Xbox 360's E74 error

The Xbox 360 had technical issues at launch, the most common of these being the "Red Ring of Death". Another common issue was an E74 error message that would appear when the console started instead of the normal console startup sequence.

An E74 error is indicated when the lower-right quadrant of the ring indicator flashes red and displays an error message in eleven different languages: "System Error. Contact Xbox Customer Support", with the code E74 at the bottom.

The error is caused by the Xbox 360's hardware scaler chip being damaged, specifically the solder joints. As of April 14, 2009, the E74 error is now covered by the three-year extended warranty, and customers who previously paid Microsoft for out-of-warranty service to correct the E74 error received a refund.

The E74 error has sometimes been described as a "Green Screen of Death" and a "Black Screen of Death" because early versions of these errors had an almost jet-black background with a hue of dark green.

Later versions would show a completely jet-black background. Reports of impending Q4 red-light failure stem from users who report an abnormal display with poor, grainy video as well as black dots or artifacts appearing on the screen. Vertical green or red strokes on the screen can also indicate an E74.

With the launch of the Xbox 360 S model the occurrence of these technical issues were finally reduced to an acceptable percentage and these issues very rarely occurred with the Xbox 360 S and Xbox 360 E models.

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