My terrible experience with MS Xbox repair

[Joshic]

The thomson dvd drive on my xbox was having trouble reading discs, so it needed to be replaced. I called 1-800-4MY-XBOX. They said they'd replace the dvd drive for $99. I said ok. They sent me an empty airborne express box. I packed my xbox in the box, left it out on the porch, and 1 week later I get my xbox back.

I open the dvd tray, and sure enough, they replaced it with a samsung drive. that's the good news. the bad news is that they replaced my hard drive. and they didn't copy over anything from my old drive to the new one.

This really pisses me off. The reason I sent in my xbox to MS was because I wanted the dvd drive fixed, but wanted to preserve the contents of my hard drive. If I wanted a new dvd drive AND hard drive, I would have just bought a new xbox!! Are they that stupid not to realize this?! Considering a new xbox costs only $80 more than the repair, plus I get the advantage of having 2 xboxes, more cables, another controller, and the free games that come with a new xbox.

Fortuantely, I backed up most of my saves onto a 256MB USB flash drive, but I wasn't able to back up my precious DOA3 saves, DOAX saves, KOTOR saves, and custom soundtracks (that took hours to put in). I've lost hundreds of hours of time from these lost saves. I don't care about paying $99 for repair service, but I do expect a good level of service for my money.

MS Xbox repair failed me on several levels:
1.) I called & sent in my xbox for a dvd problem, not a hard drive problem.
2.) If they wanted to perform additional work, they should have ASKED ME first via email or phone.
3.) Why didn't they copy the contents of the old HD to the new one?!?!

So consider this a warning to anyone who is thinking about sending their xbox in for a repair. Personally, I feel completely ripped off.

[sniper308]

Did they send you back a different Xbox all together or did they actually replace both your DVD Drive and Hard Drive?

In any case, I'd bark at them hard and try to get your $99 back.

Call them and ask for a supervisor. It's worth a try.

You won't get your saves back, but you might get something for your pain.

[Groucho]

Wow, that sucks. I recently had the opposite happen: I sent my Xbox to be repaired for a hard drive problem, and I noticed that they replaced my DVD drive at the same time. It didn't need it, but now I can play CD-R's, so it's all good.

However, when I spoke to them on the phone they said they'd make every effort to keep my saves (I ended up losing them all). Based on your experience, it sounds like they don't even try, and just swap out the hard drive on everything they get.

[noonan4224]

I would call them, and raise some hell. Don't get too angry though, cause they'll just blow you off (I work in customer service...being nice helps), just kidly ask to speak with a supervisor and explain your situation. You won't get your saves, or music back, but you very well may get your money back. I would imagine that would make it all worth it.

[mmconhea]

You make a console more like a computer, you are going to have it crash like a computer. And your customers are going to feel like they are getting f--ked by a computer company.

[Joshic]

Originally posted by sniper308
Did they send you back a different Xbox all together or did they actually replace both your DVD Drive and Hard Drive?

In any case, I'd bark at them hard and try to get your $99 back.

Call them and ask for a supervisor. It's worth a try.

You won't get your saves back, but you might get something for your pain.
They replaced components, but it's the same xbox. Well, at least the outside case is... I marked it so I would know. I'm going to call them and talk to a supervisor. On xbox.com, it says they make every effort to preserve the gaming history on the hard drive. Considering they didn't even copy ANY save files, it's obvious they didn't even try.

[PixyJunket]

Originally posted by mmconhea
You make a console more like a computer, you are going to have it crash like a computer. And your customers are going to feel like they are getting f--ked by a computer company. Every console ever created is like a computer. He didn't say his Xbox "crashed," the drive died.. this has happened since the dawn of CD based media.. Sega CD drives died, TG16 CD drives died, MANY PS and PS2 drives have died..

-ohbfrank-

[Derrich]

More than likely, to save time and money, they just replaced the entire inside of your XBox instead of specific components. Its a lot faster than pulling off a cetain part and resoldering it on, hoping that nothing else is wrong. They may have replaced the DVD drive only to find that the problem is a memory bus problem, or a currupted driver file. Better to just drop in a whole new unit.

D

[jeffdsmith]

Seriously, I know "all" consoles have their problems, but for the number of xboxes sold it sure seems that a lot more of them have had problems % wise.

Goodluck on getting your money back, my experience with MS involving the xbox was far from nice.

[Josh H]

Originally posted by jeffdsmith
Seriously, I know "all" consoles have their problems, but for the number of xboxes sold it sure seems that a lot more of them have had problems % wise.


Worst quality DVD drive of the bunch (in certain models anyway) and the hard drive, while not seeming to break that much, is one more thing to go wrong that the other systems don't have.

[noonan4224]

Originally posted by jeffdsmith
Seriously, I know "all" consoles have their problems, but for the number of xboxes sold it sure seems that a lot more of them have had problems % wise.

Goodluck on getting your money back, my experience with MS involving the xbox was far from nice.

