Print

[troyBORG]

Thats why I have the Innercool TS on my Falcon.  It keeps it cool, doesn't void the warnity, and when I turn the system off it keeps running to cool it to the proper temperature.

Also I have my 360 in the basement (along with my desktop and laptop) so it is nice and cool.

QUOTE(tabsaid @ Mar 20 2009, 07:19 PM)

Curious how many people get E74 that use SD.  Less stress on the scaler chip might make a difference.

I wonder if that is why my friend who only has a SDTV was able to go almost 2yrs where as mine running in 1080i would die every 6months or so.

[xboxjason]

QUOTE(frieko @ Mar 20 2009, 11:22 PM)

CONFIRMED SOLUTION:

(IMG:http://articles.marco.org/images/kmart.jpg)

Great solution! Just make sure to use a separate power source rather than the Xbox 360's fan port, otherwise you may be banned from xbox live. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/tongue.gif)

This post has been edited by xboxjason: Mar 21 2009, 03:43 AM

[HotKnife420]

QUOTE(leorimolo @ Mar 21 2009, 12:47 AM)

I had a falcon with this, I Xclamped it and now it works fine.

So yeah this can be a GPU error, not only an ana error

 You may have reflown the scaler chip when you reflowed the GPU. E74 was covered under the "heat gun fix" back when it first surfaced. Rest assured that those x-clamps have nothing to do with your scaler, and the e74 can (and probably will) return.

 I've serviced plenty of RRoD consoles in my area, and the falcon boards are usually what pops up with an e74. The most effective solution I've done is to heatgun/reflow the board like normal (be sure to cover the area around the chip for better results, of course), adding a heatsink to it, and making the fan run at a constant 12 volts. Still not 100%, but most of my people are still running their consoles since the fix, so it's close, I guess.

QUOTE(troyBORG @ Mar 21 2009, 04:01 AM)

I wonder if that is why my friend who only has a SDTV was able to go almost 2yrs where as mine running in 1080i would die every 6months or so.

 Can't say it is, as most of the ones I've serviced for e74 were being used on SDTVs, as well. Some of them were using component connections, though it was only outputting 480p.

 Let's not forget that the "vast majority of consumers are enjoying their xbox 360"... until eventually every 360 starts going belly up and then congress will pass a Xbox 360 bailout.

[wmxp]

QUOTE(spinr34 @ Mar 20 2009, 04:20 PM)

it seems like a lot of the money you spent fixing your 360 was buying new ones because you decided to void the warranty right when you got it. at least for #'s 2 & 3. why would you void it to soon?
i never understood why people limit their playing time because of fear the console might break. why not just play as much as you want and if it breaks, it does. if not, then continue having fun instead of being all paranoid.

When I got my first console, Microsoft still only had the 3 month policy. My warranty was long gone. But as I said, I had several friends with 360 who had insane wait times on return consoles, and they only die again anyways! Microsoft can't change the fundamental problem with the console, because it would result in lawsuits. Essentially an admission of guilt. The x-clamp design stays, and poor cooling only gets band-aid fixes. They have made minor changes over the years, such as adding epoxy to the chip corners, reducing the standoff height underneath the motherboard, extending the GPU heat sink with the heat pipe offshoot. Just as the Seattle PI article says, failures with the 360 are a "rite of passage." I went into it fully expecting it to fail. I would much rather solve the problem on my own time. I just got unlucky the second time around. Third time the charm.

QUOTE(jimbobjim @ Mar 20 2009, 05:27 PM)

E74 and the ROD are pretty much the same fault. Microshaft have likely just changed the way consoles show errors so they don't have to honour the three year warranty.

I've fixed many e74's with the usual xclamp replacement... this is proof it has nothing to do with hana/ana.

I'm seriously beggining to believe that the whole ROD issue is just a huge marketing ploy. Think about it, how many consoles have you bought?

