Chances are that if you've been an XBox 360 gamer for any length of time, you heard about or experienced the XBox 360 3 red lights problem. The bad news is that the chances of your X360 fixing itself are about 0%. The good news is that there is a fix available and it is easy to do yourself.
The cause of the problem is overheating inside the main XBox 360 game unit. All of that processing power generates a lot of heat. That heat has to go somewhere. The original XBox 360 design didn't allow for sufficient cooling and XBoxes began failing shortly after the product was launched. Microsoft has since this problem and newer XBoxes don't have the 3 red lights issue any more. But there are several hundred thousand units out there that are susceptible to coming down with the XBox 360 "Red Ring of Death" at any time.
The X360 uses heat sinks, vented openings, and fans to aid in dissipation of the heat that is generated. The flow through these vents can become obstructed for a variety of reasons. This then causes reduced system performance and hardware failure. The 3 red lights is the code that indicates a hardware failure due to excessive heat. If you see this, you can try placing the xbox 360 console in an open area, free any debris that might be blocking the vents.
A second problem, also heat related, is the CPU (Central Processing Unit) becoming overheated. When this happens it can cause the motherboard to flex causing the soldering to become loose. Modern solder is lead-free and is more brittle than older solder which had tine and lead in it making it more flexible.
Initially, Microsoft repaired consoles under the 90 day warranty at no charge. Out-of-warranty units were repaired for a $140 charge, pretty steep. In July 2007, Microsoft extended extended the warranty of all Xbox 360 consoles suffering general hardware failures to one year.
If you've had the Xbox 360 3 red lights problem, you can ship it to a repair center and wait. Not a very attractive option. Fortunately, there is a better and cheaper alternative, There are several XBox 360 3 red lights self repair guides available that will get you up and running in about an hour using regular household tools. I've reviewed the top four XBox 360 3 red lights repair guides and found what I feel is the best one. Whatever your situation, good luck in getting your XBox fixed as soon as possible.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
XBox 360 3 Red Lights - Preventative Measures
For those of you who didn't already know, your XBox 360 is most likely the most powerful computer you have in your house, more powerful than your laptop and even more powerful than your desktop. In terms of raw computing power, your XBox 360 is more like a high-end desktop on steroids. Ironically, it's that raw power that is the main cause of the XBox 360 3 Red Lights problem (aka "Red Ring of Death").
The electrons moving through the various chips in your XBox 360 create friction. That friction produces a tremendous amount of heat. It's not just the CPU that generates heat, although it is the main heat generator. The graphics chips also produce quite a bit of heat. As it turns out, the amount of heat produced is more than the XBox 360 designers anticipated. But to be fair, it not completely the hardware designer's mistake. Because a computer's CPU and the other chips only do what the software tells it to do. You see years ago, when the XBox 360 was still on the drawing board, some of today's best selling games didn't even exist. Like any technology, advancements occur at different speeds. In the case of the XBox 360, the games that are on the market now are pushing the limit of what the hardware is capable of processing (from a heat dissipation perspective). The good news is that you can be pretty sure that future generations of XBoxes (and other gaming platforms) won't have cooling problems. The lesson has been learned.
So the solution to the problem is to improve the dissipation of heat inside the XBox's main unit. Here's some low-tech options that could prevent you from experiencing the 3 red lights problem at all:
1. Be sure you put your XBox 360 in an open area, that is, not inside an entertainment console. This will maximize the dissipation of heat out of the XBox main unit.
2. Stand the XBox 360 unit vertically on its end and don't put it on carpeting (iff at all possible). Carpeting tends to clog up the cooling holes in the main unit.
3. I know, you don't want to hear this one. Limit your playing time. If you're hard core and play flat out, for hours and hours, you will probably have more problems than someone who plays less. Besides, it's not healthy to just sit on the couch drinking coke and playing games. There IS more to life ;-)
4. Install a supplemental cooling unit. This is basically an add-on fan system that improves the airflow inside the XBox 360 keeping the unit cooler. These add-on fans cost about $25 - $30, but they will save you more expensive repairs down the road.
5. Turn your XBox 360 off when you're not playing it. Give it a break and save electricity.
Take basic preventative measures for your XBox 360 and you will minimize the chances of future problems. If you already are having the 3 Red Lights Problem however, I've done a review of the top 4 fix-it guides that you can read and see if a do-it-yourself solution is right for you.
The electrons moving through the various chips in your XBox 360 create friction. That friction produces a tremendous amount of heat. It's not just the CPU that generates heat, although it is the main heat generator. The graphics chips also produce quite a bit of heat. As it turns out, the amount of heat produced is more than the XBox 360 designers anticipated. But to be fair, it not completely the hardware designer's mistake. Because a computer's CPU and the other chips only do what the software tells it to do. You see years ago, when the XBox 360 was still on the drawing board, some of today's best selling games didn't even exist. Like any technology, advancements occur at different speeds. In the case of the XBox 360, the games that are on the market now are pushing the limit of what the hardware is capable of processing (from a heat dissipation perspective). The good news is that you can be pretty sure that future generations of XBoxes (and other gaming platforms) won't have cooling problems. The lesson has been learned.
So the solution to the problem is to improve the dissipation of heat inside the XBox's main unit. Here's some low-tech options that could prevent you from experiencing the 3 red lights problem at all:
1. Be sure you put your XBox 360 in an open area, that is, not inside an entertainment console. This will maximize the dissipation of heat out of the XBox main unit.
2. Stand the XBox 360 unit vertically on its end and don't put it on carpeting (iff at all possible). Carpeting tends to clog up the cooling holes in the main unit.
3. I know, you don't want to hear this one. Limit your playing time. If you're hard core and play flat out, for hours and hours, you will probably have more problems than someone who plays less. Besides, it's not healthy to just sit on the couch drinking coke and playing games. There IS more to life ;-)
4. Install a supplemental cooling unit. This is basically an add-on fan system that improves the airflow inside the XBox 360 keeping the unit cooler. These add-on fans cost about $25 - $30, but they will save you more expensive repairs down the road.
5. Turn your XBox 360 off when you're not playing it. Give it a break and save electricity.
Take basic preventative measures for your XBox 360 and you will minimize the chances of future problems. If you already are having the 3 Red Lights Problem however, I've done a review of the top 4 fix-it guides that you can read and see if a do-it-yourself solution is right for you.
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Xbox 360 3 Red Lights Fix - Can you really fix this problem yourself?
There are a lot of guides out there that claim to help you fix the XBox 360 Red Ring of Death problem quickly and at far less cost than what Microsoft is charging. Given the fact that the internet isn't exactly a goldmine of truth, we all must take what we see and read on the internet with healthy skepticism. Is it really possible for a person to pop open their XBox 360 and fix this problem themselves? I mean, how many of you would "pop open" your television set and fix it yourself? Kind of scary, don't you think?
However, where there is a lemon, you can always make lemonade. Fact of the matter is, the XBox 360 is just a computer with interchangeable parts. I used to build computers from scratch using the same parts that IBM, Dell and all the other manufacturers out there were using (back in the day). The hardware is the easy part. It's the software that will really give you a headache.
Fortunately, the XBox 360 Red Lights error is a hardware problem and if you don't mind opening up your XBox (and if you're out of warranty, there's no reason not to), you can, with a little patience and simple tools, fix the Red Ring of Death.
The key is to pick up a step-by-step guide that tells you exactly how to do it. There are some excellent guides available out there. There's even websites out there solely devoted to the problem. I took the time to go through the top 4 "XBox360 3 Red Lights" do-it-yourself guides (see link below) and I can tell you that these guides are the real deal. I purchased 4 broken xBoxes on eBay (ones advertised as having the 3 red lights problem only) and went to work. Each of the four machine was fixed using the exact instructions in one of the guides (i.e X360 #1 - Guide #1, X360 #2 - Guide #2, etc.). I was very careful about not cross referencing my knowledge gained from one guide and apply it to a different XBox unit. All 4 boxes have been fixed and 3 of them were sold on eBay for $100 profit each.
These guides have been available for a while now and the market would have said no to them if they were just blowing smoke. In any case, the guides range in price from around $25 to $30 bucks and some even include videos. So given that Microsoft and other outside companies want upwards of $140 to fix the "Red Ring of Death", these guides seem to me to be a very sensible alternative. Check out my reviews here.
However, where there is a lemon, you can always make lemonade. Fact of the matter is, the XBox 360 is just a computer with interchangeable parts. I used to build computers from scratch using the same parts that IBM, Dell and all the other manufacturers out there were using (back in the day). The hardware is the easy part. It's the software that will really give you a headache.
Fortunately, the XBox 360 Red Lights error is a hardware problem and if you don't mind opening up your XBox (and if you're out of warranty, there's no reason not to), you can, with a little patience and simple tools, fix the Red Ring of Death.
