Note to mods: If this should go into H/A, I apologize. Just move it and I'll take the comments there.
Okay, PA, here's the dilemma. My 360 RROD'd yesterday afternoon. It's a Premium with a manufacture date of July 14, 2006. The cardboard coffin for my baby is on its way, but I'm kind of worried now.
From everything I've read, the refurb process is mediocre at best, and I may just end up getting a launch box with what amounts to an extra fan and a heatsink for good measure. My line of thinking is, why deal with another possible failure when I can just go buy an Arcade package (with an HDMI port), throw my HDD on it, and get back into the game? Am I way off-base here? Should I just wait and see what happens, or should I go get a new one with a guaranteed recent manufacture date and sell the refurb when it comes back?
Help!
Your sig is too tall. -Thanatos

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EDIT:
Unless MS will transfer the serial for you. (I know they will if they give you a new console via warranty but I'm not sure they will do this if you just decide to buy a new xbox)
Let me tell you about Demon's Souls....
It's tied to your box.
This info might make me re-think my strategy.
Even if you transfer the gamertag, it won't change the fact that the liscences are tied to your system. Microsoft can transfer these liscences if you call them but I'm not sure they'll do it if you didn't send your box to them for a repair/replacement. I know they did it for me because I used their warranty, so they have my old box and can remove its rights to my content.
As far as the games go. They are tied to both your box and your tag. You can play the full version of any game you own on any box if you're logged in to xbox live. However you wont be able to if you're offline unless the game is loaded on the box it was originally downloaded to. Also they can just register your new box which should allow you to run said games offline.
I've sent my box in twice. First time was for RROD and I got a different box back. They switched registration automatically when they sent the new box so my games still worked. I had to re-download them to get them to work offline though. Second time was for E74 error (some video error or something) and I got the same box back.
To Djiem: I'm still gonna send my current unit in, but I'd likely sell it when I got it back with the stuff the Arcade bundle comes with.
Your saves will be fine. It's just Marketplace content that won't work properly unless you get MS to fiddle with it.
Well, if you have a saved game, where your character's location is INSIDE something that was DLC (like in some DLCs for the game Oblivion, for example), then you might have a problem.
If it fails a second time though, I'm definitely getting a new box and then I'll call them and have them transfer my data licenses. So ridiculous.
A month? Last time I sent mine in, I was without my 360 for 2 days. 2 days!
Mine took somewhere around two or three weeks all told.
Try it on the new console.
Steam: Handkor