LEGOs are the solution to your Xbox 360 woes

by James Ransom-Wiley { Nov 29th 2005 at 12:30PM }

We always knew there was a good use for that bucket of LEGOs stashed away in the attic. Geordan has used them to design a state-of-the-art cradle for the testy Xbox 360 power supply. So if a string and box don't satisfy your aesthetic tastes, give the LEGO-cradle (with user-powered fan) a try. You won't be disappointed.

[How long before we actually see 3rd party cradles hit the market?]

[Thanks, Geordan]

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Zachary @ Dec 18th 2005 10:01PM

He should go get some of the Mindstorms or whatever they are called and make the fan fully functional.

mat @ Dec 18th 2005 10:01PM

Is this a widespread problem?

Mullinator @ Dec 18th 2005 10:01PM

Microsoft is apparently claiming it's a problem with 5% of them. Some independant reports though are claiming around 15% however so I really don't know.

guskof @ Dec 18th 2005 10:01PM

LEGOs is incorrect. The plural of LEGO is LEGO.

watership @ Dec 18th 2005 10:01PM

#2. It's not a widespread problem. I don't know anyone who has a broken xbox. However, it generates hits on websites.

lust @ Dec 18th 2005 10:01PM

"Microsoft is apparently claiming it's a problem with 5% of them. Some independant reports though are claiming around 15% however so I really don't know."

Did you completely make that up? I can only guess the 15% number came from a teamxbox.com forum poll. Anyone quoting that as fact is a moron. As for Microsoft claiming 5%, please show me a link. Of course you can't because you meade it up.

Only retards make up rumors.

Loban @ Dec 18th 2005 10:01PM

Actually, there is no such thing as a LEGO. LEGO is not a physical object, it's a brand name. Therefore, the toy is a LEGO block and the plural is LEGO blocks. Referring to the actual physical toy as LEGO or LEGOs is incorrect.

Clint @ Dec 18th 2005 10:01PM

I'm glad I'm waiting for the PS3...I don't have time to build contraptions to make Microsoft's Xbox 1.5 work. They should re-design it so that it just simply works like Sony and Nintendo do.

jc @ Dec 18th 2005 10:01PM

Instead of a 'manual fan', why not just buy a battery operated on???

just imagine .oO(Bob talking to people in PDZ on Xlive: "please don't shoot me for the next 5 minutes... I have to spin the fan on my PSU")

Scott @ Dec 18th 2005 10:01PM

I finally locked my 360 up last night but it was pretty much on purpose. I was in a lobby of PGR3 when I just started furiously clicing back and forth on other player's gamer profiles as fast as I could. The 360 locked up at the same time that we exited the lobby and started loading the track. I could hear everyone else talking though.

I still haven't had my 360 overheat yet though. I semi-mounted the power supply on the back of my entertainment center so it is getting plenty of ventilation. Mounting the power brick was out of necessity though because the power cord wasn't long enough to reach where I placed the 360 with the brick on the floor.

Scott @ Dec 18th 2005 10:01PM

Clint - "I'm glad I'm waiting for the PS3...I don't have time to build contraptions to make Microsoft's Xbox 1.5 work. They should re-design it so that it just simply works like Sony and Nintendo do."

Yes, because Sony had exactly zero RMAs with the PS1 and PS2

Every new console launch has come with various problems. You are fooling yourself if you think otherwise.

Mullinator @ Dec 18th 2005 10:01PM

@lust

http://marketplace.publicradio.org/shows/2005/11/24/PM200511242.html
Radio clip saying that some reports are claiming a
15% failure rate.

PickyPants @ Dec 18th 2005 10:01PM

Lust you jackoff.

"My dream product might be a problem for someone. What what? Uhhh... (chomping on Snickers) Proof please!"

That was you.

G @ Dec 18th 2005 10:01PM

@Mullinator

and where did that radio clip get it's info? that's what we call a secondary source, just like you were in the first place, and a secondary source is usually thought of as unreliable

lust @ Dec 18th 2005 10:01PM

"Radio clip saying that some reports are claiming a
15% failure rate."

I see, the source is "some reports." Give me a break. Unless someone has conducted a scientific poll about the issue, these numbers mean zero, nothing.

Only MS knows how wide sprad the issue is and so far they've publically said they've had less problems than would be expected for this type of launch. Are they lieing or misleading? Sure, it's possible. But all these 5%, 15% numbers are guesses or lies.

Mullinator @ Dec 18th 2005 10:01PM

Microsoft is probably never going to release the actual numbers, and conducting a scientific study is kind of pointless really. Which means reports like this are the best information we will probably have to go on.

Just accept the possibility that it could be this bad. I'm not saying it is but it's a definite possibility.

AceMilo @ Dec 18th 2005 10:01PM

My 360 is sitting in a closed wooden cabinet with the psu sitting on the floor outside the cabinet. The air in the cabinet gets fairly hot, but my xbox has never overheated once, ever. The psu stays nice and cool and quiet. The only lockups I get is when I go playing with the guide button while in a game, which is a bug in the dashboard, not the game or the system. I'm sure there will be updates to the dash soon that will fix the problems. I believe that most of the "crashes" are not game crashes but dash crashes and aren't overheating issues. I don't know if I was just really luckily in getting a perfect console or if the reports are just well overblown (most likely the latter).

