TROUBLESHOOTING XBOX 360 PROBLEMS
xbox-console harms happen all too often for console users. One minute you’re enjoying your favorite game, the next minute your console shuts off unexpectedly. There are a number of problems that cause this to happen and I will discuss a few of them.
There are three foremost problems that users usually face. These troubles are the red ring of death, disc read errors and console overheating.
The Red Ring of Death to the circle of 3 red lights that flash around your console’s power button. This denote that there is some sort of hardware issue. You will not be able to play any games or even access the console until the problem is fixed.
There are a few Disc Read Errors that can occur:
• CD or game is not detected at all
• CD or game is detected as “unreadable”
• Disc tray will not open or will not close
Console Overheating is cute identityclarifying . Something is disturbing the console from receiving the mandatory amount of air circulated to cool the system.
So How Can We Troubleshoot These Problems?
The good news is that all of the above problems can be fixed. Follow one of the two solutions below.
• Send the Console Back to Microsoft – If you still have a warranty Microsoft will fix the console free of charge. If you do not, you could be charged $100 or more to have it fixed. The entire process takes around 4-8 weeks.
• Sign Up For a Repair Guide – This is another great solution. Repair guides typically cost $20-$30, but almost always offer a money back guarantee. You will learn how to personally spot and fix the majority of problems that your console could face. Some guides even guarantee that your console will be fixed within 1 hour.
The Xbox 360 console is powerful. Kudos to Microsoft for that. Unfortunately, in order to get it out ahead of the PS3, M$ appear to have rushed it. It has been plagued with reliability issues from launch, which are unresolved to this day.
That brings us to why you’re here! You’re one of the unlucky few (read: many) whose Xbox 360 console is pants. Your warranty is gone because it’s been approximately 12 months and one day since you bought it, or you’ve been a bit naughty and opened it up… just to see what was inside, of course.
If that sounds like you, you’re in the right place! Here I’ll show you how to repair Xbox 360 consoles that have suffered their usual fate. Specifically, you’ll gain knowledge of how to ascertain your problem, open up the console without breaking anything, and hopefully get your Xbox 360 working again.
Whether you’ve got RROD, E74 or pretty much any major problem, the cause is overheating-related 99% of the time. The Xbox 360 cooling system is poor, to say the least. Future posts will show you how to pick up look up it, which will help to prevent RROD coming back again. You can also apply these cooling mods to a problem-free console in an effort to prevent RROD altogether. This would be wise…
Just a speedy plug here. There are many Xbox 360 repair guides out there, some good, some horrible, some free, some paid. Well, the old saying “You get what you pay for” holds up pretty well these days. The very best info is rarely given away free, and the best source I know for this info comes from a guy called James Dean, a techie with long hair and thick glasses. His guide, the Xbox 360 Red Light Fix: Pro Gamer Edition (what a friggin’ mouthful), is an absolute gem. Definitely worth checking out.
The Cause: I
Why, hello! In order to learn how to repair Xbox 360 consoles, you need to know what causes RROD and the other xbox-problem that the Xbox 360 is notorious for. In a word, it can be put down to overheating. As mentioned previously, the cooling system isscarce , so components get too hot. It’s not quite that straightforward though, as there are a few factors at play. Let’s go through them one by one.
First up, the X-clamps. If you’ve been reading about the problem, then you’ve heard of these little suckers. They are basically a piece of metal in the shape of a letter “X”, with a hook on each end, used to hold the CPU and GPU heatsinks in place. These are the common sense s of the Xbox 360. They get very hot, which is why they need heatsinks or else they’d be toasted cactus within seconds of turning the thing on.
The problem with the X-clamps is that in order to hold the heatsinks firmly, they need to apply a force to the base of the motherbaord. That push is applied right in the middle, to a point underneath the Xbox 360 CPU and GPU chips themselves, which causes the motherboard to flex a little. That’s not great, but would be okay under normal circumstances.
Next up is the Xbox 360 motherboard itself. It’s manufactured by Foxconn, who have been making mobos for yonks, but they’ve produced a cute sub-par effort here. It’s not very stiff and the quality of the solder used to hold components in place is poor.Specially , it has an oddly low melting temperature for this type of application. You starting to catch on here?
The Cause: II
Welcome back, friends. In order to learn how to repair Xbox 360 consoles, you first need to know what causes the problems. Yesterday we talked about the X-clamps and motherboard. We’ll wrap it all up today so that we can start ripping things to bits. I know how much you love doing that…
Finally, the cooling system. The Xbox 360 has two exhaust fans at the back and… oh, that’s it. There’s a fan shroud (big, ugly piece of plastic) that really wants to straight the flow of air over the heatsinks, but it’s pretty dodgily designed as well. The idea of a heatsink is to have a large surface area so that moving air can pass through it, carrying the heat away with it. The shroud used in the Xbox 360 leaves huge gaps – paths of lesser resistance to airflow – so a lot of the air moved by the fans never goes near the heatsinks.
To top it all off, M$ have tried to make the console “quiet” (note the virtual sarcasm) by throttling the speed of the fans relative to the inside temperatures. This is common practice and makes good sense when done appropriately . Of course, they didn’t do it properly. The fans run too slowly for any given temperature.
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