deKay’s Blog

I got another reply today.

Hello Andy,

Thank you for writing Xbox Customer Support!

I understand that your “Viva Pinata” and “Eternal Sonata” game discs got scratched even if your Xbox 360 console was not moved in any way, and now your disc won’t play properly. I deeply apologize for the inconvenience that this might have caused you.

Andy, we are very sorry to hear about what happened. Movement of the console or strong vibration while the console is reading an Xbox 360 game disc can cause scratches. Because of the speed of the disc drive, you should not move the console while the console is reading a disc at the maximum drive speed. Make sure that you position the console on an even, flat surface. Try cleaning the disc by holding the disc by the edges and use a soft, clean, slightly damp cloth to wipe from the center outward to the edge of the disc. Do not use any soap or cleaning agents on the disc.

If you feel that the damaged disc was caused by the console and not another way, you may have your console repaired. You may process a repair for your console by:

• Calling our phone support team. Please provide your console serial number so that we may be able to check the warranty and process a repair for your console. The phone representative will be able to discuss with you the policies.

• Signing on to http://service.xbox.com/ using your Windows Live ID account and processing the repair online. (This is currently available to US customers only.)

We created this feature to give you the option to create In-Warranty, Out-of-warranty, and Three Flashing Lights repair online. In addition, Out-of-warranty repairs are at a $5 discount for online service requests. For Xbox 360 consoles that are experiencing the three flashing red lights and are out-of-warranty, you may choose the Three Flashing Lights repair option to receive In-warranty no-charge service. Be warned that we will verify the issue, and may return the console to if there is no evidence of three flashing lights in the console boot log.

The current turn around time for console repair is 2-3 weeks from the time we receive your console.

In order for the process to take as little time as possible, you need to send your console to us as soon as you can based on the agreed shipping method discussed with our phone support representatives.

The game disc may also be available for replacement. If the game was published by Microsoft, you can use our disc replacement program. For instructions, please go to http://www.xbox.com/support/systemuse/xbox360/gameplay/discreplacement-program.htm and print the Microsoft Game Disc Replacement Order Program, complete the instructions and mail the form, together with the discs that you want to be replaced, to Microsoft. This offer is only available to countries where the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system is sold at authorized retail locations. You can pay for the exchange by using a Visa, MasterCard, or American Express (AMEX) credit card. To view the full terms and conditions, visit the following Web site: http://www.xbox.com/support/systemuse/xbox360/gameplay/discreplacement-program.htm.

If the game was not published by Microsoft, please contact the game publisher for possible disc replacement policies.

If you need to reply to this e-mail, please reply ‘with history’ (include any previous e-mail) so we can expedite our service to you.

You may also call Xbox Phone Support at 1-800-4MYXBOX (1-800-469-9269) at your earliest convenience, and we’ll be happy to help you. We are open everyday from 8am to 12mn US Central Time.

To expedite service, please provide Service Request Number 1XXXXXX when you call.

NOTE: You may now check repair status for your XBOX console by going online at http://service.xbox.com/ using your Windows Live ID account.

Thank you for visiting Xbox.com. If you should have future questions on Xbox products or services, please be sure to revisit our Web site as we are continually adding information to enhance our service.

Sincerely,

Martin
Xbox Customer Care Team

So they still think I’ve moved my console! Even though I specifically pointed out that I haven’t! Fantastic. I’m glad they’re capable of reading. At least they’ve offered me the chance to get it repaired, it’s just a shame I don’t live in the US where they seem to think I am.

And they want me to pay for replacements for the games my 360 broke. Well, that isn’t happening. They can send me copies for free (and I’ll happily send them the scratched ones).

Yes. That is correct.

Let me use this strange opportunity to inform you that my site is scheduled to vanish from the internet at some point late Monday night or early Tuesday morning. Not forever though, so worry not! My provider is upgrading things or something.

You’ll just have to do something else for those 15 minutes. Like have a wash - you bloody stink.

We got a couple of Philips Freevents 11NB5800 laptops at work this week, and they’re actually very nice. Of course, they come with Vista installed, so we had to remove that.

Problem #1
There are no XP drivers for the Freevents 11B5800. There’s nothing in the box (not even a Vista restore disc), and Philips have no mention of any of their laptops on their website. In fact, outside of PC World’s online store, the Freevents doesn’t appear to exist.

Thankfully, the 11NB5800 is actually just a re-badged Twinhead F11Y. It took me ages to figure that out, and it was only by searching for the SATA controller chip that I made the connection. Twinhead helpfully provide all the necessary drivers for XP (and ME and 2000, if you’re that way inclined).

Problem #2
Sadly, you can’t get as far as XP installing, as the XP Pro SP2 install disc doesn’t include the SATA driver necessary for the installer to see the laptop’s hard drive. Of course, this is often a problem, but you can usually solve it by putting the driver files on a floppy disk and pressing F6 when prompted during setup.

If only it were that easy. I had a USB floppy drive and managed to find Ye Olde Floppy Diskette, put the drivers on it, and pressed F6. XP Setup recognised the drivers, and I chose the Mobile variant of the Intel SATA chipset driver, and Setup continued. Unfortunately, Setup still couldn’t see the hard drive.

