The boys at SEOhollywood...will have a hey day with that.
[www.ustream.tv]

I've been in this very situation. Their DRM is broken and they have no real intention on fixing it. Why should they? Fixing it costs them money, and makes them less money.

I sent letters to the execs at Microsoft, after spending several sessions on the phone with Max and his tech support cohorts. The official statement I received was that "Microsoft's content is attached to the console and gamertag. Upgrading your console is YOUR choice, and the content must be purchased again." I received zero response from my emails.

The MS execs do not care, because they do not have to. They own the only consumer OS for PCs (You can argue Linux, however, it's not that widely adopted, yet.) They own the only 'real' office productivity suite. Unfortunately it is the consumer that gave them this power.

My solution was to prohibit the purchase of ANY online content from Microsoft. Why buy something that's already broken?

MS's DRM needs fixed NOW!!!

This is the reason why I avoid downloadable content like the plague. Sure I can download games from Steam but what happens when Steam goes away. The day that they stop making full versions of games available for purchase in a store with a retail box is the day I stop buying games.

I honestly don't understand why people keep buying these things; this is not to blame the OP, but I am genuinely baffled. After the massive numbers of problem reports, wouldn't it make more sense to avoid the hardware that constantly breaks and the bad support behind it that manages to constantly screw things up ... and just go with something far more reliable (read: a competitor's system) that does the same job?

I've given up on Microsoft and the Xbox360... I had my 2nd RROD and I'm throwing in the towel. Sony here I come! I hope the PS3 won't disappoint me like the 360 has.

First I don't believe your content does not work while you are signed onto Live with the account that bought the content. Other than that sounds like what I went through.

I had the same deal where my console RROD and I bought/upgraded to a new console. I did however actually send my console in for repairs but other than that our stories are the same.

It took me 6 months for them to transfer my licenses so you are in for a hard fought battle.

Only thing I can suggest is to continually call and continue to escalate the tickets.

Took me since last September about 25 individual tickets escalated and about 60+ hours on the phone. Only about 10% of those reached tier 3. The last time that was successful I think they were just tired of me and approved the transfer. You just have to be persistent.

Also don't try e-mail support that cannot do anything.

Their terms and conditions are very clear. It is quite a stand they take with their ridiculous DRM but never the less it can be changed. Just continue to call and jump right over the first tier reps as they are about as useful as a bag of bricks.

With all the problems people are having w/ the XBOX, why do people keep buying them? You know what would be great? The government should mandate that companies post their customer satisfaction rating on their products. That would prompt Microsoft to provide better service. A sticker that says, "THIS COMPANY SCORED A 3 OUT OF 10 IN CUSTOMER SATISFACTION" would do wonders.

@Asvetic: Bingo. That's just what I mean!

@Buran: The problem is that one of the key points in choosing which system to go with is what games are available - the competitor's system doesn't necessarily do "the same job". I couldn't play Lost Odyssey on the PS3, for example.

@dualityshift: You forgot MacOS, iWork, and OpenOffice. MS isn't the monopoly it once was.

His first console was a launch unit so he really had no idea (at first) that they were crap. Since it broke and it wasn't the RROD and he opened it to fix it himself, the only thing he could do is buy a new one. It's gonna suck for him but I'd say he should buy all his content again too. I have an Xbox 360 that's just over a year old with no problems but I avoid buying online content so I don't have to deal with this. My wife bought Ms. Pacman but that's seriously the most downloadable content we've paid for because frankly, shit happens.

@evslin: So what's wrong with all the stuff that DOES run on other systems? What about multiplatform software? Either deal with your repeatedly-dying MS piece of junk that will run nothing at all after it dies yet again, or learn to like the competition's choices. I'm sure they've got plenty to offer.

@outinthedark: OP here (Mac). Yeah, I couldn't believe that my content didn't work even when signed into Live. Even though I thought being signed into Live and my gamertag let me access my content, I can't play my XBLA games (but all of my Rock Band DLC works perfectly).
The reps that were helping me were baffled, as well. The "Games Library" part of Dashboard will act as though the games are full versions (showing my achievements and such), but when I launch the game, it acts as though it's still a trial version. It's very strange.

@dualityshift:

You misunderstand. The DRM is not broken and is working exactly as intended.

DRM prevents you from copying your stuff to other places be it your or elsewhere. From the MS perspective the fact that you can not copy your content shows that DRM is working perfectly.

@evslin: There might be a few more exclusive titles available for the X360, but it's not as many as people assume. A lot of it is marketing. Instead of putting their money into more customer service and a better product, Microsoft spends it on marketing efforts. Essentially covering up the negatives and pushing the exclusives.