You must not remember the PS1 launch too well. After a year or so most of those machines had to be played up-side-down, or they wouldn't work at all. Why do you think PS2 has a vertical mount option. It wasn't cause it looks nice. I've been lucky so far, I still have my launch XBOX, and PS2 with no problems yet.

[young]

Originally posted by Josh Hinkle
...and the hard drive, while not seeming to break that much, is one more thing to go wrong that the other systems don't have.

well, yes, it might break... but the tradeoff is certainly worth it! no question in my mind.

memory cards fail too... like say you roll over it w/ your chair (so i've heard ;))

[Josh H]

Trade off isn't worth it IMO, as developers haven't put it too good use IMO.

It's great for sports games, but I haven't played many this gen. It's great if you want to make your own soundtrack, but I have no interest in doing that. Too much hassle to upload and it's usually a feature in games I don't play much (i.e. extreme sports and racing).

I'd love to see it used to do some neat gameplay stuff (remembering environmental damage, having everything you do effect stuff later on in more detail than in say KOTOR etc.), but it hasn't happened yet.

[young]

i probably use like 5% of the hard drive. i don't really put music on it.

but, just not having to change memory cards or worry about running out of space on one is what i meant about it being worth it.

i mean, i have like 8 memory cards for the ps2 and 1(+ the freebie little one that came w/ animal crossing) for the GC.

+ it galls me that the dinky little memory cards cost $20. the ps2 2 pack is what now, $35? i've bought 4 of those - so $140???

[Galanthas]

Originally posted by young
i probably use like 5% of the hard drive. i don't really put music on it.

but, just not having to change memory cards or worry about running out of space on one is what i meant about it being worth it.

i mean, i have like 8 memory cards for the ps2 and 1(+ the freebie little one that came w/ animal crossing) for the GC.

+ it galls me that the dinky little memory cards cost $20. the ps2 2 pack is what now, $35? i've bought 4 of those - so $140???

Wth, 8 PS2 memory cards? I know sport games take a lot of space but it's not that bad is it?( I don't play the genre so wouldn't know.)

I have 42 PS2 games and use only one memory card. Granted I don't keep all the games saves on the card when I finish them though, I would assume most people don't either.

[young]

oops, not to mention the separate ps1 memory cards (2).

the 8 ps2 cards are not full, but i have them split into genres. 3 rpgs, 2 sports, 1 platformer, 1 racing, 1 misc. the rpgs are pretty full mainly b/c i like to keep multiple saves.

[jeffdsmith]

Originally posted by noonan4224
You must not remember the PS1 launch too well. After a year or so most of those machines had to be played up-side-down, or they wouldn't work at all. Why do you think PS2 has a vertical mount option. It wasn't cause it looks nice. I've been lucky so far, I still have my launch XBOX, and PS2 with no problems yet.

Well, to be fair I'm in college now which exposes me to many more gamers then being in high school when the PS1 launched. With the PS1 I recall overheating issues throughout it lifespan and limited CD-ROM issues. As I dicated however I wasn't around owners as much.

Besides, I'm discussing the current generation of hardware. :)

[Tuan Jim]

Sorry, you had that problem.

Were you getting it fixed under a service contract or just a random repair? It's possible (I don't know how likely) that they have a specific policy for non-warranty machines so as to avoid repeat repairs with the same machine in an effort to save the customer some costs.

My only experience with them was under a contract and proved more than satisfactory.

[Gallant Pig]

Sorry to hear about the problems. They fixed mine, paid for shipping both ways and didn't cost a cent. It was past its warranty and I didn't have a fancy warranty.

[Michael Corvin]

Shouldn't this be in the "MS is run by sadists" thread?



;)

[Joshic]

Originally posted by Tuan Jim
Were you getting it fixed under a service contract or just a random repair? It's possible (I don't know how likely) that they have a specific policy for non-warranty machines so as to avoid repeat repairs with the same machine in an effort to save the customer some costs. I didn't have a service contract for my xbox. It was out of warranty. I bought it 2 years ago. I don't mind that they fixed something else in addition to what I requested. What bothers me is that they didn't consult with me beforehand nor did they make any effort to keep my save games.

I'm not even complaining about the defective thomson drives. In my mind, the drive performed well enough. It lasted two years thru HEAVY usage. What I'm disappointed about is the lousy customer service.

[azeledge]

Originally posted by Josh Hinkle
Trade off isn't worth it IMO, as developers haven't put it too good use IMO.

It's great for sports games, but I haven't played many this gen. It's great if you want to make your own soundtrack, but I have no interest in doing that. Too much hassle to upload and it's usually a feature in games I don't play much (i.e. extreme sports and racing).

I'd love to see it used to do some neat gameplay stuff (remembering environmental damage, having everything you do effect stuff later on in more detail than in say KOTOR etc.), but it hasn't happened yet.

Don't forget the harddrive enables xbox owners to get downloaded content. ie thru xbox live and demo discs. for example new maps,mechs,gametypes for mechassault. Or new songs for DDR and new skins for DOA3.

Also The developers do Cache their games using the harddrive to make their loadtimes faster. Perfect example would be Halo.

