It all began so simply: Ben purchased one of the new Modern Warfare 2 Xbox 360's which include a 250 GB hard drive so that he could transfer his old game saves and downloads to the new unit.

Unfortunately, however, he ran into a problem with a Microsoft customer service representative named "Patrick," who would not let him purchase one of the company's data transfer kits. The reason? The registration information in Microsoft's system was not matching what Ben told them.

After giving Patrick my information he informed me that the information that he had on file did not match the information that he had on the computer. This made no sense to me because, despite purchasing the console shortly after launch, I was certain that the information was correct. I've never moved, I've never changed my phone number so this did not make sense to me at all. I explained to him that anyone else registering my console was impossible because I've been the only owner of it and no one else in my household uses the console.

At this point I begin to get upset. Not only could Patrick offer me no explanation as to how this could happen he continued to tell me that he was not allowed to send me the transfer kit nor could he tell me what information was incorrect. Was it a simple misspelling or a typo, I don't know. There was no way for me to try to correct the issue because I didn't know what was wrong other than 'the information doesn't match'.

This has left Ben in a bit of a bind, as Microsoft will only send the transfer kits to to users who have two consoles registered under one name. "I've now purchased two Xbox 360s in addition to an original Xbox and own somewhere between 65-85 games," he says. "I've been a loyal customer and am now being told that the additional money I spent to upgrade my system was a waste because I'm not allowed to have a transfer kit."

I honestly can't understand this policy. In contrast if I was a Sony PlayStation user not only could I easily transfer my data from one console to another I wouldn't have to go through this process to just try to port over my data. It's ridiculous to think that this day in age the only way I can access my own game saves, downloadable content, Xbox live Arcade titles, etc. is to use the old hard drive.

I am severely disappointed in Microsoft and in the future will have to second guess my choice as to which console company I want to get behind. I've now spent in excess of $500 to upgrade my console to a larger hard drive with an HDMI slot and it was all worthless.

All I ask for is what I should have been given in the first place, a data transfer kit so that I can continue using my Xbox 360 with the larger hard drive. I don't know why that is such an issue and I would gladly pay for it especially since I've already spent so much money into it.

Following this, a number of suggestions have come up, including using a memory card to transfer some files (save data, Gamertags) while re-downloading games. Others have suggested eBay for transfer kits, though it seems to be a haven for unlicensed and overpriced versions of the item.

One notes that "The 250 GB HDD uses a new version of the data transfer kit. The original kits only allowed the transfer from 20GB to the 120GB HDD. It was then updated to allow the 60GB but then there was released yet another new version for use with the 250GB kits from either of the smaller HDD including the 120GB."

Another adds "Xbox content is generally encrypted. The only way to decrypt the content is to either be on the designated Xbox, or be logged into Xbox Live. If the person is refusing to send him a transfer kit, they will also likely refuse to transfer licenses. Because he would no longer have the proper console to decrypt everything on his hard drive, he would have to be logged into Xbox Live with his original account to use his old saves or downloaded games."

"He needs to get proper ownership sorted out even more than he needs a HDD transfer cable."

Someone else notes that "If this disparity is due to a problem on Microsoft's end, then they need to fix it, the availability of alternatives be damned. Besides, if it really is a problem on Microsoft's end after all, then it's a problem that has potentially huge implications. I know that I'd hate to have a perfectly valid warranty claim denied because the information that Microsoft has for me is incorrect."

In all, it's quite a mess. Hopefully one that can soon be straightened out, and one that more people will hopefully not find themselves caught up in, given that it seems most Microsoft technical problems aren't isolated incidents.