The key is to pick up a step-by-step guide that tells you exactly how to do it. There are some excellent guides available out there. There's even websites out there solely devoted to the problem. I took the time to go through the top 4 "XBox360 3 Red Lights" do-it-yourself guides (see link below) and I can tell you that these guides are the real deal. I purchased 4 broken xBoxes on eBay (ones advertised as having the 3 red lights problem only) and went to work. Each of the four machine was fixed using the exact instructions in one of the guides (i.e X360 #1 - Guide #1, X360 #2 - Guide #2, etc.). I was very careful about not cross referencing my knowledge gained from one guide and apply it to a different XBox unit. All 4 boxes have been fixed and 3 of them were sold on eBay for $100 profit each.
These guides have been available for a while now and the market would have said no to them if they were just blowing smoke. In any case, the guides range in price from around $25 to $30 bucks and some even include videos. So given that Microsoft and other outside companies want upwards of $140 to fix the "Red Ring of Death", these guides seem to me to be a very sensible alternative. Check out my reviews here.
Xbox 360 Red Lights - What is Microsoft Doing About It
In the "real" world, if you put out a lousy product, the market lets you know loud and clear by not buying it. So why is it that there are still so many XBox 360's out there with the dreaded 3 red lights problem?
This is how I figure it... the xBox 360 is not a lousy product. It is great product with a design flaw. To use an analogy with people, what's the first thing people do when they are accused of having a flaw, large or small? They deny it of course. Well, companies have "personalities" just like people do. Microsoft has a reputation of being a know-it-all bully. Their personality at the time the xBox 360 was being designed and built can be described as, uummm, arrogant? Too much success too soon does that to you.
So you can imagine what was going through Microsoft's collection head during the design and launch of the xBox 360. I can hear it now:
"We're Microsoft. We don't make mistakes. We make great products and we make a lot of money."
The xBox 3 Red Lights issue brought them back down to earth. Even that took a while, but the red Ring of Death became an undeniable reality for Microsoft and they've been forced by their customer base, to take it seriously. The proble is not caused by misuse, abuse or neglect, It is caused by a design flaw, pure and simple.
In the case of the XBox360 three red lights problem, the design flaw is insufficient cooling. The xBox 360 is actually a very powerful computing platform. Most video game consoles have more computing power than their desktop PC cousins. Graphics is the reason, Those magnificent 3D worlds take incredible amounts of raw calculations to create. And anything that is working hard generates heat.
What Microsoft is doing with new XBox 360's is designing in a more efficient cooling system to dissipate that heat faster. The cooler the XBox 360 runs, the better it feels.
However, mmost of XBoxe 360's out there still have the potential to suffer from the 3 red lights problem because they don't have the new design. That's why a small industry has sprung up around fixing the xBox 360 three red light problem. There are the Red Ring of Death do-it-yourself fix-it guides. There are services that will fix it for you. And then of course there's Microsoft's $140 fix it plan (if you're out of warranty).
Personally, I like doing things myself. Popping open a computer and working on it is not something that scares me, as long as I have some sort of guide to tell me exactly what to do. I reviewed the top 4 Fix-it guides and found out some surprising things. Here's a hint. The news is good (and low-cost). Check it out. The guides are around $25-$30 dollars and the fix takes about an hour.
This is how I figure it... the xBox 360 is not a lousy product. It is great product with a design flaw. To use an analogy with people, what's the first thing people do when they are accused of having a flaw, large or small? They deny it of course. Well, companies have "personalities" just like people do. Microsoft has a reputation of being a know-it-all bully. Their personality at the time the xBox 360 was being designed and built can be described as, uummm, arrogant? Too much success too soon does that to you.
So you can imagine what was going through Microsoft's collection head during the design and launch of the xBox 360. I can hear it now:
"We're Microsoft. We don't make mistakes. We make great products and we make a lot of money."
The xBox 3 Red Lights issue brought them back down to earth. Even that took a while, but the red Ring of Death became an undeniable reality for Microsoft and they've been forced by their customer base, to take it seriously. The proble is not caused by misuse, abuse or neglect, It is caused by a design flaw, pure and simple.
In the case of the XBox360 three red lights problem, the design flaw is insufficient cooling. The xBox 360 is actually a very powerful computing platform. Most video game consoles have more computing power than their desktop PC cousins. Graphics is the reason, Those magnificent 3D worlds take incredible amounts of raw calculations to create. And anything that is working hard generates heat.
What Microsoft is doing with new XBox 360's is designing in a more efficient cooling system to dissipate that heat faster. The cooler the XBox 360 runs, the better it feels.
