One Man’s Xbox 360 Hardware Woe - Beware The White Screen Of Doom

[wraggster]

Pity MTV News producer Brian Jacks who is suffering from persistent Xbox 360 hardware problems. Anyone know a solution?
***
by Brian Jacks
My name is Brian Jacks and I have a problem.
No, it’s not alcoholism or drug dependency. The issue I’m dealing with is simply that my Xbox 360 has been broken from the get-go, and Microsoft has refused to do anything about it even after three repairs for the exact same thing.
It was in July 2007 that I purchased my system. With it, I purchased a used copy of “Dead Rising” along with two new titles. The new games worked fine, but with “Dead Rising” I received the first instance of what would come to haunt me: when I put the disc in, I received a white screen that read, “To play this disc, put it in an Xbox 360.”
I naturally assumed it was an issue with the game, so I returned it and thought that’d be the end of it. But of course, it wasn’t.
The next casualty was Rockstar’s “Table Tennis,” which initially had been working. Now however, when I put the disc in, I received the same dreaded white screen. I immediately tried “Project Gotham Racing 3” and had the same issue. Ironically enough, that copy of the game was given to me by Microsoft for an Xbox 360 event that I ran for them.
Because it’s $#@!bersome to lug the unit through the NYC subway system, I didn’t get around to sending it in for repairs until November 2007. Weeks later it was returned to me. I tried the same discs and they still wouldn’t play; I received the exact same screen. Nothing had been done to the unit.
Because of a death in the family, I didn’t get around to sending it to Microsoft again until February 2008. I got it back weeks later and…it still had the *exact* same issue. I called Microsoft and sent it straight back for a third time in March 2008.
When I received it after the *third* repair, I tried discs and still had the *exact* same issue *again* straight out of the box. I called Microsoft to report this, but never got around to sending it in for a fourth time because they wouldn’t guarantee that they would replace an obviously lemon unit.
At this point, I was worn down by the process and honestly, because of the death in the family, I didn’t have the urge to play video games any longer. So the unit sat — for about a year — from the end of March to this week when I picked up “Gears of War 2.” I picked it up, brought it home and unwrapped it and placed it in the drive. And got…the white screen telling me to place the disc in an Xbox 360. (See the dreaded white screen here, in an image via NeoGAF.)
I called Microsoft support and because it was five months out of warranty, they would not accept it back for repair or replacement, even after I spoke to a manager and laid everything out. I asked them why units with the red-ring-of-death received a three year warranty while mine — which went through three repairs for the same issue — was only receiving the one year. I pleaded to no avail.
Microsoft, if you’re reading this, I just want a unit that works, which I don’t think is too much to ask. I’m happy to keep buying games for it and supporting the system, but I just need something that actually, you know, plays games. To readers, I’d love to hear if anyone else has suffered from the same issue I am.
Someone. Please. Help. Me.
Brian

http://multiplayerblog.mtv.com/2009/...creen-of-doom/

[Anger]

perhaps someone should tell him to use one of those cheap lense cleaners (as obviously microsoft tech support - which is the best in the world /sarcasm - probably wouldnt have even thought to check that). i dont know if the guy has thought to do that himself but sometimes its the simple things, othertimes its the not so simple. if that doesnt work he could try going to a market stall that can swap the drive with a new one (and obviously the security key encoded in the drive as well) as it sounds like the drives on its way out (despite it hardly being used and 'repaired' 3 times).

can someone post this on there?

[pibs]

perhaps someone should tell him to use one of those cheap lense cleaners (as obviously microsoft tech support - which is the best in the world /sarcasm - probably wouldnt have even thought to check that). i dont know if the guy has thought to do that himself but sometimes its the simple things, othertimes its the not so simple. if that doesnt work he could try going to a market stall that can swap the drive with a new one (and obviously the security key encoded in the drive as well) as it sounds like the drives on its way out (despite it hardly being used and 'repaired' 3 times).

can someone post this on there?

I already advised him on how to replace his optical drive.:thumbup: