Gaming 3RROD

[hanman]

so, i finally got around to buying an Xbox 360. i got what i thought was a good deal on eBay for a used Xbox supposedly in perfect working order. it comes in, i hook it up and everything seems fine. i was going through the menus, deleting the former owner's files and such, and when i get ready to insert a game, the video messes up and the Xbox locks up. i turn it off and back on, only to get the infamous 3RROD. after messing with it a while, it came on one time, only to mess up again in the same way. since then, i can't get any video at all; only those 3 damn flashing red LEDs. to make matters worse, i noticed that the warranty sticker is broken, so sending the box to Microsoft is probably not an option. i'm trying to work with the seller on it, but if that doesn't go well, i want to know what are my options? i've seen a few things about fixing 3RROD, but they all seem to have something to do with a specific error, and i'm getting no video at all. anyway, free grog to all who can help.

 

[JKR Firefox]

Your first mistake (and I'm sorry if this sounds saucy) was buying a used 360. The machine is not very reliable and buying one someone has already used and abused was an error on your part. I feel for you, I really do. There are ways to fix the 360 but they won't be permanent and the issue may return again at any time. I think you should take the issue up with eBay as I assume he told you the Xbox was in full working order and if that was the case he lied. That should be grounds enough to get your money refunded. How did you pay him BTW?

 

[T-hug]

I would like to see the ebay description as like JKR already said, if the warranty sticker is messed up and he didn't mention it in the description, you have a good enough reason to request a refund.
I imagine the 360 was hacked too so you should check for this (no other reason to have messed with the warranty sticker).
Of course if the sticker was in tact you could just send it in to M$.

 

[lenselijer]

just send it back to microsoft and hope you get a new 360 back.

I did the same with my rrod console without any stickers on it, and got a brand new one

 

[aZnXrAvEr]

Some people sent their 360 to MS with no warranty sticker and still received a brand new 360...

 

[adgloride]

I've heard a lot on xbox scene that M$ also haven't fixed a lot of modded xbox 360s. You are lucky if they do fix it. Not only that, if its been modded maybe its banned from live. If its banned from live, M$ won't even take it. They will also charge you postage if they refuse to fix it. You would have been better getting a second hand 360 from a gaming store, at least you could have taken it back.

The fixes I've seen are the penny fix, search for that on youtube. But thats only temporary and will last a few months. The best one and the one I used when I got RoD, as I have modded my 360. Is the X-Clamp fix. You can buy all the stuff yourself, but I ordered a screw set of ebay, cost something like $5. I then got some artic silver 5. So far its been working a month, with no problems.

Before I got freezes, that doesn't even happen now. If your thinking of opening up the 360, its always better to use an opening kit. I used the XCM opening kit. Before you order, or get anything to fix it, open the 360 up first. God knows what the guy could have done to it if its already been opened.

You could always email the guy and see if it will take it back and make a complaint to ebay. You would have thought he would have done the towel trick, so you would get a month out of it before it broke. The towel trick is another option, but the heat could damage vital components. I used it when I first got RoD as a quick fix.

 

[hankchill]

If you just received it and it was practically DOA, return it immediately to the seller for a refund. If they don't give it to you, open up a dispute stating that the item was dead on arrival. Get your money back, and go buy a new one, not used!

I bought the Arcade version, and bought the HDMI cable and HDD separately, and still saved money

(spent only $1.99 on the HDMI cable, and $45 on the HDD, and there you go, INSTANT pro console

). Have had no problems with it for 56 days and counting

 

[hanman]

here's a link to the auction. i just got word back from the seller, and he's agreed to refund my money and cover return shipping, so if anyone gets the chance to buy from him, you apparantly don't have to worry about getting ripped off.

i think i'll follow hankchill's advice and get an Arcade and a hard drive. where did you get a HDD for $45, btw?

 

[hankchill]

here's a link to the auction. i just got word back from the seller, and he's agreed to refund my money and cover return shipping, so if anyone gets the chance to buy from him, you apparantly don't have to worry about getting ripped off.

i think i'll follow hankchill's advice and get an Arcade and a hard drive. where did you get a HDD for $45, btw?

eBay

I found a person on eBay who wanted to get rid of it because he upgraded to the 120GB drive, and lived close by. This way shipping was really cheap and I got it within a couple days.

Just try to avoid buying one from Hong Kong -- They're most likely 3rd party manufactured with crap drives in them.

 

[hanman]

yeah, i try to order from the US or Canada whenever possible. is it possible to just get the enclosure and put whatever drive in it i want? if not, can you upgrade the size of the drive in the enclosure later?