There is nothing worse than purchasing an expensive, high-tech piece of equipment, only to have it break. While the advancements in computers and video game systems have been astounding over the past decade, with progress comes risk. These machines, processing graphics, sound and memory at a velocity unimaginable one or two years gone, overheat simply, and can lost forever in their thought processes. The Xbox 360, one of the most-hyped Nintendo game systems of the latest generation, is afflicted with countless drive disasters, so numerous in fact that it has its own built-in warning system. The Xbox 360 red ring of death is a group of lights on the front of the machine that indicate various problems: when the usually green lights turn red, the user knows there’s a heavy issue, one that might not be determined.

The Xbox 360 red ring of death is divided into four quadrants; consequently, there is meaning behind the various patterns of red and green lights. For instance, a general hardware failure will turn each light excepting the first quadrant red, while if the system is overheating, the second quadrant will remain green. If every quadrant except the third is blinking red, this is once again a hardware problem. If the entire Xbox 360 red ring of death is blinking angrily, the user should be happy: it basically means the AV wire isn’t inserted correctly and must be clicked back into place.

Users should know the various meanings behind the Xbox 360 red ring of death for a few reasons. First some of the issues are simply fixed and don’t need shipping the game system to a fix center. No Nintendo game user wants to part with their system, unable to find out whether or not it will ever be returned. Secondly, if the user does need to contact consumer support, the representative will have to know precisely what the Xbox 360 red ring of death looks like in order to offer advice and suggestions. The repair process for an Xbox 360 red ring of death is lengthy and complicated; the issue must be identified and logged, and an empty box must be sent to the user’s home. Depending on the issue, the damaged parts will be packaged and shipped back to the repair center. Then the user has to sit and wait till the fixed system, or a new system altogether, is sent.

The Xbox 360 red ring of death is helpful, if not a little depressing. A built-in indication system of hardware failure at first appears a little like a warning to not buy the system; however, the Xbox 360 itself, like most new electronics, simply has a few bugs to work out. Later releases of the system will no doubt experience the Xbox 360 red ring of death less often, and users will not have to live in fear. Nevertheless it still is a good idea to purchase an extended guaranty. The free 90-day variety will rarely cover any problems that arise, and when the extended guaranty is one tenth of the cost of a replacement system, it’s a smart choice.

Technorati Tags: game consoles, Xbox 360, xbox 360 red lights, Xbox 360 red ring of death

Tags: game consoles, Xbox 360, xbox 360 red lights, Xbox 360 red ring of death