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Xbox 360: Error E74

So yes... yesterday I got the error message e74 on my xbox. For those of you that don't know what that is... it is when the bottom left quadrant of the ring lights up red. It is not that "Red Ring of Death". But I called microsoft... and after being told to unplug and plug back in all the cords a couple times... they told me that my warrenty was up and that I would have to pay $100 to get it fixed. To put that into persepctive... you can get a "slightly used" xbox WITH the harddrive for $125. Pretty stupid huh?

I first decided that I wasn't going to pay that much money to wait a month (or more) to get my xbox fixed. So instead I decided to do a little research... youtube research that is. Apparently this is a fixable issue. So I learned how to take my xbox apart. Then one of my friends told me that sometimes that error message will go away after leaving your xbox alone for an hour. Kinda unlikely but I decided that I would put it back together and see if it worked. It didn't. Then I took it apart again. Only about half way into it... I stripped one of the screws... f***.

I guess, before I start to try and get that screw out again, I'm wondering if anyone else has had this problem and if they have been able to fix it. As much information as you can give me would be great. Thanks.

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  • killingpeople
  • killingpeople
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    killingpeople polycounter lvl 18
    you shouldn't have to pay, i think that's pretty fucking lame. It's not like you did anything but buy their unreliable console.
  • notman
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    notman polycounter lvl 18
    So much for them turning around their bad reputation. I guess they're only concerned about the evil red ring of death. My brother just lost his 360.... CD-Rom gave up. This was an XBox that had already been to MS at least once. His solution was to go buy the arcade version, then reused his harddrive. At least that way, he now has the HDMI port and updated hardware (that is supposedly 'fixed' now).
  • Talbot
    Killingpeople: Wow... i didn't know that this was a recent outbreak...

    Notman: I heard somewhere that getting the arcade/core and putting a hdd on it increased your chances of the "red ring of death"
  • killingpeople
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    killingpeople polycounter lvl 18
    yeah, it's the new rrod. maybe it has something to do with nxe? i dunno, i just don't like it when companies shit the bed and make their customers clean it up.
  • Marnik
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    Marnik polycounter lvl 8
    Oof, that sucks man. Good luck fixing it though.
  • Rens
    well sometimes leaving it alone does wonders, maybe some oompa loompa's sneak in an fix it.

    i would love to take mine appart but he's still running well :(
    give it a shot, if you mess up, your just back where you started.
    its just like a pc, its just in another housing,

    maybe buy another cheap used 360, tear it appart and get jiggy with it :D

    do it! :D


    edit: only do it ... when all hope is lost, dont random impulse screw everything open like i do XD
  • Asmuel
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    Asmuel polycounter lvl 17
    Read this shit before you do anything...

    http://support.xbox.com/support/en/us/nxe/Hardware/Warranty/Warranty/ProductWarrantyNew.aspx

    Don't listen to them if they say your out of warranty or whatever, look into it yourself and find out when exactly you bought it and how you are covered. You may be covered by local laws.

    In my country the product must last a reasonable amount of time even without warranty (years), but they will still try tell you otherwise on the phone. Make sure all your legal avenues are expended. You also may need to kick up a fuss to get it sorted out also. They will try to get money out of you no matter what.

    good luck.
  • carlo_c
    I thought they had extended the xbox 360 warranty by 3 years for everyone so unless you've had yours for a long time maybe they messed up?
  • notman
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    notman polycounter lvl 18
    Talbot wrote: »
    Notman: I heard somewhere that getting the arcade/core and putting a hdd on it increased your chances of the "red ring of death"

    Glad it's my brother's and not mine then ;) (I'll let him know if this is the case though)
    Funny, because if that is true, they sell that 'starter kit', which includes a hdd to add on. The only difference is that it's the 60GB, but either way, I'm not clear why that would cause RROD.

