The Red Ring of Death that is.  

I knew this day would come. All those stories from unfortunate souls whose lives were ripped apart. Shattered by the unavoidable reality that their console refused to work. I am talking about the dreaded Red Ring of Death. Hi. I am Chris and I've become a victim of a faulty Xbox 360. Of all days to die on me… why NOW?!? Why before I even had a chance to sit back and enjoy GTA4 like so many others are doing at this very moment. What does my 360 have against me embracing this awesome gem Rockstar has lovingly  put together?!? *sobs*

I don't want to fork out anymore cash right now. Think of what I can do with all that green. Food. Clothes. E3 Expenses. Buying another unit is the LAST thing I need to be thinking about. Naturally I started looking at some quick fixes documented online. Some suggested that I take apart the unit and rework the circuitry. Pass. Others hinted at a few taps on its side when powering on. Yeah, a lot of good that would do I'll bet. Then I saw something really out of left field: using a towel.

You heard me… a good 'ol fashioned towel. I know, you're thinking: "what's that supposed to do… keep it warm?"

Well, laugh that up but I figured that I had nothing to lose. I headed into my bedroom and yanked a towel from my hamper. Upon returning to the living room, I am thinking as I wrap the 360: "This is retarded… a towel can't possibly make this problem go away."  I power the 360 back on, sitting back and hoping that my wish would be granted.

(The 360 starts to hum followed by that low, humble power melody that routinely plays when the system comes on.)

The system worked. O_o

I thought "OMG… this silly technique actually friggin' works…." My fiance smirked… (heh, I am sure she was thrilled to know that I wasn't about to blow $400.00 on another unit). Crazy huh? I'd be lying if I said that I actually expected this to work again (and who knows for how much longer… I mean, does the towel need to stay on there now. That would suck if it does). In any case, at least I could get a few hours playing GTA4. You can read more about this unorthodox method at Endgadget.

UPDATE: The damn thing is on the fritz AGAIN. STUPID TOWEL METHOD IS TEH FAIL. >:( 

This blog article should be recognized as the sole opinion of the editor and does not necessarily reflect GotNext's official position on the subject.