So there are lots of benefits to having the harddrive.

As far as the person who lost their saves. Thats a bummer!! Well I guess you now have an excuse to play your games again! ;)

[Josh H]

Originally posted by young

i mean, i have like 8 memory cards for the ps2 and 1(+ the freebie little one that came w/ animal crossing) for the GC.


Jesus. I hardly ever replay games, so I just delete the saves. I have 1 PS2 card, and 2 small ones for the GC (though one's currently totally empty).

[TheMadMonk]

For $99 I would have just bought a new one, or tried to fix the old one myself.

[porieux]

Glad I never bought an xbox.

[Tuan Jim]

Originally posted by Joshic
I didn't have a service contract for my xbox. It was out of warranty. I bought it 2 years ago. I don't mind that they fixed something else in addition to what I requested. What bothers me is that they didn't consult with me beforehand nor did they make any effort to keep my save games.

I'm not even complaining about the defective thomson drives. In my mind, the drive performed well enough. It lasted two years thru HEAVY usage. What I'm disappointed about is the lousy customer service.

I was just curious. It is pretty weird. Sorry about that. I had to send mine in for a dvd drive replacement after it stopped reading discs - about 2 years old at that point. No hard drive hassles though thankfully.

[Trigger]

I sent mine in to be fixed... they replaced the Thompson with the Samsung. When I called them, they told me to back up my save files if I could... it was also suggested in the documentation they sent with the box. When those units go in, they replace everything that needs to be replaced... it would be nice if they called or transferred your save games - but when I sent mine in, I didn't assume they would. I'm not saying their service is the best or anything, but I wouldn't say it's bad either.

[mmconhea]

Originally posted by PixyJunket
Every console ever created is like a computer. He didn't say his Xbox "crashed," the drive died.. this has happened since the dawn of CD based media.. Sega CD drives died, TG16 CD drives died, MANY PS and PS2 drives have died..

-ohbfrank-

I SAID you make a console MORE like a computer...
I don't need a lesson on console drives. In the case of the xbox, you actually lose gaming data! There's a differrence. Why because it's MORE like a computer.
perhaps you should go here (http://www.starfall.com/)

[Gallant Pig]

Originally posted by mmconhea
I SAID you make a console MORE like a computer...
I don't need a lesson on console drives. In the case of the xbox, you actually lose gaming data! There's a differrence. Why because it's MORE like a computer.
perhaps you should go here (http://www.starfall.com/)

Perhaps you should cool it with the insults.

[Outlaw]

I'm surprised to hear that so many people in this forum have had to send their X-Boxes in for repair. I've never had to do that with any console before but I don't own an X-Box. Is this a common problem?

[Tuan Jim]

Originally posted by Outlaw
I'm surprised to hear that so many people in this forum have had to send their X-Boxes in for repair. I've never had to do that with any console before but I don't own an X-Box. Is this a common problem?

Dunno, I just had trouble reading discs -- dvds, games, anything. I think it's something with those Thompson drives. MS sent me an airborne box, I had it picked up the next day, and returned completely repaired by the end of the week (return shipment was actually overnight) -- total cost to me: $0

When I've talked to store managers they've consistently told me that they see a lot more PS2s getting returned for problems. Then again, I guess after-sale stats might end up differently. That said, while I was somewhat irritated having to send it in, I can't fault the response that I got.

[Gallant Pig]

Originally posted by PixyJunket
Every console ever created is like a computer. He didn't say his Xbox "crashed," the drive died.. this has happened since the dawn of CD based media.. Sega CD drives died, TG16 CD drives died, MANY PS and PS2 drives have died..

-ohbfrank-

Watch it with the ohbfrank smiley, it's one thing to correct someone or rebute someone's comments, but ohbfrank adds a bit of condescension to what you are saying.

[Gallant Pig]

Originally posted by Tuan Jim
Dunno, I just had trouble reading discs -- dvds, games, anything. I think it's something with those Thompson drives. MS sent me an airborne box, I had it picked up the next day, and returned completely repaired by the end of the week (return shipment was actually overnight) -- total cost to me: $0

When I've talked to store managers they've consistently told me that they see a lot more PS2s getting returned for problems. Then again, I guess after-sale stats might end up differently. That said, while I was somewhat irritated having to send it in, I can't fault the response that I got.

It's definitely a common problem with those damned Thomson drives. Lucikily they are taking care of people pretty well (or were - I hear if you are persistant and talk to them right it's no problem).

[Trigger]

Originally posted by Outlaw
I'm surprised to hear that so many people in this forum have had to send their X-Boxes in for repair. I've never had to do that with any console before but I don't own an X-Box. Is this a common problem? I don't think it's a problem any more than the early PS2s that had problems with their optical drives. The early xboxs had Thompson drives and some of them develop problems reading discs... newer xboxes don't have this problem. Also - some people are sending theirs in just to get the Samsung drive because it reads more media than the early thompson drive.

[Joshic]

From the support section of the Xbox.com website (http://www.xbox.com/en-US/support/extwarranty.htm):Technicians who will do everything in their power to preserve the gaming history on your hard disk.That is a load of bull IMO.

