Korean Job Discussion Forums

[freshking]

I just went out and bought Halo 3 for my Korean Xbox. My xbox is modded, but I wanted an original copy of this one for possible online play. When I started up the game, it says an update needs to be made to play the game, and it gives me the option to do the update then and there. problem is I'm wondering if it's going to brick my xbox because it's modded. Anyone know what the deal is with this update?? Thanks

[mrsquirrel]

Haven't heard of anybody having problems.

Microsoft only ban consoles they don't brick them.

[reaction]

there was actually an update that bricked xboxes about a year ago. problem was, it bricked a lot of normal xboxes -- mine being one of them. i called them on it and they repaired it at no cost and even paid for shipping, even though, a week earlier, they said they wouldn't fix it. after reading a news article about the "brick" update, they suddenly changed course and took care of everything.

[mrsquirrel]

banned or bricked?

[reaction]

the update straight up bricked a bunch of xboxes. a few that didn't have any mods were hit with it also which, i am conjecturing here, is partly responsible for microsoft having to roll out a new 3-year warranty program.

the story, if you care to hear:

i moved into my own house (this was back home in california) with four roommates. after a mandatory xbox update, my roommates started experiencing major crashes with the console. the specific crash i experienced was called checkerboarding -- the screen freezes after being flooded with pixelated squares.

i called microsoft and was told that my warranty was up and i'd have to pay around $139.00 to get the machine repaired. they would not send me a box and the rep told me to find my own way of shipping the console to the company. apparently, microsoft changed their "we'll send you a box and postage" policy a week earlier because of fraud attempts.

after about a week of trying to get my roommates to help chip in -- i figured it was the least they could do since i never played it and each one told me the other dropped the system or did something shady with it -- i found an article about microsoft switching their stance on the 6-month warranty. as it turned out, a lot of xboxes started to die prompting microsoft to go back to a 1-year warranty.

in that article, the mandatory update was blamed for bricking more than a few consoles. i found out about a hidden diagnosis tool that lights up the four channels around the power button. the lights flash in a sequenced order and tells you what's basically wrong with the system. i got the ring of death, which is basically equivalent to the BSOD (blue screen of death). in a nutshell, my xbox didn't even know what was wrong with itself.

i called microsoft, told them about the article i read and that i believed the update bricked my xbox. after explaining everything i knew, he told me i had time left on my warranty and that microsoft would send me a box.

i got a new xbox with a new serial number and i'm covered with a 3-year warranty.

gg

so, yes, the update bricked consoles. i'm not sure if that's legal, but it was done.

here's a few links:

ARS Techica article about a class action lawsuit

1up.com article about Microsoft acknowledging the problem

[mrsquirrel]

RROD caused by a over heating GPU.