Coming to Terms with the Xbox 360 Red Ring of Death
There is nothing worse than purchasing an expensive, high-tech piece of equipment, only to have it break. While the advancements in computers and video game systems have been astounding over the past decade, with progress comes risk. These machines, processing graphics, sound and memory at speeds unimaginable a few years ago, overheat easily, and can lost forever in their thought processes. The Xbox 360, one of the most-hyped video game systems of the latest generation, suffers from numerous hard drive failures, so numerous in fact that it has its own built-in warning system. The Xbox 360 red ring of death is a group of lights on the front of the machine that indicate various problems: when the normally green lights turn red, the user knows there is a serious issue, one that may not be resolved.
Deciphering the Codes
The Xbox 360 red ring of death is divided into four quadrants; consequently, there is meaning behind the various patterns of red and green lights. For example, a general hardware failure will turn every light except the first quadrant red, while if the system is overheating, the second quadrant will remain green. If every quadrant except the third is blinking red, this is once again a hardware problem. If the entire Xbox 360 red ring of death is blinking angrily, the user should be happy: it simply means the AV cable is not inserted properly and needs to be clicked back into place.
Users should know the various meanings behind the Xbox 360 red ring of death for a few reasons. Firstly, some of the problems are easily fixed and do not require shipping the game system to a repair center. No video game user wants to part with his or her system, unable to know whether or not it will ever be returned. Secondly, if the user does need to contact customer support, the representative will need to know exactly what the Xbox 360 red ring of death looks like in order to offer advice and suggestions. The repair process for an Xbox 360 red ring of death is lengthy and complicated; the problem must be identified and logged, and an empty box must be sent to the user's home. Depending on the issue, the damaged parts will be packaged and shipped back to the repair center. Then the user has to sit and wait until the repaired system, or a new system altogether, is sent.
The Xbox 360 red ring of death is useful, if not a little depressing. A built-in indication system of hardware failure at first appears a little like a warning to not buy the system; however, the Xbox 360 itself, like most new electronics, simply has a few bugs to work out. Later releases of the system will undoubtedly experience the Xbox 360 red ring of death less frequently, and users will not need to live in fear. However, it is still advisable to purchase an extended warranty. The free 90-day variety will rarely cover any problems that arise, and when the extended warranty is one-tenth of the price of a replacement system, it is a smart choice.
