So after my initial outburst of delerium died down from the death of my 360 (triggered from a lack of oxygen to my brain as my lungs siezed up and refused to pump air for about 12 seconds), I took stock of the situation and did a few tests.

• Power supply light was green. So that was okay.
• Power cord was firmly seated in the 360, as it has been for the past 5 months. Check.
• Tried rebooting it after unplugging it for a couple of hours. No dice.

It was well and truly, how you say, fucked.

Of course there are the usual tricks to get my console back on its peg-legs, but I figure that I had extended warranty, I may as well use it (my gamble finally paid off).

I first called up Microsoft Xbox support, who said that I had to "send it in for repair".

Send it in? But I bought extended warranty; surely I could just walk into the store and exchange it?

The Microsoft Support guy said, "Yeah, give it a go and double check with them. I expect that you’ll be calling us back," with all the smugness of a hookah-inspired prophet.

I called up JB-Hifi Warranty support just in case, and the guy I spoke to sounded like he’d rather spend his Sundays not listening to nubs breaking their consoles.

The first question he asked: "Did you call Microsoft Support?"

He went on to say that the store should be able to help handle it for me. I made the fatal mistake of assuming that he knew what he was talking about.

Being the stubborn kid I am, I boxed the bastard up, tossed it in the trunk and drove down to my local JB-Hifi, where I purchased it. The counter chick had a mechanical response.

Chick: Did you call Microsoft Support?
Me: Yeah, but I’ve also been told that I can take it back to the store to get this sorted.
Chick: (over intercom) Games to the counter, please, that’s Games to the counter.

So then this long haired trendy lad came out from the back and I explained that my console had RROD’d.

Lad: Did you call Microsoft Support?
Me: Yeah, but I’ve been told that I can get it sorted in-store. The last time my console RROD’d on me I was able to come in and exchange it, no worries.
Lad: Yeah, but that was within 30 days, right?
Me: …it was actually the exact same day.
Lad: Oh…well, yeah, that’s why then.

In the end, it was clear that getting things done through the store was not going to be as efficient as doing it myself (as the old saying goes).

Anyways, I retured home dejected and misty-eyed, and called up Microsoft Support again, expecting to be greeted by the same call centre gentlemen I spoke to earlier that day and hearing him say, "I told you, bitch! I TOLD YOU!"

Instead, I was greeted by some Filipino lady who was very polite and kept saying "Thank You" after every response I gave. Maybe India are outsourcing their jobs.

Anyways, I’ll be expecting an email from Xbox Support "within 24-48 hours", then I’ll have to send / deliver the Xbox to their refurb centre, which will then take approximately 10 working days.

Until then, I’ll have The Witcher and Team Fortress 2 to tide me over on my lowly 7800GTX. Oh, and exam study as well.