairs as you have the old disk drive in your xbox which are well known for damaging disks and not reading them plus your xbox is quiet loud i presume. It cost around £80 to repair it however i said mine was still on waranty (2 years old like yours) and they believed me so you shouldnt have much trouble.

    Contact number i used is: 0800 587 1102 hope this help.

    There isnt much you can do just phone them up and say it has warranty still.
  • ZigZig ...I am Captain Planet&#33; Join Date: 2002-10-23 Member: 1576Members
    <!--QuoteBegin-Dubbilex+May 31 2004, 10:56 AM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Dubbilex @ May 31 2004, 10:56 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> Why the hell do they een bother calling them "X-Box"es anyways? Crap - I just call mine "Halo" nowadays. <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif' /><!--endemo--> <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
    yeah, honestly lol
  • Amped1Amped1 Join Date: 2003-02-08 Member: 13287Members
    [Fanboy]The solution is clear. Sell your XBox to a small child whom you have never met before in your life. Then use the money to buy a superior PS2[/fanboy]

    Ok but to be serious your best bet would be to find out maintenance costs and then choose buying a new XBox or getting it repaired depending on cost.
  • DubbilexDubbilex Chump Join Date: 2002-11-24 Member: 9799Members
    <!--QuoteBegin-A Boojum Snark+May 31 2004, 02:46 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (A Boojum Snark @ May 31 2004, 02:46 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--><!--QuoteBegin-http://www.xbox-scene.com/articles/leds.php+--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (http://www.xbox-scene.com/articles/leds.php)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->SOLID RED:
    System overheated , hardware failure , ...<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->

    You sir, have a big problem it seems <!--emo&:(--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/sad.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='sad.gif' /><!--endemo--><!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
    Thanks, ABS - I appreciate it mightily :-D

    <!--QuoteBegin-HumanoidBeta @ May 31 2004+ 03:53 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (HumanoidBeta @ May 31 2004 @ 03:53 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->  READ THE MANUAL!!!! The first xbox I had would turn on, then off, on, then off, on... then boot up and just freeze, with the light flashing from red to green. The MANUAL said that this means it isn't proporly connected to the TV, which it was. So I took it in and it was apperently defective. My new one works fine thought =) Anyway, moral is READ THE MANUAL IT TELLS YOU WHY IT DOES THIS AND HOW TO FIX IT!!!!!!<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->

    I happened to lose my manual probably a year or two ago. I never really thought I'd need it, so I never really cared to keep it in a safe place. But I think the site that ABS found solves it, pretty much.

    <!--QuoteBegin-343_guilty_spark @ May 31 2004+ 04:08 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (343_guilty_spark @ May 31 2004 @ 04:08 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->  This happened to me about 2 weeks ago, turns out my disk drive and mother board were dead. I heavily suggest you send it in for repairs as you have the old disk drive in your xbox which are well known for damaging disks and not reading them plus your xbox is quiet loud i presume. It cost around ?80 to repair it however i said mine was still on waranty (2 years old like yours) and they believed me so you shouldnt have much trouble.

    Contact number i used is: 0800 587 1102 hope this help.

    There isnt much you can do just phone them up and say it has warranty still.<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->

    Ugh - it would be much easier just to buy an entire new console. 80 GBP is what...120-140 american dollars? Thanks for the number, by the way. I shall call when the need arises. :-)

    <span style='font-size:27pt;line-height:100%'><b>WELL...</b></span>

    As it turns out, I think Mullet's decidedly atavistic solution might have done it. I kicked it a few times, let it sit for a good hour, and then came back. This time when i turned it on, it worked once again. I played a bit of halo to test it out and sure enough, it seems to be fine now <!--emo&::nerdy::--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/nerd.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='nerd.gif' /><!--endemo-->

    Perhaps this'll happen again - in which case I'll likely be back here crying and begging for help. But if it does, at least i have some experience with this now.

    Lastly, my profuse thanks go out to anybody who posted in here - I really appreciate the anecdotes and quips. And I'd like to especially thank 343_guilty_spark for supplying me with the nice number to call in case this ever happens again <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif' /><!--endemo-->

    So this is Dubbilex - signing off.
  • DOOManiacDOOManiac Worst. Critic. Ever. Join Date: 2002-04-17 Member: 462Members, NS1 Playtester
    $20 the 4 year old shoved paper into the dvd-rom drive.

    That's why my friend's floppy drive on his 286 broke. Twice.
  • AlignAlign Remain Calm Join Date: 2002-11-02 Member: 5216Forum Moderators, Constellation
    <!--QuoteBegin-Dubbilex+Jun 1 2004, 12:23 AM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Dubbilex @ Jun 1 2004, 12:23 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> As it turns out, I think Mullet's decidedly atavistic solution might have done it. I kicked it a few times, let it sit for a good hour, and then came back. This time when i turned it on, it worked once again. I played a bit of halo to test it out and sure enough, it seems to be fine now <!--emo&::nerdy::--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/nerd.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='nerd.gif' /><!--endemo--> <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
    Haha, as soon as I read mullets post about that I just knew that was going to be the thing that fixed it <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' /><!--endemo-->
  • TommyVercettiTommyVercetti Join Date: 2003-02-10 Member: 13390Members, Constellation, Reinforced - Shadow
    Kicking and duct tape can fix anything.

    My Xbox got b0rked a year after I got it - any game except Halo would constantly freeze while loading levels (this got more than a few inhuman screams of terror from me after long PSO sessions). So I sent it for repairs, apparently it was a hard drive issue. Had to fork them another $90 to replace it. Unlike you, however, I like my Xbox and play more than Halo on it. PC still takes most of my time, though.
  • BadKarmaBadKarma The Advanced Literature monsters burned my house and gave me a 7 Join Date: 2002-11-12 Member: 8260Members
    Ok, i dont know a damn thing about computers and such, but I do know a bit about fixing stuff. If the red light indicates overheating, check the fan (i assume this thing has a cooling fan), it might be clogged or partially blocked by dirt and dust. If you kicked it and then it worked, the jolt might have disloged some of the crud.
  • UltimaGeckoUltimaGecko hates endnotes Join Date: 2003-05-14 Member: 16320Members
    Mine has done this too, I just beat it back to its senses - works everytime.

    ...In fact, ESPN NFL Football gives me a dirty disc error during the middle of games, I just pick up the Xbox and drop it and then it finish loading like it was supposed to... It doesn't want to incur my wraith!

    The only real problem I have with it, is that DVDs skip sometimes...and not all DVDs...it's irratic. Sometimes a new DVD wont work, sometimes one beat to hell and back will work. My Halo disc is practically FUBARed but it pretty much always worked.

    On another note, Morrowind (if only I had had a computer that was capable of running it back then) decided not to work quite often, but now it works everytime I put it in.

    I think the Xbox runs on sucking spirits out of people, instead of electronics, because it is just whacked out with it's let's work/let's not stuff going on...for me at least. For reference: my Xbox has the crappy DVD-Rom drive and is from a month after launch December 28th, 2001 <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif' /><!--endemo--> ...so...everyone's Xbox should work fine <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif' /><!--endemo--> .

    [note that beating the console doesn't always work. Punching is far more effective than kicking, since kicking can break the console...like I did with my NES...but that thing barely worked anyway...and I think it still might.]
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