SeattlePi: Xbox 360 E74 hardware failures are on the rise and full of fail

[Zeus]

The Seattle Pi is reporting that the Xbox 360 E740 failure is on the rise. However in their conclusion they note that they still can't tell just how big the failure is, ie whether it is hitting 1 in 100k Xbox 360's or 1 in a 1,000. We guess time will tell...


Microsoft made a lot of a Falcon based Xbox 360 and there are still bunch of them on the store shelves. We don't know if the Jasper will be more resistant to the E74 error and we don't know if more Falcon based Xbox 360 system will continue to get the E74 hardware failures. The weird thing is that we can't tell if the E74 is a 1 in 100,000 failure or 1 in 1,000 and they all started posting on the internet. Everyone has such a bad taste in their mouth from the RROD epidemic that MS better be very careful how to deal with e74 issue. I never got the RROD until I did and that was the last thing my first Xbox 360 ever did. Video games are supposed to be fun and having to worry about premature and sudden death of your game system is without a doubt not fun.


News Source: <A href="http://blog.seattlepi.com/digitaljoystick/archives/164682.asp?from=blog_last3" target="_blank">Seattlepi</a>

[chyottone]

The Seattle Pi is reporting that the Xbox 360 E740 failure is on the rise.Holy crap. I didn't know error codes went that high. :eek:

[aayman_farzand]

Ya I got the E74 almost a month ago. It happened after playing Halo Wars for less than 20 minutes, just the training mission and movie sequence, got stuck in loading, restarted it and there it was.

The local shop I gave it to to have it fixed (no warranty privileges here) said that it happened because I did the NXE update, but I've had the update ever since it was released. It still hasn't been fixed, sent it to Hong Kong 3 days ago with my uncle, hopefully he can get it fixed.

Anyone knows what's really causing the error? It can't be overheating.

[mcmanic]

E74 error is nearly as common as RROD, i know loads of gamers that have had it on various 360's over the couple of years its out.

[Appleseed]

*Knocks wood* i have never had a rrod. HOWEVER the previous month, i DID get this E74 error on my year old elite. This error is very curious since it mostly happens to people after an update. Mine happened two days after the most recent update on live. I wasn't even putting my console through anything taxing, i was just checking out some kameo downloads stuff on the marketplace when the screen started to be filled by green boxes.

Curious, as they say this is a GPU fault, well if the GPU is damaged then HOW COME the screen is still displaying an error. Or has any display at all?

Unfortunately this type of error codes are NOT covered under the 3 year MS warranty for the console. Luckily i had paid £24 to game for warranty on the console which covered it for an extra two years. I was incredibly lucky to get a replacement elite the very next day. Sadly all my xboxes are falcons now. I need a jasper. But i am sure jaspers have their own issues so who cares?

[sakamoto]

this has nothing to do with NXE update. it's just a hardware error
E74: AV cable error... There is a problem with the AV cable, try using a different AV cable. If the cable is known to be working then there is a 90% chance it's a scaler chip problem (the "ANA" or "HANA" chip connected directly to the AV cable) in rare cases it is the GPU.

[osnoozeo]

ive seen a few e74s in last few months as well, just thought as it was just another rrod, i know there was one that couldnt be fixed at all, sold it on ebay and bought another. granted m$ sux ass, but out of all the systems xbox is much better for online gameing and has variety of games to play, as of where my wii doesnt even get used, and my ps3 i play kz2. but its cool u can now buy 360s on ebay for like 30 bux and fix them.

[wiggim]

Never got RROD until you did eh?

man I love these articles.

E74 is common, like 3RLOD, just 3ROD was baddd.. E74 isn't bad.. so MS is playing it off. E74 is the new 3RLOD people. live with it.

[easton999]

sucks for all you ppl im still on my xenon model launch xbox both x clamps removed and replaced and the new shim method so i will never get the rrod ever and the old models with the ana chip are excused from this issue which is the hdmi less xbox i also have hitachi iXtreme 1.51 im set for life with this xbox haha

[DerekD1982]

e74 is very common not as bad as the rrod but its not to far behind. i myself keep getting this error now and again. i have to unplug the hdmi a couple of times for it to work but it gets there in the end.

[manufan4eva07]

sucks for all you ppl im still on my xenon model launch xbox both x clamps removed and replaced and the new shim method so i will never get the rrod ever and the old models with the ana chip are excused from this issue which is the hdmi less xbox i also have hitachi iXtreme 1.51 im set for life with this xbox haha
you keep telling yourself that.