    Carlo: That's only for the RROD
  • Quokimbo
    I updated GoW2 this morning, went to the computer to look at what was going to be fixed, returned to my 360 to see a blinking three red lights. This is my fourth time, 3 for RRoD, 1 disc drive failure.

    It is ridiculous!
  • Talbot
    Quokimbo... I was playing GoW2 when it happened... oh boy... GoW2... cause?
  • Talbot
    I've already taken it apart so the warranty is gone anyway. I'll let you guys know what happens...
  • Ninjas
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    Ninjas polycounter lvl 18
    Probably did a firmware update to detect when it was going to red ring and give the E74 instead.

    Mine died yesterday-- within a month of warranty. Too much to pay for a piece of shit that lasts barely one year with moderate use.

    I'll probably buy a Triple now. At least the old Playstations lasted longer than a year.
  • notman
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    notman polycounter lvl 18
    That's the way I see it. Except for the established game library, I'd get a PS3 next. Most games are coming out for both platforms now (minus a few exclusives).
  • Talbot
    I just love the xbox live service and don't think I could get a console without it. I'm definitely not going to get a PS3. Not to be negative... but I just don't like anything about it (control, online, games, graphics etc.)
  • Rens
    i find the controller of the ps3 one big ass suck.

    plus, xbox live is the only thing i do and no way playstation can compete with that :)


    let me know how the progress is going, and mabe a nice picforproof!
  • Ninjas
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    Ninjas polycounter lvl 18
    The one thing I will really miss is Netflix :(

    God, MP sucked on live from what I played.

    [edit]

    I can believe it is worse on the PS3 though
  • notman
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    notman polycounter lvl 18
    I don't want to turn this into a console war... but wanted to add that I've heard the PS3 MP has fewer smacktalking kids on it's network.
    Graphically, I see no difference. The game libraries are almost identical now. I think you just want to hate on the PS3 Talbot. Personally, I own both systems, and probably the only thing I'd agree on would be the controllers (I like the 360's controllers more). And I like the 360's marketplace better (although I'm really not digging the new system's organization too much).

    Either way. I'm not trying to convince you to get a PS3. Just throwing it out there as a thought now that the PS3 game library has grown.
  • Emil Mujanovic
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    Emil Mujanovic polycounter lvl 18
    I had my first xbox red ring on me a few months ago, and I went out the same day and bought an Elite (my old 360 is still under the extended warranty, so I just gave it away instead of getting it repaired). No hesitations. If my PS3 died, I'd just go out and buy a new Blu-Ray player.

    -caseyjones
  • Talbot
    I think I had a break through. :)

    There is a good chance that later tonight I will have a solution all typed out.
  • notman
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    notman polycounter lvl 18
    Good to hear (I'm assuming that means it works ;))
  • Talbot
    Well it did work... haha. I'll keep trying.
  • Ninjas
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    Ninjas polycounter lvl 18
    Man, am I lucky. Dug out my receipt and saw I bought it exactly 1 year ago today. Put in the repair order-- says I am covered. Yay Netflix!
  • Talbot
    New information:
    After a couple of hours googling and such, I have learned that the E74 code is an AV cable error. It is recommended that you try a different AV cable. If that doesn't work then there is a 90% chance that it is a failing scaler chip (also known as the "ANA" or "HANA" chip that is directly connected to the AV outlet on the motherboard.

    I'm curious, for the people who have received the E74 error code, how are you connecting your 360 to your screen? HDMI, VGA, or the regular HD componant?

    Anywho, I will be trying my friends cable tomorrow and I will let you guys know what happened.
  • TheMadArtist
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    TheMadArtist polycounter lvl 12
    I have yet to get either a 360 or a PS3 and was considering what to buy but I think after reading about all the problems I'd rather shell out a bit more for the PS3 than deal with all the headaches that seem to inevitably come with the 360; especially now that most games I'm interested in are on both systems.
  • Talbot
    I wouldn't judge the 360 on the red ring errors. Yes it is a problem... but it isn't horrible. I also think that there are a ton of really good games that aren't on ps3. Also the games that made people want to get a playstation in the first place (GTA, Resident evil) are now on the 360. The good games on xbox aren't on ps3 (halo, gears, castle crashers).

