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Crashing 360s... Is it common?

lachesis

lachesis

Member
I just got my 360 yesterday, finally. Exicted as a little boy, while I still haven't hooked up to the live (that's today's project) I tried out PGR3's solo career mode. About 10 laps, getting beaten by others on normal difficulty, nothing much happened for hw wise. I mean, the machine's pretty loud when the disc is in - but I thought the temp wise it's not too hot, and thought pretty stable.

After a while, I came back and tried a couple more times after deleting most of the movies, music and stuff, in the middle of the race, 360 just froze out of no where. I rebooted, and started again - and in the middle of race it froze again. about... 3 times.

I thought I would have to give up or what not - but tried one more time - by moving the console a bit more to the open (it'a actually located in pretty open area), and straightening the power line a bit, and it didn't crash.

I didn't see any ring of death nor any kind of symptom - but it just froze in the middle. I am wondering if it's common for any other PGR3 owners - or is it my HW problem? - or is it a common problem for all 360 owners that we'll have to live with this? It's like having my first date blown.. :(

lachesis
 
Actually I think that is a common problem with PGR3 if I'm not mistaken.

Also, I got my 360 yesterday as well. Go us. ^_^ The only problem I've had was one time when I tried to turn on the system via the controller, the ring of light (on the controller) blinked continuously but the system remained off until I manually turned it on.
 
I've had about 2 or 3 instances of this happening, but it doesn't appear to be hardware related...I assume its merely a bug in the game that caused the machine to lock up. When you think about the complexity of the chips and the short certification time, bugs are bound to slip through (COD2 savebug, for ex.).

DocPan: You wouldn't happen to have more than 1 controller, would you? I had the same problem when I tried using my secondary controller...I think it has to do with the system "remembering" the last controller used for player 1...I could be wrong though.
 
I don't have PGR3 (sim racing games are not my thing) and my 360 has yet to crash. I'm having this weird problem with CoD2, though, where it's erasing my completed levels...
 
When I borrowed PGR3 from a friend, it never happened during races, but whenever I'd go into the guide it would. Really annoying, too, getting a message or invite and wham, it locking up.

But, yeah, for races, online, solo, whatever, not once, but I've heard many a story about it.
 
3rdman said:
I've had about 2 or 3 instances of this happening, but it doesn't appear to be hardware related...I assume its merely a bug in the game that caused the machine to lock up. When you think about the complexity of the chips and the short certification time, bugs are bound to slip through (COD2 savebug, for ex.).
Click to expand...

If by that you mean when you consider the rushed hardware and software. Granted they'll work out the kinks and it's natural but I actually wonder what the figure is on hardware failure. I mean the manufacturing difficulties combined with all the anecdotal evidence of failures. MS says 2% but I wonder how many people think their 360 is bad cause that's the only game they have.
 
D3VI0US said:
If by that you mean when you consider the rushed hardware and software. Granted they'll work out the kinks and it's natural but I actually wonder what the figure is on hardware failure. I mean the manufacturing difficulties combined with all the anecdotal evidence of failures. MS says 2% but I wonder how many people think their 360 is bad cause that's the only game they have.
Click to expand...

As you said, annecdotal evidence...everyone I know personally that has a 360 is completely happy with their purchase and hasn't complained about any bugs whatsoever. I don't see why we shouldn't take MS on their word here...The PS3 and Rev will surely also have similiar issues (especially PS3) and the people screaming loudest are always on the internets....so, annectodal evidence FTW?
 
I love my 360, like no machine I've ever had. I compare the excitement with it to my first Super NES and the N64. It's a beautiful machine with a ton of potential and some (repeat: some) great launch games. I'm very happy with my purchase.

With the previously mentioned savebug for CoD2 being the only complaint I've had and that's not Microsoft's fault.

OT: interesting how Activision saved face with this one: http://www.venturus.com/index.php/playfeed/article/call-duty-2-temporary-bug-fix-12151222/
 
I get the dirty disc message all the time in PGR3... :(
It's only when a race is loading though, it (almost) never happens in the middle of a race .
WHen I first got the game, it never happened either, but it has become more and more frequent lately, to the point where I feel it is almost unplayable.
I don't think it has anything to do with overheating since the 360 is in the open and I also have PDZ and it has never happened in that.
 
