With the famous Xbox 360 ‘Red Ring of Death’ being covered by Microsoft’s three year warranty, gamers have been worrying about a different hardware threat recently – the E74. This error seems to have become more frequent since the release of the New Xbox Experience, and due to its similarities with the RRoD Microsoft has decided to cover it under the Xbox 360’s extended three year warranty. Fortunately, all customers who paid to get an E74 related hardware failure repaired should receive a refund automatically within 4-12 weeks according to Microsoft. Read on for Microsoft’s full statement.

After investigating the issue, we have determined that the E74 error message can indicate the general hardware failure that is associated with three flashing red lights error on the console. As a result, we have decided to cover repairs related to the E74 error message under our three-year warranty program for certain general hardware failures that was announced in July 2007. We have already made improvements to the console that will reduce the likelihood of an occurrence of this issue.

Microsoft will refund to customers the amount paid for an out of warranty repair due to a general hardware failure associated with the e74 error message. Those customers should automatically receive the refund within 4-12 weeks, and no additional action by customers should be necessary. However, if a customer has not received a refund by July 1, 2009, the customer should visit www.xbox.com/support before November 1, 2009 for information on how to place a claim. All refund claims must be received on or before November 1, 2009.’

Source: Xbox.com Support