[Joshic]

Yeah, when I called in the problem in the first place, they recommended I back up my saves. Luckily I knew about using a USB flash drive to back up my data. But what if I didn't? I have 6000 blocks in save games, not including my DOA3, DOAX, and KOTOR saves (which cannot be copied to memory units). Do they expect people to buy 12 xbox memory units at $25 a piece? That's $300 just to backup saves. And it doesn't help with backing up the saves listed above or the custom soundtracks. So you see, that advice is impractical. They should back up the HD before replacing it. I'm sure they can use Ghost or some other imaging software to do it. It's not like it's difficult.

[~~ PAL ~~]

Sorry about your situation. But at least it seems clear now that MS DOES NOT back up or transfer game save data on the HD for you should the unit ever need servicing. People that sends XBoxes back to MS in the future should probably expect to lose everything on the HD, and plan accordingly to preserve the hard drive data.

Can XBox HD be removed and hooked up to a PC for archive/backup purposes?

[El-Kabong]

Originally posted by Joshic
MS Xbox repair failed me on several levels:
1.) I called & sent in my xbox for a dvd problem, not a hard drive problem.
2.) If they wanted to perform additional work, they should have ASKED ME first via email or phone.
3.) Why didn't they copy the contents of the old HD to the new one?!?!

So consider this a warning to anyone who is thinking about sending their xbox in for a repair. Personally, I feel completely ripped off.

Well, while I will agree that they didnt do as they said - try and save the data - to send them your X-Box without backing up everything was foolish. If I had sent it off, I would have no expectations of getting anything on the HD back. Even if they said "We absolutely guaranty 110 percent that you will get all your data back!", I'd still back it up anyway.

Plan for the worst, hope for the best.

[Joshic]

Originally posted by El-Kabong
Well, while I will agree that they didnt do as they said - try and save the data - to send them your X-Box without backing up everything was foolish. If I had sent it off, I would have no expectations of getting anything on the HD back. Back up everything, eh? Have you even read what I've written? I mean, you're really giving good advice! Please tell me how to backup my DOAX, DOA3, and KOTOR saves. Info on how to backup my custom soundtracks would be great too.-ohbfrank-

[Chrisedge]

With the parts that are available on the web, why pay ms to fix your out of warranty unit? New DVD drives are less than $99. (for the xbox that is)

[Joshic]

Originally posted by Chrisedge
With the parts that are available on the web, why pay ms to fix your out of warranty unit? New DVD drives are less than $99. (for the xbox that is) Have you done it yourself?!?! I've read many tutorials on do-it-yourself DVD replacement. It's not that easy:
http://www.xbox-scene.com/tutorials.php?t=0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0
Look for "Complete tutorial for Xbox DVD-ROM Replacement using SamSung SD-616T". Friggin xbox-scene.com won't let me link directly to the pdf.

Plus, I don't have a lot of the supplies required. I'd have to buy a soldering iron, for instance. The replacement drive itself is $60. The fix would take more than an hour. Time is money.

[Tuan Jim]

Originally posted by Joshic
From the support section of the Xbox.com website (http://www.xbox.com/en-US/support/extwarranty.htm):That is a load of bull IMO.

I was prepared to lose all my data, but they didn't touch it. YMMV (obviously).

[Tuan Jim]

Originally posted by Joshic
Yeah, when I called in the problem in the first place, they recommended I back up my saves. Luckily I knew about using a USB flash drive to back up my data. But what if I didn't?

Out of curiosity, how did you back up to a flash drive? Did you connect it with a USB-network adapter? Haven't heard of someone doing that with an xbox before.

[Joshic]

Originally posted by Tuan Jim
Out of curiosity, how did you back up to a flash drive? Did you connect it with a USB-network adapter? Haven't heard of someone doing that with an xbox before. check out this thread for what I did: http://www.dvdtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=343627

[Joshic]

called 1-800-4MY-XBOX last night. Here’s a rough transcript:
Me: blah blah blah… So I lost all my save games because the HD was replaced without my consent or knowledge. I am extremely frustrated, disappointed, blah blah blah

Customer Service Rep : I understand your frustration. But did the other rep tell you to back up your saves?

Me: Yes. But I asked him how to back up my DOA3 saves, DOAX saves, KOTOR saves, and custom soundtrack because I can’t copy them to a memory unit. He said he didn’t know how. Do you know how?

CSR: No.

Me: So you see… I lost hundreds of hours of gameplay AND I lost $99 for a repair that went terribly wrong. Now what are you going to do about it? How are you going to make it right? How can you compensate me for what I lost?

CSR: Frankly sir, I don’t know.

Me: You don’t know?! Them let me talk to your supervisor. Maybe he’ll know!

CSR: Ok.

(I’m on hold for several minutes)

CSR: Sir, I explained your situation to my supervisor and he doesn’t know what we can do either.