Wrong and wrong. It IS the ANA/HANA encoding chip, it's just relating to motherboard stress/flexing that we all know of and loath. By replacing the x-clamps, you're simply changing the stress on the motherboard, and inadvertently repairing the E74 error in the process. There's a whole mess of videos around showing people just "pushing" on the scaling chip and getting their E74 box to boot again. I wasn't so lucking with mine, as no amount of tinkering would fix it.

As for your "marketing ploy" theory, uhh....no. The failure rate fiasco costs Microsoft billions of dollars. Not to mention hurting their brand name badly. I'm amazed that actually got through this as well as they did. The three year warranty was essentially the greatest public outcry cover up. Another thing you forget, Microsoft do not make ANY money selling the console itself. Neither does Sony with the PS3. It's common practice for companies to subsidize the initial hardware, with the goal being to re-coop the cost on accessories and software. MS LOSE money everytime they sell an Xbox 360, not the other way around.


Forgot to mention, I added passive heatsinks to all extra chips also. Ram, HANA, etc.
http://www.sidewindercomputers.com/enbmfocobgar.html

[ssj4android]

My brother's Xenon died from E74, followed by my much newer Falcon dying from the RRoD. Mine had dropped while it was on a few months ago and I found a stripped heatsink screw when I opened it, I'm thinking that might've had something to do with it.

This post has been edited by ssj4android: Mar 21 2009, 07:38 AM

[Meethatguy]

I bought a 360 off craigslist from some spoiled brat kid for $25 with the E74 error.  $5.14 worth of hardware and 30 min later... its still sitting under my bedroom tv used everynight for 4 months.
Its an easy fix if you have patience

[Zheez]

QUOTE(STICKY_BUD @ Mar 21 2009, 02:55 AM)

i did not read all the posts, but somebody needs to figure out that there are no ANA chips on the falcon mobo's. ANA chips are on xenon and opu only i think...

Xenon has the ANA and Zephyr, Falcon, Opus and Jasper all have the HANA.  Despite Opus having no HDMI output, it still has the HANA chip.  It's quite obvious that when people refer to the ANA or HANA they mean the scaler chip, regardless of which board has exactly which variant.

As others are saying, in my experience the problem is not with the ANA/HANA directly, but with the GPU area where connections go to the ANA/HANA.  It has the same effect as if the ANA/HANA was faulty because the solder joints are broken at the GPU side.

This post has been edited by Zheez: Mar 21 2009, 01:54 PM

[majorbrute]

QUOTE(g8crapachino @ Mar 20 2009, 03:37 PM)

Did any of you guys actually read that guys blog?   His chart showing the "rising trend of a disturbing Xbox 360 error" is based on unconfirmable results e-mailed in by a mear 15 people.    

Think and ignore the typical fear and panic mongering of some random blogger.  Considered the number of 360's actually sold,  15 units hardly qualifies as a "rising trend" plus there is no way to determine real failures from the random kid/fanboy/hater with a vendetta.

QFT. Wtf kind of idiots can even spend the time arguing on the blog about the 360 when the whole article is just complete fail. Hell, all 15 of those e-mails could have been from the same person. His sample size could be increasing over time because other sites are posting his article thus increasing readership which would naturally increase the responses he gets. Too bad he hasn't a fucking clue how big his sample pool is to adjust the numbers properly into percentages. Then we got the fact that M$ doesn't openly publish what their error codes mean so no one has a definite idea what the fuck is going on when the red lights come on.

[jimbobjim]

QUOTE(wmxp @ Mar 21 2009, 05:46 AM)

When I got my first console, Microsoft still only had the 3 month policy. My warranty was long gone. But as I said, I had several friends with 360 who had insane wait times on return consoles, and they only die again anyways! Microsoft can't change the fundamental problem with the console, because it would result in lawsuits. Essentially an admission of guilt. The x-clamp design stays, and poor cooling only gets band-aid fixes. They have made minor changes over the years, such as adding epoxy to the chip corners, reducing the standoff height underneath the motherboard, extending the GPU heat sink with the heat pipe offshoot. Just as the Seattle PI article says, failures with the 360 are a "rite of passage." I went into it fully expecting it to fail. I would much rather solve the problem on my own time. I just got unlucky the second time around. Third time the charm.
Wrong and wrong. It IS the ANA/HANA encoding chip, it's just relating to motherboard stress/flexing that we all know of and loath. By replacing the x-clamps, you're simply changing the stress on the motherboard, and inadvertently repairing the E74 error in the process. There's a whole mess of videos around showing people just "pushing" on the scaling chip and getting their E74 box to boot again. I wasn't so lucking with mine, as no amount of tinkering would fix it.

