I’m a firm believer in doing it yourself (even given my past history with sharp objects and ER rooms – see my earlier post re: home improvement TV shows) so was nicely surprised to find someone had come out with a do-it-yourself Xbox 360 Repair Guide.
I’ve worked in and around computers and computer systems for over 23 years (think Commodore 64, Kaypro, and IBM’s first PC to give you an idea of when I got started.) I have always hated taking my stuff to an official repair center as they always managed to find tons of things wrong that each cost an arm, leg, and small child to fix since magically none of it was related to anything the warranty might cover. Given Microsoft’s announcement that their new product, the Xbox 360, seems to have a few ‘defects’ that ‘should’ be covered under warranty, you can imagine I wasn’t firmly convinced that this would be how it would actually go. (In fact, I’ve heard figures of up to $140 or more to fix what I think should have been covered under some sort of recall or warranty coverage…!) Not to mention the shipping expense which isn’t covered, shoving the repair costs even higher. (Personally I prefer to spend that money on the fun stuff, not fixes for things that were designed poorly…)
With new games like the long awaited Halo 3 finally being released, who wants to wait weeks to get your system repaired when you get the dreaded 3 Red Light error or an over heating console, graphic errors, and freeze ups? You could try Microsoft’s official repair center if you still believe your unit is covered under the original warranty. If it isn’t, or if you don’t think they’ll fix the defect under warranty, then why not check out this guide? It even has some great ideas for how to make money fixing other people’s malfunctioning Xbox’s or for buying ones with known problems, fixing those and reselling them for a profit – a win-win that would more than pay for the guide if you’re so inclined, a nice little business that could help you buy even MORE Xbox games for your now working system.
(Note: as with most electronic devices, opening the box and working on the innards yourself WILL most likely void any remaining warranty so proceed accordingly.)