The PS3 has just as many exclusive titles and they both share a lot of popular titles. There are games of all genre's on both systems.

There are pros and cons for both systems. I made my choice and went with the X360. I had fun, but the cons are starting to show their big heads... time to move on.

a guy named "Mac" is having trouble with his Microsoft product? I smell a potential rat.

X-Box really needs to sort out their account transfer problems. How many articles have to pop up on the internet before they fix it?

A couple of things to try

1. delete every thing you downloaded and go to your account download history(under the xbox live marketplace blade under account management) and re download it. This might make it work on xbox live but until Microsoft fixes the problem(which they have stated they are working on a program to transfer the link of xbox content from one xbox to another)

2. make sure it is not your new 360 by trying a friends harddrive on your console.

3. make sure that it is not your harddrive that is going crazy by trying it on another console.

OP here. Yeah, I realize now it's very much a "buyer beware" situation with both the 360 and XBL DLC. I just think it's a shining example of the terrible DRM scheme and terrible handling of it on Microsoft's part. I had a launch 360 and ended up buying a fair amount of XBLA stuff before the first stories of terrible DRM really started to emerge. It sucked, but I really just hoped that Microsoft would be able to fix it. Unfortunately, they didn't.
I didn't want to seem too biased in what I said or too outraged and yell "WHY CAN'T YOU DO WHAT I WANT, MICROSOFT?" but I did want to a) express my discontent and frustration at everything involved, b) let other 360 owners know that if they're out of warranty or it's void, *DO NOT* replace the console yourself, instead pay for the refurb they give you (with the inferior warranty, I believe) if you want to guarantee access to your XBL DLC.

@Buran: You forgot MacOS, iWork, and OpenOffice. MS isn't the monopoly it once was.

Until Intel Macs, Microsoft pretty much had the Monopoly. I also specified the PC market.

@mergatroy6: X-Box really needs to sort out their account transfer problems. How many articles have to pop up on the internet before they fix it?

Not until it's legislated, or they lose enough market share.

@outinthedark:

Exactly. I don't believe that his content doesn't work while he is online either. I have had three different 360's and my content always works online no matter what Xbox it was bought under. This also works with all my friends.

@Buran:

I have all three consoles from this generation and I wil say the 360's game line up is better than the PS3's. Also, did you just tell him to learn to like the competition's choices?

Thats really weird. I ran into a similar problem (except the problem with my 360 was that it wouldn't read discs anymore). I decided that instead of paying $100 to get it fixed, not have it for 3-4 weeks, and get a crappy refurb that I would just buy the arcade version. I just put the hard drive from my old Xbox in it and it works fine. I haven't had any problems with any of my downloadable content.

FYI - If you delete a purchased wii rom (like SMB), you can redownload it no problem.

I am in the same situation... my box broke in June 2007 and I took it to a local repair shop to have it fixed. The extended warranty was announced 3 weeks later. Of course, the box crapped out completely in January, so I replaced it.

I spent two hours on the phone with Live customer service on Saturday to have them tell me there is nothing that they will do. The supervisor I spoke with refused to escalate it further, claiming that it will not be reviewed and will automatically kick back. I have approximately $120 of downloaded content I cannot access when I'm not connected to Live (or when Live is down).

They are currently transferring the licenses for people who had their boxes replaced through the extended warranty process. They will not, however, transfer the licenses for people whose boxes were "tampered."

Mr. Kevin R. Johnson, President of Platforms and Services Division will be getting a certified letter from me next week.

@mergatroy6: I know, I know. It seems awfully suscpicious that a kid named "Mac" has problems with Microsoft.
But my name seriously is Mac, short for Mackenzie. I attempted to write this without bias, as I have nothing inherently against Microsoft.

This isn't just an MS thing -- it's a DRM problem. With many of the current DRM schemes, you're at the mercy of the company issuing the DRM license. Unfortunately most companies which use DRM are large behemoths with very limited minds when it comes to how their products are used. MSN Music comes to mind.

This is one of the major reasons I run bootleg versions of XP despite having legal licenses for it. When I'm on the road, I can't afford to suddenly have a DRM (Windows Activation/Genuine DISadvantage) pop up and prevent me from using my laptop. In some cases, I'm nowhere near a phone or internet connection and wouldn't be for a few days. In other cases, the environment I'm in is so loud that you can forget about trying to get the phone rep to understand what you're saying, let alone hearing the rep. I appreciate the company's desire to reduce piracy, but that could be better-accomplished by making a product worth buying. I think it'd be a fair assumption to say there's more legal (purchased) versions of OS X running on Macs than there are of Windows on PCs, even when you look at it in terms of percentages, and I don't believe Apple uses the draconian Activation schemes.