Problem #3
Then, after some more Googling and getting a hint from someone having similar problems with a HP laptop, I found this page. I tried the same thing, slipstreaming the SATA drivers into a copy of the XP Pro SP2 setup disc, creating a new disc in the process. Booting from this new disc and… success! I could see the hard drive, delete the Vista partition, and start XP Setup!

Problem #4
But then, disaster! The partition formatted, and the files needed for setup were copied to the hard drive, and then the machine rebooted as expected. But that was all - the laptop froze on the POST screen and refused to progress any further. I couldn’t get into the BIOS, I couldn’t boot from a CD, and removing the battery for a while before trying again was futile. Oops!

Luckily, I had another identical laptop. I decided to try the risky venture again, only with one small (and, it turned out, vitally important) difference. On the partitioning options during setup, I deleted both the Vista and the small System Restore partitions from the drive. This time, everything worked fine and after a (surprisingly quick) installation, I was at the XP desktop ready to install all the XP drivers previously downloaded from Twinhead’s website.

Of course, I still have one bricked laptop, but as soon as I figure out how to get the hard drive out, I’ll have that sorted by cloning the working one to it…

I got this email today at work:

Sorry to be pedantic but whoever did the pop-up for interview day has spelt pracitse wrong.

I should point out that it wasn’t me that did the pop-up.

Yesterday, I emailed Microsoft with the problems I’d been having. Today, I got this reply:

Hello Andy,

Thank you for writing Xbox Customer Support!

We have received your email and I understand that you found that your game discs got scratched while they were inside the Xbox 360 console. I deeply apologize for the inconvenience.

Scratches on a game disc can occur for several reasons. However, scratches do not necessarily prevent the disc from working.

If you move or reposition an Xbox 360 console while the console is operating and a disc is in the drive, the disc could become scratched. You may also see a wide, cloudy film in a circle on the underside of the disc.

To provide the best game play experience possible, Xbox 360 games are optimized to spin at 12x speed. This speed enables the game to access information from the disc quickly. If the console is moved while a disc is spinning at 12x, the disc can make contact with the read head. This condition can cause the disc to be scratched.

If you need to reply to this e-mail, please reply ‘with history’ (include any previous e-mail) so we can expedite our service to you.

You may also call Xbox Phone Support at 1-800-4MYXBOX (1-800-469-9269) at your earliest convenience, and we’ll be happy to help you. We are open everyday from 8am to 12mn US Central Time.

To expedite service, please provide Service Request Number 1XXXXXXX when you call.

NOTE: You may now check warranty and repair status for your XBOX console by going online at http://service.xbox.com/ using your Windows Live ID account.

Thank you for visiting Xbox.com. If you should have future questions on Xbox products or services, please be sure to revisit our Web site as we are continually adding information to enhance our service.

Sincerely,

Arnold

Xbox Customer Care

I like the way they completely ignored my email, apart from the point that my 360 was marking discs. I also see that this email was from the US Xbox Support people, even though my account is a UK one, and my email address is obviously UK-based too. This results in some amazing US-isms:

Thank you for writing Xbox Customer Support!

This line made me die a little inside.

We are open everyday from 8am to 12mn US Central Time.

12mn? They mean midnight? Then why not say “12am” like everyone else? Or just say “midnight”? Very odd.

I tried going to http://service.xbox.com/ as suggested too, but my 360 isn’t listed there as a “registered device”, even though I registered my 360 through the dashboard when I got it, and received an email telling me I’d done so too.

Anyway, my reply:

As I pointed out in my original message, these scratches ARE preventing the discs from working, and I have not moved my 360 at all, let alone move it with a disc in the drive or it turned on. The scratches are appearing during normal, careful use of the console.

My 360 is marking my discs, and my games now crash or won’t play at all as a result.

Please advise me to the next course of action.

Thanks,
Andy

Stay tuned for the next exciting installment!

Like 16% of other Xbox 360 owners, I too now have a dead console. Unusually, mine doesn’t suffer from the “red ring of death”, but instead seems to dislike playing games.

You might recall the problems I was having a couple of months ago with Eternal Sonata, crashing and freezing. Well, a couple of nights ago, Viva Pinata Party Animals started doing the same thing. Last night, it froze completely, and will no longer play at all.

Here’s what I sent to Microsoft:

My 360 has started marking my game discs, preventing them from playing. Every time I try to play Viva Pinata Party Animals or Eternal Sonata, the game will crash (freeze) at some point and I may or may not get a dirty disc error. When I take the disc out, two short curved lines about 1.5cm long (one 0.5cm and one 1cm in from the outside) running round the disc appear. At first, I have been able to wipe the worst of these marks away, but now wiping the discs is having no effect and the marks remain.

I have been able to play some other games without a problem, but over the last few months more and more titles have been giving me dirty disc errors. I’ve tried cleaning the discs, deleting my saved games and (where possible) clearing the game caches, but the faults reoccur and are becoming more frequent.

