Microsoft have announced a free power cord replacement scheme for Xbox owners:

To order a replacement cord, consumers should go to www.xbox.com and click on the Power Cord Replacement for Xbox link. Replacement cords will arrive two to four weeks after the order is placed. While waiting for the new cord to arrive, consumers should turn off their Xbox consoles when not in use.

The press release also contains phone numbers for those people that can't get on the net. Probably worth passing on to all your less leet Xbox-owning friends.

zomg double threads

did I miss something? what's wrong with the power cords on xboxes? Not rated to handle the 30amps something as large as an xbox requires? :p

no whoop, the cords are easily broken internally when they are bent back on themselves near the connector closest to the xbox. Mine did this and EB replaced it for 3.00$ before all this crap with MS in court started.

Its commonly found because kids push there xbox's to far back in tv cabnets wich bends the wire/plastic/connector type deal and breaks the wires inside and in some cases allows the wires inside to do something funky and short.

apparently this is going to cost MS LOTS of $$$

there are 14.1 million xbox's affected, even at a few dollars for each one, thats mega $

mega $ for m$ ? doubt it.

xbox's use any old stereo power cable, or is there a reason i shouldnt be doing it?

MS wouldn't be paying a few dollars per cord, closer to a few cents if they are buying 14.1 million of them.

Jem any will do, you can feal a 'click' in the cord when you bend it harshly if yours is affected, plus you might notice some 'fraying' of the plastic on the outside...

basicly... you would know if you needed a new one.

hahaah

Sounds like a whole lot of scaremongering to me. I tend to agree with Penny Arcade's view on the whole thing:

Gabe's had to replace a couple Xboxes, and there were well over a hundred at PAX, and we've never seen one catch on fire, or shoot lava out the back, or whip its power cord around like a scorpion tail. It's my understanding that there have been thirty or so cases out of 14.1 million units shipped, so it seems unlikely your entertainment center will become a tower of flame anytime in the next ten minutes.

So yeah, theres a problem, but its hardly a massive one. Hell, if it wasn't for the media attention, they probably wouldn't have even bothered with a recall. I'm sure if you take nearly any electrical appliance on the market, at least 30 out of 14.1 million would be deffective.

mega $ for m$ ? doubt it.

Micro$oft am i right