As far as the ps3, why is it that everyone seems to forget the huge failure of the ps2 launch with the bad lasers?? I know people that had to buy 2 or 3 ps2s before getting one that actually worked. Every console has issues, just like every new car, every new computer, every new everything. Sony has had more than their share of problems, the ps2 with the lasers, the psp with the button issues and the dead pixels (mine had over a dozen), etc. Even nintendo has had issues. I'd like to see ANYONE else build a computer equivalant to the 360 for the same price and pump out less heat. It can't be done.

I for one await the coming ps3 debocale.

szimm @ Dec 18th 2005 10:01PM

a "scientific poll?"

what the hell would that prove? polls are for statistics creation, not determining hardware failure ratios.

lust @ Dec 18th 2005 10:01PM

"Which means reports like this are the best information we will probably have to go on."

I appreciate that but anecdotal evidence like this has no value. We KNOW there are issues but have no way of knowing how widespread.

"Just accept the possibility that it could be this bad. I'm not saying it is but it's a definite possibility."

I never said it wasn't possible. I simply took exception to the % of defects you posted. We simply don't know. The fact that the media is quoting message boards as "proof" is shameful.

charles George @ Dec 18th 2005 10:01PM

"Microsoft is probably never going to release the actual numbers, and conducting a scientific study is kind of pointless really. Which means reports like this are the best information we will probably have to go on.

Just accept the possibility that it could be this bad. I'm not saying it is but it's a definite possibility."

Anything is possible, sure. But the evidence I've seen poitns to the system being just fine, and a lot of hype about this occuring for hypes sake.

Seriously though, if your having an issue, you can also call MS, and they will replace the PSU. If you have to mount you PSU like this, your either being overly cautious, just doing it for fun, or it's deffective. Call 1800-4 my xbox and they'll replace it or fix it for you. I have mine on a carpet freaking floor with little ventilation and I haven't seen it overheat. Hell, it barely even gets warm.

Jimbo @ Dec 18th 2005 10:01PM

MS representative says rate of complaints is below 3%:

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/gaming/2005-11-28-xbox-second-round_x.htm

Ice Raider @ Dec 18th 2005 10:01PM

Be playing mine for 4-5 hours in a typical sitting since day 1 and no heat problems yet, but I did read the instruction before I used it and checked to make sure that I had adequate ventilation for the system and power brick. The only minor complaint I have is that the controller down button on the d-pad was not working very well, so returned it and they replaced it with a new one. Other than that everything is working great, overall this system rocks!!! I

am really excited to see what Nintendo and Sony are doing are coming out with as well.

gosh_d @ Dec 18th 2005 10:01PM

imho, Microsoft's numbers are going to sorely under-estimate the actual rate of problems. After all, those numbers come from the number of reports they've received, vs. the number of units actually sold. *Plenty* of people will choose not to contact MS about their issues (at least for now). Possibly more significantly, none of the consoles purchased as gifts for the upcoming holiday season have even been opened, let alone discovered as faulty.

Geordan @ Dec 18th 2005 10:01PM

Guys shut up! =D

It's a non issue, The Lego thing is a joke (hand powered fan? geeez)

The PSU hardly gets warm under use, All this overheating business is rubbish.

I was going to use the Lego Technic motor I have, but it had stopped working entirely. Hand powered, even better!

There might be a few units with defects that get exceptionally warm, but the community is overreacting entirely. Thus I built the Lego super cooler.

Rymix @ Dec 18th 2005 10:01PM

"LEGOs is incorrect. The plural of LEGO is LEGO."

Glad to see I'm not the only one irritated by this.

lust @ Dec 18th 2005 10:01PM

Xbox 360 News @ Dec 18th 2005 10:01PM

I don't think 3rd party cradles would be big sellers but who knows...

ben @ Dec 18th 2005 10:01PM

Me three. "Legos" makes me want to puke.

push2flush @ Dec 18th 2005 10:01PM

Someone a while back made a charging dock for the DS out of LEGO, I wonder if this is the same dude?

charles George @ Dec 18th 2005 10:01PM

Kevin @ Dec 18th 2005 10:01PM

LEGO is a trademark name and not a noun. So, the correct plural would be "LEGO bricks". Put your noses back down guskof and Rymix. You're wrong.

Geordan @ Dec 18th 2005 10:01PM

No it's Lego. Lego themselves use 'Lego' as the plural.

Its similar to 'Granola'

You don't say "I'm going to have Granolas for breakfast" becauase Granola already refers to multiple pieces of granola, spoken of as if they were a whole.

cyberfelon @ Dec 18th 2005 10:01PM

I also am irritated by the Americanism "LEGOs". AFAIK every other country uses "LEGO" as the plural.

