Engadget http://www.engadget.com Engadget http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.engadget.com/media/feedlogo.gif Engadget http://www.engadget.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[New Xbox 360 has red dot of death, instead? Not quite]]>http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/21/new-xbox-360-has-red-dot-of-death-instead-not-quite/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/21/new-xbox-360-has-red-dot-of-death-instead-not-quite/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/21/new-xbox-360-has-red-dot-of-death-instead-not-quite/#comments RRoD may be gone by omission, but that doesn't mean your new Xbox 360 won't occasionally give you the evil eye. Case in point: this 250GB unit spotted over at NeoGAF, which has a red dot smack dab in the center of the power button. What message is it trying to convey? Find out after the break.

Continue reading New Xbox 360 has red dot of death, instead? Not quite

New Xbox 360 has red dot of death, instead? Not quite originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 21 Jun 2010 03:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>MicrosoftMicrosoft Xbox 360MicrosoftXbox360new xbox 360NewXbox360RDODRRODxboxXbox 360xbox 360 250GBxbox 360 slimXbox360Xbox360250gbXbox360SlimMon, 21 Jun 2010 03:21:00 EST<![CDATA[New Xbox 360 loses ability to flash a red ring, can still probably die a fiery death]]>http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/16/new-xbox-360-loses-ability-to-flash-a-red-ring-can-still-probab/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/16/new-xbox-360-loses-ability-to-flash-a-red-ring-can-still-probab/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/16/new-xbox-360-loses-ability-to-flash-a-red-ring-can-still-probab/#comments It's a color we know so well, but it looks like Microsoft would like to dissociate itself from its RROD heritage, or perhaps just ran out of red LEDs: the new Xbox 360 only has a green ring around its power button, so even if you wrap the thing in a blanket and set it on fire, it won't be flashing red to tell you how it feels. This was unearthed in a spec sheet that Joystiq received from a tipster, along with all the other fancy specs you can see above. Overall the console is 17% smaller, which really goes to show that Microsoft was much more interested in noise and heat reduction than sliding the new 360 into a smaller crevice of your home entertainment center.

New Xbox 360 loses ability to flash a red ring, can still probably die a fiery death originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 Jun 2010 20:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>e3e3 2010E32010green ringGreenRinggrodmicrosoftnew xbox 360NewXbox360rrodspec sheetspecsSpecSheetxbox 360Xbox360Wed, 16 Jun 2010 20:50:00 EST<![CDATA[Microsoft responds to Xbox 360 54.2 percent failure rate report, doesn't dispute the data]]>http://www.engadget.com/2009/08/24/microsoft-responds-to-xbox-360-54-2-percent-failure-rate-report/http://www.engadget.com/2009/08/24/microsoft-responds-to-xbox-360-54-2-percent-failure-rate-report/http://www.engadget.com/2009/08/24/microsoft-responds-to-xbox-360-54-2-percent-failure-rate-report/#comments Admittedly, when we saw Game Informer's survey that pegged Xbox 360's failure rate at 54.2 percent, we were thinking that was a bit steep of a number, possibly bumped up a few digits from some possible sampling errors. So when we were gearing up to read Microsoft's statement responding to the data, we fully expected some harsh rebuttal of the number. Turns out we got disappointed. A spokesperson for Redmond pointed to its superior entertainment value, its "best warranty in the industry" and its "constantly improving design, manufacture, and performance." At no point is there a dispute or even direct reference to the findings, which is really something that could've helped public perception on a nagging issue. How about taking a page from Fujifilm, eh Microsoft?

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Microsoft responds to Xbox 360 54.2 percent failure rate report, doesn't dispute the data originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 24 Aug 2009 01:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>failfailurefailure rateFailureRatemicrosoftmicrosoft xbox 360MicrosoftXbox360rrodxboxxbox 360Xbox360Mon, 24 Aug 2009 01:51:00 EST<![CDATA[Microsoft ends Xbox 360 RROD "coffin" program, still paying for shipping]]>http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/09/microsoft-ends-xbox-360-rrod-coffin-program-still-paying-for/http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/09/microsoft-ends-xbox-360-rrod-coffin-program-still-paying-for/http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/09/microsoft-ends-xbox-360-rrod-coffin-program-still-paying-for/#comments
Getting an Xbox 360 RROD was never any fun, but at least getting it fixed was easy, since a quick phone call would get you a pre-paid "coffin" in which to send the broken console back for repairs. Not anymore -- although Redmond will still pay for return shipping, the company's beancounters have decided to axe the expense of sending custom packaging out to people who need repairs, meaning anyone who gets an RROD will need to pack things themselves. Not the end of the world, but we share Joystiq's take: just send it however you can, since MS is fixing it anyway, and then save the return carton in case something else goes wrong -- knowing the 360, it very well might.

