Repairing Your Xbox 360′s Red Ring of Death!

*Sigh*..Why o why must I have the worst of luck when it comes to owning these so called “next-generation” video game consoles?! My Xbox 360 Elite console recently broke down after my Playstation 3 console got knocked out as well. This is my second Xbox. I bought this Elite version on launch day at BestBuy and after a short while, gave me the dreaded Red Rings of Death (RROD). Luckily, I had store warranty so all I had to do was take it back and they gladly gave me a spanking new console. Fast forward to the present and the console once again broke down. I don’t have the RROD but I can’t get any video or audio signal to my HDTV via an HDMI or component connection. Once again, as with my PS3, the sad news is that I hardly logged that much hours on the console. There would be weeks in succession where I didn’t even turn it on. When I do, the most gaming I do on it would be 2-3 hours maximum.

The Red Rings of Death

A simple Google search would indicate that you are not alone when it comes to your Xbox’s RROD problem. In fact, I believe Microsoft had to actually spend about $1 billion dollars just to support this issue. Yes that’s right. $1 billion. There are a lot of theories as to what causes the RROD on the 360 ranging from pressure of Microsoft to release their console earlier than their competitor which therefore considered the Xbox 360 as a “rushed” product, bad/cheap parts being used, bad manufacturing to even just saying that Microsoft is not a hardware company but rather a software one. One major contributing factor to the RROD from what I have read is due to the heat sink not making good enough contact with the GPU/CPU chip which therefore causes the system to overheat. This is similar to the Playstation 3′s Yellow Light of Death error. Another cause of the problem, once again similar to the Playstation 3, is due to the chip being dislodged on the motherboard. It’s endless but point is, if your 360 has the RROD syndrome, you really could care less about it other than finding out how to fix it!

What Can You Do About It?

You have four options at this point. Buy a new Xbox 360, send it in to Microsoft for repair, fix it yourself or pay someone else (other than Microsoft) to do it for you. If your Xbox 360 is less than three years old, Microsoft will repair the console free of charge as long as you are suffering the three red rings or the E74 error. This three year warranty is what cost Microsoft the $1 billion dollars. If you are out of warranty, than Microsoft will repair it for $99.99. However, you are not guarantee to receive your own system back after repairs. It is likely that you will receive a different refurbished unit. For more information on this, refer to Microsoft’s FAQ page.

If you are up to the task of repairing the console yourself, you’ll be glad to know that the process is extremely easy and best of all, it doesn’t cost a whole lot.

Getting Down to Business!

Here is the general breakdown of what the repair operation will look like:

I will not be detailing the steps here to remedy your Xbox 360 because I will post Youtube videos showing you exactly how to do everything. I will be in no way responsible for what happens to your Xbox 360 should you attempt to perform the following repair operation.

- Strip down Xbox to get to the motherboard
- Remove X-clamp (major contributor to the RROD problem), which holds the heat sinks
- Clean out old thermal paste and re-apply new layer
- Reattach heat sink using screws and nylon washers instead of X-clamp
- Overheat GPU for 35-45 minutes then cool down for 15 minutes
- Test Xbox
- Reattach entire Xbox

What You’ll Need:

- Torx 10 screwdriver. This is used to unscrew the majority of the screws holding your Xbox together.

- Torx 8 screwdriver. This is used to remove a couple of screws holding your heat sinks down.

- Small precision slotted screwdriver. These usually come in a small set of 5-6 screwdrivers. You need a really tiny one because it needs to fit in the small notch holes on the back of your Xbox.

- Pliers. Used to pry off the studs on the heat sink. This allows you to insert the machine screws in its place.

- Scotch tape. Used to prevent the machine screws from falling off while you are inserting the heat sink to the motherboard.

- Machine screws and nylon washers. To reduce the need to drill bigger holes on your Xbox cover, it is important that you buy the exact screws and washers listed here:

m5 .80×10 machine screws
m5 nylon washers

You will need 4 of the machine screws for the GPU and the same amount if you will be getting rid of the X-clamp on the CPU as well. Most RROD problems is caused by the GPU so the decision is up to you. I personally only performed the X-clamp mod on my GPU.
You will need 8 nylon washers for the GPU and the same amount if you are modding the CPU’s X-clamp as well.

