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My fun times with Microsoft, faulty Xboxes.

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So to start my Xbox 360 (which I purchased in the January of 2007) stopped working (the Disc drive died), I could have sent it in to get repaired, but instead I proceeded to buy an elite(Wednesday the 23rd of September 2009), due to the fact it was cheaper than buying the repair, a bigger HDD, and the 2 games it was bundled with: Need for Speed: Shift and Tiger Woods 2010. So I went to a GAME (Why they need to shout it I know not) in Manchester, then proceeded to buy the console. I then travelled home on the bus, then recovered my Gamertag and transferred my DLC and XBLA titles licences to my new console, which al went really smoothly, so fast forward 6 days I download the demo for Super Street Fighter 2 High Definition Remix, which for some bizarre reason came up with a disc read error if I tried to play it, so I deleted it and re-downloaded which failed and I thought no more of it.

This was until Yesterday, I had a disc read error on a brand new copy of the Halo 3 complete multiplayer experience, then later on I the evening when playing an excellent few games of Grand Theft Auto IV multiplayer, during which these games I had two disc read errors, this was when I started to get worried, having this many errors only a week after purchasing, I not only suspected but was fairly sure that The console I had was a dud.

So this morning I turned on the Xbox to test it, then for some reason the HDD believed it needed to be formatted, so after trying it in my old console I was forced to Format, the same error message came up, I needed to get a replacement. Then I called up the shop from which I had bought the original console, checking that I could get a replacement, which was all fine. I then called up Microsoft asking whether I could get a second licence transfer from the broken elite to the new one, after about 40 minutes of explaining my situation repeatedly They said they needed the serial number of the replacement, then gave me a reference number so I didn't need to go through every thing again. So to GAME I went, and an exchange I obtained.

So when I got back home I called Microsoft again, saying I had all that they request I get hold of (replacement console, Proof of exchange, etc) then the person I was talking to got confused thinking I didn't need the licence transfer, then finally after I resorted to basic communication, I got the point across. So finally I was asked to send a copy of the proof of exchange to a support email address, which I have now done, now I apparently will receive a reply within the next few days as to when I have rights to the stuff I bought.

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So to start my Xbox 360 (which I purchased in the January of 2007) stopped working (the Disc drive died), I could have sent it in to get repaired, but instead I proceeded to buy an elite(Wednesday the 23rd of September 2009), due to the fact it was cheaper than buying the repair, a bigger HDD, and the 2 games it was bundled with: Need for Speed: Shift and Tiger Woods 2010. So I went to a GAME (Why they need to shout it I know not) in Manchester, then proceeded to buy the console. I then travelled home on the bus, then recovered my Gamertag and transferred my DLC and XBLA titles licences to my new console, which al went really smoothly, so fast forward 6 days I download the demo for Super Street Fighter 2 High Definition Remix, which for some bizarre reason came up with a disc read error if I tried to play it, so I deleted it and re-downloaded which failed and I thought no more of it.

This was until Yesterday, I had a disc read error on a brand new copy of the Halo 3 complete multiplayer experience, then later on I the evening when playing an excellent few games of Grand Theft Auto IV multiplayer, during which these games I had two disc read errors, this was when I started to get worried, having this many errors only a week after purchasing, I not only suspected but was fairly sure that The console I had was a dud.

So this morning I turned on the Xbox to test it, then for some reason the HDD believed it needed to be formatted, so after trying it in my old console I was forced to Format, the same error message came up, I needed to get a replacement. Then I called up the shop from which I had bought the original console, checking that I could get a replacement, which was all fine. I then called up Microsoft asking whether I could get a second licence transfer from the broken elite to the new one, after about 40 minutes of explaining my situation repeatedly They said they needed the serial number of the replacement, then gave me a reference number so I didn't need to go through every thing again. So to GAME I went, and an exchange I obtained.

So when I got back home I called Microsoft again, saying I had all that they request I get hold of (replacement console, Proof of exchange, etc) then the person I was talking to got confused thinking I didn't need the licence transfer, then finally after I resorted to basic communication, I got the point across. So finally I was asked to send a copy of the proof of exchange to a support email address, which I have now done, now I apparently will receive a reply within the next few days as to when I have rights to the stuff I bought.

Why did you take the bus?

It really sucks when this happens. I've had my Xbox fail once, after almost exactly two years or whatever the warranty period was. The replacement is still running, but I'm permanently prepared for its demise at any point. I'm not that worried either, as its become so cheap you can almost consider it a consumable.

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Why did you take the bus?

As there was neither a fire truck or an ice cream van, in all seriousness, I don't drive and I'm not carrying a 360 over 2 miles.

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You could have saved some money and hassle if you just bought and installed a new disc drive on the first broken Xbox, opening the 360 isn't hard, and if the warranty's irrelevant then there's nothing stopping you.

Or you could have just manually red-ringed the fucker.

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You could have saved some money and hassle if you just bought and installed a new disc drive on the first broken Xbox, opening the 360 isn't hard, and if the warranty's irrelevant then there's nothing stopping you.

Or you could have just manually red-ringed the fucker.

Well the amount of bad luck I have had with technology in the past month has been ridiculous having had a laptop, ipod, an xbox and some other random technology die on me. As well as the newer 360s using less power than the old ones.

I also don't like opening things that come sealed.

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well im on my 5th xbox, finally paid for the extra long warrenty this time round, unless u have magic hands dont open the thing, it never ends well

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Well the amount of bad luck I have had with technology in the past month has been ridiculous having had a laptop, ipod, an xbox and some other random technology die on me. As well as the newer 360s using less power than the old ones.

Maybe your body wants you to become Amish? Anyway, here's that consumer rights link showing that, just because your product is out of warranty, doesn't mean the manufacturer doesn't need to fix it...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/8253915.stm

I also don't like opening things that come sealed.

How do you eat crisps? ;(

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Maybe your body wants you to become Amish? Anyway, here's that consumer rights link showing that, just because your product is out of warranty, doesn't mean the manufacturer doesn't need to fix it...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/8253915.stm

How do you eat crisps? ;(

Yeah, I went to the apple shop yesterday, to ask what I could do; they suggested I get it repaired by a 3rd party. I might try and call up their customer services and refer them to that law, The Ipod itself is in good condition, bar a slight dent and surface damage.

I meant electronics.

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OK update time.

Have had a few calls from Microsoft in the last few days, a few of which I haven't been able to do anything with whatsoever, both of which were when I was unable to access my console (in the University of Manchester's School of Mathematics and a bar), so they called me back about half an hour ago, asking for several pieces of information to complete the transfer of my licences: the first of which was the Console's ID number, the second was my gamertag (the first time they asked for it and finally a couple of pieces of content which I am unable to access offline, which I chose Splosion Man and Shadow Complex (weirdly, with these being relatively high profile titles, the person had no idea how to spell them). Now I am waiting for a final piece of correspondence to confirm that the licence transfer has been completed.

All in all it has been a reasonably smooth process, if a little slow. I had heard bad things about the Microsoft customer support (except for RROD), but they seem to be the horror stories.

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