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Microsoft ends Xbox 360 RROD "coffin" program, still paying for shipping originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Jun 2009 14:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>360coffinmicrosoftrepairrepairsrrodxboxxbox 360Xbox360Tue, 09 Jun 2009 14:32:00 EST<![CDATA[Poll: Has your Xbox 360 been dealt the E74 error?]]>http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/20/poll-has-your-xbox-360-been-dealt-the-e74-error/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/20/poll-has-your-xbox-360-been-dealt-the-e74-error/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/20/poll-has-your-xbox-360-been-dealt-the-e74-error/#comments Move over RRoD, it looks like there's a new Xbox 360 hardware failure in town. According to anecdotal data collected by Joystiq as well as Google Trends, there's been a steady rise in reports and discussion of the E74 error since mid-October, with no apparent correlation between any specific model or year of purchase. From what we can tell, the E74 error is related to video problems caused by either a faulty AV connector or, more often, a loosened ANA / HANA scaling chip. Symptoms include visual glitches like random lines or snow and a single red light on the console in the lower right quadrant (see picture). The time frame for the rise in issues makes NXE and its November debut a suspect, but it's worth noting that the uptick started just before that launch, so perhaps it has more to do with hiccups caused by spurred interest in turning on the console after a long period of dormancy. We're curious to know how the issue has affected the Engadget readership. Has your Xbox 360 gotten the Red Arc of Death? Let us know in the poll below.

View Poll


Read - Joystiq Survey
Read - Google Trends [Via Negative Gamer]

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Poll: Has your Xbox 360 been dealt the E74 error? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 20 Mar 2009 00:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>microsoftnew xbox experienceNewXboxExperiencenxepollpollsred arc of deathred ring of deathRedArcOfDeathRedRingOfDeathrrodxboxxbox 360Xbox360Fri, 20 Mar 2009 00:31:00 EST<![CDATA[Xbox 360 red ring of death problems (finally) solved?]]>http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/01/xbox-360-red-ring-of-death-problems-finally-solved/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/01/xbox-360-red-ring-of-death-problems-finally-solved/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/01/xbox-360-red-ring-of-death-problems-finally-solved/#comments
Is your Xbox 360 red in the face? No, not that kind of red, but facing that painstakingly loathsome red ring of death? Well, if group product manager Aaron Greenberg knows anything about the situation -- and we'd imagine he does -- then it looks like the guys at Microsoft have finally found a solution to many gamers' worst nightmares. In an interview with Edge Online, Greenberg said that through repairs they've done as well as updated technology, the guys in Redmond are pretty confident that afflicted consoles should be nonexistent in the not so distant future and that they've "put the worst behind us on this." So, breathe easy obsessive gamers, you needn't worry about getting an infected console any more -- we hope.

[Via Yahoo! Games]

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Xbox 360 red ring of death problems (finally) solved? originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 01 Mar 2009 18:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>defectivehardwareissuesissuesmicrosoftmicrosoft xbox 360MicrosoftXbox360redred ring of deathRedRingOfDeathrrodxboxxbox 360xbox360Sun, 01 Mar 2009 18:31:00 EST<![CDATA[Engadget Podcast 119 - 11.21.2008]]>http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/21/engadget-podcast-119-11-21-2008/http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/21/engadget-podcast-119-11-21-2008/http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/21/engadget-podcast-119-11-21-2008/#comments
Back for more, eh? Well you've come to the right place -- the Engadget Podcast! Join Josh, Paul, and Nilay as they take you on a magical journey through the trials and tribulations of the BlackBerry Storm, investigate the legal situation of the Apple-cloning operation known as Psystar, dish on the latest Zune and Xbox happenings, and lament the forthcoming death of FireWire as it cedes its high-speed throne to USB 3.0. And just think, access to this treasure-trove of information is yours free of charge!

Hosts: Joshua Topolsky, Paul Miller, and Nilay Patel
Producer: Trent Wolbe
Music: Paranoid

00:02:25 - BlackBerry Storm review
00:32:35 - Psystar's antitrust claims against Apple dismissed
00:53:59 - Microsoft revamps Zune Pass: keep ten tracks per month forever and ever
01:02:43 - Microsoft ratchets down pricing on flash-based Zunes
01:02:39 - NXE hitting 360s with red ring, freezing and sorta-sexy-avatar issues?
01:06:45 - Goodbye, FireWire 400

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Engadget Podcast 119 - 11.21.2008 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 21 Nov 2008 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>95009530appleblackberryboldengadget podcastEngadgetPodcastfeaturefeaturedfeaturesfirewireiphonemicrosoftnew xbox experienceNewXboxExperiencenxepodcastpodcastsred ring of deathRedRingOfDeathresearch in motionResearchInMotionrimrrodstormsubscriptionusbusb 3usb 3.0Usb3Usb3.0verizonzuneFri, 21 Nov 2008 14:30:00 ESTEngadget Podcast 119Josh Topolsky, Nilay Patel, Paul Miller01:10:10podcasts<![CDATA[Dean Takahashi completes chronicles of Xbox 360 red ring of death]]>http://www.engadget.com/2008/09/08/dean-takahashi-completes-chronicles-of-xbox-360-red-ring-of-deat/http://www.engadget.com/2008/09/08/dean-takahashi-completes-chronicles-of-xbox-360-red-ring-of-deat/http://www.engadget.com/2008/09/08/dean-takahashi-completes-chronicles-of-xbox-360-red-ring-of-deat/#commentsRed Ring of Death
By now we have all heard of (or experienced) the infamous Xbox 360 Red Ring of Death, and we also pretty much know what causes it. Heck, we've even seen ways to avoid it by spending more money on fixes instead of going through Microsoft's replace / refurbish / replace process. In what he calls his final chapter on an extensive bit of investigative journalism, Dean Takahashi uncovers the early quality control-absent rush to market that resulted in a massive number of Xbox 360s being sent to market despite known design flaws. Dean goes on to propose that all this has kept Microsoft from winning this round of the console wars, as costs to keep the consoles working crippled Microsoft from aggressive marketing measures such as price cuts. In the end, he concludes (via an anonymous quote) that Microsoft treated the Xbox 360's launch like a software company would, as if some future patch would cover up the inherent problems with the console's design.

