Thanks Microsoft for building such a shitty console.

S

StoOgE

First tragedy, then farce.
Before I get flamed (which is going to happen) please look up my post history. I am one of the larger 'Xbots' on the forum. I think Microsft has put together some of the best software, I think Xbox Live kicks ass and the Xbox is a powerfull piece of hardware. That said, its also the biggest steaming pile of shit I have ever run across...

The disc lockup problem is driving me insane. I am on my second Xbox and both of them have constantly had massive lockup problems. Morrowind was next to impossible to beat (I would literally save every 5 minutes in fear of a lockup costing me my progress... with Halo 2 its only gotten worse. Anyone who plays with me knows there is a 50/50 chance that Im not going to load the map and have to restart the Xbox. By the time that happens Ive usually been replaced in the group and they are off playing and poor StoOgE is left behind to play with some random retards.

The biggest problem is Phantasy Star Online. In an effort to keep people from cheating turning off the console results in a loss of all non equiped items (this keeps people from giving their buddy all of their cool items and then turning off their console and reverting to an old save file so that both people have the cool items). This is all well and good until my Xbox locks up just as we beat Dark Falz and I am returning to the ship and all the rare items I picked up in the process as well as the massive stat increase are lost. I need to get my MAG to level 50 in order to upgrade it to a Chu Chu rocket Mag... its been sitting at 43 and slowly progressing to 48-49 before my Xbox locks up and I have to start again.

I know its not a widespread problem, and only afflicts those of us with the "Thompson" DVD Drives... but there is no way to tell if you are getting a Thompson drive or not before you buy it.. and I payed the exact same price as everyone else (more than most actually, since I got my first one at launch and my second 8 months or so after).. its not like I went to the store and bought the one that said "Xbox: Shitty edition". The fact that Microsoft wants me to pay 100 dollars in order to have them fix a defective product pisses me off even more. I am more than willing to go buy a third Xbox but with my luck I would get the same shitty DVD drive again and within 12 months it would be acting up.

So again, thanks MS. Instead of enjoying my games online I find myself throwing my headset and controller down in disgust on a nightly basis as I realize all my progress in PSO for the day has been lost or that Ive been booted from playing Halo 2.
 
That sucks ass. I just got my Xbox in September and I've got a Phillips drive with no problems so far. I haven't tried Morrowind or PSO yet, though.
 
i dunno if it's any consolation, but the morrowind crashes are a software problem, and they happen on all xboxen.
 
I'm positive the Halo 2 problem was solved in the Download Content, and the problems with Morrowind were attended to in the GOTY version (not perfect, though).

And only old-model Xboxes have the Thompson drives. They're all but eliminated now.
 
1) I have the Halo DLC, doesnt load maps just as badly as before. Glad your positive about it though. :lol

2) I have Morrowind GOTY edition and it locks up all the time too. I know that is a software issue at times, but its gotten progressively worse which leads me to believe its the hardware (either that or the larger the save file the worse it gets, thats possible). When I first got the new console lock ups were extremely rare, they are happening more and more frequently.

If the Thompson drives really are no longer used I might go get another Xbox, but it pisses me off that I will be on my third one. That money could very easily go towards games.
 
I agree about the drive issue...though I guess Thompsons aren't one of the drives put into systems for awhile, now. Hopefully, MS can be put to task, like Sony, via legal means so that drive repairs/replacements are free. What's going on with that supposed class action lawsuit I heard about earlier in the year?
 
lockii said:
I didn't think the Thompson drives were still in Retail Xbox's. Is this not the case?
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I don't know about the US. But I just bought a brand new retail Xbox in Japan last month and it's a Thompson drive :\
 
That's ridiculous they want you to bear the cost of their defective drive, which everyone knows about; terrible customer relations.
 
