# Something very stupid re: my 360



## Awesome Wells (Oct 1, 2009)

Would it be massively wrong, if at beast ill advised, to fuck up my 360 completely just so I can take it back and get a refund/replacement? The damn thing 's disc drive works only intermittently and from time to time just won't read anything. This is not a problem that will go away or get better, but because of it's intermittent nature sod's law that if I just took the thing back (which is a major hassle) it would work fine in the shop. Apparently there are some weird and probably stupid methods for invoking a RRoD which would solve the problem without making it look as if I'd smashed it up or something. After all the console isn't functioning properly, but the nature of the problem means I can't do fuck all about it. My shop warranty expires in January which means it's likely to work fine until then when it will, inevitably, expire for good. What to do?


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## 5t3IIa (Oct 1, 2009)

I once took something with an intermittent problem back to the shop, of course it worked fine, took it home - it fucked up again. Took it back to the shop and it wortked fine _again_ but they could see I'd bothered to bring it back twice so replaced it for me. 

I don't know if that would work if you weren't chamring though.


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## Awesome Wells (Oct 1, 2009)

I'm far too ugly to be charming, and I'd be far too knackered from lugging a fragile piece of kit around on the bus carefully to be composed enough to try


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## WWWeed (Oct 1, 2009)

is it out of warranty?

What you have suggested sounds like a common problem that can be sorted out my adjusting the laser pot inside the DVD drive. I've fixed a few and its pretty easy when you know how. Failing that you should be able to get a replacement dvd drive on the internet and can fit it by flashing the new drive with your drives firmware!


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## Awesome Wells (Oct 1, 2009)

It has a shop warranty that expires in January as it was a preowned machine (though the serial date is the August last year, and i got it in May as replacement machine #4). I'm not going to be mucking around with the machinery either.


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## 5t3IIa (Oct 1, 2009)

So you've taken it back once and it worked fine?

I'd take it back again, I think. If it still works fine then the combo of warrenty and your efforts might swing it.


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## stupid dogbot (Oct 1, 2009)

So if you're not prepared to "muck about with the machinery", how do you intend to break it so that they won't be able to tell it was done on purpose?


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## Awesome Wells (Oct 1, 2009)

5t3IIa said:


> So you've taken it back once and it worked fine?
> 
> I'd take it back again, I think. If it still works fine then the combo of warrenty and your efforts might swing it.


I've had 4 machines since March 08 because each has broken down with a separate issue (ethernet port, video signal, RRoD and now this one seems to have a fucked disc drive). All elites from the same shop. Right now the drive is in 'not reading disc' mode. I could try taking it back but I don't really feel very confident that it won't start reading (as is it's want) when the shop plugs it in to test, which is what they will do. And I doubt very much they will just refund me without proof of failure, which isn't unreasonable. I spoke to their head office but they said it's down to the individual store manager (yeah right) to decide what to do. I plan to ring them this afternoon if the machine is still in fail mode, but again because of the nature of the problem there is no guarantee it wont stay broken, and that's the problem.

And i have no idea how to break it. I just don't really know what I can practically do in this situation; it would be a different story if the shop was just down the road for instance.


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## Awesome Wells (Oct 1, 2009)

Got a refund! Though clearly they weren't happy about it. But then tough shit: don't sell me 4 broken 360's!

Was going to buy a ps3 but the guy behind he counter decided that he didn't want to serve me anymore and gave me some bollocks about their not being any in stock (other than the ones in the window which he explained were actually faulty which was why there were in the window - though if they were faulty leaving them there won't help).

Bought one from Game instead. Fuck Gamestation, even though they are owned by the same people. 

Don't buy from Gamestation in Weston super Mare. That's the motto of the story.


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## Boycey (Oct 2, 2009)

gamestation in wood green are akshully my favourite pooter shop right now- not had to return anything yet but the staff are friendly and helpful.


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## Awesome Wells (Oct 2, 2009)

I would have said the same about Gamestation until yesterday. I found their attitude, certainly at the shop in question (have nop complaints about them elsewhere) a bit poor really, although they did refund me for the 4th breakdown. Perhaps the shop should have a bit of a think about how it does business if one customer has to spend clost o thirty quid returning broken consoles every few months.