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Dean Takahashi completes chronicles of Xbox 360 red ring of death originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 08 Sep 2008 10:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>dean takahashiDeanTakahashired ring of deathRedRingOfDeathrrodxbox 360Xbox360Mon, 08 Sep 2008 10:26:00 EST<![CDATA[Microsoft gets RRoD at GDC]]>http://www.engadget.com/2008/02/19/microsoft-gets-rrod-at-gdc/http://www.engadget.com/2008/02/19/microsoft-gets-rrod-at-gdc/http://www.engadget.com/2008/02/19/microsoft-gets-rrod-at-gdc/#comments
Just days ago, we heard that Microsoft's Xbox 360 failure rate was at a staggering 16-percent. Not helping Redmond's cause in making you believe otherwise, one of the hand-picked machines used at the 2008 Game Developers Conference was actually suffering from the infamous Red Ring of Death. Comedic gold? Yes, indeed. Check the video after the jump!

Continue reading Microsoft gets RRoD at GDC

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Microsoft gets RRoD at GDC originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 19 Feb 2008 14:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>errorgdcmicrosoftmishapproblemred ring of deathRedRingOfDeathrrodvideoxbox 360Xbox360Tue, 19 Feb 2008 14:36:00 EST<![CDATA[Commercial X-clamp fix for red-ringed 360s: mostly new screws]]>http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/30/commercial-x-clamp-fix-for-red-ringed-360s-mostly-new-screws/http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/30/commercial-x-clamp-fix-for-red-ringed-360s-mostly-new-screws/http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/30/commercial-x-clamp-fix-for-red-ringed-360s-mostly-new-screws/#comments
Warranty extension or not, the widespread nature of Xbox 360 failures pretty much guaranteed that it was only a matter of time before a third party stepped forward with a commercial fix. The X-Clamp Fix from Next Generation seems to the be first of these solutions available, although it's certainly not as simple as we would have expected. Consisting of some replacement screws and washers, the $15 kit helps you tighten down your GPU heatsink, possibly resetting your GPU in the process, a strategy modders have been using to escape the red ring of death for some time now. Probably worth a look if you're unable to get warranty service and the other wing-and-a-prayer fixes don't work for you, but the kit looks like it involves pretty significant disassembly -- we'd recommend picking up the phone and begging for an RMA first. Check the world's most boring installation video after the break.

[Via MaxConsole]

Continue reading Commercial X-clamp fix for red-ringed 360s: mostly new screws

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Commercial X-clamp fix for red-ringed 360s: mostly new screws originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Aug 2007 22:13:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>360moddingmodsred ring of deathRedRingOfDeathrodrrodx-clampxboxxbox 360Xbox360Thu, 30 Aug 2007 22:13:00 EST<![CDATA[Extreme PS3 "stress test" garners praise from Sony]]>http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/15/extreme-ps3-stress-test-garners-praise-from-sony/http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/15/extreme-ps3-stress-test-garners-praise-from-sony/http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/15/extreme-ps3-stress-test-garners-praise-from-sony/#comments
Clearly due to the current heat on Microsoft concerning the Xbox 360 RROD, disk scratching, and overheating scandals, Sony's Dave Karraker is mooning on the company's official blog over a recent PS3 Vault "stress test" called "How to kill a PS3 console" which showed the company's game system to be surprisingly resilient in the face of extreme conditions. "A lot of noise has been made recently about the reliability issues of one of our competitor's systems," Karraker said, then went on to kick some sand in Redmond's eye by adding "Did it fail? Nope. Like the Energizer Bunny, it kept going and going and going." Admittedly, the tests -- which included running games and Blu-ray movies for 108 hours in a typical "living room" environment, placing the console in a freezer van then lowering the temperature from 50 degrees to zero, and powering the PS3 in a sauna where heat increased from 100 degrees to 120 degrees over a nearly three-day session -- were quite extreme. In the end, however, the testers say besides being "extremely hot" after coming out of the sauna, the system is running fine and back in regular use. Microsoft, the ball's in your court.

[Via DailyTech]

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Extreme PS3 "stress test" garners praise from Sony originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 15 Aug 2007 13:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>microsoftplaystation 3Playstation3ps3ps3 vaultPs3Vaultred ring of deathRedRingOfDeathrrodsonystress testStressTestxbox 360Xbox360Wed, 15 Aug 2007 13:21:00 EST