[Kevin Layne]

This is what society does these days....they pay on the cheap....they have that Wal Mart philosophy......get everything as cheap as you can.....you buy cheap you get cheap....sony has never established themselves on that...its called brand loyalty.....but when people dont seem to mind exchanging 3 or 4 360's for RROD.....it tells you the mentaility....best value for the buck....the numbers prove that the 360 is a hardware nightmare....but it keeps selling....because its cheap....

[Laguna Loire]

Now I know I am not alone with Falcon.:D

It struck me 2-month before, after 2 weeks updated NXE while playing Fable 2. Suddenly everything went blurry green & my NXE avatar was blurred. After second NXE update, there go E74 showing on my big TV. Already send for repair from un-official repair centre. Taken 6 days & now it is running back on track. The Symptom is probably similar with RROD.

E74 supposed about scalar chip error. However since it is repairable around $49, so it is do not bother me. At least I get it repaired before Resident Evil 5 & Star Ocean 4 come out.
http://www.clowcard.net/upload/upload_files/1055117736/X360-E74.jpg

[jackoneil2000]

E74 was LITERALLY the first thing I saw on launch day when I booted up my 360.

[crypysmoker]

Ya I got the E74 almost a month ago. It happened after playing Halo Wars for less than 20 minutes, just the training mission and movie sequence, got stuck in loading, restarted it and there it was.

The local shop I gave it to to have it fixed (no warranty privileges here) said that it happened because I did the NXE update, but I've had the update ever since it was released. It still hasn't been fixed, sent it to Hong Kong 3 days ago with my uncle, hopefully he can get it fixed.

Anyone knows what's really causing the error? It can't be overheating.

YEs it is. The ana/hana chip becoming unsoldered would cause Error 374.
I bought a 360 that had error E74 for $25 and fixedit for $5

[kneehighspy]

sucks for all you ppl im still on my xenon model launch xbox both x clamps removed and replaced and the new shim method so i will never get the rrod ever and the old models with the ana chip are excused from this issue which is the hdmi less xbox i also have hitachi iXtreme 1.51 im set for life with this xbox haha


never say never, my launch model (bought 04/06) died last month, so i went out and picked up a jasper arcade unit and swapped my pro accessories to it. the new 360 is super quiet and uses way less juice than my old one.

[Spud_Hed]

to be honest ive seen very few e74s lately and still none on falcon boards, infact the only issue i seem to be getting on falcons is random freezing, which is a real pain in the rear to fix as you have no indication of the cause so its trial and error all the way

[ThreeDog]

As both a 360 and ps3 owner i still hope for my 360 to last, the only other console i've lost is a ps1 to laser failure and i guess a ps2 to the GTA:VC disc read error bug (i missed the ultra silent lawsuit and had it modded too).
Every time i see a thread like this i just wonder why the hell this thing is still on the market, why ms hasn't fully admitted the hardware isn't fit for purpose and why have they gotten away with it in every country even with the UK watchdogs forming a case, if this wasn't ms and a product had a 30% failure rate they would be forced to recall, refund and replace.

You know my biggest hope right now is the same failure as the original xbox, the psu and/its connection to the console is dangerous enough to spark/blow up/start fires and either ms have to recall all the 360s or rush it off the shelf for a new console, this isn't some fanboyish dream i love my 360 but i dont feel this is fair on the people buying the product especially those now beyond the 3 year period with consoles that 100% wont last.

[aayman_farzand]

YEs it is. The ana/hana chip becoming unsoldered would cause Error 374.
I bought a 360 that had error E74 for $25 and fixedit for $5

Well you got it fixed, but I couldn't. Heck when they first thought they fixed it, it ran for an hour then gave the 1 red light. Fixed it again, got 3 lights. THey tried a couple more times and they just gave up. And I'm sure they resoldered it, so something else has to be the problem.

It ran for 20 minutes for god's sake, how can it possibly over heat. The game was installed on the HDD as well, so even lesser heat generated.

[harryisme]

I've known more people encounter the E74 Error than the 3 Red Rings, I'd say to all who get the error to do a search on the net to try to get the three light when this happens that way M$ will fix it for free otherwise they'll charge you.

[frankmax]

I got this error a few days ago and I still have not contacted microsoft. I am under the warranty but a few people have said that this error does not come under the warranty? so if i contact microsoft and tell them i have the ring of death do you think they would fix it still?

