3 Red Rings of Death.... Is There a God????

i havent had a problem with my 360
you shoulda got the product replacement plan from bestbuy and just renew it before it expires
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Mine broke back in mid May and it took 6 weeks from the time i called MS to the time i got a refurbished 360.
 
well to make you feel better. i got the red rings of death after 1 year and then sent it in. it took a month to fix. i got it back last week and then it DIEDagain!!!! so now i have to send it back in. can you say garbage!
 
flashing........lights....
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i hope that never happens to me. *knocks on wood*
 
As with most tutorials that I've seen written, this is not at all "my" invention or information. This is a collaboration of many peoples'ideas and theories that have been tested by many others, but as a whole - seem to benefit the entire Xbox Scene community. Do this at your own risk,
only if you're like me - "Out of Warranty". I take no responsibility if you destroy your Xbox further. With that said, let's get to the fix:

1. First off, we are reading this because we have a problem with the Xbox 360. Either it is caused by a solder problem, where points on the GPU/CPU have workedloose - or a temperature problem causing the same result: The 3 Red Lights of Death. First thing we need to do is open the 360 & remove all the internalparts. Several tutorials for this - here is 1 of them: http://www.xboxchopshop.com/catalog/man_360_open.php

2. Once you have all the parts removed, DVD drive out, fans off, motherboard removed….then remove the "X" clamps holding the heat sinks to themotherboard. Again, several tutorials - here is 1 of them: http://www.anandtech.com/systems/showdoc.aspx?i=2610&p=6

3. At this point, you need to clean the old thermal compound off of the chips. Be very careful in how you do this, not to damage the chips themselves. I usedalcohol & Q-tips, and patience. Don't rush this part, as it is crucial for the surfaces to be perfectly smooth for optimal conduction of heat. Someonestated the chips will reveal a mirror finish when clean, and they will…so clean until you see that finish.

4. Dokworm from Xbox Scene forums started the original post that brought this to my attention…see post here: http://forums.xbox-scene.com/index.php?sho...588032&st=0 . I am justtrying to put together a tutorial with some insight & illustrations that could help others. Basically what dokworm found out was that the "X"clamps are a serious design flaw. They force the motherboard to flex up at the anchor points, causing solder points to become compromised over time/heat. So,we will throw away these "X" clamps, and replace them with other hardware that distributes the 'clamping' of the heat sink uniformly.

5. Lowes and Home Depot are large hardware supply stores in the U.S., so many of you can use these part #'s - others will have to adapt, but the ideas arethe same. The part #'s that I use come from Lowes, and the necessary parts for this mod are very inexpensive. You will need the following parts:
a) 8 M5-.80 x 10 Machine Screws #138433
b) 16 #10 Flat Washers - Nylon #139065
c) 16 5mm Flat Washers - Metal #138319
d) Artic Silver thermal compound
I know that some people have used Fiber washers instead of Nylon. It probably doesn't matter. If you can find Fiber, I would suggest that instead. I couldonly find Nylon, so there you go.

6. Ok, now we have clean chips & all necessary equipment for the fix. Here is an illustration with the hardware replacing of the "X" clamps.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2015/151799...f2a156f46_o.jpg

Note that the Nylon washers are up against the motherboard on both sides - not metal. With two washers (1- nylon, 1- metal) on each side of the board, thismatches the original spacing provided by the "X" clamp posts we have removed. In my situation with these parts listed, I could tighten down the #5bolts completely because the spacing was identical to what it was before.

7. Here is probably the most important portion of this tutorial. PLEASE PAY CLOSE ATTENTION! Once you have replaced the heat sinks like the illustration above(don't tighten the bolts down - just snug for now), set the motherboard back into the bottom case. Don't screw it down yet. Replace the Power buttonboard with the lights, so we can see when the 360 overheats. I plugged in the DVD & set it aside on the edge of the case (not sure if this is necessary).Leave the fans off for this part. The video plug must be inserted or the 360 will auto-shut off, and the power brick must be plugged in. Turn on the Xbox &most likely you will see the 3RLOD - Red Lights Of Death. Without the fans, it's a matter of time until the box overheats. When this happens, it willchange to only 2 lights (both left side lights). I waited 2 minutes exactly, then shut it off. This allows the solder problems to fix themselves by getting hotenough to re-solder themselves in place. As this is cooling off, take the board out to where you can tighten the M5 bolts down snug. Don't over-tightenthem, but in my case - I got them very snug.

8. Let it cool down completely, then put everything back together. Any cooling mods that you could add to this fix will only help the situation. There areseveral out there: 12V mod to the existing fans, aftermarket fans, or even the cut-out of the case itself. All will help the temperature overall. Now crossyour fingers & hope you've joined the others who've been blessed by this fix.
 
Almost copped the Elite until I heard this, got the Ps3 instead and
pimp.gif
,and now with the price drop I don't see why

people wouldn't start making the change; The games that are available on PS3 are good too, not great, but good.
 
my xbox is starting to pixelate and freeze during gameplay. does this foreshadow the red rings?? :nerd:
 
I've had 360 for 6 years... I've had RROD on 1 machine. 

Got it fixed/refurbed/replaced or whatever it was and I've been good ever since.
 
GreyFoxx said:
my xbox is starting to pixelate and freeze during gameplay. does this foreshadow the red rings?? :nerd:
Click to expand...

Mine does the same thing, 5 years old never bought a new one. I think it means your laser is dying or inside the disc tray is really dusty.

Ihatemyshoes said:
wait, even the new Xbox Slim get the RROD?
Click to expand...

Yes, but I think its just a red dot where the power light is.
 
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