The PSO problem isn't the Xbox's. I think it's an error within the game code. It exists on the GC version as well. Many times my GC has frozen while playing PSO and I've lost all items not equipped. I'm not sure if this has been fixed in PSO+ or any changes to server, but I doubt it.
 
adam20 said:
response to thread topic... but um microsoft doesnt make the ps2... SONY DOES???? I DUN GET THIS TOPIC :O
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BANDED


This makes me wary to buy an Xboxen, with the chance of getting a thompson drive :/ I've never had a console that died and i don't want to start now.
 
deadlifter said:
BANDED


This makes me wary to buy an Xboxen, with the chance of getting a thompson drive :/ I've never had a console that died and i don't want to start now.
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They don't make them anymore; you won't get one. You'll get one like mine that lasted since launch through 2 PS2s.
 
Im pretty sure the PSO problem is the Xbox. I know the bug exists on the gamecube.. but its only supposed to exist when you enter a new area and the game loads (telepipe, warp to next area, etc). Mine does it when the music changes in the middle of the same area.. it will start skipping and acting all wanky then it locks up. Thats pretty consistent with the problems I have with games like Crimson Skies, PGR2 and the first Halo.
 
Bebpo said:
I don't know about the US. But I just bought a brand new retail Xbox in Japan last month and it's a Thompson drive :\
Click to expand...

thats probably still a launch Xbox :lol .

I guess Im going to go get an Xbox in the next couple days, but with my luck I will get the last Thompson drive Xbox out there.
 
StoOgE said:
Im pretty sure the PSO problem is the Xbox. I know the bug exists on the gamecube.. but its only supposed to exist when you enter a new area and the game loads (telepipe, warp to next area, etc). Mine does it when the music changes in the middle of the same area.. it will start skipping and acting all wanky then it locks up. Thats pretty consistent with the problems I have with games like Crimson Skies, PGR2 and the first Halo.
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Interesting, well that's definitely no fun. D: I stand corrected.
 
StoOgE said:
thats probably still a launch Xbox :lol .

I guess Im going to go get an Xbox in the next couple days, but with my luck I will get the last Thompson drive Xbox out there.
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This is why I get the BB warranty (at least how it used to be); which I used to just assume was a rip. But since at any normal BB they'll accept it no questions asked when you bring at back and give you the full amount you paid for it, it's not just a warranty, it's also price drop insurance! I'm actually toying w/ the idea of bringing back my $150GC and getting a $99GC w/ Mario Kart and having 50 bucks left over.

X-Box of course is a different consideration b/c of the hard drive data, so I don't think I'm gonna do it w/ the X-Box.
 
I have a launch Xbox and through it's entire life have only ever had 3 problems- Some Xbox demo discs didn't work when they still came in cardboard slip covers, possibly do to static , once they switched to mini slip covers the problem was eliminated. GTA3 in the double pack crashes if you don't save often enough, like if you do 2 or 3 missions and get some packages without saving and play for 3+ hours straight it always crashes when you go to save. Finally I had the incredibles demo on the last xbox disc crash, I think that was the software though.


I might add that I do appear to have a thompson Xbox.
 
I actually had something similar at EBgames with my first Xbox. It was a 12 month replacement warranty. I first had issues with Halo right after the first of the year and was going to return it, but realized all of my save files would be lost so I decided to live with the 'minor' problem. Very quickly thereafter it got much worse to the point where games would fail to load the majority of the time or would crash very quickly after I started playing. This Xbox is getting significantly worse by the day, I think its heading for the same fate as the first.
 
Bebpo said:
I don't know about the US. But I just bought a brand new retail Xbox in Japan last month and it's a Thompson drive :\
Click to expand...

It may be some old stock from launch, heh ! So does my launch Japanese X-BOX. :lol

edit: Oops ! I was late.

BTW, my thompson drive is working fine, may be I am lucky.

edit2: Oh and mine is the batch that make scratches on the game discs. Heh !
 
I'm replacing my XDude drive with a modified Samsung 616-T tomorrow.

I got stuck with a drive that produces the read errors. It's probably Thompson. I bought the XDude this past July. MS wanted $80 to fix it because it was out of their crappy 90-day warranty.
 