Me: (incredulously) Well. Let’s think about this, shall we? I lost hundreds of hours of my time. Unless Microsoft has a time machine prototype, there’s no way you can give me back my time. Now, at the VERY LEAST, don’t you think it’s appropriate for you to give me a refund for the botched repair?

CSR: Oh. So you want a refund?

Me: yes.

CSR: Let me talk to my supervisor.

(on hold)

CSR: Sir, we can’t give you a refund.

Me: So what can you give me instead? (at this point I’m thinking maybe I need to call my credit card company and ask to initiate a chargeback on the $99 I paid, but I hold off a bit longer)

CSR: I can give you an xbox game.

Me: (sarcastically) Great. A game is $50 at best. HALF the cost of the repair. But you know what, it’s getting late, I’ve had a long day, and I want to go to sleep. So fine. What games can you give me? Let me guess. Only games published by Micrsoft, right?

CSR: Yes…

Me: Look. I have several friends who work at Microsoft. I can ask them to get Microsoft-published games for me at any time from their company store for $20. (this is a true statement) So one free game is worth only $20 to me. That’s less than half of $50. Not only that, but I already own all the MS games that are worth owning…

CSR: Sir, let me read you some of the games we can offer you… (he reads off 6 or so games before I interrupt him)

Me: I have all of those games. Listen, why don’t you just give me 2 xbox games to make up for the fact that these games are only worth $20 each to me? That’s still only $40 total, but like I said, I need to get this over with and go to sleep.

CSR: Sir, let me check to see if that’s ok with my supervisor.

CSR: Ok, we can give you 2 games.

Me: Fine. Give me 2 copies of Project Gotham Racing 2.

CSR: Let me get this right. You want two copies of the same game?

Me: Yes. I already have all the games worth owning. At least this way I get 2 games that have decent resale value. Then I can sell them and get back some of the $99 I paid for the crappy repair work.

CSR: Ok, we’ll send them to you right away.

Me: Thanks. You know, I kinda feel bad for you that you have to take all this flak. I know it’s not your fault. But I got screwed over here. And it’s the idiots at the xbox repair facility who’s making life difficult for the both of us. I strongly recommend that you somehow get word to them to stop screwing around and DO THEIR JOB.

CSR: Yes, we’ll do that. Thank you for calling xbox support blah blah blah.So I got 2 games out of the whole fiasco. Whoop-dee-do. I should get them in 3-5 days and then it's off to EB to trade the games in.

[flashburn]

Originally posted by Joshic
called 1-800-4MY-XBOX last night. Here’s a rough transcript:
So I got 2 games out of the whole fiasco. Whoop-dee-do. I should get them in 3-5 days and then it's off to EB to trade the games in.


Wow, could you have been more of an ass to them? I know it was a frustrating experience, but there was no reason to be so rude about it. You probably would've gotten a refund had you acted civil.

[Josh H]

Wow. That story really makes me hope consoles either don't come with HDs or require that all games be able to be backed up to a memory card.

[Trigger]

Originally posted by flashburn
Wow, could you have been more of an ass to them? I know it was a frustrating experience, but there was no reason to be so rude about it. You probably would've gotten a refund had you acted civil. I agree - and it looks to me like MS went above and beyond as it is.

[El-Kabong]

Originally posted by Joshic
Back up everything, eh? Have you even read what I've written? I mean, you're really giving good advice! Please tell me how to backup my DOAX, DOA3, and KOTOR saves. Info on how to backup my custom soundtracks would be great too.-ohbfrank-

Sheesh - touchy, arent you. You need to relax.

How do you back them up? Well, there's little invention called a "memory card". It lets take saved games from one xbox and transfer them to another - like magic.

Failing that, I know that there is software that allows you to hook up to a PC through one of the user ports and lets you copy files there. We used it at work all the time.

As for the custom soundtracks - dude, how hard is it to rip a CD again? Do you have the original CDs right? So it shouldnt be that big of a deal.

[Gallant Pig]

Holy crap they offered to give you a game and you ripped into them that hard? That's pretty weak on your part.

[Gallant Pig]

Originally posted by Josh Hinkle
Wow. That story really makes me hope consoles either don't come with HDs or require that all games be able to be backed up to a memory card.

Personally I'd rather have the chance to possibly lose some saves and not buy a save card at all than to have to buy a piddly card that costs $25 for every 4 sports game you own. YMMV.

[Joshic]

Originally posted by flashburn
Wow, could you have been more of an ass to them? I know it was a frustrating experience, but there was no reason to be so rude about it. You probably would've gotten a refund had you acted civil. Actually, I was very civil and polite when I first called xbox support to send in my xbox for repair. Look where it got me. $99 for a bad repair job. I should have been more demanding the first time. I should have threatened to contact the BBB about my defective thomson drive or actually done so. If you read the forums on xbox.com, many people who contacted the BBB got MS to fix it for free or at a big discount.

Being nice doesn't get you very far in a short term relationship, such as getting one's xbox fixed. I agree that in a long term relationship it's completely different, but in a short term situation, it's better to be a squeaky wheel.