As for your "marketing ploy" theory, uhh....no. The failure rate fiasco costs Microsoft billions of dollars. Not to mention hurting their brand name badly. I'm amazed that actually got through this as well as they did. The three year warranty was essentially the greatest public outcry cover up. Another thing you forget, Microsoft do not make ANY money selling the console itself. Neither does Sony with the PS3. It's common practice for companies to subsidize the initial hardware, with the goal being to re-coop the cost on accessories and software. MS LOSE money everytime they sell an Xbox 360, not the other way around.
Forgot to mention, I added passive heatsinks to all extra chips also. Ram, HANA, etc.
http://www.sidewinde...bmfocobgar.html

I don't care what you say, imo e74 IS! GPU related. I've fixed many consoles using many different methods, some of these involve putting the stock sinks and clips back on... hence no pressure change. I find it hard to believe that I have inadvertantly fixed all these machines by mistake. 99% of the 360's problems lie with the GPU, it just manifests in different ways, depending on what connections are broken.

Yes Microsoft have spent a lot of money and lost their good rep. I was not saying that they intentionally made a broken console. I was saying that they are probably receiving that many ROD units, they might have changed the way they show errors. This is why ROD is down, whilst E74 is up.

It's juat a theory though, and I was very drunk last night

[Foe-hammer]

The majority of customers who own Xbox 360 consoles continue to have a terrific experience from their first day, and continue to, day in and day out."

Statements like these really piss me off.  It's a slap in the face to all the many who have had to go through this BS.

[Devedander]

QUOTE(Bjodom @ Mar 20 2009, 06:05 PM)

Focus. The 1 year warranty was up. The extended 3 year warranty is only for 3rlod. So I had it for 1+ year with 1 red light, they would not fix that unless I payed. They would fix the 3rlod, but won't touch the 1 rlod error.

I see, would have just sent it in as a RROD and not even mentioned the e74 and let MS swap it out for a working one.

This post has been edited by Devedander: Mar 21 2009, 06:32 PM

[gruntparty]

i did have E74 on a broken xbox i bought, BUT after fixing it, it only worked for 1 week, then (now) i have graphics problems when trying to play games and the NXE dashboard doesnt display properly

Any suggestions?

[CyberSniper]

My ANA chip was busted but I never got the E74. Instead, I constantly lost colors in my games and the screen would become a greenish or purple-ish tint. I ended up having to use a stack of coins stuck together to hold the ANA chip in placing the stack of coins between the DVD-drive and ANA chip and then tightening the screws holding down the DVD-drive and in turn putting pressure onto the ANA chip. However, this resulted in weird color banding problems but this is way better than not having proper colors. I found that this also somehow increases my HDD load times/360 startup time and the Guide button would sometimes hang the 360 when it tries to load the menu. I'm sure my ANA chip has some problems with the silver legs since a few are rusted, but I'm too lazy to try soldering the little legs back in place.  

[amoeller]

Its interesting on how doing the x clamp replacement and heating up the motherboard can fix both the RROD and E74 errors if done right. I think previous posts are right when you re distribute the forces on the board by getting rid of the x clamps and also can realign the HANA/ANA chip connections. I also found something else interesting. By adding a 0.021 inch thick shim (I used a square piece of sheet metal with Arctic Silver) seems to also prevent RROD and E74 problems from coming back. My guess on why this works is now the GPU has better pressure to prevent connections from failing.

Just my two cents.

[AspieGamer]

I actually saw this on a shop demo XBOX 360, the ones that are meant to encourage you to buy one... Found it funny... Wonder if I have the photo I took saved anywhere...