XBOX Live Arcade Content and getting a refurb back from MS

[Irongut]

Hi all,

My 360 seems to have more and more difficulty reading game discs.  I take great care of the discs, so its not them.  Each night I'll experience either one or more dirty disc errors or whatnot regardless of game.

I'm fooling myself though and slugging through hoping its a piece of dust on a lens or something that will resolve itself.  Some games work fine, Dead Rising and Chromehounds have never given me an issue (yet).  Things I've seen pretty frequently:
+ COD2 intro movie and between mission films stutter at a few specific points each time, but the game itself plays perfect.  I exchanged this disc and still the same issue.
+ Just Cause would crash or lockup (mostly experienced on one mission) but I've had a few failed loads on this one too.
+ GRAW got stuck at the end of one single player mission in particular (I thought my save might've corrupted, but it recognized I had successfully finished.  GRAW seems to work fine now but during that difficulty I had about 7 lockups in a row trying to get it load the next mission. 

Anyways, one of the reasons I'm holding out on taking advantage of my warranty too soon is about the XBOX Live Arcade content I've purchased.  If they send a refurb back to you do they also adjust your account so you have full rights to your XBLA purchases, or do you have to jump through hoops to get it converted over to your new console number?  I know I would still be able to access content I purchased on the new console if I log into my live account, but I want the full access I experience now for my sons non-live accounts etc.

Any experience with this or perspective is appreciated.

[Ralph-Wiggum]

I think MS has a record of all the games you've purchased tied into your X-Box Live account. If you get a new 360 and sign-in with your old account, you'll be able to re-download all the Arcade games that you had previously purchased.

[Irongut]

Don't they limit it on console #2(the refurb), that you must actually be logged into Live to play the arcade games in full mode. 

I can understand why they do this normally, so folks aren't sharing copies of bought XBLA content by loggin in once on a friends console etc.  But I kinda keep the Live enabled profile under lockdown, while my two sons (they are still little) just have gamer profiles.  I want them to have access to Geometry Wars etc.. but even going forward if I someday stop the Live account(I know.. unfathomable), I just hate the idea that my purchases were for naught.

I had thought I heard rumors, I cant remember where, that through a seperate phonecall, folks were requesting MS transfer their Live content, so the refurb is considered console #1.  I might just be confused, but I really thought there is a difference in access rights to the original console you purchased on and say if you bought a second (or what I'm worried about, get a different refurb unit back)

I just am trying to make sure I'm prepared for when I call them... and I think the time is coming. 

[Jarrodhk]

Hmmm... that might explain why I can't play the full version of geometry wars when I'm not connected to Live.

[Destructor]

All the Live content you've downloaded is attached to your Live account name. So, when you get your new 360 back (IF you didn't keep the HD for whatever reason), then all you have to do is redownload everything you've purchased. You'll even see the little checkmarks next to what you've already bought.

This is what happened with me when I sent in my 360 the first time.

This also means that if you don't sign into that account name (if you have multiple accounts on the console), you don't have access to what you've bought.

[Knightshade Dragon]

Welcome to the boards Irongut!  Sorry to hear your 360 went rogue on ya. :/

[papasmurff]

If you get a new 360, you can download all of the content that you had previously downloaded.  I know from personal experience.  Mine died and I didn't keep the HD and was able to recover all of my DLC.  HOWEVER, NO SAVES ARE RECOVERALBE unless you have transfered them to a memory card or other HD.

[metallicorphan]

try COD2 without the hard drive...if it is still stuttering,then just simply send back the 360 to the fix er upppers people but dont send the hard drive,apparently if you do send the hard drive...IT WILL COME BACK EMPTY...EVERYTHING DELETED

i have just sent my 360 back for repairs,and just attached my hard drive to another 360 while that was away...everything is on the hard drive!!

and that time,and when i got the 360 back and re-attached it to the original(now fixed )360...i didnt have to re-download anything

just send the 360 back without the hard drive,everything will be cool......

it was at this time that i was praising microsoft for having a detatchable HD(mainly because final fantasy 11 was on there and that takes an age to install)


now......PS3 has an eternal HD...wont that be interesting to see if they have a lot of problems(isnt there rumour of overheating already?)

[Irongut]

Thanks for the responses. (and the welcome too  )

I bit the bullet and a repair box is on its way. Not worth the frustration anymore and it was eating at me while I shouldve been focused on house projects etc.

On the HD, I had gotten so frustrated yesterday that I bought a memory card transferred my saves, gamer profiles, etc and reformatted it twice in a futile effort for things to miraculously correct themselves(well i was hoping it was a fragmentation issue...).  It didnt make a difference, COD 2 still stuttered.  One lesson learned along the way (the hard way), is that if you have a premium system, Hexic HD doesnt even appear to be a Marketplace download, so if you ever erase it, its not like other purchased content, its gone.  I need to follow up with MS to see if I can get it back later, I just thought it would be attached to my profile like other XBLA purchased content... it isnt, bad assumption on my part.  There must be a way.

They are also replacing my HD cause that seems to be at least one of the issues. Since I already wiped it, there is nothing more to lose.  Personally, I think its probably more an issue of the console itself talking to it, than the HD itself, but better safe than sorry(and realistically.. what do I know...?).

I just hope their diagnostic program picks up that my DVD is fubar. When it works, it partially works, it just there are usually 2 or 3 issues along the way every night (not recognizing the disc, trouble accessing data, etc etc)

So I guess middle of next week the box will arrive and the "360 with known problems" will return in 2 weeks as the "360 of the unknown"  Oh well, its a good break.  Maybe I'll either get some good house project work done or go back and finish an XBOX1 game or two I left behind.