Halo Reach Server Not Available – Halo Reach Beta Problems

So finally the Halo Reach Beta has arrived. But it seems the arrival has caught the Halo Reach server unprepared, giving an error “Halo Reach Server Not Available”. Xbox posted about the recent Halo Reach Beta problems:

“We are aware that some users are having issues connecting to the servers and are currently looking into it.”

Bungie assured everyone with this post:

Some quick tips to shorten your wait.

So, yup some stuff is on fire here at the office and if the forums are any indication, we were totally unprepared, don’t care about our real fans, and should totally give everyone their zero dollars back with a side of free Xbox LIVE. While none of that’s the case, our test team just broke away from an epic struggle with some molten server metal and 600,000 players to deliver us some quick tips to help you get games going a little bit faster.

1. Don’t restart your search, even if load times are long. The initial load for map and game type will take a really long time, which is super lame, but once you’ve made the connection, the files will be cached to your hard drive and the next time you load to same map/game type, it should be nice and fast.

2. Don’t reboot or reload the beta. It won’t help and it will actually clear your cache, making your wait times much longer.

3. Don’t leave your party. Since everybody in the party has to load the same files, your wait is tied to other player’s download process as well. Stick with the same crew and things should iron out.