Microsoft has been subject to much criticism from fans and critics alike. The Xbox has faced many MANY hardware failures and it’s been stated that there is a 68% failure rate for Xbox 360s.
That’s ayyy lot!
Here’s the background story: Microsoft wanted to put 360s on store shelves at least a year before the other gaming giants – Nintendo and Sony – put out their next-generation consoles. This resulted in a fast-paced yet ultimately flawed manufacturing process. The DVD-ROM allegedly wouldn’t fix onto the Xbox’s dubba. The design team at Microsoft thus decided to decrease the size of the heat sink: which absorbs heat coming from the different components. Worst mistake ever. The resizing of the heat sink is the root cause of all 360 crashes: overheating.
The E74 is caused by:
- The ANA/HANA Chip
- The CPU/GPU Chipset
- A bad A/V cable
The most common being the ANA/HANA chip, which is displaced from it’s original position to a weak “glue” of sorts. This glue melts when it faces high heat. The same goes for the CPU/GPU problem. The last, but certainly not the least of the problems is a bad Audio-Video cable. This being the most unlikely reason.
Whichever may be the symptom, you are screwed if you don’t have a warranty from Microsoft backing you up (E74 now backed by warranty). Many home-made solutions are available for those who have voided their warranty (including me 
).
My 360 got “E74ed” on 20th of April: the day my matric exams finished. It was really a hard thing for me to swallow but I am trying my best to cope up with the realization that I am screwed for my 35,ooo rs.
If you own an Xbox 360, chances are that sooner or later you will face either the Red Rings of Death or any of the Errors like E74, E73, E68. The question is: when?
Is your Xbox still running?
Out,
Awais
