William – thanks for the info.

I’ve been in touch with Xbox support and it’s out of the 12 month warranty. I can find info on Engadget and other blogs saying Microsoft are offering free fixes to 360’s that were manufactured in 2005 (Engadget).

On the Xbox site I can see mention of 12 month warranty only. At least this gives me some ammo when tech support call me back as they have raised it a little higher in the management chain to see if a free fix can be authorised.