Gahars:
If you have it horizontally and not in a place where it can overheat easily, you should be fine.

I've done this, and though my console occasionally can't read disks, and periodically freezes during GTA IV, it's been otherwise fine.

It takes a very special kind of denial to say something like "Even though it doesn't do what it's supposed to, it's been otherwise fine."

MichaelH:

Gahars:
If you have it horizontally and not in a place where it can overheat easily, you should be fine.

I've done this, and though my console occasionally can't read disks, and periodically freezes during GTA IV, it's been otherwise fine.

It takes a very special kind of denial to say something like "Even though it doesn't do what it's supposed to, it's been otherwise fine."

It's occasional, once maybe, I don't know, every 25 days or so. I can deal with it. I'm just happy I don't have the dreaded RROD.

I wish it never happened (my PS3 runs perfectly), but I've had so much fun with it, I just kind of accept it.

Gahars:

MichaelH:

Gahars:
If you have it horizontally and not in a place where it can overheat easily, you should be fine.

I've done this, and though my console occasionally can't read disks, and periodically freezes during GTA IV, it's been otherwise fine.

It takes a very special kind of denial to say something like "Even though it doesn't do what it's supposed to, it's been otherwise fine."

It's occasional, once maybe, I don't know, every 25 days or so. I can deal with it. I'm just happy I don't have the dreaded RROD.

I wish it never happened (my PS3 runs perfectly), but I've had so much fun with it, I just kind of accept it.

I can't remember the last time I bought a piece of electronics, gaming or otherwise, where I didn't fully expect to accept the fact that things wouldn't work perfectly. I just bought a new LCD television, and now my cable box shoots red lines through all the HD channels. Why? Who knows. Will it ever be fixed? Doubtful. Have I accepted this and moved on? Yes. Sigh...yes.

My digital camera has frequent lens-opening errors. My cell phone chooses to transmit my voice just 80% of the time. I know well the crushing defeat of denial and acceptance.

I don't have to due to the fact I live in Bizarro World where my Wii is temperamental but my 360 has worked fine from day one.

I have a year left on my warranty, so I'm TRYING to kill mine.

thebobmaster:

I think 50/50 is a bit high. I'm pretty sure the failure rate is about 1 out of 3. Which is still ridiculous, but not quite as bad as 1 out of 2.

An independent study showed that the failure rate was about 16%. That's about 1 in 7 consoles.

Personally I take no precautions other than common sense, I dust it often with compressed air. keep it level and don't block any of the holes designed to let out the heat. I also try not to play it for too long. Aside from that I can't say much, I actually returned one with a faulty dvd player and haven't had any problem since.

Let's see.. Don't keep it in a humid or hot area, make sure there is air circulation in the room, make sure the vents aren't blocked, etc.
It's not really a big deal. I've had the red rings twice (a few more if you count the times after I did the towel trick to revive the 360) and I've gotten my 360 in less than a week and a half.

Don't smoke around it, or around any electrical device for that matter, or you are a fool.

I thought I'd see more responses resembling "Pray to Bill Gates and hope for salvation". MY friends (yes friends, they're twins so it's impossible talking about just on of them) managed to insert their GoW CD in some weird fashion that ended in the Xbox chewing through it and leaving a scratch the size of the grand canyon. Get cooling running on liquid nitrogen, it will hopefully work. No, really... do it!

if mine sounds like its about to throw a tantrum i turn it off for a bit but i can usually play 8 or 9 hrs before it begins to sound rough, otherwise mine is doing fine

my friend's has gotten the 3 red rings 5 times, one day when he got it back hegot the red rings again, that same day!
eventualy he said screw it and bought an elite. the newer ones have less problems but there isnt much you cna stop it other then that that which common sense dictates (i.e. they can't fly, paper bags aren't good parachuts, and know it wouldn't like to play fetch with your saint bernard)

oh yeah and they dont even fix ti, they just send you a new one

I'm on 360 #8 ATM, its a new 'un with a HDMI port, and seems to be fine.

Sylocat:
How to keep your 360 from getting bricked? Simple.

1. Never move it, or set anything heavier than a feather on top of it while it's on.
2. Best not to do that when it's off, either. If you must move it, handle it like eggs, never shake it or move it in any sudden manner. If you must transport it, pack it in bubble wrap and pack the bubble wrap in Styrofoam and pack the Styrofoam in another layer of bubble wrap and repeat the process until the package is the size of a small car.
3. Don't use it on carpet. If you have wall-to-wall carpet, either get rid of it (still less expensive than repairing the damn thing), or get some of those wooden building blocks that kids use and make a wooden platform.
4. Carefully regulate the temperature in the room you use the console in at all times. Don't play it in a room that gets cold at nights, and in the summer time have an A/C going 24/7.
5. Don't use it for more than an hour at a time.