[Joshic]

Originally posted by Trigger
I agree - and it looks to me like MS went above and beyond as it is. I completely disagree. They didn't go above and beyond. They just wanted to appease me without fixing the situation. They should have given me a refund, or at least a partial refund instead.

[Josh H]

Originally posted by Gallant Pig
Personally I'd rather have the chance to possibly lose some saves and not buy a save card at all than to have to buy a piddly card that costs $25 for every 4 sports game you own. YMMV.

Don't play many sports games any more, and I'm hoping next gen consoles will come with like 256MB of internal flash memory. That would solve the space problem for most, and be much more reliable than HDs.

[Joshic]

Originally posted by El-Kabong
Sheesh - touchy, arent you. You need to relax.

How do you back them up? Well, there's little invention called a "memory card". It lets take saved games from one xbox and transfer them to another - like magic.
Sheesh - blind, aren't you. You need to read what I write before you give me irrelevant advice. DOA3, DOAX, and KOTOR are not copy-able onto memory units - official xbox memory units or USB flash units.

Failing that, I know that there is software that allows you to hook up to a PC through one of the user ports and lets you copy files there. We used it at work all the time.
What software is it? What "user port" does it connect to on the xbox? USB or ethernet? You "used it" all the time at work? I find that hard to believe. You guys regularly copy files from your xboxes to PCs at work? I know that there are tools and methods to copy xbox files to PCs, but they either require linux, an xbox with a modchip, or both. I have neither. Nor do I have the time to spend reading and playing around with a modded xbox. The methods are not easy either. Check out xbox-scene.com for instructions. Then again, since you've done this "all the time at work" maybe you can just tell me yourself without referring to xbox-scene.com

As for the custom soundtracks - dude, how hard is it to rip a CD again? Do you have the original CDs right? So it shouldnt be that big of a deal. It's not hard to rip the songs. The hard part (or rather, TIME-CONSUMING part) is to NAME all the ripped tracks using the on-screen keyboard.

[Joshic]

Originally posted by Gallant Pig
Holy crap they offered to give you a game and you ripped into them that hard? That's pretty weak on your part. Weak? What do you mean by that? I felt that it was not enough compensation, so I bargained for more. Is asking for more considered weak? I guess next time I go to negotiate the price on a car at a dealership, I better not rip into them and get a better deal for my money. I don't want to be seen as "weak".

[Tuan Jim]

Originally posted by Josh Hinkle
Don't play many sports games any more, and I'm hoping next gen consoles will come with like 256MB of internal flash memory. That would solve the space problem for most, and be much more reliable than HDs.

Meh. The hard drives have been extremely stable (compared to the dvd-roms). Haven't heard any stories of failures, etc. And the convenience is still so much greater for custom soundtracks(that may not be your thing), downloadable content and levels (absolutely brilliant), etc.

Game loading has definitely benefited, but this being the first generation of consoles to have them standard, they haven't been utilized as well as they could be. Here's hoping for more innovative HD use (similar to Blinx, but better) in future games. -- I'm thinking games like Fable, True Fantasy Live Online, etc. will start pushing the barrier somewhat.

[Josh H]

Oh, HDs definitely have potential. It just hasn't been used in a way I like since I don't do the song thing.

Loading times is a good example, and it's a shame it's been under used. The Gamecubes loading times are usually better on multiplatform games, which is ridiculous. Developers are just lazy.

I'd love an HD next gen if they actually start using it for creative new gameplay, rather than gimmicks like custom soundtracks. But they better have a higher capacity external memory option so I can back up all my game saves, not just certain ones.

[~~ PAL ~~]

Originally posted by Josh Hinkle
Don't play many sports games any more, and I'm hoping next gen consoles will come with like 256MB of internal flash memory. That would solve the space problem for most, and be much more reliable than HDs.

Not likely, for the simple fact that the memory cards are easy money with huge margins for the console makers. More likely is that the "memory cards" will come with a modest bump in capacity to 16 or 32MB, and still sell for $25-30 retail.

[Josh H]

Originally posted by ~~ PAL ~~
Not likely, for the simple fact that the memory cards are easy money with huge margins for the console makers. More likely is that the "memory cards" will come with a modest bump in capacity to 16 or 32MB, and still sell for $25-30 retail.

I could personally live with that, as I only have 1 card for my PS2 and still have space on it, and have 2 of the small mem cards for my GC (but one's totally empty).

It would suck ass for people that play a lot of sports games, or keep their old games saves forever (I delelte them when I trade/sell the game which I do for probably 80% of games I buy) though.

[El-Kabong]

Originally posted by Joshic
[b]
What software is it? What "user port" does it connect to on the xbox? USB or ethernet? You "used it" all the time at work? I find that hard to believe. You guys regularly copy files from your xboxes to PCs at work? I know that there are tools and methods to copy xbox files to PCs, but they either require linux, an xbox with a modchip, or both. I have neither. Nor do I have the time to spend reading and playing around with a modded xbox. The methods are not easy either. Check out xbox-scene.com for instructions. Then again, since you've done this "all the time at work" maybe you can just tell me yourself without referring to xbox-scene.com

You know, with a lovely and cheerful attitude like that - I aint gonna tell you jack. Hell, I'm suprised that MS gave you two free games with that rosey attitude.