I've had one or two Dashboard-related crashes...nothing else. Yet :D Apart from that I'm extremely happy with the 360 so far. Cracking games, great hardware, superb software (Dashboard) and Xbox Live is just in a completely different league now.

I'd love to see Sony's and Nintendo's alternative to Xbox Live. tbh it would have to go an awful long way to beat Microsoft's service, IMO. The way it's so intuitively built into the console and every game has changed gaming forever for me.
 
I've had mine for a week now (love it!) and the only time it happened to me was when I tried looking at the friends list while I was playing another game, without pausing it. I kind of think the integration of the dash caused it to glitch, but I'm not sure.

This is launch hardware and software though, so I was sure to send in the warranty.

Also, I've played for hours and hours on end and the stories I heard here about the heat of the power unit were greatly exaggerated.
 
Well what I'm saying is sketch is the shortage combined with all the anecdotal evidence. It seems like every hardware launch it gets blown out of proportion and in place like GAF it's hard to get a feel about who legit and who's shady about it, people have biases. Scares me away from launch hardware honestly not to metion bugs and price gouging. Retail Extended Warranties FTW.
 
I've had mine for 3 days, and have played a lot of PGR3. I've never had it crash in that or any of the games I've played.

But man, it makes so much noise. When it's loading tracks in PGR3, I swear it sounds like the DVD drive is literally shredding my disc up inside. No dirty disc errors, though.

That's actually the worst part about it, the fact that it's so loud. It sounds like a small lawnmower at times. And you know MS is coming out with a quiter rev in 5-6 months.
 
I've had mine a week before it was released, and its only crashed on me once, but I was trying out the Backwards Compatibility so it was probably a problem with the emulator. I've had the "Xbox Dashboard wont go away" glitch a few times though. That's all.
 
Quieter one would be really nice. yes.. this machine is quite loud when the disc is in.

Anyhow, thanks for the feedbacks - I guess I'm not the only one who's having a bit of good ol' crashing...
 
Every single game I've played on my 360 has crashed at some point. It just seems to me that the hardware is a bit sketchy. Just be glad your 360 hasn't ruined one of your discs yet. Mine let a big scratch on my PDZ.
 
I was about to start a thread of my own to rant, but I'll just hijack this one. :)

Screw you, Microsoft, and all your shoddy products. My 360 has started crashing on a regular basis this week. First happened playing Ridge Racer, when at the end of a gruelling series of races it let out some horrible white noise, corrupted the screen and froze. I figured it was the game to blame, but now I can't play for half an hour without the same thing happening, and it's not just Ridge Racer - everything has the same problem.

As if to add insult to injury, when I shut down my XP machine and tried to reboot it with a new monitor attached the drive died, and I've just spent half an hour trying to get Windows XP to install on an SATA drive. If Gentoo Linux can manage it out the box, why the hell can't XP?

This is the first hardware problem I've ever had with a new system - I've got a launch day PS2 that works just fine. Only hardware failure I've ever had was a hideously abused PlayStation that died because of a surfeit of hair in the CD drive, and I take full responsibility for that (it's the reason I now have a beard rather than long hair). This failure, though, is all on Microsoft. Mailed technical support - they'd better fix or replace this one quickly.
 
What I find odd is that only games on discs cause the fans to turn on and the excessive noise.

If I play a demo off the harddrive, the fans don't turn on. I was playing the fightnight demo for about 3 hours with my friend, and not once did the fans turn on.

I wonder if the heat generated by playing a game isn't enought to need the fans... but as soon as you start spinning the DVD drive it's needed.

If that's true, I really wish that I could copy/pay-for-download games directly to my drive instead of buying them on disc.
 
Quote from the new EDGE magazine on the 360's problems:

Edge said:
This much has become clear: never have so large a number of new console owners been exposed (whether directly or through friends) to broken machines. It's likely precise figures will never be announced, but enough verified experiences have passed through this office to suggest that the problems are substantial. The alleged symptoms are widespread, and though it's likely that many of them do only occur within usually accepted tolerances of around 3-5% of machines, the heat-related issues stand out.
Click to expand...
 
mine locked up playing DOA 4 as tina during the first cinema with bass at the fruit mart.

I dont really care though I bought a warranty and *can also* get it swapped if there are issues with it down the road.

Even if it ends up being a once in awhile thing im gonna use the warranty probably over the summer to get a new one (i did the same thing with the ps2 for its first couple years.)
 
