Those Xbox One first-day glitches: GREEN screens of DEATH, disc crunching As inevitably happens when a new piece of tech gear goes on sale, some machines suffer malfunctions – and Microsoft's Xbox One games console is no different. Its support forums are littered with users reporting that their systems are failing to boot up past the initialization screen. Dubbed the "green screen of death", this …
"Particularly when there's easy, elegant & reliable work arounds like Classic Shell. I'm running 8.1, it works well, I never see TIFKAM, I have a full functional start button and menus. And CSGO runs like stink (even if I'm crap at it)."
Why should you have to install a 3rd party app to work around the fact the MS broke the UI? They broke it, they should be called out on it.
First off, your post is just the one that happened to motivate me to reply. Not all of this is directed at you. I also like ClassicShell and I install it for a lot of people. In fact I insist. The evil side of me first likes to watch their pain for a few minutes when they get their first Windows 8 computer though... then I spring ClassicShell on them and give them back what they were used to.
There's just more to it than that, though.
ClassicShell is very good, and solves the problem but Windows h8te is still a dumbed down, shit OS. It's a regression and people have every right to be complaining about it.
ClassicShell is also a third party shell "replacement" (actually it's implemented as a shell extension that just adds functionality to the already existing Explorer tile and makes it the default simply by automatically bringing it in the foreground... that other fecal matter is still running in the background for the unwary who click the wrong thing). Most people aren't going to go and get ClassicShell, they'll just get the shaft.
The whole thing exists to direct you to spammy tiles with Microsoft partners and services, as well as the Microsoft Store that they desperately want to force developers and end users into.
I see people saying how it's got a lighter footprint. That's not significantly true for the OS but yes Microsoft gutted the GUI, of course it's more light weight. It's not only visual bloat that's been removed... wait until you actually have to do something that they've removed, or dumbed down to the point of being dysfunctional like a lot of the network management. You'll just love the syntax of the command line utility that you will have to use to operate on the list of stored wireless networks, for example.
I could fix you up a light weight OS that runs from a 1.44 Mb floppy disk if you would like. Oh wait, it wouldn't have all the desired functionality.
Yeah it really is getting old.
There's more to Windows 8 than a start button and tifkam. Anyway, the start buttons back and you can uninstall all of the tifkam apps, so all you're left with is a full screen start menu.
How about doing some research and looking at things like the massively reduced 8.1 install footprint, or the massive performance increases compared to Win 7
> There's more to Windows 8 than a start button and tifkam
Really.
> massively reduced 8.1 install footprint
> massive performance increases compared to Win 7
SOLID STUFF! THE THING WE HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR. 100% OF RESEARCHING CUSTOMERS WHO LOOKED AT THINGS AGREE: MASSIVELY NOT THE SAME SH*T AS SOMEWHAT EARLIER!
"The Windows 8 bashing is getting old.
If you suffer so much please use Windows 7, Linux, OS X or if you are near death ChromeOS."
Guess what - I'd like to buy a decent laptop with Windows 7 installed.
Guess what? I can't.
W7 is probably the best OS microsoft ever produced - a low bar admittedly - so what do they do? They toss it in the trash after 3 years and replace it with something that has a GUI apparently designed in 1975. The fuckwittedness of that decision is just off the bloody scale.
...replace it with something that has a GUI apparently designed in 1975. The fuckwittedness of that decision is just off the bloody scale.
As an Ubuntu user, I really despise Unity, considering it a clusterfuck.
However, once I saw the Windows 8 UI, it (the Windows 8 UI) became the definition of clusterfuck.
"Guess what - I'd like to buy a decent laptop with Windows 7 installed.
Guess what? I can't."
Cry me a river. Just go and buy a copy of Windows 7 from Amazon and stop your whining.
"They toss it in the trash after 3 years"
just like every single version of Windows since 95, the period between XP and Vista the sole out-of-place exception.
"Cry me a river. Just go and buy a copy of Windows 7 from Amazon and stop your whining."
And that will come with all the correct drivers will it? Err , no.
And the laptop manufacturer will provide drivers on their websites for its new laptops for Win 7 will they? Err, no.
Go get a clue you moron.
"And that will come with all the correct drivers will it? Err , no.
And the laptop manufacturer will provide drivers on their websites for its new laptops for Win 7 will they? Err, no."
And how is that Microsoft's fault? Are you a total utterly gibbering idiot? Yes.
You could solve this problem now, but instead you continue to whine like a fool. Idiot.
Well the USB drive update was never official and Microsoft even put up a warning message before the console was released telling people not to do it as it didn't have the full update. We can notch that one up to people jumping off a cliff because some website told them to and blaming the ground for breaking their leg.
I won't up or down you, Matt.
Just to postulate that the "USB Fix" is very probably what MS Support would have advised a user to do, should they have phoned in.