Am I lieing about using these programs at work - you know, what you think about me is meaningless. Its the truth, regardless if you chose to believe me or not.

So take that attitude and go find them yourself.

[flashburn]

Originally posted by El-Kabong
You know, with a lovely and cheerful attitude like that - I aint gonna tell you jack. Hell, I'm suprised that MS gave you two free games with that rosey attitude.

Am I lieing about using these programs at work - you know, what you think about me is meaningless. Its the truth, regardless if you chose to believe me or not.

So take that attitude and go find them yourself.

:thumbsup:

[Joshic]

Originally posted by El-Kabong
You know, with a lovely and cheerful attitude like that - I aint gonna tell you jack. Hell, I'm suprised that MS gave you two free games with that rosey attitude.

Am I lieing about using these programs at work - you know, what you think about me is meaningless. Its the truth, regardless if you chose to believe me or not.

So take that attitude and go find them yourself. You're not going to share? Ok. You've really chosen not to consider what I've tried to say. You've ignored my posts and what I've written, which is obvious by the content in your posts. A discussion is a two-way street. Therefore, I consider this discussion closed.

That's ok with me. If you don't want to share what you have, that's fine. I created this thread in order to share my experience. Instead people attacked me for demanding a high level of service from microsoft. I got labelled as "foolish", "ass" and "weak". I was addressed in condescending tones, EVEN BEFORE I attacked anyone else. The only attacking I did was of Microsoft's level of service. Go through the history of this thread, and you'll see everyone attacking me and insulting me first. I only defended myself after others attacked and insulted me first.

Go figure. Sorry for sharing my experience with xbox repair.

[Trigger]

Joshic - nobody's attacking you, they are giving their opinions of your behavior. Most of us seem to disapprove of it. You were sharing your "horror story" and we just don't find it all that horriffic and furthermore, we feel like you were overly rude to them when they were being nice and accomidating to you. You had warning to back up your saves and you didn't do so. It's not their fault you didn't back up and it's not their responsibility to back up your hard drive (although I think it would be nice if they would and I think I've heard that they have done that if they replace your entire xbox with a refurb). They don't have a time machine and they aren't holding your save games for ransom. I've had hard drive crashes on my PC and have lost hundreds of hours of save games, but there was nobody to get mad at... Perhaps your xbox got to them and the hard drive was damaged in shipping (it happens) and it was unreadable and there was nothing they could do but replace it.

X - "we fixed your xbox as you requested. :)"
J - "Hey, where are my save games?!?!"
X - "sorry, we had to replace that part"
J - "Then I want a 100% refund because even though you did the work, it didn't meet 100% of my expectations."
X - "allright, even though you didn't follow our instructions before sending us the unit we would like to make you happy."
J - "Damn right you do - give me a flying Unicorn and a Time Machine"
X - "um... how about a game?"
J - "What!?!? Give me 2 games and an oompa loompa! NOW!"
X - "gladly... sorry about the inconvenience... we love you."
J - "I hate you. :p"

;)

p.s. I'm not rippin on you, i just kinda exaggerated and oversimplified your exchange with MS so you can see why people here aren't totally on your side with this. :)

[El-Kabong]

Originally posted by Joshic
You're not going to share? Ok. You've really chosen not to consider what I've tried to say. You've ignored my posts and what I've written, which is obvious by the content in your posts. A discussion is a two-way street. Therefore, I consider this discussion closed.

Well, considering that the discussion has been mostly you being angry at everyone else in the thread, it hasnt been a 2-way street from the get-go.

Oh well. Whatever makes you happy, I guess.

[misbitski]

I sympathize with the originator of this thread. I bought an Xbox two weeks before Christmas. 3 weeks later, it wouldn't power on anymore. My SW:Clone Wars disc was stuck in there too. I wasted 2 hours on the phone with tech support trying to get the tray to open. Don't let them tell you the paper clip trick, it's a waste of time. The guy told me that I must have been doing it wrong and told me to keep at it or I wouldn't get my game back. I know how a normal CD/DVD drive would work with the manual eject, but these boxes are just engineered retarded. The hole is blocked. I confirmed this with a manager at EB too. They usually just pry it open with extreme force if someone's disc gets stuck inside. I guess they re-engineered it one too many times to stop pirates.

So I called MS thinking that could do something for me. I was told I would 1) lose my game 2) it would take a month to repair 3) there was no guarantee I'd get my saves back. The CS rep told me I could put a post-it note on it, and maybe somebody would take care of #1 and #3. She told me I'd honestly be better off going back to Toys R Us. I was hoping they'd be able to help me out more since I was halfway through KOTOR. I realized later that the saves were too big to fit on a memory card anyway, so I was beat anyway you look at it.

