Cheapy D fixes red ring with towel in video
by Justin McElroy 
{ Aug 9th 2007 at 11:31AM }
What makes this such a moving tribute to cheapness is not that Cheapy D will go to these lengths, it's that Cheapy D will go to these lengths every four days or so to avoid buying a new 360. Now that's a man who hates spending money.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
driven2sin @ Aug 9th 2007 11:34AM
that dude is goblin-like
Mazzani @ Aug 9th 2007 11:41AM
Wait... why doesn't he just repair/exchange it under the three year warranty?
guidedbyvoip @ Aug 9th 2007 11:52AM
I guess he doesn't want to give up the 360 for a week or two. There aren't any games for PS3 or Wii that can hold anyone's attention that long. (I know this, I own a Wii60)
Shanker @ Aug 9th 2007 12:06PM
It's because he bought the 360 in the States but is now living in Japan. Not sure what the shipping rate is accross the Pacific but I'm pretty sure Microsoft won't foot the bill for that.
copa @ Aug 9th 2007 12:08PM
Ideally, you keep it running for another year until Microsoft is handing out HDMI-enabled refurb units. Then, you send it in under warranty.
t_m @ Aug 9th 2007 12:17PM
i'd guess that, now he's done that to it, it wouldn't be covered under warranty anyway....
sheppy @ Aug 9th 2007 1:18PM
Considering Cheapy D gave Wombat a PS3 for his birthday, he's all about spending money where necessary. But that's the catch. Microsoft will not replace a US unit that has been taken to Japan. Buying a whole new unit without a warranty on the 360 from the states is, as we all know, pure folly. By his own admission, the price drops were supposed to be significant enough to warrant a new unit but for $50... that didn't pan out so well. Especially considering the amount of extra tax you have to pay when bringing imported electronics into Japan.
So in essence, the towel situation for him isn't because he's cheap but because it's rape to go any other route for the time being.
mike_p @ Aug 9th 2007 3:45PM
@guidedbyvoip: It's not anything close to two weeks. Try two weeks while they have it. I sent my 360 for repair on June 4th (after about a week of waiting for my "coffin" to arrive). To be fair, the warranty was changed while my Xbox 360 was being serviced but the amount of time it took was incredible. My first time took 3½ weeks. This time it took 7½ weeks.
It really sucks because my brother and I have prepaid Xbox Live for a year and we lost about 6 months of service (collectively). What do we get? A voucher for a single month of Xbox Live each of the times we sent it out. Unfair...
Stevo @ Aug 9th 2007 11:41AM
So is the idea that the heat makes the MoBo reset? I'm confused on why this trick works...
deaftly @ Aug 9th 2007 11:42AM
it heats up the solder so it resettles everything into place again
Matt B @ Aug 9th 2007 12:04PM
THis is all they do at the repair center. :P
nerrrrrrd @ Aug 9th 2007 12:21PM
I believe the towel trick warps the motherboard so that the solder points are in contact with the cpu/gpu again. Thus it's only temporary as they lost contact when the board eventually bends back. If the 360 got hot enough to melt solder when a towel is wrapped around it, I would think the case itself would start melting.
why not the LS2/LS7? @ Aug 9th 2007 11:42AM
If the towel "fixed it", he wouldn't have to do it every four days or so.
Doesn't sound like it's fixing anything.
Badboy1979 @ Aug 9th 2007 11:42AM
As someone pointed out in another blog: He can't be too cheap cause he has a PS3, a 360 premium, and two Wii consoles ;)
Seriously, though, it vexes me how wrapping a towel around a Red Ringed 360 can actually buy it extra life (would love to know the science behind that).
Fortunately, me 2 360s are still rolling along.
Captain Jody Anthony XVIII @ Aug 9th 2007 12:16PM
and he bought wombat a ps3
Grant @ Aug 9th 2007 12:37PM
you won't be able to afford a PS3 unless you are cheap about everything else....
ZING!
Concerto No.20 in D minor @ Aug 9th 2007 11:43AM
TWO?! HE HAS TWO Wii's?!!!
Phi Nguyen @ Aug 9th 2007 12:27PM
He's probably trying an experiment where he duct-tapes them together. LOL.