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## sim667 (Oct 2, 2009)

My gamestation are really good

game near me is run by twats. smug know it all twats who dont actually know anything.


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## tarannau (Oct 2, 2009)

To be fair it's not really Gamestation's fault here. No retailer should have to take back 4 faulty consoles, largely because they were shoddily designed and puit together to begin with

X Boxes are unreliable pieces of shit.


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## Awesome Wells (Oct 2, 2009)

True dat.

Though I have to question how well they store their products if this shit is happening - even considering that the xbox is poorly made, which i certainly agree with.


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## Addy (Oct 3, 2009)

I know 360's are of a crap design ( I have fixed many) but for you to have had 4 faulty ones (all pre-owned?) in 18 months would make me wonder what the fault is....machine or owner?

I have 2 x 360's in my house now that I bought of ebay as RROD's
Fixed 1...worked for 9 months
Fixed other worked for 6 months
Fixed both again, both still working - Approx 18 months later.

Dirty drive error can be fixed by replacing the laser, tweaking it as WWWeed said, or keeping your discs in good condition.
Are all your games originals and in good cond.?
Do you often move your 360 whilst a disc is in? (this includes knocks/bumps of 360)

Also, if someone trades in a console, it might not always be because they was bored of it or needed the cash... they could trade in faulty ones for profit..!!

Dont take offence at my post, I'm just trying to establish root cause.


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## Awesome Wells (Oct 3, 2009)

I think the issue is really down to how poorly made the machines are. It's easy to ascribe blame to the owner - or to the shop, since you can't accept one possibility without the other. I can tell you the machine was properly stored and not mistreated, after all why would i? The shop would say the same of course. The issue is that it's bad luck that a cluster of machiens from the same shop that broke down were all owned by the same person; but those machines would have broken down anyway. The real issue that the machine is poorly made and is so prone to breakdown in the first place.

Of course, I know that I didn't damage the machines so from my perspective it's entirely possible the shop didn't store them properly or check what they had brought in as stock. But then I would say that wouldn't I - and the shop would say the opposite.  HOwever each time the machine broke down for a different reason: the first had an ethernet port error, the next had video signal failure, the third was a RRoD for reasons unknown, and finally the disc drive went. 

I have no idea why any of these faults occured and I don't know why the disc drive went down (it started playing up within weeks). I don't play discs that are in especially bad condition nor do i move the machine while it's running, etc. 

it's entirely possible also that each console was trded in by dodgy people looknig to offload them. But that points to shop responsibility ultimately as they are not only meant to test their stock they are also legally responsible for it. No matter how difficult it might be to spot a problem. None of the machines were also particularly old - the last one was manufactured in August 08 and I took ownership in May. That's no time at all. 

In the end the 360 was rushed to market without being designed properly and people are seeing the consequences thereof. It's a poor business practise, but unfortunately for the gaming public a very effective one.


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## revol68 (Oct 3, 2009)

to be fair you just sound like a whinging cunt about absolutely everything, so I'd be tempted to say you get the luck you deserve.


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## Kid_Eternity (Oct 3, 2009)

AW, send it for repair, mine started doing that a few months ago then the drive wouldn't read anything. They emailed me Thursday to say they've received it at the repair centre...they will check more than once to determine whether it needs sending back/repairing or replacing...


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## Awesome Wells (Oct 4, 2009)

revol68 said:


> to be fair you just sound like a whinging cunt about absolutely everything, so I'd be tempted to say you get the luck you deserve.




get a life mate.



Kid_Eternity said:


> AW, send it for repair, mine started doing that a few months ago then the drive wouldn't read anything. They emailed me Thursday to say they've received it at the repair centre...they will check more than once to determine whether it needs sending back/repairing or replacing...



Too late. Got me money back.  Dont want another 360 ever again. Just badly made - oops, that's whinging. Can't do that, what will the parishioners say?


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## Kid_Eternity (Oct 4, 2009)

Oh yeah lol skim read the above! Fair enough, each to their own...


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## Awesome Wells (Oct 4, 2009)

What else can you do with a broken purchase except return it? Can't be expected to open it up and repair it myself. They didn't do xbox repair gcse's when i was at school


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