Now, even with these instructions, the thing will most likely brick anyway. After the first one of mine bricked (which it did less than a month after I bought the damn thing), when I got the next one I followed these instructions TO THE LETTER, and the thing still bricked after two months. But at least with these instructions, the thing will last for two months instead of one.

And if these instructions seem inconvenient and unfair, just remember one simple rule: Microsoft has the right to bypass all forms of quality assurance to keep a toehold in the console race, and if you have a problem with this, you are a WHINER. Thank you for choosing Sylocat's tech support, have a nice day. :-)

LOL!
What about the good old days where you could chuck your 64 in a plastic bag ALONG with games//controllers//memory cards, plug it into any TV, blow on the cartridge a bit and you'd be up and running.

Now you have to be a freakin' microsurgeon to even relocate your console from one end of the desk to another!

maybe i'm just being archaic but they don't make 'em like they used to ='[

Replace your 360, then buy a new counsel. That's what I'm going to do.

If you want to prevent this from happening again, buy a Ps3. Pretty simple if you ask me.

You need a name for your 360. Show it some love and it will love you back. And no I am not joking, love your console andit loves you back. This is especially important for the emotionaly fragile 360.

SolidusSnakeSucksAss:
I bought my 360 the day it was realeased and I never had any problems. Thats abouth 3 or 4 years. My trick threat is like hitler treated Jews. THAT FUCKING STERNLY. IT DOSENT WORK KICK ITS ASS. It works for me all the time.

But wheres the love?

Anyway. While reaching around the back of my 360 (while it was turned on) I felt air blowing out of the opposite side of the Hard Drive. It appears that a fan is the bottom of the 360. This incredibly stupid design flaw means that by having it standing you are cutting of some air flow. Always have your 360 lying on it's side. Always.

Indigo_Dingo:
If you want to prevent this from happening again, buy a Ps3. Pretty simple if you ask me.

There's always one.

On topic, having thought about it a bit more, it might be worth it to send your old one in for warranty service and, once it's repaired, try for resale of the refurbished unit and/or return of the new one. Be a shame to just eat the cost.

- J

tiredinnuendo:
There's always one.

I was wondering how long it would take for him to start trolling here.

As for me, I just have mine sitting up on my computer desk. Never had a problem with it.

I don't have an Xbox. But to lighten the mood, I think the Xbox 360's Red ring of Doom makes it look like a Combine Elite.

PaintChips:

tiredinnuendo:
There's always one.

I was wondering how long it would take for him to start trolling here.

Gimme a break. You guys have problems, I gave you an answer that would solve these problems. Thats not Trolling, thats genuinely trying to assist. You're like a women who keeps being beaten, and asks for advice, but refuses to listen to the most obvious, simple and effective one - "Leave him".

Indigo_Dingo:

PaintChips:

tiredinnuendo:
There's always one.

I was wondering how long it would take for him to start trolling here.

Gimme a break. You guys have problems, I gave you an answer that would solve these problems. Thats not Trolling, thats genuinely trying to assist. You're like a women who keeps being beaten, and asks for advice, but refuses to listen to the most obvious, simple and effective one - "Leave him".

Your knowledge of the trauma and physiological pressure felt by abuse victims is... amazing.

remember the definition of amazing now.

1) I lay it horizontal. I don't think you should cover the air intake by standing it vertically. I also don't like the way the disc sits crookedly in the tray when it's vertical. And if you have pets, setting if vertical is just asking for trouble. I don't have pets, but I have a clumsy-ass girlfriend. And let's just say Dexterity was one of my dump stats as well.

2) I elevate it by putting it on a small wire shelf to allow better air flow all around it. This is similar to the poster who puts it up on two bricks. Although, with 2 bricks (or pieces of wood or what have you), I would be afraid of it slipping and accidentally knocking one edge off to the side if I was, say, fiddling with the cords or something. And you should always elevate any computer at least 6 inches off of the floor. It will just suck too much crap into it if you don't.

3) I cut a piece of the paneling out of the back of my entertainment cabinet so the hot air output has someplace to go. Originally, the idea was to cut the back out of the shelf and close the door to cut down on noise. But that was a little to enclosed to let the heat out, so I always play with the door open. Ideally, it should probably be sitting on top of something and not inside a shelf enclosure, but I don't have room with my speakers and TV.

4) I have a DVD lens cleaner disc. It a disc sold in any electronics store/dept. that has tiny brushes on the surface that swipe the laser lens clean. Amazing how many problems with disc-read errors that it solves. Everyone should have one and run it about once a month. I also take the box outside and blast it with canned-air every so often, starting with the outside and then blasting the tray inside. I don't do this if the box is hot from playing. The cold canned air would be a bad sudden temperature change.