[wpc]

The best part is M$ charge you $100 to fix it lol :D

[pCeSlAyEr]

This is what society does these days....they pay on the cheap....they have that Wal Mart philosophy......get everything as cheap as you can.....you buy cheap you get cheap....sony has never established themselves on that...its called brand loyalty.....but when people dont seem to mind exchanging 3 or 4 360's for RROD.....it tells you the mentaility....best value for the buck....the numbers prove that the 360 is a hardware nightmare....but it keeps selling....because its cheap....

Really?

Then how come I wen't through 3 PS1's, 3 PS2's and 2 PSTwo (Slim model)?

All with laser failure...

[uzi]

aah stfu and just fix it ur self its just the left heat sink just replace the artic silver and put it back to gether ... google the x clamp fix withe 4 bolts.. 8 nylon washers and 8 metal washers.... easy fix for like 5$ ... any red ring is all the same part of the xbox .. they just tryin to play it as other errors

[Anil8tr]

never say never, my launch model (bought 04/06) died last month, so i went out and picked up a jasper arcade unit and swapped my pro accessories to it. the new 360 is super quiet and uses way less juice than my old one.

I was beginning to think I had one of the good launch models (got mine 01/06). Low and behold after 3 years mine red ringed a couple months back. I had it fixed and it was freezing again last month; no RR just game freezing. I saw the writing on the wall and I did the same thing you did and got a Jasper Arcade last week. Real quiet and I haven't had any issues since.

[danight]

I fixed mine.. by adding a usb fan to cpu then unplug the stock fan ...5 mins later... no more e-74. Towel trick works to.

[danight]

watch the south bridge as well.

I have a lunch 360 as well as others. But i cant still make the launch system cut on but the southbrigde solder is cracked and i have to hold down on that chip while starting or it will lose the picture.

[Neptune]

Do people even read repair guides or anything? I run a game repair shop and lately the E74 is becoming more and more common since the NXE update. In fact I purchased a bulk lot of units from a reseller all E74's every single one had NXE applied then died.

E74 and the 0102 Red Lights error are NEARLY the same thing just broken solder joints in different places. Even freezing is the same thing, you MUST 100% heat up the gpu (and CPU) with a heatgun to reflow the solder points, then you MUST use a clamp method. This one has worked 100% with 1% return rate within a year.

http://img100.imageshack.us/img100/6807/testpic4of2.jpg

I do 8-14 repairs a day it's been half and half up until recently now it's mostly E74 and not 3rrod. Follow that pic and heatgun the gpu and cpu and your system will have a SMALL chance of failing.

[danight]

Thanks Neptune for the info and suggestions...

I tought myself through trial and error and dealing with every rrod. Im no electrician though, but im good enough to never have a 360 total die on me. But ive never read and repair manuals.

I just know the southbridge error and the e74 and 3 rrod and 1 rrod are very close to each other and my first 360 would cycle those errors.

I just offer advice encase some does have a old 360 sitting around thats out of warranty and they would like to try and fix it but dont care if it ever works again.

I know the southbridge is often over looked and took me a ton of googling to find info about it.

[PaRaNoID81]

add me to this list, 3 xbox360s failed with this code, sucks because 1 ring of death is only covered for the first year :(

[kneehighspy]

I was beginning to think I had one of the good launch models (got mine 01/06). Low and behold after 3 years mine red ringed a couple months back. I had it fixed and it was freezing again last month; no RR just game freezing. I saw the writing on the wall and I did the same thing you did and got a Jasper Arcade last week. Real quiet and I haven't had any issues since.


totally true. i have an apc battery backup on my home entertainment stuff and it monitors power levels, when i powered up my old 360 by itself, the level went up one bar. if i powered on my ps3 (60 gb launch model) along with my old 360, it went up to like 3 bars. now if i power up my new jasper model, the level doesn't rise at all, and if i power up my ps3 with my new jasper, it only goes up 1 bar, with spikes to two.

my wii will also cause a one bar rise, so it's not too power efficient either. so the new 360's are really quiet and less power draining. my new 360 is 'almost' as quiet as my launch ps3. sometimes when my ps3 heats up, it will make a little more noise.

i think i'll shop around and send my old 360 to somewhere and get it fixed (i've already done the x-clamp fix along with adding additional fans to the heat sinks, all before i had any problems with the unit) to have a spare or put it in me and the miss's bedroom.

[borbeatss]

E74 was LITERALLY the first thing I saw on launch day when I booted up my 360.

LOL serious? That's really tight.