Certainly when the same issue cropped up on my ancient 360 that was the methodology I was given by MS Support (and it worked*).
Though I'll conclude by noting that early adopters of any new technology should - if they paid any attention at all - expect there to be hassle, when they take it out of the box. And shouldn't be trusting Xb0xguru on whywastemytime.com
* It may well not have been apporpriate, in this ONE instance; but it is/was a popular - and officially sanctioned/supported - XBOX fix for a (previous hardware version) common problem. That doesn't make it right, but it does make it understandable, I think?
Turned on my pineapple and started up wireshark because I wanted to see what the Xbox One (or rather, Kinect) transmits to Microsoft. I got as far as that green screen, and waited for a couple minutes. Wireshark was showing what must have been an async call to Xbox.com. Lots of encrypted packets. Xbox.com wasn't responding, but came back almost instantaneously on earlier calls, so I assumed it was just running a complex or long-winded process that needs time. I was technically working from home yesterday, so I got myself a coffee and had just started Outlook when I noticed the screen was now black with a message that the first of many monster updates was downloading (Forza 5 downloads 6 f*cking gigs!!).
All said and done I think Microsoft could've done themselves a favour by providing a more informative screen than that green one, but it is just a software issue, and not hardware. I can understand that your average teenager impatience might construe the whole thing as "it's broken".
Totally agree - I got the green-screen and wondered if the console had hung. 5 minutes later, we were off to the races. What a joke - why on earth wouldn't they have put some kind of "I'm alive and doing stuff, don't turn me off" notice aboard? Or the ubiquitous spinning hourglass? It looked like a total freeze.. and took some control not to turn it off.
My local GAME says 3 consoles were returned all failing to update - I'm betting it was users who (fairly enough) thought the system had hung.
Oh, and had a full-on hang in that free keep-fit game the other day, which in turn hung the entire console. Had to forcibly power it off (hold down power button on front for 10 secs). Novel...
Oh I'm sure someone is capable of making high-quality hardware, it's just that the XBone isn't high-quality hardware. It's an assemblage of shelfware components assembled by the absolute lowest bidder.
Our entire beancounter-controlled economy is based on bottom price. The fact that sometimes paying a bit more gets you a vastly improved item is totally missed by the accountants that run everything because they cannot evaluate the savings in support cost and other items, which prevents them from making an informed decision.
Instead, the choice is made based on price and price alone.
And what do we get in return ? Supposedly high-tech stuff with optical drives that make crunching noises, and can't boot properly more times than is reasonable.
No matter, the economy will correct the issue, and Microsoft will be forced to pay for replacements (as it is already used to) and write off another handful of billions in a stormy shareholder session.
Another jewel in Ballmer's iron crown . . .
on the failure rate of the Xbox One vs the PS4? Most people who have a working console aren't going to make the press with their claims of "works perfectly". This is rather like when Apple launches a new iPhone, and there's inevitably something stupid like "antennagate" or the yellowing screen etc. Can't remember what the problem was with the 5S, but I'm sure there were reports of one.
Maybe if the press didn't latch on to the reports of a few loudmouths in forums hours after release of any widely anticipated product we wouldn't have to go through all this every time. It isn't as though the RROD problem was widespread the day the 360 was released. It was a problem because it happened to a large portion of consoles over time, not because it happened overnight. It will be some time before we know the long term reliability of the Xbox One and PS4.
As an IT technician, I make a living off PC's breaking down often with no discernible cause. Eventually the hardware or software just fails. Not to mention viruses, driver problems, incompatible software, a nearly weekly need for updates just to keep the systems secure and running, not to mention daily updates to antivirus software.
And lets not forget the massive cost of building and maintaining an up to date gaming PC.
My wallet greatly appreciates the PC community.
My Alienware MX18 still uses the original OS install, runs like stink and works like a charm. Don't know what you're on about, Windows 7 solved a lot of the crap that keeps endpoint weenies employed.
Though there's good money in "where the fuck is..." regarding Microsoft Tiles 8.11 for fondlegroups.
That so much sounds like fun, pulling your shiny new console out its packaging, plugging everything in then switching on and ..... "Your Console needs an update. Please do not switch off until its complete".
Tapping fingers.....
Tapping fingers......
Menu comes up again. You select your game....
"this game needs an update"
Tapping fingers.....
Tapping fingers ....
Oh forget it where's my Binatone ....
I was dismayed when I fired up Unreal Championship on my original Xbox and it declared a patch was necessary. I've always been an avid PC gamer as well as a console player, but had relied on the latter for effortless gaming. The arrival of patches on consoles seemed to end that.