5) Don't laugh, but I did buy that crappy Nyko Intercooler at one point. It made an already loud machine, louder. But, it did seem to do what it says it does. The Xbox was noticebly cooler to the touch when I used it. But it broke down one day and I said screw it. It was too loud and the plug-in for the power cord was horrible and slipped out easily which cause a few false alarm red lights.

6) I boot to the dashboard instead of straight to the game in the tray. This might be less jarring to the components because it allows the machine to warm up first before the graphics of the game engages the video card, which will blast it with more heat. Also, I usually exit the game to the dashboard to give the box a cooldown period before totally shutting down.

I've had few problems with my Xbox. One time it wouldn't read the hard drive and would not boot to the dashboard. But I just rebooted with the hard drive off and then put it back on. It worked fine after that. I've had mine since Jan 2007.

ventillate the room as most problems come from heat.

Ultrajoe:

Indigo_Dingo:

PaintChips:

tiredinnuendo:
There's always one.

I was wondering how long it would take for him to start trolling here.

Gimme a break. You guys have problems, I gave you an answer that would solve these problems. Thats not Trolling, thats genuinely trying to assist. You're like a women who keeps being beaten, and asks for advice, but refuses to listen to the most obvious, simple and effective one - "Leave him".

Your knowledge of the trauma and physiological pressure felt by abuse victims is... amazing.

remember the definition of amazing now.

Come on now. Both situations show a definite, consistent problem that can be easily solved by avoidance. While the scale of the problem is different, the situations remain comparable.

The level to which some people will go to make their 360's comfortable is astounding. Meanwhile, my Ps3 sits on a shelf in a cupboard below my T.V. (which I leave open/half open when its running) and works like a dream at all times. If the system is freezing up, or crapping out, and thus ruining your entertainment, then by definition it is a failure.

I'm not trying to cause flaming here, but if people refuse to recognise a solution I have a tendency to point it out. Its just part of who I am.

This seems redundant.. but to carry the point. If it breaks send it in..

Mine broke when I updated to play Shenmue 2. M$ fixed it and gave it back.

Other than that, my only advise is don't play scratched games!

Indigo_Dingo:
The level to which some people will go to make their 360's comfortable is astounding. Meanwhile, my Ps3 sits on a shelf in a cupboard below my T.V. (which I leave open/half open when its running) and works like a dream at all times. If the system is freezing up, or crapping out, and thus ruining your entertainment, then by definition it is a failure.

I'm not trying to cause flaming here, but if people refuse to recognise a solution I have a tendency to point it out. Its just part of who I am.

I agree

I felt the same way when the ps2 was faulty and xbox was flawless. I don't like faulty consoles. And gamers shouldn't have to put up with them. If we do, then thats what we'll get.

I miss the Nintendo Seal of Quality sticker.

Who doesn't?

Ideally, you should keep it vertical and off the floor. The air flows around easier like that.

Also you could invest in an intercooler for it. It costs about $50 AUD, but it's worth the expense(to me at least).

Plus the regulars(do not throw your 360 out of a tall building, do not use your 360 to store milk, do not feed your 360 to livestock, the same stuff that's in the manual basically).

Nope. I've had my 360 since 1 month after launch and the thing works good as new. (Now watch me get three red lights, just watch.)

Not a flame post but these did amuse me the lengths you all go.

My PS3 sits on the lounge floor, is covered in dust and cat fur, gets left on for days and sometimes even weeks at a time, left in the sun, knocked about by the hoover and before it had even got there it had to survive a flight home from the US and (touch wood) i haven't had as much as a sniff or skip out of it.

Indigo_Dingo:

PaintChips:

tiredinnuendo:
There's always one.

I was wondering how long it would take for him to start trolling here.

Gimme a break. You guys have problems, I gave you an answer that would solve these problems. Thats not Trolling, thats genuinely trying to assist. You're like a women who keeps being beaten, and asks for advice, but refuses to listen to the most obvious, simple and effective one - "Leave him".

Not to make too big a deal of this, but you do this too often, and it's starting to colour my perception of the your other posts, which I don't want. At present, the 360 is a better value, with better games, for some people. Bear in mind that I did not just make a blanket statement there. Not everyone will agree, however you must at least recognize that many people see advantages to the 360 over the PS3.

Also, some folks just have both and therefore don't have to show constant blatant favoritism in defense of their purchase. (poke)

Therefore, when a thread opens up asking about recommended care for a sensitive electronic device that the thread owner has already purchased, totally disregarding the question and dropping the blanket statement, "Buy something else," isn't helpful.

And when it's *me* accusing someone of being unhelpful in a thread, that person should know that they have been burned. It'd be like Hayden Christianson calling you a hack.

We get it, you can't afford both systems and/or don't see the value in the 360. Your opinion, however, is not the popular one. Most of us can enjoy the merits of both and don't feel the need to drop a "Mine's bigger" line every time someone states that they might be enjoying a particular console.

- J