Kevin @ Dec 18th 2005 10:01PM

While it's true that saying LEGOs is incorrect, using LEGO as the plural is just as bad unless you say LEGO bricks, blocks, whatever. Once the company announced (around 1980?) that LEGOs is not to be used as the plural for LEGO, people assumed you just don't add the s (like Geordan's granola analogy). LEGO is the brand that manufactures bricks, figurines, and other toys, and to many their name has become synonymous with the bricks. Referring to the bricks as LEGOs is like saying "I ate a bag of White Castles" when you technically should say "I ate a bag of White Castle hamburgers." Everyone knows what you mean.

Geordan @ Dec 18th 2005 10:01PM

But we were never talking about 'toy plastic bricks', we were talking about Lego.

Rare Hare @ Dec 18th 2005 10:01PM

*deep breath*

...

LEGOS LEGOS LEGOS LEGOS LEGOS LEGOS LEGOS LEGOS LEGOS LEGOS LEGOS LEGOS LEGOS LEGOS LEGOS LEGOS LEGOS LEGOS LEGOS LEGOS LEGOS LEGOS LEGOS LEGOS LEGOS LEGOS LEGOS LEGOS LEGOS LEGOS LEGOS LEGOS LEGOS LEGOS LEGOS LEGOS LEGOS LEGOS LEGOS LEGOS LEGOS LEGOS LEGOS LEGOS LEGOS LEGOS LEGOS LEGOS LEGOS LEGOS LEGOS LEGOS LEGOS LEGOS LEGOS LEGOS LEGOS LEGOS LEGOS LEGOS LEGOS LEGOS LEGOS LEGOS LEGOS LEGOS LEGOS LEGOS LEGOS LEGOS

stfu.. holy CRAP. Kevin said it exactly. LEGO bricks or LEGO blocks is technically more appropriate than LEGO. but hell, by now most people don't even capitalize LEGO. it has become a household name of sorts, and for most people 'legos' is synonymous with 'interconnecting plastic building blocks'. do you ever call tissue 'kleenex'? or a portable tape player a 'walkman'? or plastic refridgerator containers 'tupperware' or perhaps flavored gelatin 'jello' (i know that you are ALL guilty of this. NO one calles it 'flavored gelatin')?

so GIVE ME A GOD DAMN BREAK. this was intended to be a humorous piece concerning user-fixes for heating problems with the Xbox 360, not a debate on proper plural forms of brand names.

/stfu and quit being whiny bitches

Geordan @ Dec 18th 2005 10:01PM

Squidly @ Dec 18th 2005 10:01PM

I had read somewhere a few day back that some people had noticed that many of the perforated ventilation holes on the top & sides of the unit were not punched through & through. They were able to use a pin or toothpick to pop the chads, (hanging chads.. haha!), out which seemed to eliminate the overheating.

Has anyone else heard of this or can confirm??

This could be a very plausible manufacturing error, especially for a first run. If it were true, it would be very minor & easily fixable in Quality Control.

ZeroCorpse @ Dec 18th 2005 10:01PM

My solution?

The Targus Notebook Chill Mat. `Works like a charm. Two fans blow air out the back, and it runs on USB power. Everything stays cool.

Only $30, and worth it.

guskof @ Dec 18th 2005 10:01PM

I�ll keep my nose up, thank you, Kevin. I should have clarified; I was referring to the context in which the word was used, as the heading for the entry. As in, the heading should be:
>>LEGO are the solution to your Xbox 360 woes
I would concede that
>>LEGO bricks are the solution to your Xbox 360 woes
works too, and may even sound better.

Nonetheless, I�m glad to see that I�ve made a bunch of people angry about grammar on one of the interwebs. Really, have absolutely no place being a grammar nazi, you should see some of the papers I�ve turned into my junior English class this semester.

LEGO is best. LEGO bricks is fine. LEGOs is just plain bad.

Here�s some more fuel of the fire:
Wikipedia says that the plural form of LEGO is: legot or leegot

Take that and run with it trolls!

Kevin @ Dec 18th 2005 10:01PM

gustof: The problem is that although you are leaving off the S in an effort to comply with LEGO legal guidelines, you are still using LEGO as a noun.

From the LEGO Fairplay page:
If the LEGO trademark is used at all, it should always be used as an adjective, not as a noun. For example, say "MODELS BUILT OF LEGO BRICKS". Never say "MODELS BUILT OF LEGOs".

Notice no mention of LEGO alone being the plural. In fact, I can't find one example on LEGO.com where they use LEGO as a plural. That's because they don't use it as a noun at all (singular OR plural). They don't want any interlocking toy brick to be called called a LEGO, no matter who manufactures it.

Zach @ Dec 18th 2005 10:01PM

The only reason it's a huge "problem" is because nobody who has a 360 that's working is speaking up. A simple solution: Call Microsoft and get a new one.

Neo_obs @ Dec 18th 2005 10:01PM

I'm sorry Kevin but, LEGO (which should actually be Lego) is a noun. A noun is defined as person, place, thing, or idea. A proper noun is the actual name of a person, company, or place. So if you can remember from when you were in the 1st grade (which would have been about 6 or 7 years ago, I'm guessing) you would know that Lego is always a noun even when you think it's an adjective. As in Lego bricks, Lego is the proper noun describing who made the bricks, also called a supporting noun. There's a lot more you will learn in high school and maybe even college if you get that far.