[phallius]

After reading all this stuff about how much the 360 fails, it' incredible that people are stupid enough to buy more systems, games and accessories. How many times are 360 fanboys gonna act surprised about how fast the warranty turn around is or how cheap the system is? How does it feel when you have to say a prayer every time you hit the power button? :eek:
I have to admit, 360 has great games...but come on. I guess everyone has money to burn. I bet the 360 fanboys can't wait for the new Windows to come out. I wonder if it will match the power of Vista? :D

[grapeape]

After reading all this stuff about how much the 360 fails, it' incredible that people are stupid enough to buy more systems, games and accessories. How many times are 360 fanboys gonna act surprised about how fast the warranty turn around is or how cheap the system is? How does it feel when you have to say a prayer every time you hit the power button? :eek:
I have to admit, 360 has great games...but come on. I guess everyone has money to burn. I bet the 360 fanboys can't wait for the new Windows to come out. I wonder if it will match the power of Vista? :D

Whats more incredible is the number of PS3 fanboys that seem so worried about other people buying 360's. Its pretty simple if you dont like it dont buy it...why be a bunch of wannabe ralph naders? PS3 fans are just as guilty of constantly trying to spin anything into a positive. Fanboys in general are like cult members they all think they have the answer and everyone else is wrong...best to ignore them on all sides.

[uzi]

lol ok to the person that said to use the heat gun LOL oh please stop the bullshit on that.... plus that picture is wrong in so many factors

1st u dont need the heat gun / hair dryer
2nd u only need 8 nylon washers and 8 metal washers and 4 bolts.. forgot what 1ns .. i think 10 mm screws
3rd its only the artic paste on the gpu
4th .. its the left heat sink that needs new spread of artic silver 5

once u got the tools ... take apart the xbox .. remove that xclamp off the LEFT side of the xbox [small heat sink]

clean the artic off with alcohol 75% and up or just get artic remover
must be a mirror finish when ur done cleaning

now dry it or what ever ... put sum new paste and spread it down with a card or somthing to spread it ... dont just put a blob on it

b4 puttin the screws > metal > nylon washers on the ... u have to bake the xbox ... [bake by turning on the xbox with out the fans on for about 2 minutes untill u get 2 red lights ] which means over heated ... then unplug and re build ur xbox and tada should be fixed ... i will make a full detailed video when ever i find my camera

[bonsc]

I got this the other day with the 1 flashing light Found out M$ wont fix it so its still sitting there in bits in my room. Whats the best fix for this or is it even worth trying

[phallius]

Whats more incredible is the number of PS3 fanboys that seem so worried about other people buying 360's. Its pretty simple if you dont like it dont buy it...why be a bunch of wannabe ralph naders? PS3 fans are just as guilty of constantly trying to spin anything into a positive. Fanboys in general are like cult members they all think they have the answer and everyone else is wrong...best to ignore them on all sides.

Fanboy? I never mentioned a thing about PS3 or the wii. How did you get that from the fact that I dislike M$ and their crap products. There is no correlation. Weird you would assume that. Ralph Nadar is not a PS3 fanboy. You have made no correlation at all. PS3 sucks too....where's the games and DLC? They all have major problems. The wii is a kids toy, and great for parties, but it gathers dust in my room when there's no company.

[grapeape]

Fanboy? I never mentioned a thing about PS3 or the wii. How did you get that from the fact that I dislike M$ and their crap products. There is no correlation. Weird you would assume that. Ralph Nadar is not a PS3 fanboy. You have made no correlation at all. PS3 sucks too....where's the games and DLC? They all have major problems. The wii is a kids toy, and great for parties, but it gathers dust in my room when there's no company.

Funny I dont recall mentioning you by name...I was just making a general observation. You have however made it abundantly clear over and over again that you hate their products and actually mentioned last week that you hadnt bought anything from MS since 2006...so why loose sleep over it? I mentioned Ralph Nader because before the politics he as known as a self proclaimed consumer advocate (often an unwanted one).

Basically what it comes down to is that opinions are like assholes...everyone has one. I'm still on my launch 360...still no problems so I have little to complain about but I realize alot of people have had problems, some deal with it some dont its entirely up to them. If mine died I would definately get it repaired I have too much invested at this point no to. Oddly enough I have had 2 friends now with dead PS3's (it just gives a yellow light when turned on) but im not ranting about it, its no my problem.mine works fine.

I am curious though since you evidenly dont like any of them...why are you here?