Patches on the PS3 and 360 were a pain in the wotsit, delaying play considerably (always more so on the former). I've had my Xbox One for a day now. The day one console patch took three minutes to download and install. I popped in the Forza disc and it installed and updated whilst I set up the Lovefilm app (Walking Dead season 2 has just landed folks). So long as you don't mind paying for a dribble of leccy and a few less square metres of polar ice cap, it'll download patches automatically.
Sure it's a pain, but at least it's less of an issue as it could be.
Scratching discs is another story of course, and something which has been a problem with all disc based consoles from the CDi onwards.
PCs aren't invulnerable, new parts can arrive dead and need replacement, though generally the home builder involved already has a working PC to continue with while they wait (and system building companies just reach for the next part on the shelf).
Waiting for a replacement console if you can't exchange it in the shop will be a pain, but judging by the volume of posts on sites I frequent, it's no worse for either the One or PS4, the claimed failure rate of below 1% for PS4s is believable, and the disc drive failure seems to be a bigger issue than the green screen for the One.
Now it's more a case of whether further failures will unveil themselves over time, the 360s RROD was a delayed failure in most cases, whether from bad thermal paste or solder failures (or any other cause that's been attributed over the years).
My money's going on a PC upgrade next year anyway, will bide my time before getting a new console, and finish off some of the games I've not even started first!
"Now it's more a case of whether further failures will unveil themselves over time, the 360s RROD was a delayed failure in most cases, whether from bad thermal paste or solder failures (or any other cause that's been attributed over the years)."
Electronics in general have started to show shorter lifespans recently, some which is no doubt due to cost cutting but also makes me wonder how much could be attributed to leadless solder which is trickier with temperatures and fluxes.
Quite. I forgot to mention the inflexible part in my post. That is something I've noticed with new solders.
Considering some of the "fixes" back in the days of RROD, solder would seem to be the big issue (as with YLOD) since simple reflow usually fixes it. With RROD there was bit more to it, hence the aftermarket "x-clamps" that were popular.
Luckily I still have few rolls of good old leaded solder to fix broken kit with.
Leadfree solder is just another constraint to take into account when designing a board. Any compentent bord designer should be able to handle this.
Cracking solder joints need either thermal cycling or flexing. Both of these can be mitigated by good design.
Blaming "new" tech that has been around for about 10 years now is disingenuous.
I need my next cup o' coffee.. I read that as "I am pretty sure lead free solder is responsible for YOLO" and thought: "If there's a known cause, we're halfway to a solution; but how does lead-free solder lead to moronic frat-rats?" Then I re-read, and the world returned to it's previous state.
I know there is a lot of this kit built in advance for a launch day which may not have the latest version of the software but why do all the games have Day One updates which are of a size similar to the main game itself?
Actually, why is there so much work on the console software being pushed out so close to launch? Surely the bad press you will get from umpty-Gigs of 'patches' on Day One would lead you to stop releasing updates to the console build group x days before launch and then putting it all out in one hit a few weeks after Launch Day 'in response to user coments'.
1) Launch day must be one month before X-Mas so that the kinks get ironed out and word-of-mouth is passed around by "first responders"
2) And definitely no later than competitor's products
3) This is a hard deadline and the whole product schedule was probably conceived by a management board planning poker round that set the release date one whole year too early anyway
4) Inevitableness results
You mean those wonderful games that demand an Internet connection for single player? The ones with built in crapware that checks up on you but does approximately fuck all to actually stop unauthorised copies flooding into torrentville? The ones with half the game stuck behind a single-use download coupon or being tied to an account because apparently being able to sell your own stuff second hand is evil and needs to be stamped out?
I'll stick with games like Kerbal Space Program precisely because (a) they don't do that, and (b) they're awesome. 99.99% of the rest of the PC gaming market can fuck off. Especially the "AAA" titles, and anything that demands a Steam, Origin or Ubisoft account.
And it still costs less for me to go out and buy a 200mph model aircraft that will probably last longer than a games console and doesn't spy on me. And I can sell it, or its parts, after extensive use. Hell, I could splash it all over a tree and the surviving bits are still worth a nice heap of cash toward buying a new one.
Plenty of other toys out there that don't come with spyware.
Steam, Origin, and Ubisoft. One of these things is not like the other. AKA, one is not a steaming turd that refuses to uninstall properly and constantly looks over your shoulder. Why is it that everyone seems to think that Steam is primarily about DRM? Steam is about game management and delivery. It has an offline mode that works fine. If a game has to be constantly online to work, that's the game maker's / publisher's fault.
EA and Ubisoft got jealous and wanted to work the DRM into even more places, so made their own platforms that you have to use in order to play their games, while Steam has the same stuff you can get at the store, but manages the selling, installing, and updating on its own. Consequently, I've bought plenty of things from Steam, but sweet FA from EAuno and Uglysoft.
PS, Kerbal is happily selling through Steam. Enjoy!
