No it covers all problems with the hardware, but if the disc gets scratch you are sol.

Another one rides the bus.

Do you think MS can shake the stigma with the less informed consumers?

Doh.

On the topic, a friend of mine here at work was going to get a 360 - like me, he loves some of the games coming out (big PC gamer).

But... thanks to the RRoD issue - he isn't, and will pick up a Wii this weekend instead (my influence ;).

He may not love the Wii - but I think it will be a great complement to the gaming in his house (his wife can play games on it...). And he is desperate to play RE4, and he should enjoy it immensely on the Wii.

The Ringu, and that every game that seems to be exclusive to 360 and appealing to me are also going to PC... makes me really contemplate not getting a 360 and just upgrading my PC.

kn -

Sorry to hear about your loss. Fortunately, I had a very good experience with MS's warranty center (mine was out of warranty for like 5 months, and they still fixed it for free).

Who knows, maybe when you'll get your unit back, it'll have the heatsink + falcon upgrades. It's entirely possible you'll be getting an even better unit back.

Either way, I think your the first person I've heard of that's had DVD issues outside of real basic ones.

I've been hearing that every 360 being sent back from repair now has their new cooling system in them and that's why there may be a higher turn around times. Let us know how long it takes for you to get yours back.

I had the exact same thing happen to my first 360 and the second one is having disk read errors sometimes(and theres no scratches on discs)so hopefully it wont go the way of the first one.

So much for keeping your console well ventilated.....

Your comments from the VGChartz members failure rate thread:

"only had it a month, but it works just fine and i leave it on regularly overnight to download and such. Mine is well ventilated."

"Stop worrying, take care of the unit by keeping it in a well ventilated space and play some games."

I think overheating and disc scratching (/other DVD issues) are issues for all potential XBox 360 consumers to worry about or at least to take into consideration. Disc scratching isn't even covered by warranty and effects many units bought since 2005 as well as units bought this year, Microsoft blames consumers and claims reports are insignificant, a little googling paints a different story. And even with a 3 year Ring of Death warranty I don't think most people would like to be without a console for over a month (many users are reporting waiting times of between 4-7 weeks).

My comments concerning ventilation were regarding heat causing the board/components to warp and hence causing the RROD.  I didn't get that -- mine is purely the DVD drive.  Since it is an outsourced component -- i.e. some company OEMs the DVD drive for Microsoft -- I'd not necessarily pin this one on heat or ventilation.  I assume they chose a DVD drive based on a number of factors but cost was the most important and the drive they got obviously is causing problems.  I still believe lack of adequate ventilation is hurting a LOT of 360's pertaining only to the RROD.  Mine is well ventilated, but if I put my hand in the "area" where my 360 is, it is very, very warm -- like  a heater vent is blowing in hot air.  The reality is that unless the unit is on a table with nothing above it or close behind it, ventilation isn't going to be adequate and the intense heat is probably going to eventually cause the RROD.

I'll keep you posted on the time to fix.  I called them last night about 11PM as I had just finished Halo 1 and was going to play a bit of Burnout when it went nuts.

You're not alone. Apparently Brian of Kotaku has had a whole bunch of 360's break on him. His latest one was a 360 Elite that looks like it suffered from a DVD drive malfunction. 

http://kotaku.com/gaming/xbox-360/another-one-bites-the-dust-281244.php

"Over the weekend we had a little neighborhood party at my house and in the midst of it I decided to show off Guitar Hero II for the Xbox 360. We played it for a bit, maybe 30 minutes and then I went to turn the 360 off and turn the music back on. When I pressed the power button on my Xbox 360 Elite it started making sounds like a blender. This lasted about 10 seconds and then it powered off. I found the news a little bizarre, but didn't think anything of it until Sunday night."

"Then I hopped onto the Xbox 360 forums and discovered I had just become a member of the broken DVD player club. So that's eight dead because of a Red Ring and one dead because of a bad DVD player. Microsoft really needs to get their shit together. As I pointed out to Peter Moore back when they announced the new warranty for the 360, warranty or no, customers are still going to be annoyed if their new or relatively new consoles keep dying. It's an inconvenience and certainly shakes confidence."

@ kn

I just wanted to point out that the good care you took of your XBox 360 did not prevent you from having
issues within a very short timespan. 

My PS3 I keep inside my media cabinet (closed at the front) without any worries.