Microsoft admits Xbox hardware problems

With a cursed console that has sold tens of millions, MS is being more helpful than I would have expected.

I am glad that a piece of modern electronics is being repaired in this throwaway world.

I just wish it (and everything else) had been "built to last" in the first place!

Especially considering my Xbox gave up the ghost this morning with the dreaded E74 error.

Now if only they'll replace my Elite with one that won't fall over every 6 months...

MS shouldn't have the development of the 360 in the 1st place and none of this would of happend. No serious RROD issue no E47 error on repaired consoles hardly.

Mine died in 8 months of purchase adverage use a week 24-30 with about 2-3hrs each session. Placed in a well ventilated area the DVD-ROM went during Forxa 2 got a replacement 2 weeks in RROD on that. Another replacement RROD in 3hrs MS sent me a brand new one in the end which I traded in towards a PS3.

People are grateful that M$ is fixing their failed XBOX 360! Have you ever heard any other console had anything like the 3rl? From ATARI to PS3 and Wii, there was never such thing, and replaced consoles from malfunction used to work OK, not break again a couple of months later.
That should be enough to sue M$ ass for selling a intrisically faulty hardware.

One has to wonder when we will be "treated" to a series of articles by our beloved Charlie Boy on precisely why the XBOX360 GPU fails so regularly (first RROD, now this on top), complete with electron microscope scans and pithy prose aplenty.

Of course that would require him to bash an ATi design and admit that the problems have more to do with manufacturing and packaging (TSMC being the common link), so I wouldn't advise anyone hold their breath while waiting for such an article.

Buddy of mine got E74 after he got a refurb back from MS about a year ago.
Calls them up and they refuse to take it back, he insists that this is their fault and that this error is not that uncommon.

They would not take it back, so he told them thats ok I'll wait till someone sues them and MS extend the 3 year warranty to include E74, the agent on the phone threatend him proceeded to tell him that he will sue, my buddy laughed it off and indicated that American stupididty does not extend north towards Canada.
He went out and bought a new Xbox, now he will have 2, LOL.

Just thought i woudl share.

@Greg Stanford: Dude, I'm pretty sure, considering the magnitude of the problem, that if it were ATI's fault Microsoft would be pointing the blame in their direction. And ATI would be paying for the mess... neither of those two events have taken place.

Apple agrees to fix a problem they'd previously failed to fully acknowledge and Farrell is all over it.

Microsoft agrees to fix a problem they'd previously failed to fully acknowledge and Farrell doesn't seem to feel the need to have much of a go.

I guess all that Microsoft revenue will buy you all the good press you want, regardless of how fucking awful your product is (I'm on my FOURTH Xbox).

These Xbox360s are the physical embodiment of Microsoft's engineering skills.

- After almost 10 years, people have grown accustomed to accepting the necessity of having to apply monthly patches that "cover" "recently-discovered" software vulnerabilities that "could allow an attacker to assume control" of our systems. You would think that after 10 years or so, that all of the engineering "bugs" would have been patched, but apparently it is not possible to fix a design so initially flawed.

- Unfortunately, this same approach does not work very well in the hardware arena (as evidenced by the Xbox360 fiasco).

I can't believe anyone would continue to buy these defectively-engineered devices (or continue to use Microsoft software, for that matter). There are other options (such as Linux and open source).

My sincere hope is that Microsoft will not decide that it now need to "dominate" the aircraft manufacturing industry...just imagine...

But the dumb American, well, he's a little slow and even if MS were to dump on his head he's patriotic and will stand for anything American no matter how sh*t it is.

With the rest of us well, we see things for what they are and no cheap upscaling like those cheap dvd players from 720 to 1080 will put one over us.

Anyway, after reading tomshardware about finalfantasy 13 using 100% the power of PS3, that'll be the next sh*t i purchase - still long way off though. For now PS2+Wii is a good combo.

I have seen/tried DOAX2 for 360 and the legs and any round part of the girls look like wood that still have the chisels marks some pinocchic puppet show i can't imagine anyone getting a boner out of that load of ... you know. The time spent and reward is not balanced - one would get more pleasure playing some illusions hentai game for the pc... tried a few of off mule.

timboj, that depends imho on whether or not microsoft contracted ATi to design the packaging of the gpu or not.

Then again, maybe microsoft does privately blame ATi for this mess, but isn't pursuing them for fear of bankrupting AMD altogether.

Once again, our intrepid Charlie should investigate, but, he won't because his precious ATi might cop some flack and he may just find TSMC and contractors, not nvidia to be the real cause of the GPU failures and that would be embarrasing for him.

A few months ago I was really bent on getting a 360 until I read about all those RRODs and consoles dying all over the place. Seems MS beat Sony to the punch by really rushing 360 development. Even with the latest 360 version it's scary to plunk the cash for something you don't known when will become an overpriced paperweight.

I hope MS will put more emphasis on durability on their next console, or redesign the 360 (like Sony did with their slim PS2) and not just shrink the chips they use.

ATI did design the GPU, but had no hand in the manufacturing whatsoever, Microsoft did that themselves - Charlies record is unblemished!

be that as it may, when XBOX360's go wrong its because of the GPU, and the GPU die is manufactured at TSMC, as are nvidia's notebook GPU's that experience failures.

Microsoft is the company that asks TSMC to manufacture the chips, and third party companies to package them. The trick is you don't just say to TSMC "manufacture this" and the chip packager "package this", you have to provide instructions/specifications on how to manufacture/package the chip.

Now, Microsoft is not in the business of designing chips (which is why they got ATi to do it for them). There is an excellent chance that they also asked the designers to provide them with manufacturing/packaging specifications also, or they asked someone else.

I'd imagine that ATi or that "someone else" providing the manufacturing specs isn't terribly popular with Microsoft at present. I'm quite certain that nvidia insisting on the legally contracted price for their xbox1 chipset cost microsoft far less than ATi's wonder GPU is costing them now.

But, of course Microsoft knew best, and nvidia was evil for asking for the full contracted price. All I have to say is "what goes around comes around."

Wow, Line Breaks Galore. Must Be In Wrong Place. Xbox 360 probs: Too Slow & too large. Putting real Strain on transistors.

heres break: Early tests indicate that the 28nm technology provides a 40 percent performance boost and a 20 percent power reduction compared with 45nm chips.

Ibm & Its Suppliers of Chips has gone extra foot & hit 28 Nm. Wow, Does AnyOne Know How Large Sperm Cell Is? Mine Seem To Be Growing, Dave? Dave. TS drashek

From reading this article (and comments) one would assume that every Xbox360 out there is a ticking bomb, waiting to die off just after you finished the last boss of some game.

I believe that there is a problem, got a friend that has exchanged his 360 twice. In the meantime my elite continues humming along (knock on wood) even after the dreaded updates.

Even the one I had before the elite seems to be doing fine.

Here's hoping I didn't use up all the good luck alloted to me at birth...