XBox in dashboard/service update mode for hours

I'm one of the many who had issues with their new XBox One yesterday. I'm aware of the DDOS attack from Lizard Squad, etc., etc. I was eventually able to log in last night after most core services came back up and download the very large initial update.
I let it run.

This morning, I figured I'd give things a go again after the update was complete, so I went and turned on the XBox...blank screen. Power light was on, etc., but absolutely no display (yes, everything is plugged in properly, and no, nothing has changed other
than applying the update). So, I went to power-cycle the machine and try again...but it never powered down. I simply got a pulsing power light.

Wanting to research before asking, I looked up what that meant (I even used bing instead of google), and found that this indicates that the XBox One is performing a dashboard or service update. Ok, fair enough...let's let it run and then we'll be able to
use the XBox on at least the day AFTER Christmas, right?

So far, wrong. It has been performing this background update for almost FOUR HOURS now. Is this to be expected? How large is this additional update? Can I interrupt it without corrupting the OS on the machine? I'd love to power the thing down and try
booting again, but I'm afraid that doing so might brick the system.

Can someone please get me some specific answers regarding this scenario? Thanks.

:)

 

Xbox flashing white light

If your Xbox One is turned off and the white Xbox logo on the front of the console pulses on and off, it means that the console is downloading a dashboard or service update.

 

New Xbox One System Update Goes Live Today

Source: IGN

The article also when on to note that those with the "Instant On" feature enabled will be first to get the update since it will roll out in waves. Everyone else will received it by Thursday 12/12/13. I for one am very happy to see Microsoft quickly begin to fix the many small issues or bug currently found on the Xbox One. We can only hope they continue to be persistent and hasten.

 

Ok, I'm at almost five and a half hours...still in dashboard/service update mode. Some response, please? Anything?

 

Ok, it's now been almost TEN HOURS in this state with no change... and no response from these forums in almost six hours. I have seen response to other questions in this time, but not even an acknowledgement that this one has been read. Can I power cycle
this thing or not?!?!?

 

Ok, TWENTY FOUR HOURS, and it's still apparently attempting to do this background update...won't turn on, because it's attempting this stupid, stupid dashboard update. It has also been almost 21 hours without a single reply from support in these forums
to my original request.

I am incredibly unimpressed. I understand that it's very difficult to prepare for a DDOS attack...but the utter lack of any real support for people is unacceptable. I hope that there is at least a sincere sense of embarrassment about this...of course,
customers will probably never know, as there has been zero communication about anything specific...all the public has gotten is "we're working on it" without a single communication about ETAs or specifics about what is happening. News flash: people are a
lot more likely to be sympathetic and cut you some slack if you make them aware of your efforts and the types of problems you're trying to solve. Acting like a black box is frustrating and alienating to your user base.

 

Well, I see that I got ZERO response over the course of two days and a couple of personal messages to a particular person in support. The lack of communication is appalling. Long story short, I figured everything out myself. I decided to risk bricking
the machine with a hard reset, which worked, and I've gotten everything patched and have begun installing software. Things seems to be working appropriately now, no thanks to anyone around here. Go ahead and lock the thread...if anyone ever takes the time
to read and respond. I'll know not to bother in the future.

BTW...I'm a blue badge, and now I'm ashamed. I will be reporting this internally. The complete lack of communication and response is a significant problem and will be dealt with appropriately.

 

Hey, Grez! I've sent you a private message. You can check them
here.