(I'm not a fanboy. I have a Wii. Playing RE4 and waiting for MP:Corruption.)
Phi
polly @ Aug 9th 2007 2:07PM
One is an American Wii the other is a Japan one. Forgot why he did that, but he mentioned it on one of the cagcasts.
Jerk Face @ Aug 9th 2007 11:43AM
It hurt my brain that that works!
Miles Pulsford @ Aug 9th 2007 1:34PM
Judging by your grammar, your brain is indeed very hurt.
mike_p @ Aug 9th 2007 3:49PM
We don't need grammar police, thanks.
Zertoss @ Aug 9th 2007 11:45AM
He's got the same Logitech speaker system I have. Not cheap at all but worth every penny.
It's the Z-5500 if anyone is interested.
superberg @ Aug 9th 2007 11:47AM
Ya know, I am so tired of the cult of Cheapy. He's not pulling off anything special. He's still spending tons of money.
"it's that Cheapy D will go to these lengths every four days or so to avoid buy a new 360"
No human being with half a brain would put down a single cent toward a second 360 after looking into their history. Oh, and check your grammar.
baby sea tuna @ Aug 9th 2007 2:57PM
I don't understand why you got your hearts knocked down for this, it's a very good point you made. Can't besmirch the Internet's sacred cows I suppose.
Edgar @ Aug 9th 2007 11:48AM
The guy bought a PS3 on day one, and he's got a pretty sweet TV. Those things are anything but cheap. I mean, come on, I'm still playing my 360 on a 32 inch SDTV.
Jose @ Aug 9th 2007 11:49AM
Did he try blowing in it first? Or blowing in it with his shirt over the vents? Or blowing in it really slowly?
Jake @ Aug 9th 2007 11:50AM
Do you know what the truly, truly cheap gamer would do? He would have MS repair the console for free. Er, duh. A really cheap gamer also wouldn't own every system and two Wii's. Hell, he could get a new 360 for $279.
TheHood @ Aug 9th 2007 12:18PM
CheapyD lives in Japan so it would cost a lot in shipping, also the long waiting time.
Why buy a new xbox360 when the "new" processor 65nm chips haven't been released yet.
The truley cheap ones are microsoft for releasing a rushed system, and not admitting it until 2 years later, after countless court cases.
Jake @ Aug 9th 2007 1:52PM
How is "rushing" a system make a company "cheap". Hell, they are certainly paying for their engineering mistakes with real cash. But calling them cheap is random and makes absolutely no sense. It's mindless.
I didn't know at the time of my post that he lives in Japan and can't do the warranty thing. Smart to just wait for the 65nm Core and keep his HDD.
I think he is a phony, though. He has a $600 PS3, $500 worth of Wii's, a 360, a nice HDTV, and lord knows how many games and he won't buy a replacement 360, which is cheaper in Japan, because he is a "cheapass". Granted, I wouldn't want to buy a new system in his shoes just yet either, but this guy is anything but a cheapass judging by his collection. He bought someone a PS3 for their birthday for Christ's sake.
Ah, whatever.
chris @ Aug 9th 2007 8:46PM
Jake, he won't buy a replacement 360 because he's waiting for the new HDMI and chip version to come out that hopefully won't die constantly like the current 360 does. And 360 being cheaper in Japan is totally useless for him since he has an American 360 and wants to replace it with an American 360.
TWiNKiE @ Aug 9th 2007 9:26PM
My warranty got voided a long time ago because I was being cheap. If this video is telling the truth, then I'm gonna be taking notes.
DarthDavid @ Aug 9th 2007 11:51AM
We go from blowing into cartridges....to wrapping a current gen system with towels (one of them needs to be pink) to get it out of its coma.....this is sad =(
Mike @ Aug 9th 2007 11:52AM
haha.. love the comment that's it quiet now with the towels around it. Too bad that update hosed the tray feature now.. sigh.
baby sea tuna @ Aug 9th 2007 3:04PM
Really? I updated yesterday and my Xbox still tells me what disc is in the tray.
