RedRingChronicles
Latest
Red Ring Chronicles Pt 3: The Return
It looks like the Red Ring Chronicles have come to an end. After languishing unnecessarily in a Texas warehouse for several days, my 360 was picked up by UPS. I knew this because the tracking number I'd gotten over a week ago from Microsoft was finally recognized by the UPS website. The next day was a feverish wait for the UPS truck, a wait that did not end until well past 6:00 PM. Twilight Princess and hard liquor were all that stood between me and a state of feral insanity. And then, there he was: the UPS guy. I had discovered a while ago that I would be receiving a refurbished Xbox 360 -- I saw that my serial had magically changed on service.xbox.com, you see -- which is unfortunate. Still, it was all in one piece, no weird rattling or anything like that. The package came with a note and a free 1 month Xbox Live subscription. So, that's nice. But, as any 360 enthusiast knows, there is more to getting back your Xbox than simply plugging it in and making sure it works. Oh no, getting back into the swing of things is a process.
Red Ring Chronicles Pt 2: the Coffin
And so, the Red Ring Chronicles continue with that fateful second step: the coffin. Having called Microsoft customer support last Wednesday (Aug. 1), the coffin was on my doorstep on Monday (Aug. 6), three business days after I called, which seems pretty standard. After hearing so much about 360 coffins, I had imagined a more specialized container (specifically, something that looked a little more like this). Instead, I got a cardboard box, some heavy duty packing foam, a plastic bag, and some instructions. After snickering at the morbidly funny picture on the plastic bag, I proceeded to package the once proud beast. If you've never returned an Xbox, you should know that all Microsoft wants is your Xbox. No hard drive, cables, or anything like that.
Red Ring Chronicles Pt 1: Death
Well kiddies, it finally happened. No, I'm not going slightly mad; my Xbox 360 has officially decided to call it quits. the Red Ring of Death has arrived and refuses to leave. In the coming weeks -- perhaps months -- I will be chronicling its repair here on X3F. The Red Ring of Death made its first visit about a week ago, after some extended sessions of Crackdown. It popped up on a few other occasions throughout the week, but would go away after a brief period of downtime. Finally, after a quick local session of Bomberman Live with my friends, the next power cycle produced a red ring that won't go away. For the record, my 360 was situated as you see it above. It was vertical, in completely open air, and placed at a diagonal angle behind my TV in a very feng shui kind of way. Considering that fateful game of Bomberman had been the first time my close friends and I had played the game since the Saturn Bomberman days of yore, I find the timing to be somewhat poetic. Or perhaps overtly cruel. Depends on how you look at it I guess.