Steam wouldn't exist without Steamworks, and even the KSP devs say that they are selling through Steam because for whatever reason, there's people who will ONLY buy games through Steam (despite the game being available more cheaply direct from their own website). They've stated the game will remain available through their website for the forseeable future, and as far as I'm aware, in a pitifully rare exception for games in general, they're not using Steamworks or any other DRM. Therefore, KSP will actually work without Steam running. Hell, you can just copy the game from your Steamapps folder, put it where you like and it will still run.
However, Steam would not exist without Steamworks, and you can "offline mode" me as much as you like. "Offline" mode isn't, and you know it. Unless of course I can install and run a Steamworks-hobbled game with no Internet connection whatsoever and without logging into Steam, and with a guarantee that nothing is going to phone home to anybody in order to decide if I get to continue having the use of a toy.
Mr Gale:
I respect your choice of not wanting to purchase games through Steam. That is your undeniable right as a consumer.
I do, however, take exception to your notion that games are hobbled in any way through Steam. Steam does not hobble games, Steam enables you to enjoy them over two different platforms and through whatever hardware change you might have to go through - unlike the other turds that claim the same functionality (I will not give them the honor of naming them).
I buy ALL my games through Steam now. I have over a hundred titles purchased - sometimes titles that I already purchased on DVD. Yes, like Punisher, a title I had bought legitimately (like all my games) and screwed me over with DRM so draconian it wouldn't recognise its own install DVD. For that game I had to go and torrent a copy just to play with the game I had just bought (no return on unwrapped boxen - store policy because of "piracy" - once again it is the legitimate user that is screwed). Result ? I found it one day on Steam for €10 and now I can play it whenever I want without trouble.
I am tired of DVDs now. I never did appreciate the idea of having to slot in the CD/DVD just to play my game, and now I am fed up with it. I buy old titles I already have just for the pleasure of having them in Steam, where I know I can play them without hassle.
Steam lets me play my games when I launch them. Steam is always there, always has been, and has a track record that is light-years better than Azure. Steam does not lock down my games, it allows me to play them at my leisure, without hassle. So it checks I'm the owner ? What do you think your DRM-on-DVD does ? Same thing. And if my PC breaks down and I have to replace a component, when my PC is back Steam does not complain, does not force me to redownload everything, just asks me for my login info and voilà!, my game library is all there, ready to go (not like the other turds, who can force you to redownload if you so much as update your driver video).
I have never been more free to play than with Steam. Steam is a good platform. That is my experience.
Oh, and as for pricing : Left4Dead 2 for €5 during a firesale.
Beat that with your DVDs.
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Have an upvote for 'Uglysoft', Mr Bones. Small anecdote: Bought Assassin's Creed II for PC a little while back as it was on offer. It refused to install without creating an Oooplay account. Created one through gritted teeth. Bastard still failed to let me play due to some fucking Oooplay error that I can't be bothered to remember.
I actually had to torrent a bloody crack for my legal game to play it. Seriously. And I don't really care who knows it, I'm still that steamed up.
I remember the old days before Internet-enabled consoles. Games just worked straight out of the box, they didn't need patching nor was there any mechanism to do so, so the stakes were higher and there was greater emphasis on getting things right first time. I can't remember any showstopping bugs preventing decent progression or completion, nor do I remember too many games (if any) needing recalled as a result.
Nowadays with commercial pressures (i.e. £££ get the stuff out the door on time no matter what) and the availability of network connectivity, games can be shat out half-baked and fixed later. Even before this generation I've seen console games which, on the day of release, have a massive patch waiting for you at launch as soon as you boot it up for the first time. Now the consoles themselves require this?
I want to say that technology has influenced management, and vice versa. Because they now CAN fix it later, there is significantly higher pressure to do so, weighted towards hitting ship schedule even if it's not anywhere near prime time.
My urge to call for there to be shaming and such over this sort of thing is balanced against the fact that games these days are at least two orders of magnitude bigger, codewise, than they used to be. There is more ground to cover, and all that. This is probably one to file under "Dammit, Escalation!"
Unreal (1998? 1999?) came out with a very clear disclaimer that the game might have bugs, it might not even work, and a smiley face. Sure, old console generations would be pickier with bugs as ROM cartridges couldn't be patched even if you could do so due to the game living in ROM. But even then old games had bugs; some of them horrible. There's a particular one in Megaman 1 where getting hit right when you beat Dr. Wily would crash the game and deprive you of the ending. Oh, and that game is the hardest Megaman ever, and it lacks password/continue capabilities. Ouch!
All those MS shilltards trashing the PS4 "blue light of death" finding out that the XB1 has similar defects. It would be even hilarious if the Xbone ends up having a worse failure rate; however I think they'll end up being pretty much the same this time 'round.
It does seem that the quality of most stuff these days is going down the gutter. Maybe a side effect of outsourcing everything to China?
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