What amazes me is they want $50 for their 2 year extended warranty. If they recovered your saves, it'd be a deal, but they seem to have abandoned that. You're better off buying an extended warranty from the retail store you buy it from since MS isn't doing anything special. Retail stores will usually give you a whole new unit depending on the extended warranty.

I called TRU, and they were astonished at how Microsoft handled the whole deal. The girl couldn't understand why I was willing to lose my game either. I told her I had no choice, and I'd be willing to just take a new console. She sympathized and told me to bring everything back in including the original packaging. When I got there, she called a worker from the videogame department to try and get it open.

He whipped out a pocket knife and tried to pry it open to no avail. The thing was ready to snap. My co-workers and I tried to get the tray open for about 2 hours, so that wasn't a big surprise. The guy said he'd just replace everything for me, including the game. His exact words were "Put a note on there. If they want their game back, they can f**cking open it themselves". I bought an extended warranty from them just in case and thanked them up and down for all their help.

The funny thing is, that's my second Xbox. The first one died after 3 months. I got the dirty disc errors on all my games. Some of them wouldn't even load. MS definitely built a clunker this generation. Hopefully, Xbox Next will be better quality. My advice to everyone who buys an Xbox, buy the extended warranty (just not from Microsoft).

[WOWZY]

I sent mine in a little over a year ago because of the crappy Thomson cd drive and they sent me a new Xbox. It was hard work but I persuaded them to do it for $50, but I had to pay for it being shipped to them ($12).

When I got it back I realized that the serial numbers were different than the original box. I plugged it in and MS had transfered all my saves and music to the new one. I had to call MS and register the new serial number. You would think that they would've already done that for me.

I guess I got lucky.

[Gallant Pig]

Joshic, I agree with Trigger, I wasn't trying to attack you, just comment on your behavior. I dunno, it's not the end of the world if a few games and mp3s get washed down the toilet. I can somewhat understand your frustration, however they weren't being rude to you so why start something? I work for a company that has CS, and I know if people come in with both guns slinging they usually end up with a rawer deal had they been just nicer.

Good job, I guess, on getting 2 games out of the deal and sorry you lost your saves, but people are people and probably don't deserve to be bawled out for something that isn't even really their fault. If this guy was copping an attitude or pulled some crazy crap you didn't expect in a million years. Oh well, enjoy your 2 copies of PGR2 :D

[Trevor]

To add some probably useless clutter to this thread:

I would recommend buying a new xbox to anyone rather than paying $99 to get your drive fixed. The extra $80 gets you the extra cords, controller, game(s), and you still have your old xbox to use for the discs that do work, or at least to use it as an emergency backup place for saves, using a memory card to transfer files between your two xboxes.

This thread should serve as yet another reminder that we all need to back up our console saves and computer data on a regular basis.

I have 2 xboxes and try to 'sync' my saves once every month or three.

[Joshic]

update: I got my game. They sent it by airborne express. Yeah, you read correctly. They sent me just 1 game. (throws hands up in the air)

I give up. I'm done.

[Gallant Pig]

Wouldn't surprise me if they put the game in an unclean place before they sent it to you.

[flashburn]

Originally posted by Gallant Pig
Wouldn't surprise me if they put the game in an unclean place before they sent it to you.
I would have. :lol:

[GizmoDVD]

Originally posted by misbitski Don't let them tell you the paper clip trick, it's a waste of time. The guy told me that I must have been doing it wrong and told me to keep at it or I wouldn't get my game back. I know how a normal CD/DVD drive would work with the manual eject, but these boxes are just engineered retarded. The hole is blocked. I confirmed this with a manager at EB too. They usually just pry it open with extreme force if someone's disc gets stuck inside. I guess they re-engineered it one too many times to stop pirates.

Same here. Microsoft told me the Paperclip thing worked, but alas, it didn't. So the little kid out there lost his demo disc.

EDIT: Ive had customers before send in there X-box for repair, and most have received a new hard-drive with there old saves on them. So Microsoft does do it sometimes, but not always. Just remembr to back up your saves!

[GizmoDVD]

Must say Joshic, your a real jerk. They TOLD you to back up your saves, and you didn't. I really hope this Xbox of your blows up and destroys all your games for such a lousy attitude on a system you played to death for 2 years. Microsoft was nothing but nice to you during that entire cnversation, and you acted like a jerk because you didn't do what they told you to do.

DENTIST: Sir, you should haved brushed twice a day and you wouldn't have all those cavaties.

Joshic: So? Just becaue you told me to dosn't matter! I'm not paying for these cavaties to be filled, you should do them for free because I don't listen! AND I want some FREE TOOTHPASTE, NOW!

[young]

maybe it's time this thread get shut down

[Kman1011]

Being nice doesn't get you very far in a short term relationship, such as getting one's xbox fixed. I agree that in a long term relationship it's completely different, but in a short term situation, it's better to be a squeaky wheel.

God your louck you didn't ceomt o my work place, with that of atttidue, the only thing you would have gotten was a sore ass that you were thrown out for talking to any of my employess that way. People like you get nothing from me if there is a problem, I immediately decide that, now people that are civil, thats a different story.