Xbox 360 problem - will a new Arcade system fix it?

[Austin]

Hi everyone,

I've got a first-gen Xbox 360 system (20 GB hard drive) that I've had since near launch. I'm afraid it's finally hitting its last legs - games are starting to freeze (Culdcept Saga) or give me disk read errors (Brutal Legend).

I'm looking at the 360 Arcade, which is under $150 most places, and because I've already got a hard drive from my old system I could drop in it. My question, though - do you think that'll fix my freezing/crashing problem? Or, could it be a problem with the hard drive itself, where I'd need to get a new one?

I guess it's just a matter of fixing cheap with an Arcade system, or springing for one of the new slim consoles for much more? If I can save a few (or a hundred) bucks, that'd be great.

Thanks!
Austin

[Leo_A]

I doubt it's the hard drive.

Your freezing symptoms if they happen frequently (Say once every few hours) are commonly considered a sign that your 360 is on it's death bed and will see the RROD in the coming weeks.

And it also sounds like your 360's disc drive is on it's way out (Another common failure).

I have no doubt that your hard drive is fine.

[exit]

I'd say spring for an Arcade since they just dropped $50, it's the best option considering you're trying to spend the least amount of money possible. The new 360 looks nice and all, but saving a few hundred dollars sounds like a better deal to me.

[PapaStu]

I doubt it's the hard drive.

Your freezing symptoms if they happen frequently (Say once every few hours) are commonly considered a sign that your 360 is on it's death bed and will see the RROD in the coming weeks.

And it also sounds like your 360's disc drive is on it's way out (Another common failure).

I have no doubt that your hard drive is fine.

I highly doubt that its RRoD related.
It sounds like the drive is shitting out. Have you been getting the 'Please insert a DVD or Xbox 360 game' error or the multi language white screen error? Once you get that white screen the drive is on its last legs.

I'd only be worrying about the HD when you can't get it to load games and/or you start to hear it click and stuff. I've not known of any HD's that have gone out. Tons of systems, no HD's.

[phreakindee]

Mine was doing the exact same things nearly a year ago, it was also an old one with a 20GB HDD. I had heard it COULD be hard drive trouble, but no. I just bought a new arcade system and used the hard drive, never had even a hint of a problem since.

[diskoboy]

Trade your old one in for a slim. The new hardware blows even the Jasper consoles, out of the water.

Gamestop is currently giving $100 store credit towards a slim, for your old 360. And if you have a 20GB HD, you get an extra $30, after you trade the old HD (after you're done transferring it to the new one).

[shopkins]

When my Xbox started RROD'ing games would make a loud beep and everything on the screen would freeze. Is your console doing that? Have you tried calling Microsoft to complain? You might be able to get them to fix it for free if you raise enough stink about it. Free is better than cheap.

I have a related question that I hope is not off-topic to ask, since it could happen to this guy. If your original Xbox fails completely can you still do transfer the data off the old hard drive to the new one with just the new Xbox? I want to wait until my current one completely shits the bed before I upgrade, but I can't do that if you need two working Xboxes to transfer all of your saves.

[Cobra Commander]

If you're going to buy a new system, I'd get a new XBOXThreesixty. But that's just me.

[Mr Fwibbles]

Is it freezing during loading sequences, or in the middle of games? If it's during boot-up or loading screens, wait and see if you eventually get an E79 error when the system starts up. If you do, that indicates a bad hard drive. If it's just freezing at random, my money is on a general hardware failure.

[diskoboy]

I have a related question that I hope is not off-topic to ask, since it could happen to this guy. If your original Xbox fails completely can you still do transfer the data off the old hard drive to the new one with just the new Xbox? I want to wait until my current one completely shits the bed before I upgrade, but I can't do that if you need two working Xboxes to transfer all of your saves.

You don't need the original 360 to transfer the HD to a "360-S".

http://www.joystiq.com/2010/06/14/xbox-360-slim-hdd-data-transfer-cable-to-retail-for-19-99/

[shopkins]

You don't need the original 360 to transfer the HD to a "360-S".

http://www.joystiq.com/2010/06/14/xbox-360-slim-hdd-data-transfer-cable-to-retail-for-19-99/

Thanks. So I guess I'll just use this one until it melts down, then.

[Leo_A]

I highly doubt that its RRoD related.
It sounds like the drive is shitting out. Have you been getting the 'Please insert a DVD or Xbox 360 game' error or the multi language white screen error? Once you get that white screen the drive is on its last legs.

I'd only be worrying about the HD when you can't get it to load games and/or you start to hear it click and stuff. I've not known of any HD's that have gone out. Tons of systems, no HD's.

Lockups during gameplay on the 360 typically indicate that the RROD is going to make it's way to your console soon.

Disc drive trouble typically won't cause it. Disc drive trouble will give you a disk read error (Which the OP has experienced which means his disc drive is going up too), textures won't load, etc. I've never experienced or heard of lockups on the 360 being associated with a disc drive going bad. If a major issue occurred during loading that prevented the program from operating, you'd typically get a error message, not a lock up.

A lock up is usually a sympton of a console that is about to see the RROD.

[Austin]

Thanks, everyone!

A new symptom developed just this afternoon: the system's stopped booting up regularly. I see the system logo when it's powered on, and then... nothing, two times out of three. Other times, it just starts regularly.

Yep, this puppy's definitely on the way out.

[shopkins]

Thanks, everyone!

A new symptom developed just this afternoon: the system's stopped booting up regularly. I see the system logo when it's powered on, and then... nothing, two times out of three. Other times, it just starts regularly.

Yep, this puppy's definitely on the way out.

That's the other symptom, in addition to freezes, mine showed before it RROD'd. Keep messing with it until you get the red lights and then try to see if you can get MS to fix it.

[migo]

It's supposed to hit $100 for Father's Day, with a 2 game pack in.

[Dobie]

Buy the Arcade unit, it should have a couple games with it also. You'll get a reliable system, it will likely be quieter than your old one, and has a small amount of flash memory built in (512 mb). You can mitigate the costs further by selling the games, controller, and extra headset if you'd like. Then if your other system is still functional, you can trade it in or sell it.

You could also do what I did, and just keep it in the closet as an "emergency system." A spare box for friends if you want to LAN, a backup if my other one happens to break, or just something to tinker with. Because I always seem to take apart my electronics at some point. :-/

[understatement]

I’m probably a bit late to this party but…

Have you tried removing the HDD? I got a few HDD recently one of which was bad and when I was testing it my 360 would freeze at the boot up logo. I don’t know about your other problems but it seems to connect like a game would freeze if it would try to access the HDD or a game would give you a disk read error if it needed the HDD to boot.

[migo]

Trade your old one in for a slim. The new hardware blows even the Jasper consoles, out of the water.

Gamestop is currently giving $100 store credit towards a slim, for your old 360. And if you have a 20GB HD, you get an extra $30, after you trade the old HD (after you're done transferring it to the new one).

I'd wait on that. The disc scratching problems are much worse on the new one, and tear downs have shown that there's still the same potential for total system failure.