New Xbox 360 shuts down before overheating

by Griffin McElroy on Jun 22nd 2010 11:30AM

Okay, gang, we really need your help. Though Microsoft's shrunken, Valhalla-equipped version of its home console was announced last week, new functions of the device are just now starting to surface. The latest is an auto-shutdown feature which turns off the console when its primary cooling vent is blocked, which displays a warning prompt on screen and turns the console's power button into the ominous vision seen above.

So, here's what we need your help with: We feel like we can still get in front of this thing, and coin the new colloquial phrase for this warning. That guy who came up with "Red Ring of Death?" He's making bank off royalties, and papa wants a slice. So, let's start spitballing: Red Eye of Danger? Red Dot of Poor Ventilation? Red Light of Uncomfortable Proximity? How about, like, "The Killswitch?" It's foreboding, yet strangely catchy.

Via: Engadget
Source: NeoGAF

Tags: microsoft, rrod, valhalla, xbox, xbox-360-slim

Reader Comments (202)

red eye of kinectimals?...god i hate that name.

@griffin

Oi! Turn the flash off! Sheesh!

Thanks for the info.

@cinnister irritated eye of skittles?

@cinnister

360: "You're getting close to my rear vent! RAPE! RAPE"

Red Ring of Rape.

@cinnister

How about the Red Dot of Slow News Day?

@cinnister Eye of Doom, CBINRROD (can't believe it's not the Red Ring of Death)...or butter. How about Safety Fail! The box isn't bricked if you see it, it just needs a time out.

Red light of Your Kinect is Blocking your vent?

@(Unverified)
H.A.L. if I know...?

The Areola

A great eye, lidless, wreathed in flame.

@FOI

I see we were thinking along the same lines. As a successor to a Ring, I think the Eye is a good fit.

@FOI

The Dead Eye.

@FOI whispering eye

I can't let you play, Dave.

@KingBroly +1 internets to you sir

@KingBroly
BEST!

@KingBroly

I have that shirt. You didn't come up with that.
http://technabob.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/rrod.jpg

But, nice reference.

What about calling it Break Point?

When the warning screen pops up does it give you the option of at least closing the message and saving your game before it shuts down?

Also...Pink Eye?

@BigE4284

But if you try saving and then it overheats and shuts off, your save will be corrupted.

@Raiki

No kidding? So only your save file(s) prior to the message popping up will be valid? That's some BS. Not that it's really a problem, with these new machines you'd have to be playing in a sauna to get these things to overheat.

@Raiki - Would be nice if there's a warning that kicks in *before* the temp reaches critical, and then a second when it actually stops the game.

How about the Eye of Sauron?

@(Unverified) The Eye of Ballmer?

Red Eye Flight to Hell

Yeah, I was thinking along the lines of Hal360. He can't let you red ring.

@StrikeFear13
Damnit man, you beat me to it.

Man, that is one unflattering picture of the new 360.

@MLS
It's like someone handed out peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to a room full of pre-schoolers and then asked them hug the 360.

You're blocking my vent, Dave.

I maybe wrong but doesn't the PS3 (at least the older version I have) do the same thing?

I know the area around my PS3 gets pretty hot if I leave it on for a while (and it's a little bit more space available than in the entertainment center pictured in the article). I've had mine shutdown before.

@WackyCoffee All modern computers, from PCs to laptops to cellphones to game consoles, will shut themselves off when overheating. I think what they were saying in the article is that the new Xbox 360 shuts itself off BEFORE overheating, so as to prevent damage. ie, the "safe zone" for operating temperatures is intentionally lower. This can be as much of a bad thing as good though, for obvious reasons.

junk shot

Firebreak? Red Light of Unconsciousness? Ominous Red Eye? Feature that should have been in the first one?

Red Dot of Doom

@KyGuyTC7 You've got my vote.

@KyGuyTC7
Best one I've heard so far.

@KyGuyTC7
Russet Mote that shows Condemnation.
Kind of catchy, amirite?

@KyGuyTC7

That's the one. So simple yet perfect.

@KyGuyTC7

That was mentioned in the comment section of the source....

@KyGuyTC7

The red dot of death should be reserved for power brick failures that still plague the 360 line. Mine started red dotting on the 3rd day of having the 360S.

@KyGuyTC7 Come on .. You are all missing it ,

BSOD --> Blue Screen Of Death (special feature of the windows line)

RROD --> Red Ring of Death (special feature of the original 360 line)

RSOD -- > Red Spot Of Death !! :) (special feature of the new 360s line)

Ahh Microsoft and its long long long list of constant failures..

@KyGuyTC7

@ Creativity
Aha damn, I thought I actually managed to say something cool before somebody else on the internet.
which article was it mentioned in?

@KyGuyTC7

Magenta Dot Of Disappointment?

Is that what the new 360's actually look like? Don't all the pictures that they've released of them have a chrome strip about half an inch above the bottom, or was that just a reflection that they copied into all the pics?