My 360 is (and always has been) sat horizontally with plenty of ventilation on all sides, as is the PSU. I have never moved my 360, let alone moved it with a disc in.

What is the problem, and what can be done about it? I don’t wish to play games on it any more as I fear they too will become unplayable.

Lets see what happens, yes?

I’ve just been woken up by what can only be described as an earthquake. Woo!

I’ve had a Mac mini now for almost four years. I bought it for two reasons: I needed a new Linuxy server, and my wife needed a machine for internet and email use. Since OS X, under the hood at least, is close enough to Linux to allow me to set up the SSH server, Leafnode, Apache and PHP things I used my old (P233) Linux box for, and it was easy to use “at the desktop”, it seemed perfect. It was. And still is!

Then, a couple of years ago, I was in the market for a new laptop. The MacBook appeared, and I decided to get one. I thought I’d need Windows on it, so also bought Parallels. It was two laptops in one! Perfect. Again.

Thing is, I haven’t really used Windows on it all that much. Last time was to set up a Vodafone ADSL connection for someone, as they had a Mac and Vodafone only provided Windows software to configure the connection (although once set up, you don’t need Windows). That’s pretty much it, though.

Since getting the MacBook, I’ve used my Windows XP “main” PC less and less. Partly because it’s upstairs, and partly because it’s just nicer using OS X. There are a few things I still use it for exclusively (my calendar, to do list, most of my website dev stuff), but that’s all.

This last week, I’ve been having a few issues with this PC. I updated Outlook 2003 (to SP3, I think), and since then it’s crashed a few times. My machine has also started running a bit slow, and the fans are getting a little old and tired and make more noise than they used to. Of course, all these are easily fixed problems, but I’ve been thinking… why bother? Couldn’t I just get a Mac? Could I survive without my PC?

The answer, naturally, is yes. The dilemma is in the changes I’d have to adjust to, the things I’d lose, and the compromises I’d have to make. Parallels will mean that I will still have access to Windows and all that goes with it, but then I’d be in danger of just using my Mac as a PC. A nice PC, of course, but that’s not really the point. If I’m going to switch, I’m going to do it properly. I will still need to have XP for some things I do at home for work, but I don’t want to run it all the time - having it available if necessary would be sufficient.

So I’m looking for a suitable Mac. I don’t want a laptop, as I already have one. I don’t want a Mac Pro, as they’re too big, expensive, and are waaay overkill. That leaves the Mac mini and the iMac.

They’re both nice, but I have problems with both. The mini isn’t expandable enough: I need at least 500GB hard drive space and 2GB RAM, and minis just don’t have that sort of spec. Without an external drive, 160GB is the biggest drive you can get as standard, and since it’s a laptop drive, anything bigger in replacement would still be undersized and overpriced. An advantage would be that I’d be able to use my current 24″ monitor, however, and initial outlay would be lower.

As for the iMac, it’s still not ideally suited for expansion, but at least you can put a much bigger drive in (although still only one). It does come with a built-in monitor, which means I’d have to forego my 24″ one (I don’t have desk space for both an iMac and a second monitor!). Then there’s the cost of a 24″ iMac, which I’d want over the 20″, ideally, due to the screen size.

In a perfect world, Apple would make something that fits between the mini and the Pro. Something with expansion potential (a couple of extra drive bays, a few more memory slots, a PCI-E slot or two), but without the over-the-top dual quad-core CPUs and a case the size and weight of a family saloon, and no built-in monitor. Sadly, such a midrange machine doesn’t exist.

And then there’s the issues with my existing hardware. I have an all-in-one colour printer/scanner made by Dell - which won’t work on a Mac. I also have a Samsung laser printer, which is parallel and won’t work on a Mac. My phone, a T-Mobile Vario II, won’t work on a Mac (without buying extra software).  I also have various other Game Boy and Game Boy Advance homebrew coding devices, which will only work on a PC (and need a parallel port too). All of these would have to be replaced, or lost.

In terms of software, I’m very reliant on Outlook (mainly because of my phone), Agent (I’ve been using it for Usenet since 1998), and RapidPHP (for website coding). On my MacBook I use Thunderbird for news, so could manage with that instead of Agent, and if I got my phone working then Mail/iCal would replace Outlook, but I’m yet to find a  replacement for RapidPHP that I’m happy with. I also use a bit of software called SitePublisher for syncing my offline website with my online sit, but I recently found Easy iWeb Publisher, which looks like it might do that job.

I want a Mac, I really do, but I’m scared as it’s a big jump. Do I do it? Will I miss XP? Can I justify the cost and time? And, if I do switch, what do I switch to? An iMac? A mini? And when? Should I hang on for the next hardware “refresh”? Hold out for a new mid-range model that currently doesn’t exist? So many questions!

Good lord. What a nice looking tiny notebook this is! With an 8.9″ screen (at 1366×768) the HP Compaq 2133 is instantly more usable than the EeePC (which, I should point out, I do love) without being much bigger. It’s a little heavier, sure, but LOOK! LOOK AT IT!

HP’s Linux sub-notebook spied on web | Reg Hardware

Well, maybe. This is a scan from my local free paper.