Curmeo @ Aug 9th 2007 11:52AM
lol. this takes the cake from the "flip the PSX upside down to make the cd lense work" trick.
faceless coward @ Aug 9th 2007 1:56PM
Does that work!?
nerrrrrrd @ Aug 9th 2007 11:58AM
Do not use the towel trick to recover the 360!!! It is only a temporary solution and the 360 will fail within a couple weeks if not days.
There are recovery techniques that are available & cheap (just the cost of some washers & screws) that are a permanent solution.
However, if you use the towel trick too often, it can cause internal damage in which the proper modifications will no longer work.
nerrrrrrd @ Aug 9th 2007 12:10PM
Here's the permanent solution I mentioned. (Warning PDF file)
http://copronymous.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/05/fix-for-the-3rlod.pdf
slyecho @ Aug 12th 2007 4:26PM
I can speak from my own experience that it's true. My 360 got the three rings and I tried the towel. It didn't work that great. After that I did the "permanent" solution that you mentioned, it's been working now for a month without any problems. And I think the towel trick left some permanent damage on the PCB too; it looks kind of like corrosion marks, so don't do it!
rogue01 @ Aug 9th 2007 12:00PM
wow, it really is the Xbox 3FixMe...
imagine having to do that every 4-5 days? sorry, but 2 hit games (Halo & Gears) is NOT worth all that aggrevation
i'll pass
ForceUnleashed @ Aug 9th 2007 12:03PM
Are you dumb or something?
If you read anything in this thread you'd have seen that these are TEMPORARY solutions.
Hence they won't last that long.
You could be smart and send it to MS to get it fixed permanently...
Either way thats a dumb reason not to get a 360.
Zach S @ Aug 9th 2007 12:08PM
Yeah, I like how people automatically assume that all people with 360s have issues. My brother has had his 360 for around a year now and it's been carted all over the place, played pretty frequently and it has yet to have ONE problem.
To say that no one has issues would be lying, but trying to make it seem like everyone has the 3 red lights of death would be total BS. I personally know about 4 or 5 people with a 360 and not one has had a problem with theirs. I know one person with a PS3 and 1 or 2 people who have a Wii and haven't heard of any problems there either.
Matt B @ Aug 9th 2007 12:10PM
Fixed permanently? Ask anyone who has been through more than 1 replacement.
ForceUnleashed @ Aug 9th 2007 12:13PM
I'm sure that thats NOT the majority of cases.
Either way my point is very valid. Why would this person assume that a stupid towel would permanently fix your 360? Of course you're going to end up doing it over and over again.
And really my 360 Elite continues to do excellent each and every day despite the many hours I spend on it playing the various demos I've downloaded recently and the Gears.
In short if you don't want a 360 thats fine but using RRoD as an excuse is pretty weak to me.
If you don't like the games thats cool. If you don't like paying for Live thats cool too (although Live is definitely worth every penny by my standards).
Badboy1979 @ Aug 9th 2007 12:37PM
... yeah, cause EVERY 360 owner has to use the towel trick every 4 -5 days, NO 360 owner has a 3 year warranty, and there's NO such thing as the 65nm chip on the horizon /sarcasm
I have two perfectly working 360s... does that mean that everyone works: No. Does it mean that everyone doesn't work: No.
I think some of us need to spend more time making logically posts instead of coming up with cute names like 3FixMe, Phony, etc.
Curmeo @ Aug 9th 2007 1:55PM
lol @ Xbox 3FixMe. i like it better than Defectbox 360 :P
Naked Peach @ Aug 9th 2007 3:19PM
"In short if you don't want a 360 thats fine but using RRoD as an excuse is pretty weak to me."
Why? Because some of us refuse to spend our money on a piece of shit?
Slaziman @ Aug 10th 2007 5:24AM
wow for a minute I thought you were samfish and my mind was warped that he had made a retard comment, then I saw you were just an idiot with his naked peach avatar
zomg i dont want to pay for a console that most likely wont break, and if it does i can send it FOR FREE to fix it PERMANENTLY to microsoft!! man plzzzz fuck teh 3FixMe!!
Justin U @ Aug 9th 2007 12:06PM
Best part was when he broke the Robocop gun.
Twice.