Friday, October 23, 2009

R.I.P. - Jeff's Xbox

Sad news on the gaming front...after four years of faithful service, my 360 finally gave up the ghost. I had a Pro system and was a fairly early adopter, so I was pleasantly surprised that the hardware gremlins plaguing so many owners (including several of my friends) didn't manifest for me.

But the picture had seemed way off for a couple days, and on Wednesday morning Rachel tried to turn it on, only to discover there was no video or audio output. Through process of elimination I was able to narrow down the issue to either the video cord (not so bad) or the video output chip in the machine (disaster). Trying to be optimistic, I bought a new video cord to replace the old one. No dice...the issue was unfixed.

Ironically the machine itself is running fine. It powers on and processes just like it should. But it won't send any video or audio signal out, which kind of defeats the purpose. So with a heavy heart (and light wallet), I bought a new 360 last night. It works fine (confirming that the old 360 is the problem), but it isn't quite the same.

I'm going to try and have the original one repaired. I could still sell it or keep it as a spare. But for now I'll just have to get used to this new interloper sitting in the spot where my old faithful machine rested only days ago.

This may seem like a lot of words to spill over a busted video game machine that I've already replaced (and I'm at least partly kidding), but you do have to understand that it was my favorite console that I ever owned. That's got to count for something!

2 comments:

  1. The Mistress going down has been a scene of mild alarm for the whole household. Replacing the hardware was relatively easy but how can one replace memories? And also, the new Mistress is Frankenstein's bride. The controllers are all white, the switched over hard drive matches the Pro and looks ungainly on the Elite, and the black controller did not come with a rechargeable battery so the white rechargeables will have to be attached. After all these years of perfect harmony in features and design this interloper is a hodge podge...very unsightly. Also, I like white and green better than black and green so I don't even like the new color scheme. All this makes for a very bittersweet upgrade. *sigh*

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  2. I hate to rip on my own new Xbox, but everything she said is true. The only positives I can think to say for the new console are:

    - It supports HDMI output to my HDTV, so the picture is noticeably sharper.
    - It runs a lot more quietly...my old system sounded like a jet engine but this one is quiet with a disc in and essentially silent without.

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