DO NOT pay a fortune to get these parts on Ebay or whomever unless you really have money to waste. I got the screws and washers at a local store for less than $2. On Ebay, people are selling these so called “X-clamp mod kits” for $10 and more. I understand people need to make money but seriously, $10 for a bunch of screws and washers?! Come on man!

- Thermal paste. Arctic Silver 5 is the recommendation.

- 91% Isoprypyl Rubbing Alcohol. Used to remove the old thermal paste from the chip dyes and on the heat sinks.

- Cotton swabs. Used in conjunction with the rubbing alcohol.

- Napkins. Used to wipe away thermal paste after dissolving it with the rubbing alcohol and cotton swab.

- Small egg carton. Not necessary but I use this to hold all the screws so I don’t lose them.

- Large and empty working area. Not necessary but it will make things a lot easier for you. Trust me.

Here is a picture of my Xbox’s motherboard with the GPU heat sink removed:

Alright, so once you have gathered all the tools and parts needed, you can begin the repair operation. Here is the three part video detailing everything you need to know on how to repair the RROD on your Xbox. I have followed the instructions and have successfully revived my Xbox. Although I didn’t have the RROD, I still treated it the same because as with most cases, the GPU is at fault. It is up to you whether you want to perform the X-clamp mod on the CPU side or not.

Some advice:

- Always be patient! I can’t stress enough about this. If you really aren’t a “hands on” type of guy like me, then you’ll want to go even more slowly. Believe it or not, the hardest part I had with this whole repair operation was the removal of the back panel where you had to poke through the little notches. Just take your time and you should be good.

- When tightening the machine screws to the heat sink, DO NOT tighten it too much! You’ll want to apply just enough pressure to make sure the heat sink doesn’t move. If you go overboard, it is just as likely to cause the RROD again. I know because this is what happened on my first attempt! I went from regular green lights to the RROD. After loosening the screws a bit, it went back to green.

- Do not apply too much thermal paste! The GPU and CPU chips on the Xbox motherboard is really small compared to that of the PS3 so be careful. One of the other causes of the RROD is too much thermal paste being applied (and therefore spilling all over that area) when the Xbox was first put together. The thermal paste should only be applied on TOP of the chip dyes and not anywhere else. If you do manage to get some on the motherboard, be sure to clean it up!

- While you don’t necessarily have to perform the X-clamp mod, it is highly recommended. You could technically re-apply the X-clamp plate to hold the heat sink but just know that the X-clamp is a major cause of the problems in the first place. Besides, it is really hard to re-attach the X-clamp once you remove it.

- When overheating the GPU, be sure to follow the instructions in the video precisely. Be sure to position the fan as the video indicates. If your CPU gets overheated as well, then your Xbox will flash two red lights and that’s not what you want. You want the three red lights to continue flashing while your GPU is cooking. After the cool down period, your Xbox should return normal and give the green lights, hopefully.

Good luck!

Upon successfully fixing my Xbox 360 Elite using the described method in this article, it broken down again. I’ve applied the same fix about a total of three times to date and as it stands at the moment, I’ve got a big paper weight.

 

In the End…

I may have luck on my side or whatever but I’m now officially 2-0 when fixing my video game consoles. It’s not really something to brag about because as a consumer, I really shouldn’t have to do it in the first place. Like I’ve always said, electronic hardware do break eventually and I have no problem with that. The problem I have is seeing how big the percentage of failed consoles are. It’s so big, that many average people have actually made a business out of repairing it! It’s ridiculous. But all things aside, I at least want to thank the hard working people out there who constantly venture into the world of unknown to test and find ways to repair consumer electronics and sharing the information to the public domain. Having fixed both my PS3 and Xbox 360, I saved almost $250.

As always, if anyone has any question on this subject matter, feel free to shoot me an email. If I can answer them or help you in any way possible, I promise I will.