StoOgE said:
I actually had something similar at EBgames with my first Xbox. It was a 12 month replacement warranty. I first had issues with Halo right after the first of the year and was going to return it, but realized all of my save files would be lost so I decided to live with the 'minor' problem. Very quickly thereafter it got much worse to the point where games would fail to load the majority of the time or would crash very quickly after I started playing. This Xbox is getting significantly worse by the day, I think its heading for the same fate as the first.
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Man you have terrible freaking luck with X-Boxes. Are you using them as a dinner table by any chance?
 
deadlifter said:
BANDED


This makes me wary to buy an Xboxen, with the chance of getting a thompson drive :/ I've never had a console that died and i don't want to start now.
Click to expand...

um 98% of ppl i think dont experience thompson drive problems. just dont buy your xbox if it is an old box from the back with cobwebs. thompson drive xboxes aren't supposed to exist anymore for purchase. So don't worry. This is a problem that effects the smallest minority in the history of mankind. no foolin. go get your xbox mmmkay
 
Btw, If you have an Xbox with a Thompson drive just mod it and turn it into a media centre. My Thompson drive is still working (because it's not being used much. :D )
 
Um, I have to offer a visual rebuttal to this thread. I was in a fire eariler this year, lost all of my belongings. The only thing that last was my Xbox. My PC from Ibuypower melted down to GBA size. Let's not go there with my PS2 and GC. I rebought all 3 systems plus a new PC from ibuypower. Surprisingly, my old Xbox still works. I thought with the HDD in there, that would be first to go. If you notice the switch on the burned one, there is an Xecuter chip on there. Aladdin Advance on the newer one.


xbox1.JPG

xbox2.JPG

xbox3.JPG

xbox4.JPG

xbox6.JPG


I realized I didn't have the drive in question on either console, I consider myself lucky now

This is my newer PC, I'm going to get a laptop from them next year
xbox5.JPG
 
StoOgE said:
The fact that Microsoft wants me to pay 100 dollars in order to have them fix a defective product pisses me off even more.
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you do know that M$ has been replacing peoples Xbox at no cost to the customer right? You just have to speak to the customer service rep in the right way, and they are just going to make sure that you aren't scamming them, but they usually will replace the unit for free.... From a lot of reports I've read on the web, the M$ customer service is 10 times better than Sony and Nintendo's....
 
MrparisSM said:
From a lot of reports I've read on the web, the M$ customer service is 10 times better than [snip] Nintendo's....
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you've got to be fucking kidding me...Nintendo's customer support is so much better that your comment doesn't make any sense. the only way it makes sense is in the sense that unlike Sony and MS products, Ninty ones are rarely defective so there would be less cases n general.
 
Gattsu25 said:
you've got to be fucking kidding me...Nintendo's customer support is so much better that your comment doesn't make any sense. the only way it makes sense is in the sense that unlike Sony and MS products, Ninty ones are rarely defective so there would be less cases n general.
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That's true about Nintendo systems, they never break on me. I have owned most almost everything except the Virtual Boy, Gameboy Pocket, and GBA SP. I have never had any problems with any of the Nintendo systems. I've had trouble with Sega Genesis, PS1, PS2 and Xbox. The only problem I had with Xbox was that it wasn't reading disks for a little while, but it got fixed on it's own.
 
I always find it kind of amusing that when someones console gives up the ghost or has problems there's a kind of banner tagging - PS2's are teh crap , Microsoft can't make a decent built console. These kind of things happen with them all unfortunately, but there is no real rhyme nor reason to it - just bad (or good) luck.

I've been very lucky - had PSX for 3 years with no problems till I dropped a speaker on the RF input ad broke it. Dreamcast gave no problems for a year. Never had a PS2, but i've got a couple of mates who have had o0ne's since launch with nary a problem.

I got a pal launch Xbox with the dreaded Thomson drive, and have had a couple of dirty disc errors and these were remedied by either cleaning the disc, or givin the DVD lens a clean (i do this on all my lens-stuff every month or so).

