Reliabilty and failure rate have been reported as concerns by Xbox 360 since its release. If you have four green lights around your power button then this indicates that your Xbox 360 is operating normally. 3 flashing red lights around the power button indicate the Xbox 360 has experienced a failure. This is what is referred to as the Red Ring of Death or RROD for short.
Some of the common theories as to why the red ring of death occurs are described below:
Xbox 360 heat is excessive. The Xbox 360 is a high powered device and a large amount of heat is released by its components. If airflow is blocked to your Xbox 360 it will heat up, leading to the red ring of death.
Graphics Chip. Too much heat is released from the graphics chip as it is inefficient and this leads to overheating.
Solder Joints. Microsoft made the Xbox 360 with lead free solder joints. The wrong type of lead free solder was used and when it is exposed to high levels of heat over extended periods of time it becomes brittle. Hair-line cracks begin to develop once the solder joints are brittle and they inevitably crack.
External Cooling Devises. Hardware failure can occur with the use of some types of intercoolers. Too much power is drained by the peripheral and this causes faults to occur.
Heat Sink Clamp. The heat sink clamp design in the Xbox 360 is flawed and this leads to the motherboard flexing.
It is important to note that your Xbox 360 is not completely broken if the red ring of death occurs. You can fix RROD yourself and be back playing your Xbox 360 in the same day with a repair guide. They are also inexpensive and easy to follow. I have rated what I think are the four best repair guides on the market. Have a look at: Best RROD Repair Guides.
Errors other than RROD can occur. Some of these errors are:
E74 Error
No Video
Xbox Freezing
The above errors are also covered by the guides in Best RROD Repair Guides
Remember that if you decide to repair your Xbox 360 yourself you will void your warranty. If you are concerned about this then I suggest you contact Microsoft before purchasing a repair guide. If you are thinking of buying a repair guide look at: Red Ring of Death Repair Guides.
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