You've got to give it to Microsoft -- no one creates iconic crash messages like they do. The Blue Screen of Death tormented and terrified millions of Windows users and while it's appearances have been greatly diminished since the release of XP, it's legend lives on.

Now with the 360, Microsoft has created a new error message that's quickly burning itself into the consciousness of gamers: the Red Ring of Death. In a functioning 360, the power button is surrounded by a green ring that says everything's "ok" and notes which controllers are connected. When things go wrong though, this self-same ring flashes red. This signal of doom indicates everything from an unplugged video cable to critical hardware failure.