Red ring of Death fixes

[smirnoff_rules]

remove one washer on each bolt . leave fan off and leave on for 2o minutes to get hot and let it cool down for an hour and put the fan back on a try again

[STU666]

I have currently got my old red ringing 360 stripped to death and have the gpu removed from it. The main problem with the xbox is the solder they use. Its all the lead-free crap thats used in electronics these days(due to some messed up law that states that anything that a child can use MUST be lead-free solder in it or something).
Im in the process of re-balling it with good old fashioned 60/40 lead/tin solder. Its a serious labour of love as i lifted two bga pads and a track, managed to fix the pads and tracks as good as new, just gotta finish re-balling the processor and the board now. Then its time to slabber the board area with some nice thick flux, very carefully place the processor back on and reflow the bga. Just hoping that i dont get any problems with the bga but if i do i reckon ill post it back to microsoft and let them sort it out .
Ill post back if i am successful in this crazy crazy repair.

[welshbhoy]

I fixed my boys Xbox 360 yesterday using an x-clamp fix kit I got for less than a fiver off Ebay. Took about an hour and it's done the job.

My next thing to do is updating the firmware on it for him. Read loads and still nervous about bricking it.

Can anyone say what's best to use, I-Prep or Jungleflasher? Read loads on both and a lot of folk moaning about results of both. It's a benq drive. I have a Via card installed ready, it's just taking that step...........

[dowlinr]

I fixed my boys Xbox 360 yesterday using an x-clamp fix kit I got for less than a fiver off Ebay. Took about an hour and it's done the job.

My next thing to do is updating the firmware on it for him. Read loads and still nervous about bricking it.

Can anyone say what's best to use, I-Prep or Jungleflasher? Read loads on both and a lot of folk moaning about results of both. It's a benq drive. I have a Via card installed ready, it's just taking that step...........

For a Benq I would personally use iprep. Not a lot can go wrong in dos when flashing, I've never been brave enough to try in windows with Jungleflasher.

[Daniel.]

how do i fix my 3 red lights quick as posible ?

[MikyB]

When I did this, I went from 1 red light (E-74) to 3 red lights. So I did it again and now I have 1 red light and an E-73 error. Any suggestions?

[46645]

i replaced my xclamps with new screws, also fresh arctic silver 5 thermal compound, and washers, etc.

[tango]

When I did this, I went from 1 red light (E-74) to 3 red lights. So I did it again and now I have 1 red light and an E-73 error. Any suggestions?

e-73 isnt an easy fix

i reflow the gpu and cpu with a rework station but some still dont work and all thats left to do then is reball which is not an easy option either

[krazylegz]

where did people get their bolts from??

i've tried B&Q, whicks and maxwells DIY and the closest i can find is M5 20mm??

[krazylegz]

anyone???????????????

[Evastar]

Try ebay it's amazing what you can get on there.

(4) Microsoft XBOX 360 Heatsink Washer Bolt Screws Pegs - eBay (item 150362467028 end time Oct-27-09 12:27:42 PDT)

[tango]

where did people get their bolts from??

i've tried B&Q, whicks and maxwells DIY and the closest i can find is M5 20mm??

u can get them from rs components

personally tho i put the xclamps back on after a proer reflow

[Duall]

i had 3 red lights on my xbox, purchased a x-clamp replacement kit and had a play.

Now it flashes 3 lights about 3 times then goes to flashing 2 lights..

any ideas?

[azzadinga]

how good of a fix is thhis x-clamp lark? is worth investing or is it jus as easy to get a new box??

[dpmc21]

Hi all this is my first post on here but I've read this thread with interest. I fix games consoles up in Newcastle for a living, and although all the fixes you mention do work they don't actually address a key issue that is causing the error in the first place. A common misconception is that the X-box gets so hot that the solder can melt, this isn't true as the lead free solder has a melting point of somewhere in the region of 220 degrees celcius, (there is a page that you can find somewhere on google where a company from japan tested how hot the 360's really run and although it's very hot it's not that hot), the problem is a culmination of things, poor design is the main flaw in that the mainboard is put under excessive stress causing it to flex at different points across the board, the X-clamps magnify this effect on the CPU and GPU, so that when it is running hot and is constantly used over a period of time these stresses cause tiny fractures in the solder on the GPU and CPU.
Some of the fixes listed here and all over the internet basically overheat the console so as to effectively but not safely re-flow the solder on the chips, doing so does work but could cause damage to other sensitive parts on the mainboard and it still does not address the issue of the board flexing. To fix the problem permanently and safely you need to re-flow the chips properly using a re-flow station and a pcb pre-heater (important tool that is often over-looked) and then set about correcting the design flaws that place the stress on the board in the first place. I know that is possibly to technical a fix for some people but it really is the only way to safely and permanently do it and once done the RROD will never return, I guarantee all my repairs and I wouldn't be doing that if I repaired them how some people suggest.

Anyway just thought I'd post that because some people may end up doing more damage to their machines than it already has and I wanted to get a post up hehe....happy gaming guys!!