General Xbox Questions

Just got an Xbox and was wondering, for those of you who have had one for awhile, what is the overall sturdiness of the machine? I’ve read alot of online complaints about the machine failing after about a year or so. Having constant lock ups, failing to read discs, etc. Was this more common with the first generation of Xboxes or is does this hold true for all of them? Also, when I bought the machine at Best Buy the cashier tried to sell me the two year warranty for $30. She said the laser usually fails on them within two years. I know the BB employees are instructed to upsell and sell the warranties because that’s where BB makes a ton of profit so I figured that was just a selling tactic she was using. But when I opened the Xbox packaging Microsoft had an offer for a two year service/replacement warranty for $50.

Is the Xbox really that much of a piece of junk? Is it just going to turn into a big paperweight this time next year? And lastly, should I put the Xbox and Gamecube in the same room together? I’m not sure if they’ll get along and the Xbox is so much bigger than the 'Cube. I’m afraid it’ll do something to the 'Cube when I’m at work. Thanks in advance.

No.

Had our Xbox for two years now, and had no problems. Moreso, I haven’t seen or heard any major criticisms about the Xbox’s durability.

The only “failing laser” reports I’ve ever seen were attributed to some of the earlier PS2 models, which wore out if one watched too many movies on them.

The Xbox, however, is a rock. Heck, it’ll even deflect bullets. :smiley:

Some people think that Xbox consoles with a “Thompson” DVD drive have problems.

Here is a website about these problems. I’m skeptical about it though, since I have one of these drives and none of the problems listed. I think people mistreat their Xbox console over time, so the older consoles that have been mistreated are failing. The older ones happen to have Thompson drives. That’s just what I think though.

Had one for two years. No complaints. Works like new.

Got one about three years ago and have JUST RECENTLY been having problems with Grand Theft Auto. But keep in mind it’s been three years and I move mine VERY frequently.

I’m going to get a DVD cleaning disk here in the next few days to see if that helps.

Yeah and a half (a touch more).

Handles like a dream. No problems here at all.

Mine runs well too, however I can’t say the same for my friend’s PS2, which has had a wide assortment of problems. Our GameCubes also have been problem free.

1.5 years. No problems to report.

A friend got one when they were brand new and it failed immediately. Microsoft fixed it for free.

You need to lock the Xbox in a bathroom for the first day or two. Let the gamecube “talk” to it and smell it through the door. After that, you can put the xbox in a crate in the same room with the gamecube. Pickup the gamecube and slowly approach the xbox, be sure and give lots of praise and reassurance through the whole process. Be really cheerful, as if checking out the new family member is a the most fun and exciting thing ever. If the gamecube locks up, don’t reboot it right away. Give it time to cool off.

Eventually, your two systems will live in harmony and … wait a sec …

That’s a new puppy. Never mind.
[sub]Seriously, I’ve had an Xbox for a couple years. I’ve taken it apart several times, soldered on it, etc. and it’s still working after all that. The CD drive is pretty picky - it doesn’t like scratched disks - but it works.[/sub]

My Xbox was fine and then began to have some issues with reading discs… Unsurprisingly it had one of the first generation Thomson drives; and lucky me, my 'box had just gone out of warranty. I created a website where people could post their problems with the infamous “dirty disc” errors to try and find a common link and sure enough, most of the people with errors reported having the Thomson drive. I received a couple hundred responses to the survey.

I called up Xbox and after a little griping about it being their faulty components and design rather than my single Xbox crapping out, they fixed it for free and I’ve had no problems since.

Had it for 1.5 years, no problems other than dirty disk errors (maybe 3) on Morrowind, this seems to be common with that particular game.

Thanks for all the responses guys. Now that my mind is at ease, what good exclusive games are out there for the Xbox? Doesn’t matter the genre, it just have to be exclusive. If it’s out for the PC or 'Cube I probably already have it.