Bottom line is that you'll always get some defective products, just some people are unlucky. Console build and reliability as compared to Pal CRT Televisions for example.... lol not even in the same ball park.
 
yeah StOoge pretty much ruins our matches on Halo 2 :P

But its alright when he joins us later when the game loads
 
Gattsu25 said:
you've got to be fucking kidding me...Nintendo's customer support is so much better that your comment doesn't make any sense. the only way it makes sense is in the sense that unlike Sony and MS products, Ninty ones are rarely defective so there would be less cases n general.
Click to expand...

Ummm, do you remember a system called NES?? That damn thing reeked with problems. You don't hear about it now because it was so long ago. But saying that there have Rarely been any problems with Nintendo systems is a flat out lie. Rember blowing catridges for 10 minutes and them still not working? What about putting the damn Catridge in the freezer hoping it would work? :lol I remember people doing all that, and a lot more with the NES.
 
MrparisSM said:
Ummm, do you remember a system called NES?? That damn thing reeked with problems. You don't hear about it now because it was so long ago. But saying that there have Rarely been any problems with Nintendo systems is a flat out lie. Rember blowing catridges for 10 minutes and them still not working? What about putting the damn Catridge in the freezer hoping it would work? :lol I remember people doing all that, and a lot more with the NES.
Click to expand...
Gattsu's statement may have been considering the last 15 years. Y'know, a timeframe that would be relevant to your statement:
From a lot of reports I've read on the web, the M$ customer service is 10 times better than [snip] Nintendo's....
Click to expand...
 
you can tell if your getting a thompson drive or not.

A thompson drive will have a large U shaped hole in its cd tray. The U hole opening begins at the base of the xbox. Other xbox cd trays have 2 other circular holes in addition to the u hole. there are pictures of the difference on the forums at teamxbox. Search for thompson drives in the archives and I bet you can find what your looking for.
 
If your Xbox dies and you just want to get a new console, what happens with XBOX live? Can you transfer it to the new system?
 
the GameCube is the best well-built console this gen.

I've chatted with a local store owner few days ago, and he told me that he gets PS2's and XB's almost on a daily basis for repairing, and he got very few GC's since launch

I have 14 friends with GC's and no one had ANY problem with them, but with the eject button, which u can tp on twice to put it back in place, and I have ONE friend that is on his way to buy his 3rd PS2 lol ..
 
almokla said:
the GameCube is the best well-built console this gen.

I've chatted with a local store owner few days ago, and he told me that he gets PS2's and XB's almost on a daily basis for repairing, and he got very few GC's

I have 14 friends with GC's and no one had ANY problem with them, but with the eject button, which u can tp on twice to put it back in place, and I have ONE friend that is on his way to buy his 3rd PS2 lol ..
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Agree I have a japan launch cube since 2001, and I have had zero problems with it. No lockups. My Ps2 on the other hand...
 
Was the xbox that you bought used/refurbished or the old ones (the non bundle ones), if so, that may be your problem. Try getting the holiday bundle, I bought one and it came with the Samsung drive, I don't know how good that is compared to the phillips or thomson, but it's going good so far.
 
Flatbread said:
you can tell if your getting a thompson drive or not.

A thompson drive will have a large U shaped hole in its cd tray. The U hole opening begins at the base of the xbox. Other xbox cd trays have 2 other circular holes in addition to the u hole. there are pictures of the difference on the forums at teamxbox. Search for thompson drives in the archives and I bet you can find what your looking for.
Click to expand...

Yes, I know that. That is how I know that I got a Thompson drive... but unless I develop Xray vision there is no way to know what the drive tray looks like when I buy the thing. Also, both Xbox's were bought new. I think I might play it too much and that is the problem, I dunno.

Speevy. Im going to get a cube, but there are only about 10 or so games I want and none that I cant wait to play.. I'll get them when the thing costs 50 bucks and all the games are 20.
 
Thompson drives overheat which causes the disk controller to start reading garbage...try running it with a fan blowing on it or something. Otherwise, you can easily switch the HD out with some help.
 
thanks for the suggestion. Im going to move the Xbox where my Dreamcast is. Its a bit more open (since the DC is top loading) so maybe that would help.
 
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