    But lets stop the console war.

    It looks like I wasn't able to fix the xbox. So I'm bidding on ebay at the moment for a premium that doesn't include the hdd.
  • Asmuel
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    Asmuel polycounter lvl 17
    Too bad Talbot. Might be able to get a bit of money for it from someone who knows how to fix them. They may be made from match sticks and wet toilet paper, but they're good when they work.
  • ElysiumGX
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    ElysiumGX polycounter lvl 18
    Talbot wrote: »
    I heard somewhere that getting the arcade/core and putting a hdd on it increased your chances of the "red ring of death"

    The opposite is true...if you get an arcade with the newest revisions. That's why I waited until recently to buy one. And the HDMI is great. The new systems have improved hardware, and use less voltage. That's how you determine if they're new. If my system RROD's then Microsoft is hopeless. Good thing innovative developers are giving the system some value. Buying the games at discount and half price really makes it worth buying.
  • Rwolf
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    Rwolf polycounter lvl 18
    I got the E74 error just after Christmas, and 2 weeks after the 1 year warranty was up. Nice timing for the 360 to crap out.

    Well I can tell you it wasn't the AV cables as running either component, or HDMI resulted in the same error. It did however work after the first time I got the error. Worked for 2 minutes and the graphics started to glitch and would never boot up again. Ever...

    This I think is on the Falcon? Motherboard

    I had a "talk" with Xbox Customer service on how the 3 year warranty only pertains to only 3 red rings and not one red ring, and talk down the repair bill to %50 off. Still I shouldn't be paying for faulty hardware.

    So far all the people I know to have a 360, any revision needed to send their xbox back. At least they had the 3 red rings or was still under 1 year, so they didn't have to pay for their repairs.

    Sent my Xbox mid Jan. Haven't heard anything back yet, and xbox.com/support hasn't updated my status. Getting annoyed by it.
  • Rick Stirling
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    Rick Stirling polycounter lvl 18
    If anyone has to send back their 360 and works for a games company, make sure you tell the support people that. Get it picked up from work and delivered back to your work.

    In my experience and the other people that I work with you gt a VERY fast turnaround. I think mine was 4 days from sending it off to getting it back.
  • Vailias
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    Vailias polycounter lvl 18
    Talbot: Sorry to hear man. not sure what price you're looking at on ebay but also check amazon

    http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw_1_4?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=xbox+360+console&x=0&y=0&sprefix=xbox

    fairly reasonable stuff. Be sure to scroll down for more used ones.
  • stimpack
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    stimpack polycounter lvl 10
    If anyone has to send back their 360 and works for a games company, make sure you tell the support people that. Get it picked up from work and delivered back to your work.

    In my experience and the other people that I work with you gt a VERY fast turnaround. I think mine was 4 days from sending it off to getting it back.

    Gonna remember to do that if/when mine craps out!
  • Talbot
    If anyone has to send back their 360 and works for a games company, make sure you tell the support people that. Get it picked up from work and delivered back to your work.

    In my experience and the other people that I work with you gt a VERY fast turnaround. I think mine was 4 days from sending it off to getting it back.

    I'll be sure to take full advantage of that as soon as I become a game dev... first step... high school :P
  • Talbot
    I fixed the e74 error. You basically need to take the xbox apart down to the motherboard... take off the two heatsinks... and heat the back of the motherboard (only where the two heat sinks were). This melts/re-solders the connection. Let the area cool and tah dah... it works. If it doesn't reheat the specific area for a little longer and try again.