I've got all 3 of the current systems and the 360 is now in the midst of the RROD. I'm hesitant to contact Microsoft because of the issues they've had in even returning a busted system. I love the PS3! I use it for gaming, Blu-Ray, and even web surfing if a group of friends are over. That machine is killer and I got mine on the release date. Give MS the boot and go with Sony. No, there isn't a guarantee that your system won't have problems, but when comparing the 360 to the PS3, Sony wins hands down IMO.

Do you guys read the consumerist?
Past article:
[consumerist.com]

Dude, that's horseshit. I had the same problem after I got my 360 back from being serviced. After being a complete ass to them, they refunded me ALL my spent Microsoft points so I can buy them again. Call them back, and be a hardass if you need to.

Microsoft and Sprint are the only 2 companies that I need to be a jerk to. Everyone else, politeness and logic works just fine.

I finally got my DRM licenses transferred after 6 months filled with BBB reports, written letters, EECBs, and various calls to customer support. Franky, everyone at MS can blow me. I've pretty much given up on my 360.

@DJC: Did you read the first comment?

@Buran: The multiplatform software is still platform specific, i.e. Call of Duty 4 for the xbox360 isn't going to run on the PS3. You'd have to buy another copy of Call of Duty 4 to do so. If you like the games that are out for the 360 and all the people you play online games with are on the 360, then you stick with the 360.

I had a problem with one arcade game when I changed 360 systems (same HDD): Streets of Rage 2. It still showed up in my games library, but was only the demo. Even if I wanted to repurchase the game, the system said I had already bought it, so I couldn't use points on it again. I went through 3 tiers of horribly scripted MS "support," and 3 weeks later they refunded me the 400 points spent on the game.

@evenkevin: Well, apparently you have to buy it all over again so why not just buy it for something that won't break on you all over again?

@Here_we_go: I did, because the alternative is just going to be more of the same from a company that doesn't give a shit about you and will never give a shit about you. The competition doesn't sell failing junk, now does it?

@Buran: Hey if you're interested in sports games and shooters that get released on multiple platforms, go right ahead. That's not my bag though, and I'm not going to throw down hundreds of dollars just to "learn to like" something else when I've already given somebody else a stack of cash to play stuff I already do like.

Raising hell with the company is a better solution for me - with the game developers and console manufacturers alike.

The first means of fighting back against DRM is to avoid buying DRM-infected products. However, sometimes we're stuck with such products. Still, there is a way to fight.

When the Mass Effect controversy happened, it occurred to me (and to other people too) that the companies perceive DRM as a means to improve their bottom line. Basically, they estimate that the money recovered through DRM is greater than the cost of DRM. Part of the costs of DRM is the support that must be provided to users who have a problem with DRM. So one way to fight DRM after the fact is to ensure that we cost more in support. We can call often with DRM-related questions or issues, pretend to be dense, make them repeat their instructions 10 times over, slow down the conversation, etc. Of course, there's a cost to us in terms of time wasted on the phone but if we are not willing to bear that cost, we are ensuring the survival of DRM.

I had the same issue. my launch 360 crapped out on me in June 2006, since it was out of warranty, I bought an elite instead, and MS refused to refund my points. after 2 months of fighting back and forth, i gave up. I still can't play my content offline, and i've lost access to several games because they were bought with another account. (the account is on my current 360, so i have to log in in order to get it to work)

Also, I just found this link which might help. MS postponed the spring update to unroll a DRM fix.

[next-gen.biz]

The guys who head up Xbox360 support are typically a few fries short of a happy meal if you get my drift. However when microsoft transfers data at their offices they are more than likely connecting the two hard drives up and transfering the data. This is not something that they are likely to have set up for online backup/data transfer.

However your not fully out of luck. There is a data transfer kit, this cable either came with the 360 Elites or it was a seperate purchase. If you can locate one of these kits & get a working xbox360 that your origional hard drive has on it you can follow these instructions to copy the data over (1 time only) [www.xbox.com]

If you call MS and ask them about the data transfer kit you might get someone who can help you out. You'll still need to track down a friend, game store owner, or enemy who will let you borrow their 360 for a few hours so you can actually transfer the data though.

@Buran: The OP was told he has to repurchase downloadable media, the disc media still works fine. Also, his situation appears to be unique, most people can still access their previously downloaded media. Also, the most frequent problem is the red rings, which MS has given a 3 year warranty, so unless you've tinkered with your machine, you get it fixed for free. Though it can be a pain.

