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Microsoft gets sued: Scratched game disc lawsuit

by Dustin Burg { Jul 10th 2007 at 2:45PM }

We sort of figured that a consumer Xbox 360 lawsuit would pop up with all these red ring of death hardware issues, but we didn't think we'd see such lawsuit be based on disc scratching problems. A Florida resident has filed a class action lawsuit against Microsoft for disc drive problems associated with the console causing "destructive damages" to his video games. He is seeking to be reimbursed for cost of replacing such games and is suing for a payout of $5 million dollars. Now, we aren't claiming to be legal geniuses here, but wouldn't a Xbox 360 lawsuit targeted towards general hardware failures be a little more successful seeing all buzz around the issue? Oh well, these kind of lawsuits are quite normal and usually go no where, but we'll keep an eye on this to see if it gets any ground.

Ring of death inspires Forza 2 artwork

by Dustin Burg { Jun 9th 2007 at 6:15PM }

Another Forza 2 customized paint job arrived in our inbox today and we thought its inspiration was noteworthy. Some of us (including me) have experienced the dreaded red lights and have had to deal with Microsoft's semi-helpful customer service to send off a broken 360. CoolNumber9 is having the same red ring of death problems and has been using the "towel trick" to keep it running long enough to make a ring of death inspired Forza 2 car. It may not be the most badass ride on the block, but anyone who has had to deal with the red lights will shudder when they see this beast in their rear view mirror. Long ~~live~~ die the ring of death!

And as always, send us your custom Forza 2 creations so we can add them to our lovely gallery below.

Gallery: Forza 2 Custom Cars

Towel wrap curing Xbox 360 red ring of doom? Nah, not really.

by James Ransom-Wiley { Jan 17th 2007 at 12:26AM }

Red ring of doom? Wrap that sucker in towel (actually, don't). Several Xbox 360 owners have reported that the simple practice of wrapping their broken consoles (displaying the 'red ring of doom,' a.k.a. 'red ring of death') in cotton towels, and then running the systems for 10 minutes, restored the units to working order (at least for a few hours). The consoles would work again, if and when the "trick" was repeated.

What sounds like urban myth, might actually be steeped in truth. Wrapping a 360 in a towel may mimic the affects of the heat gun fix. That is, apparently the red ring of doom is frequently an indication of a faulty ball grid array (BGA), used to solder the GPU chip. The towel wrap holds in the console's excess heat, likely melting the BGA and re-establishing a temporary connection between the GPU and circuit board. Of course, the heat will also damage numerous plastic parts within the console. Not recommended.

[Via Engadget]

Chromehounds claims a victim

by Ken Weeks { Jul 30th 2006 at 2:00PM }

For at least one gamer, the otherwise disappointing Chromehounds turned out to be a killer app -- as in it killed his 360:

I know you have covered the freezing in chromehounds, but I have something new. Not only did chromehounds freeze my box, but after i kept on trying to play it, i had to turn the box off, and then when i turned it back on there were three red lights in the ring of power (positions 1, 3, 4 while vertical). Turns out i cant play my 360 even with the game out, or with any other games.

Coincidence? Hopefully. I shudder to ask if this has happened to anybody else.

[Thanks Tim]