Frequent ‘freezing up’ of the system can indicate a potential problem however; if this is just an occasional occurrence, it is probably not a concern. Graphic disorders during game play in the form of checkerboard and or wavy lines on the screen can be another indication. In addition, one may notice difficulties with the sound and may only be able to turn the console off by pressing the power button itself increasing the possibility that serious problems are pending.
If one does experience this Xbox 360 red ring of death, it is normally caused by failure of internal hardware components. However, prior to jumping to this conclusion, carefully check the machines power supply. Occasionally, the power cord may not be completely inserted or it may just be faulty. By turning off the console and unplugging all components, waiting for a few minutes and then reconnecting everything and turning the Xbox back on can fix the problem. If this is not the case, one must conclude that internal failure has occurred.
The most frequent cause of this problem is the overheating of the console during games. In an attempt to create more room for the DVD, the heat sink was made smaller producing insufficient cooling of the unit. This extreme heat causes the breakage of the solder joints of the CPU and GPU. The heat sinks do not have enough room necessary to help dissipate the built up heat causing the breakage of the CPU and GPU connections.
If your Xbox is still under warranty, send it back to get it fixed. If not, you can fix this yourself. First, you must open the box and remove the heat sinks and the X-clamps that held them in place. Now you will need to widen the eight existing screw holes with the use of a 3/16 inch drill bit making sure not to damage the heat sink and removing all shavings. Using the screws that came with the heat sink, you will want to place the 5 X 15mm screws in the GPU holes (holes on the left when the fan hole is in the back and to the right) and place the 5 X 20mm screws in the four holes on the right for the CPU taping them all in position. With the use of washers, make sure that the motherboard is level. Make sure you follow this step, if not, you can warp the motherboard and completely destroy your machine. Once it’s leveled and immobile, place two washers on the GPU screws and one washer on the CPU screws.
Now reinstall the heat sink and other components that were disconnected. Test the console and if it turns on and you are able to play then you have fixed the Xbox 360 red ring of death and you are ready to close the main box.
Robert Sabo is a Microsoft Xbox 360 fanatic. He shares some good tips on how and where to find support for all your Xbox 360 problems, including xbox 360 red ring of death.
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