@Vcize

There are chrome strips at both the top and the bottom. Apparently the flash is coloring them black. The guy should have shut the flash off, and taken the picture with a tripod stabilized camera to get a better sense of what the new 360 looks like while having hot flashes.

I just hope this isn't MS's answer to red-ringing.

MS: "We've eliminated the RRoD issue completely! First we removed the red lights, then we implemented an auto shutdown procedure!"

Consumer: "Yeah, but how about fixing the actual CAUSE of the hardware failure?"

MS: "... How 'bout that one year warranty?!"

@SpartacusMagnus

lol, sad but true....

All hilarious joking aside, this is a feature that most computers have. Get a CPU too hot, and it will shut itself off (or lower its speed dramatically, which really wouldn't be preferable for a gaming machine) to avoid permanent damage.

If the new 360 has been designed properly, this shouldn't be an issue, and we shouldn't hear widespread reports of 360's shutting off (unless people block the vent, and then play for large periods of time in a hot environment...). Of course, that is dependent on the new 360 being designed properly...and we'll see if that is the case.

@SpartacusMagnus

I wonder if they'll attempt any warning before it shuts off. Imagine saving mid-shutdown... or not saving, for that matter.

@SpartacusMagnus

This!

I really don't understand how people allow a company to take them to the bank with shotty manufacturing and then line up for the new version of it.

How can they redesign the thing and NOT fix the single biggest problem the hardware has? This is like throwing your blanket in the closet when your mom tells you to make up your bed.

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New Xbox 360 shuts down before overheating

Reader Comments (202)

Posted: Jun 22nd 2010 11:33AM cinnister said

Posted: Jun 22nd 2010 11:51AM PolkZ34 said

Posted: Jun 22nd 2010 12:00PM cinnister said

Posted: Jun 22nd 2010 1:13PM shadowj0 said

Posted: Jun 22nd 2010 2:02PM FredFredrickson said

Posted: Jun 22nd 2010 10:44PM VaultBoy said

Posted: Jun 22nd 2010 11:35AM Hunter2223 said

Posted: Jun 22nd 2010 3:01PM JonahStein said

Posted: Jun 22nd 2010 11:35AM MrAlex said

Posted: Jun 22nd 2010 11:35AM FOI said

Posted: Jun 22nd 2010 11:37AM ComicShaman said

Posted: Jun 22nd 2010 12:26PM Zoot Suit Jedi Grammar Hammer En said

Posted: Jun 22nd 2010 1:33PM quackdocter said

Posted: Jun 22nd 2010 11:35AM KingBroly said

Posted: Jun 22nd 2010 12:07PM nixlb said

Posted: Jun 22nd 2010 12:08PM Curtis17 said

Posted: Jun 22nd 2010 1:23PM Chilly P slapperonlyblogspotcom said

Posted: Jun 22nd 2010 11:36AM BigE4284 said

Posted: Jun 22nd 2010 1:33PM Raiki said

Posted: Jun 22nd 2010 2:34PM BigE4284 said

Posted: Jun 22nd 2010 2:43PM xxxsam said

Posted: Jun 22nd 2010 11:36AM ComicShaman said

Posted: Jun 24th 2010 12:55AM merf1350 said

Posted: Jun 22nd 2010 11:36AM vidguy said

Posted: Jun 22nd 2010 11:37AM StrikeFear13 said

Posted: Jun 22nd 2010 11:37AM Dr Acula said

Posted: Jun 22nd 2010 11:37AM MLS said

Posted: Jun 22nd 2010 11:49AM FOI said

Posted: Jun 22nd 2010 11:37AM mrdrmuffin said

Posted: Jun 22nd 2010 11:37AM WackyCoffee said

Posted: Jun 22nd 2010 11:48AM mbarriault said

Posted: Jun 22nd 2010 11:37AM (Unverified) said

Posted: Jun 22nd 2010 11:38AM schwal said

Posted: Jun 22nd 2010 11:39AM KyGuyTC7 said

Posted: Jun 22nd 2010 11:40AM LegendaryFluffy said

Posted: Jun 22nd 2010 11:40AM schwal said

Posted: Jun 22nd 2010 11:44AM Dr Acula said

Posted: Jun 22nd 2010 12:32PM vidguy said

Posted: Jun 22nd 2010 12:43PM Creativity said

Posted: Jun 22nd 2010 12:49PM SirUrza said

Posted: Jun 22nd 2010 2:07PM McDuckScrooged said

Posted: Jun 22nd 2010 2:24PM KyGuyTC7 said

Posted: Jun 22nd 2010 10:24PM maveric101 said

Posted: Jun 22nd 2010 11:40AM Vcize said

Posted: Jun 22nd 2010 12:19PM rajendra82 said

Posted: Jun 22nd 2010 11:41AM SpartacusMagnus said

Posted: Jun 22nd 2010 11:48AM (Unverified) said

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