    If you need more information let me know.
  • PixelMasher
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    PixelMasher veteran polycounter
    this just happened to me today...turned on the XB and it popped up I was like wtf, this replacement xb is only like 3 months old.... turned it off and the back on and it seems to be fine.

    if it does crap out atleast I have a spare because Microsoft randomly sent me another one after I got my 1st replacement back......suckers :P
  • okkun
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    okkun polycounter lvl 18
    mine just started freezing but I'm not getting any red, wtf is that?
  • Talbot
    e74 error is a blinking red light in the bottom right quadrant. Idk what is happening to yours.
  • Mark Dygert
    GoW2 rrod'ed our 360 at work, and one of my coworkers 360. Both of them where stood up on their sides. My 360 has survived since launch, but its been sitting on its side. We also use it as our DVD player. I think I read somewhere that the rrod was due to a chunk of solder becoming molten again and breaking a connection? I think the connection doesn't break (or is less likely too) on its side. I think a fix for it was to lay it on its side, plug the vents (with a towel or something) let it run for 10min, then let it sit and cool. Probably want to do a bit of research before taking things into your own hands...

    I think the drive is more likely to go out too if its standing up. Great design feature...

    okkun, probably the disc drive going out?
  • Talbot
    The towel fix is only temporary (2 days)... and it didn't even work for me. Mine isn't the "Red Ring of Death" btw.

    But I fixed it anyway! And I was just playing Gears of War 2 :)
  • HonkyPunch
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    HonkyPunch polycounter lvl 18
    I have problems with my xbox, as well.
    My email adress that I used to make my account was set for like thailand or ukraine or something, so now I cannot redeem point cards or add xbox live time to my main account.
    It's annoying.
    And, guess what? There is absolutely no way to fix it other than make a new profile whcih isn't that big of a deal but i'd love to have my gamerscores combined.
    haah.
  • fast1
    how did it get set to these countries? they set it for you?clear.gif
  • notman
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    notman polycounter lvl 18
    Raising the DEAD!!!


    In case you guys didn't see this, MS has now agreed to cover this error too: http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2009/04/microsoft-owns-up-to-e74-360-errors-expands-warranty.ars
  • Rwolf
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    Rwolf polycounter lvl 18
    Hoping to get my money back now, since I've already paid for repairs :p
  • Talbot
    I wish they did that a couple months ago...

    But I was able to fix it... so no complaining here. :)

    I wrote this in an email to someone a couple weeks ago.

    The e74 error is said to be a error with either the AV cable, ana chip, or graphics chip. So before you go and open your xbox... you need to try a new AV cable (or someone else's). If that doesn't work... then try this. On the back of the xbox motherboard there are two xclamps that hold the heatsinks down on the graphics chip and processor. I would strongly suggest that you replace these with 8 screws. Once you take the xclamps off... they will be hard to put back on tight enough to hold the heatsinks on evenly. So once you've taken the heatsinks off, clean and replace the thermal paste very carefully. If you don't know how to do this, it is the samething you a computer and a tutorial is just a google search away.

    Now this is the hard part but also the most important. What you are going to need to do is something called a solder reflow. It is simple when you heat up the on the motherboard and barely melt the solder and let it cool. It is supposed to fix any connection errors there might be. So what you are going to need is a heatgun (not a blowtorch and not a hairdryer. Then on the front of the motherboard locate the ana chip and the graphics chip. Then flip the board over and locate where those chips are the backside. Take your heatgun and carefully (3 inches away) point the gun (medium heat setting) at the chips moving the gun back and forth between them. Never stop moving the gun. After 3 min, switch the gun to high heat and continue heating for another 2 min. If you see any really noticeble burning going on... stop and figure out what is happening. When you are done there maybe a slight golden tint to some places... but only very slightly. Let it cool for 20-40 min. Put it back together and start it up. Make sure that the heatsinks are on and not moving. Also make sure that all of the screws are evenly screwed to insure a flat surface. If you didn't put the heatsinks on correctly... you will either get the 3 red lights... or 2 lights. 2 lights means that it is overheating. If you did everything correctly it should work again. If it doesn't... repeat the reflow steps.
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