@Buran: I'll merely repeat EXACTLY what I've posted prior and prior and prior in every other post about X360 owners suffering problems. There are TWO other competing platforms out there. Three if you count the PC (if you've got that kind of money). People know the thing is bound to fail sooner or later. Move on to another platform.

@Asvetic: Finally! Good man.

Correcton to my last post. It appears that the data transfer kit MS has connects up to the origional hard drive with out the need for your origional system to be functional.

There are some warnings though.

"Downloaded content that is purchased through Xbox Live is licensed to both your Xbox 360 and your Gamertag. The license does not switch with the transfer. If you have purchased an Elite and are swapping the content to the new hard drive for use on a new console, you won't be able to access purchased videos, games, themes, or pics without being signed into Xbox Live. If you're just upgrading your hard drive and are retaining the use of your original Xbox 360, your licenses will remain intact. Movie rentals will not transfer at all."

You can check out a review on the kit here if you want more detailed information: [gameinvasion.comcast.net]

@Here_we_go: Don't matter how good the games are if you can't play them... Mass Effect, good game. Play it on the PC. Guitar Hero III, how about that PS3 and PC? Practically every game on the 360 aside from Halo 3 and some other third party games end up on the PC and PS3 sooner or later.

@Buran: Exactly. Plus sell some of your old games to put forth credit since apparently your not getting it back.

@Buran: 33% and counting (though my numbers based on polls done here on Consumerist and Kotaku put those numbers at roughly around 50.9% to be honest) is kinda difficult to beat.

Do your research before stoking the troll boys, Consumerist. The DRM issue has already been solved and will be fixed next month. Here's a quote from this article, [www.next-gen.biz]

There have been some high profile complaints on the web about how difficult it is to transfer things like XBLA game licenses to replacement 360s in the wake of an under warranty hardware failure. Would these changes to DRM policy address these issues, letting people who have experienced such failure re-license their purchases on their new Xbox so they don't have to be connected to Live to play? Are there any other sorts of changes to DRM policy being made here that would affect the end-user experience?

Yes, this new tool will officially launch next month on Xbox.com and will allow you to be able to consolidate these licenses onto one box so you can access things like Xbox LIVE Arcade games and TV show you have downloaded even if you are not online. Because this involved allowing users to re-download licenses for content that belongs to our partners it has taken some time to work out the agreements with them to allow this, but we have heard the concerns from folks about DRM and are happy to announce that everything is nearly in place to roll this out in June.

@ViperBorg: Unfortunately, that probably won't work for him. Microsoft will transfer the licenses on consoles they change out because they have a record of doing so. Here, they don't have a record that the other console isn't still in use, and so they won't deauthorize that console in order to authorize the new one. The reason is that the authorization that exists, for offline use, could mean that he's sold off his old 360, and that the new owner is using that content offline with copies of the downloaded content with the original DRM authorization on it.

As for fixing it? Press Microsoft, and you might get somewhere, but the real key will be coming soon. Check out this interview on Next-Gen with the Xbox Live GM Marc Whitten. If you read into it, it says that, rather than releasing a spring dashboard update, as they usually do, they'll instead be releasing a DRM tool that will allow you to migrate your existing content. For those too lazy to go over there, I'll quote the relevant portion(first part is the interviewer, the second part is Whitten):

There have been some high profile complaints on the web about how difficult it is to transfer things like XBLA game licenses to replacement 360s in the wake of an under warranty hardware failure. Would these changes to DRM policy address these issues, letting people who have experienced such failure re-license their purchases on their new Xbox so they don't have to be connected to Live to play? Are there any other sorts of changes to DRM policy being made here that would affect the end-user experience?

Yes, this new tool will officially launch next month on Xbox.com and will allow you to be able to consolidate these licenses onto one box so you can access things like Xbox LIVE Arcade games and TV show you have downloaded even if you are not online. Because this involved allowing users to re-download licenses for content that belongs to our partners it has taken some time to work out the agreements with them to allow this, but we have heard the concerns from folks about DRM and are happy to announce that everything is nearly in place to roll this out in June.

So, if you can't get them to do it for you, you might be able to fix it yourself soon, once the DRM tool launches.

I'll believe in this DRM tool when I see it. Microsoft has been "looking into this DRM issue" for years, and frankly I don't trust in them to be able to create a tool that won't be buggy and a pain in the ass to use.

I've never had a problem with DRM and don't ever expect to have a problem. My solution is simple:

Don't buy products with DRM. Nothing. If nobody bought products that contained DRM we would see a hell of a lot less DRM.

FWIW, my 360 RRODed and the replacement process went smoothly, no issues, and all my video content and XBLA games work fine.

What's interesting is that this guy saved them money by paying for a new console instead of getting it replaced, and this is how they thank him. Nice.