I just had a problem with mine a few weeks ago. Now, to be fair, i think it was the air intakes clogging with dust. It seemed to enjoy overheating, with slow load times and the green eject circle turning red. In addition to 2 different odd error displays.

I am here to save you. Unless you want to risk failing in fixing it yourself.

On the bottom, there is a piece of tape in the center that covers the main screw. Remove this and Microsoft won’t even bother fixing it. If you really want to take the risk, go ahead, but fail, and they will NOT even accept it for repair.

When I called them (No, I don’t work for MS in any way) they told me it was $99 service charge no matter the problem. Be it dust/overheating, or a bad laser, whatever. But I’d also have to pay the DHL/Airborne Express shipping.

Here’s where you win.

When I mentioned the weight of the unit, and what that would do to the price of shipping both ways on top of the $99 service fee, I could just add about $80 and buy a new unit. This is where I mentioned maybe I would have been better off buying a PS2.

Did anyone in Australia hear the pin drop when I said that? Just curious to sound wave limits.

“Sir, we don’t appreciate jokes like that, please hold a minute.”

His direct quote. He came back about 90 seconds later and told me they would knock the service down to $75, pay for the shipping both ways, AND REPLACE ALL PARTS TO NEW!

Eh, what the hell, it hadn’t worked for a few weeks, what’s another week. Did I mention I told him I didn’t want to wait a month to get it back? This was a week before Christmas. I wanted to play!

To the point, they had DHL at my door the next day with the box to ship it in, the driver came back the next day to pick it up, and TWO DAYS LATER, I had the new unit hooked up!

Yes, I called both MS and DHL to thank them for the service. FWIW, the thanks call to MS I learned do NOT use dvd/cd cleaning discs, no proof, but I trust 'em now.

Show me how Sony takes care of customers like this and I’ll stop the X-Box lovefest. Till then…

Well, I’m not dumb. Sure", says I.

If you have some disk reading problems, keep an eye on what games it’s with. I have found that some specific disks have problems, suggesting it’s the DVDs themselves, not the set. I had a hell of a time getting “SSX 3” to run for longer than ten minutes. My best buddy had a similar issue with “NFL 2K4” but reports that when he exchanged it, it ran fine - suggesting that DVD quality may be the issue, not the box itself.

Speaking of video game customer service relations; I’ve found Nintendo to have some of the best. Whenever I’ve had a problem with a game (regardless of the age), they would replace it for free. Also, my friend called up to order some gameboy accessories and they sent them to him for free. That’s good to hear Microsoft replace your Xbox for free, just a shame it took so much prodding.

Exclusive games(not including PC) that I can think of that are worth buying:

Star wars Knights of the Old Republic
Deus Ex Invisible War(For now I believe)
Amped2
Top Spin

Most gamesites agree that the Xbox versions in multiplatform games are the best in graphics, audio and framerate. The controller needs some extra buttons but overall the Controller S is really good.

I’ve had my xbox for 2 years and had no problems with it.
Once in a while I get the dirty disc error only to find that the disc was dirty with a large dirty fingerprint on the cd bottom.

Sometimes the “dirty disc” problem in Morrowind is the save file getting too large. Try sleeping for three days (24 hours at a time) and don’t leave any doors open.

Actually, that’s pretty good advice for life in general… :dubious:

No problems to report with my X-Box regarding games. The only thing I’ve noticed is that it will not read burned music CDs (we used to use it as our primary CD player in the living room). Commercially sold CDs - no prob. But not burned ones.

The data on the CDs is the same, no? Could it be the media itself?

It’s not uncommon for some older drives to not read CD-R disks.

That said I got a suprise this Christmas when my stepson gave us an X-box. It’s working fine but it’s awfully noisy. Some kind of hard disk or fan sound. Is this typical?

Thanks for the tip on Morrowind Nekosoft. That’s my wife’s favorite game. I just need some tips on Simpsons Hit and Run and to find a copy of Oddworld.

It is a fairly loud console (though quieter than the PS2). It’s fan is too blame, though the Harddrive can also be heard when in use.