Well, I think I will have to call MS and replace my 360. I tried out DOA4, and it also crashes like crazy - to the point that I just don't think it's a sw matter. :(

First time I'm taking my console for replacement... and I thought original PSX which had to be turned upside down to load some games was bad enough...

I just hope this MS replacement program is as prompt as others are saying... I just droped another 200+ dollars for wireless, Xbox live subscription, etc...
 
Mine has crashed twice or maybe 3 times while playing around in PGR3's menu.

Never crashed during Kameo. No heat issues whatsoever though, it doesn't even get mildly warm (neither does the brick).

I'd call the MS support up, because the problems you are describing are not normal.
 
The ONLY problem Ive had with my 360 was the corrupted data for Madden. For some odd reason my game wouldn't sim past week2. That and there hasn't been a game wrth getting since launch. (I dont play fighters)
 
I haven't had any problems at all since I got my new replacement system in mid-December. Knock on wood.

I did make it crash once when I tried to check a voice message while playing PGR. I pulled up the blade and tried to check it without going to dash and everything froze. I blame that on either PGR3 (which is getting traded in) or on the dash.
 
Ive had my 360 since mid December and can only recall it crashing twice but niether of those occured with PGR. Id say thats a pretty abnormal thing if youve only had it for a day.
 
I believe I've had two lock ups... One in DOA4, and one in PGR3. There are also occasionally brief pauses during the "Team Ninja" logo video...
 
The only game that has crashed my 360 has been Madden. Piece of shit game is glitchy as hell. I think it has frozen in the middle of a game about three times.
 
sigh. It freezes pretty regularly now - especially during 30+min session. All the other function does not crash, like playing original Xbox games or even playing Arcade games - but playing any 360 game does.

It does seem like somewhat ventilation/heat related issue as it freezes after certain amount of playing time - but my 360 is located at pretty well ventilated area. I checked the air coming behind the machine when it crashed, and it's not really too hot either - warm, but not hot... I reboot the game, and usually locks up again within 10 min of playtime.

I just talked to MS support guy..and I'll be getting a box by tuesday. I guess I'll be 360 less for another week or two... Hopefully my replacement machine is good and stable.

Anyhow, thanks everyone for chipping in your experience with 360.
 
I've had mine since the 1st week in December, and I've had exactly 3 lock-ups. Two were in King Kong, and both were when I tried to do something odd, like throw flaming spears into wierd spots :lol

The other time was in PGR3. I believe all of these to be the work of incomplete programming.
 
I've had the system freeze on me a few times with X360 games and tons with Xbox1 games (I'm looking at you Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory). I'm sure there'd be a lot more crashes if I played it more though...
 
Since I got my 360 at launch it has frozen up once. Pretty normal. I've never owned a gaming system that hasnt frozen up every once in a while. Actually, I take that back, I have never had my DS freeze up.
 
lachesis said:
sigh. It freezes pretty regularly now - especially during 30+min session. All the other function does not crash, like playing original Xbox games or even playing Arcade games - but playing any 360 game does.

It does seem like somewhat ventilation/heat related issue as it freezes after certain amount of playing time - but my 360 is located at pretty well ventilated area. I checked the air coming behind the machine when it crashed, and it's not really too hot either - warm, but not hot... I reboot the game, and usually locks up again within 10 min of playtime.

I just talked to MS support guy..and I'll be getting a box by tuesday. I guess I'll be 360 less for another week or two... Hopefully my replacement machine is good and stable.

Anyhow, thanks everyone for chipping in your experience with 360.
Click to expand...


http://www.ga-forum.com/showthread.php?t=83207

Be scared.
 
Haven't had a crash or freeze in constant play time since 11/22. I dunno. I've given mine a lot of ventilation as it's sitting on top of my stereo rack with nothing above or to the sides of it. Maybe that's a factor. I also keep it horizontal, not vertical. Who knows. Maybe it doesn't disperese heat as well when vertical. Shrug.

The only problem I have had started this week when the 360 no longer sees my mp3 files on my computer. Very possibly a computer problem, though, as I keep getting messages that there's a problem with "explorer.exe" and it needs to shut down.
 
I'm gonna have to dig out an XBox game to hear the lawnmower. Only played demos so far, though PDZ arrives in the next few days. No problems so far.
 
My system is being shipped tomorrow according to the ebay seller. I can't wait to get it and make it crash and tell you all about it!
 
