Hi all,
As some may know, I got the dreaded RRoD a little while ago. Rather than just whimsically go through the process and not document anything, I figured I would document it for all of the VGC users. This way, anyone that worries about what RRoD involves (even though it's a far less occurring problem than it used to).
So without further ado, here's the official timeline of virtually everything that happened with my RRoD. Hopefully this helps to de-mystify what goes on, and explains the process of what I did to get my Xbox 360 repaired, and how the process works.
| Date | Time (EST) | Action Taken | Notes |
| November 18th, 2008 | 5:00pm | Xbox 360 Freezes Upon Game Play |
Whilst playing a song on Rock Band 2, my Xbox 360 suddenly decides to freeze/die by the audio/visual aspect (to the TV) completly dying. Odd, Rock Band 2 has never, ever had a problem before. I reboot the system a few times, and each time, within seconds, it freezes. I decided to let my X360 rest a few minutes, thinking that maybe it's just a wierd fluke. I boot it back up around 6:00pm, and begin to play Rock Band 2, which works now. However, about 5 minutes into playing, it dies again. I decide to let it rest whilst I go to my girlfriend's house |
| November 18th, 2008 | 10:30pm | Xbox 360 officially RRoD's |
Upon coming home, my X360 officially dies via 3 red lights. I was worried about this after the 2nd freeze at 5:00pm, and my worst 'fears' are confirmed. My system goes DOA. I attempt a few reboots, and get the RRoD each time, so it's certain my system's been bricked. |
| November 18th, 2008 | 11:00pm | Repair Action Started | Booted up www.xbox.com only to become fusterated that Xbox.com was down due to NXE implementation. Argh. I can't sign in to my 'Mr Killemgood' profile to begin the process of getting my console fixed. It'll have to wait till tommorrow. |
| November 19th, 2008 | Noon | Repair Action Started (cont) |
Official beginning of the Xbox 360 repair process. I sign in to Xbox.com with my GamerTag, go to 'Support' then 'Repair My Console'. Microsoft has done all the work for me - Brilliant. My now-dead Xbox 360 pops up on the screen with all my registration info, and warranty status. MS says it'll cost $90.00 to repair my Console which was initially bought on November 22nd, 2005 (yes, I waited outside for 14hrs in 40* weather for this thing). Fortunately, the 3 year RRoD warranty is still in effect. Not only from the time I bought my 1st console, but it was renewed for another 3 years when my X360 RRoDed the first time - so it's good till March 2010. Once I get the information all fixed properly, I then print out a pre-paid shipping label from Xbox.com to ship my console in. Sweet, this means I don't have to wait 3-4 days for MS to send me the box. |
| November 24th, 2008 | 1:00pm | Xbox 360 Shipped for Repair |
I had a decent bit of work the rest of the week, so I was unable to ship the console out 'till this week - 6 days after my X360 RRoDs. I'm not dying due to my X360 being dead, so I do end up taking it slow. I pack it up in a free box I have, so my actual cost to send Microsoft my X360 is about 5 cents worth of paper and ink, oh, plus the garbage bag I sent the X360 in ;) I did that so the shredded paper doesn't infiltrate any area of the X360. |
| November 27th, 2008 | ??? | Xbox 360 arrives at Mesquite, TX for repair | According to Xbox.com's repair tracker, my Xbox 360 arrives for repairs just before Thanksgiving. I figure it may take awhile to fix due to the holidays. |
| November 29th, 2008 | ??? | Xbox 360 is repaired | According to Xbox.com's repair tracker, my Xbox 360 is 'repaired' - it's actually swapped out with a new system. MS says they are shipping it today (Friday), but due to the holiday weekend, it looks like it gets delayed. |
| December 1st, 2008 | 5:00am | Xbox 360 is shipped back to me | Finally get an updat from Xbox.com. My console was appearently shipped out today, Monday early in the morning. Odd that it wasn't shipped last week, but I guess Thanksgiving screwed eveything up. I don't see anywhere for a tracking number to ensure I get the package. I wait anxiously the whole week to get it back, because I don't want to miss the package, and have it stolen. |
| December 4th, 2008 | 3:00pm | Xbox 360 returns |
Got it back a little over an hour ago - I also got The Last Remnant and Infinite Undiscovery from Amazon.com today. The Xbox 360 came in a new box (not the one I sent it in) with typical coffin innards - nice foam packaging, and wrapping around the console. I also got a free month of XBL via a 1mo card attached to the X360 itself. $5 for my troubles. Eh, it's better than nothing. Just booted the X360 up right before finishing this post up to confirm it works. I don't have a HDD since I let my girlfriend borrow it for her new Xbox 360 her niece gave her for an early Xmas present (older 2007 Falcon/Arcade). |
So the official statistics about my repair experience:
- Time Taken to Repair Console (absolute value): 16 days
- Time wasted by myself: 5 days
- Time wasted due to Microsoft.com: 1 day
- Actual time of repair (from shipping out to recieving): 10 days
So it took 10 days to get the console repaired. Could of been less, most likely, if it wasn't for Thanksgiving...Heck, it could of been fixed in a week given the turnaround time at Microsoft's repair center.
Back from the dead, I'm afraid.
