I think I messed up. I bought a membership card from Best Buy and wanted to activate it. I guess I did it the wrong way because it asked about making a profile and all that. I was confused as to why it was asking me to do that. So I went ahead and did it anyway figuring I would be able to go online with my other profile anyway. How wrong I was. So this new profile I made had an online account but not my current profile. I think it's dumb how it did that since I entered the section from my current profile so I don't know why it asked me to make another profile!

Anyway, that's  a lost cause. My question is, is there anyway for my to use my old profile to go online using the membership I signed up for with the new account? Also, am I to understand that you can only use a Gold membership with one account? That is dumb in my opinion. You should be able to use any profile on the system to go online with one membership. If four people want to use their own profile, they would each have to buy a seperate gold membership??? Tell me that I'm missing something here.

Yes, the gold membership is tied to the account you just created and not the system.

Yes, that is stupid, and yes Microsoft's wizard for doing it is unnecessarily complex.

Both are the Microsoft way. You're fucked.

When I went online I had to create a xbox live account. I couldn't use my older account based off Daniell, My first name. So I created my Nightstriker Alias on Xbox Live. So there's two different possibilities for what I've read here.

1 - You have a similar single-player account based off a name or something. This is unlikely to be granted xbox live gold status due to it not having a xbox live silver account.

2 - You've had a silver account but you've mistakenly made a new gold account.

My suggestion? Call my Xbox support. They are actually very nice about this, I had a similar problem with my brother's xbox and they refunded me the entire 12+1 month card so I can remake the account. If you need the number here it is.

1-800-4MY-XBOX
International (direct dial to U.S.): 425-635-7180
Hearing Impaired (TDD device): 1-866-740-9269 or 425-635-7102

Yep, I'm screwed and pissed. I called the number and because it's a prepaid card, there's nothing they can do I was told by the operator. I think that's bullshit though. It's ridiculous that a membership doesn't enable the system as a whole online. Do they really expect people to buy multiple memberships to go online in the same system. It wouldn't be such a big deal if it weren't for gamer points. I guess luckily I didn't earn that many outside Madden 2009 and I can earn most them back easily. I still think it's stupid!

It's a pain that you have to pay for online in the first case, but I don't get why you can't authorise the whole console

Wow, You musta gotten a bad rep. The rep I dealed with last time was able to refund a prepaid card. Well, actually he gave me 13 months "free" time and I used that to upgrade a silver account. Basicly I transferred my brother's silver account to my xbox where the free time was sitting not being used. Then I used that free time on said silver account to upgrade it to gold, then I transfered it back. It was pretty harsh and I ended up on the phone for like 2 hours but it was worth it.

I've now called three times and talked to three operators and two supervisors and none of them are willing to help. The more I think about it, the more ridiculous and upsetting I find it. First off, the system as a whole should be enabled for online play, not just a single profile. That is just dumb. Their customer service is absolutely horrible. I don't blame the individuals I've spoken with but rather their "rules". The fact that they can't or aren't allowed to help me with this is absurd. If I can't get this situation fixed, I will probably not buy another Xbox in the future. It's bad enough they're the only console that makes you pay for online but this is ridiculous. I was obviously willing to pay for online but for each profile? No way.

Next time I'm just sticking with Nintendo or seeing what the next Playstation system is like.