Just chiming in as a Japanese 360 owner (360 is Japanese, not me ;)

In the two weeks I've had it, I'd say it's crashed about 20 times, always when I'm doing dashboard stuff while playing PGR3. However, since I've learned from other forumites that dashboarding while PGR3ing is bad, I only visit the dashboard when no game is currently running and it hasn't crashed since. BUT I WANT TO READ EMAILS AND STUFF WHILE HAVING A GAME RUNNING... FIX IT YOU BASTARDS.
 
DOA4 has locked up on me a few times when looking at profiles while the game runs in the background and a couple of times during the intro/logo screens. That seems to be common.

PDZ locked up on me a couple of times also.

that is it so far.
 
bengraven said:
I love my 360, like no machine I've ever had. I compare the excitement with it to my first Super NES and the N64. It's a beautiful machine with a ton of potential and some (repeat: some) great launch games. I'm very happy with my purchase.

With the previously mentioned savebug for CoD2 being the only complaint I've had and that's not Microsoft's fault.

OT: interesting how Activision saved face with this one: http://www.venturus.com/index.php/playfeed/article/call-duty-2-temporary-bug-fix-12151222/
Click to expand...


Thanks for that info.....I wish I had known that BEFORE I fell vitim to that awful 'bug'. Infinity Ward programmers should be flogged for this!
 
Well, my freeze-up isn't anything related to the dash board... it just freezes. Like when there's a big KO sign coming up when you beat someone on DOA4, it just freezes in mid-frame or so. Didn't press any guide buttons or whatever... I also noticed it freezes when there's certain impact on the screen - like an explosion or often "rumble" related - like when I hit the side wall while playing PGR3 or so. Indeed, very strange.

Mine is also sitting horizontaly, not vertically - as it just replaced the spot where the original Xbox was sitting... and it has at least 3 inches of space on left and right, 6 inches on top, and a foot of empty space behind in open space, near my window, where you do feel the chill coming in a bit from outside.

Hope I won't get mine lost by UPS... (crossing fingers). A co-worker of mine who got his replaced, didn't have any problems with them.
 
iapetus said:
I was about to start a thread of my own to rant, but I'll just hijack this one. :)

Screw you, Microsoft, and all your shoddy products. My 360 has started crashing on a regular basis this week. First happened playing Ridge Racer, when at the end of a gruelling series of races it let out some horrible white noise, corrupted the screen and froze. I figured it was the game to blame, but now I can't play for half an hour without the same thing happening, and it's not just Ridge Racer - everything has the same problem.

As if to add insult to injury, when I shut down my XP machine and tried to reboot it with a new monitor attached the drive died, and I've just spent half an hour trying to get Windows XP to install on an SATA drive. If Gentoo Linux can manage it out the box, why the hell can't XP?

This is the first hardware problem I've ever had with a new system - I've got a launch day PS2 that works just fine. Only hardware failure I've ever had was a hideously abused PlayStation that died because of a surfeit of hair in the CD drive, and I take full responsibility for that (it's the reason I now have a beard rather than long hair). This failure, though, is all on Microsoft. Mailed technical support - they'd better fix or replace this one quickly.
Click to expand...

sorry but that title goes to the ps2... i dont know anyone who hasnt gone through at least 2 ps2's...
 
Mine crashed once when I was going through the network settings set up. Does anybody know how long the default manufacturers warranty is on this thing. I got some peice of paper with mine suggesting I sign up and pay for a two year replacement warranty. I'd rather not have to do this, hopefully the regular warranty lasts long enough.
 
Docpan said:
Actually I think that is a common problem with PGR3 if I'm not mistaken.

Also, I got my 360 yesterday as well. Go us. ^_^ The only problem I've had was one time when I tried to turn on the system via the controller, the ring of light (on the controller) blinked continuously but the system remained off until I manually turned it on.
Click to expand...

This happened to me too. Just unplug your 360 for a minute and then plug it back in and it will work again.

If you want to crash your 360 guaranteed, just go to the dash while playing DOA4 online. Works every time.
 
bengraven said:
I love my 360, like no machine I've ever had. I compare the excitement with it to my first Super NES and the N64. It's a beautiful machine with a ton of potential and some (repeat: some) great launch games. I'm very happy with my purchase.
Click to expand...

Why do people 'love' a michine like no other, purely based on potential?

I just don't understand.
 
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