However, mmost of XBoxe 360's out there still have the potential to suffer from the 3 red lights problem because they don't have the new design. That's why a small industry has sprung up around fixing the xBox 360 three red light problem. There are the Red Ring of Death do-it-yourself fix-it guides. There are services that will fix it for you. And then of course there's Microsoft's $140 fix it plan (if you're out of warranty).
Personally, I like doing things myself. Popping open a computer and working on it is not something that scares me, as long as I have some sort of guide to tell me exactly what to do. I reviewed the top 4 Fix-it guides and found out some surprising things. Here's a hint. The news is good (and low-cost). Check it out. The guides are around $25-$30 dollars and the fix takes about an hour.
Xbox 360 3 Red Lights Repair - Microsoft, Third Party Repair Service or Do-It-Yourself?
Your XBox 360 has the infamous "XBox 360 Red Lights Problem" (or XBox 360 'Red Ring of Death' , if you prefer). What's your next step? You've got 3 options:
1. Send it back to Microsoft
2. Send it to a third party repair service
3. Fix it yourself
1. Send It Back To Microsoft?
This is a fairly straightforward decision. If you are still in warranty, bite the bullet and get it fixed by Microsoft. It won't cost you anything and their fix is a good one. There's no guarantee that you won't have any more problems with your XBox 360, but if you do, it probably won't be the Red Ring of Death problem.
2. Send it to a Third Party Repair Service
The third party repair services sprung up early on when people started having the Red Ring of Death problem and Microsoft balked at fixing it, throwing out some pretty bizarre statements and blaming everything on the customer. Like Microsoft, the third party repair services will give you a permanent fix (for the 3 red lights problem anyway). They've priced it low enough to make them a viable option, but only if your XBox 360 is out of warranty AND you are not a do it yourself'er. Expect to pay $50-$100 and be without your XBox for 7-10 days.
3. Fix It Yourself
If you are out of warranty and don't mind popping open the Xbox, there are some excellent guides for the do-it-yourself'er. The guides take you step-by-step through a permanent fix that will take you about an hour. The added benefit of learning how to fix the XBox 3 red lights problem is that you can now fix more than one. Many people have started a nice little side business for themselves buying broken XBoxes on eBay, fixing then, and re-selling them. You won't get as rich as Bill Gates. but you'll certainly make enough to finance your XBox 360 addiction (hey, there are worse things to be addicted to). Of course, you should only go this route if you're comfortable going inside your computer and working on it. Personally, I love doing that kind of stuff, but I know it's not for everyone.
I'm in the process of writing a guide that will explain step-by-step how to start an XBox 360 repair business. It's not hard at all, and as I mentioned, it's a nice little sideline to finance your game addiction. I'll post more information on it in about a week.
Here's my reviews of the top 4 Fix-It-Yourself Guides.
Good Luck and Good Shootin' !
1. Send it back to Microsoft
2. Send it to a third party repair service
3. Fix it yourself
1. Send It Back To Microsoft?
This is a fairly straightforward decision. If you are still in warranty, bite the bullet and get it fixed by Microsoft. It won't cost you anything and their fix is a good one. There's no guarantee that you won't have any more problems with your XBox 360, but if you do, it probably won't be the Red Ring of Death problem.
2. Send it to a Third Party Repair Service
The third party repair services sprung up early on when people started having the Red Ring of Death problem and Microsoft balked at fixing it, throwing out some pretty bizarre statements and blaming everything on the customer. Like Microsoft, the third party repair services will give you a permanent fix (for the 3 red lights problem anyway). They've priced it low enough to make them a viable option, but only if your XBox 360 is out of warranty AND you are not a do it yourself'er. Expect to pay $50-$100 and be without your XBox for 7-10 days.
3. Fix It Yourself
If you are out of warranty and don't mind popping open the Xbox, there are some excellent guides for the do-it-yourself'er. The guides take you step-by-step through a permanent fix that will take you about an hour. The added benefit of learning how to fix the XBox 3 red lights problem is that you can now fix more than one. Many people have started a nice little side business for themselves buying broken XBoxes on eBay, fixing then, and re-selling them. You won't get as rich as Bill Gates. but you'll certainly make enough to finance your XBox 360 addiction (hey, there are worse things to be addicted to). Of course, you should only go this route if you're comfortable going inside your computer and working on it. Personally, I love doing that kind of stuff, but I know it's not for everyone.
I'm in the process of writing a guide that will explain step-by-step how to start an XBox 360 repair business. It's not hard at all, and as I mentioned, it's a nice little sideline to finance your game addiction. I'll post more information on it in about a week.
Here's my reviews of the top 4 Fix-It-Yourself Guides.
Good Luck and Good Shootin' !
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