Yesterday, I picked up a new in box copy of Power Gig: Rise of the SixString for Xbox 360 for $25. I'd been interested in it for a while, so for that cheap I grabbed it. I play it through the tutorials, then the first 3 song set it lets you do, then I have to shut down to make dinner. Total playtime is maybe 45 minutes at this point. I come back to play it again, power on the system, and up pops that red light and the E74 error page. I go through all the normal troubleshooting steps, unplug everything, hit connectors with canned air, and let it set a few more hours. Come back, same error. Welp... I've never had any trouble with this Xbox before. Always kept it in a nice clear area, nobody smokes in my house and there isn't a lot of dust. No mods of any sort, everything on it is stock but the faceplate. It's a 2007 model, I'm not sure what board but it does have HDMI (which I don't use). Now, my wife is convinced that this game killed our Xbox. I think it's a slim chance, but there is the coincidence of a new game and a dead system. My question... Is this possible? Should I go complain to the game maker, or Microsoft? Replacing the system on my own is out of the question at the moment. Has this happened with any other game on the Xbox?
its not the game, it would have died anyway get it reflowed or bin it and get a new one x-clamp fix will get you another few months out of it if you can be bothered
Its purely coincidence. There is always a time when something "worked just a minute ago!" then stops - this happens with anything that breaks. Also, the blame of heat is an over simplification... Its to do with how brittle lead free solder is, the location of the chips directly in the centre of the board (as any flexing has the most effect in the centre). So having it in a well ventilated area etc isnt going to prevent it completely, just lengthen its life. Unfortunately its time to replace it... the slims fixed/worked around the issues - CPU/GPU is within 1 chip and is right at the edge of the board, so any flexing from heat/cooling cycles wont have anywhere near as much effect.
E74 isnt the clamp. if its a HDMI model its the chip near the HDMI socket, if you have a heat gun, give it a good flow and you might get it back working, but it will probable fail again
I guess I was just hoping I wouldn't have to replace it. No Duke Nukem for me for a long while, but it's not the end of the world. I'm going to pop it open and try fixing it to the best of my ability, but I've been wanting a Slim anyway. Thanks for the replies, now I have some proof to show my wife.
Be sure to contact Microsoft and see if they'll fit your system for free or cheap. Whether you buy a new Slim or not you may as well get the other system replaced with a working one to sell or give away or whatever.
More often than not the problem lies in the connection between the ANA/HANA chip and the GPU as opposed to something being wrong with just the ANA/HANA chip itself. I recommend giving the area in between a good reflow and see what that does. Occasionally X-Clamping the GPU will resolve this problem but no guarantees on anything.
Contact microsoft first. They may give you either: Jasper chipset Xbox or Xbox 360 slim. You may have to pay a fee (out of warranty) but atleast get a quote from ms first.
Same problem... MS won't replace it without paying and I would advise not to bother contacting them unless you want to be pissed off after you end the call and once again when they email you their customer service survey.
Reflow board, change compound = profit. buy new xbox, ring m$ and have to talk to some useless indian that wont help you then charge u lots of money cos xbawx dont work
To fuel conspiracy... I wonder if you bought that game at Big Lots. They had the bundle (the guitar and game) for $25 last week. That and the last tony hawk game. Anyhow, I am sure the fact that it caused that malfunction is totally coincidence, but wondered why it was so cheap when I saw it.
You can call microsoft here in the united states you know. If you are willing to put time into things, you can get pretty far with most companies. I would still call them and complain. See what happens. A great line that really works well, and isnt too offensive: you say "sorry, I am hard of hearing and would really benefit from someone who is a native english speaker. I have a hard time with my friends and family, so this would help greatly" They almost ALWAYS get you to an american that way, as they don't want to offend someone who has a disability!
Not the CPU or GPU. DO NOT RE-FLOW THE CPU OR GPU. It is the X/HANA IC located next to the fan. You must have it re-balled. Otherwise, open your Xbox 360 and re-flow it yourself. Will only last for maybe 2 months. A leaded re-ball will fix it permanently.
E74 is the gpu 99% of the time it's very rarely the ana / hana chip. U cam pay for it to be rebelled but in most cases it's cheaper to buy a used jasper console
I own a BGA rework station (not the cheap achi ones either) and I still dont bother repairing xboxes. Its just not worth the time and effort for something you can buy used cheap.
