X box 360 RROD fix??

[asand1]

I have the red ring of Death and code that translates to "general hardware fault, source unknown". After looking around and hearing about the "towel trick' and putting Q-tips in the cooling fans, I've decided I want to do it as properly as I can. Does this sound like a good DIY approach?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEvfBS6Tams

What are some good X clamp reworks? I want to permanently fix this including cooling mods. Its a Halo 3 edition box and I dont want to replace it.

[NxB]

Re: X box 360 RROD fix??

Towel trick will damage your xbox. only fix is reflow and change x clamps to screws/washers

[asand1]

Re: X box 360 RROD fix??

Towel trick will damage your xbox.

I know that, I wasn't going to try that approach.

only fix is reflow and change x clamps to screws/washers

Does the linked video look like a good reflow procedure. I will look around the net for a description of the required hardware. I saw where a guy used rubber washers, sound like a good idea?

[mcdaydavies]

Re: X box 360 RROD fix??

Simple fix which worked for me. Open the Xbox and remove the two heatsinks which cool the CPU and GPU. Remove all the shitty paste Microsoft uses as thermal compound. Make sure you clean the CPU and GPU so that the dye is shiny. Then apply some AS5 or other high quality thermal paste. Then re-attach the heat sinks using the XCLAMP. Make sure that the heat sink is fully secured. Once you have done that, unplug the fans and dvd drive from the xbox. DO NOT CONNECT THE LAN CABLE WHILE THE DVD DRIVE IS NOT ATTACHED, YOU WILL GET BANNED FROM XBOX LIVE. Once you have removed the fans and dvd drive, apply power to the xbox. You will still see the red ring of death. Allow the xbox to overheat, you want to keep the xbox running without the fans plugged in until you see the 2 red lights. When you see the 2 red lights, unplug your xbox and allow it to cool. Then start it back up. Your xbox should boot properly. Now reattach your Xbox properly. Before you connect to xbox live, make your your dvd drive is working, because if its not, you WILL get banned from xbox live. Do not try the bolt method, this is bad for your xbox and in some cases it will damage it. The X-CLAMPS is not the problem of the Xbox RROD. The problem is that Microsoft designed the xbox cooling system so that it is just enough to keep it from overheating. Once the crappy thermal paste becomes dry or your xbox becomes a little dusty, it will overheat. The overheating causes the crappy Lead-Free solder balls to crack, this is why you get your RROD. You can also reflow the GPU and CPU instead of overheating it while it is on, as that will work as well. Just make sure you apply good thermal paste and replace the X-Clamps. I will say one more time, DO NOT REPLACE THE X-CLAMP WITH BOLTS, AS THIS WILL CAUSE BOARD TO FLEX, AND MAY SHORTEN THE LIFETIME OF THE XBOX.

[Mad_Professor]

Re: X box 360 RROD fix??

Simple fix which worked for me. Open the Xbox and remove the two heatsinks which cool the CPU and GPU. Remove all the shitty paste Microsoft uses as thermal compound. Make sure you clean the CPU and GPU so that the dye is shiny. Then apply some AS5 or other high quality thermal paste. Then re-attach the heat sinks using the XCLAMP. Make sure that the heat sink is fully secured. Once you have done that, unplug the fans and dvd drive from the xbox. DO NOT CONNECT THE LAN CABLE WHILE THE DVD DRIVE IS NOT ATTACHED, YOU WILL GET BANNED FROM XBOX LIVE. Once you have removed the fans and dvd drive, apply power to the xbox. You will still see the red ring of death. Allow the xbox to overheat, you want to keep the xbox running without the fans plugged in until you see the 2 red lights. When you see the 2 red lights, unplug your xbox and allow it to cool. Then start it back up. Your xbox should boot properly. Now reattach your Xbox properly. Before you connect to xbox live, make your your dvd drive is working, because if its not, you WILL get banned from xbox live. Do not try the bolt method, this is bad for your xbox and in some cases it will damage it. The X-CLAMPS is not the problem of the Xbox RROD. The problem is that Microsoft designed the xbox cooling system so that it is just enough to keep it from overheating. Once the crappy thermal paste becomes dry or your xbox becomes a little dusty, it will overheat. The overheating causes the crappy Lead-Free solder balls to crack, this is why you get your RROD. You can also reflow the GPU and CPU instead of overheating it while it is on, as that will work as well. Just make sure you apply good thermal paste and replace the X-Clamps. I will say one more time, DO NOT REPLACE THE X-CLAMP WITH BOLTS, AS THIS WILL CAUSE BOARD TO FLEX, AND MAY SHORTEN THE LIFETIME OF THE XBOX.

That is not the proper way to reflow your 360.

Real reason for RROD and YLOD is not overheating but it is part of the problem. The heat/cool cycles cause micro-fractures in the solder balls used to surface mount the chips and components.

The best way to do this is to get a heatgun either 2.5A 500*F 5A 700* 10A 1000*F I prefer the 10amp heatgun. Strip the 360 down to bare board and remove it from the case. Clean the thermal paste off the cpu and gpu, use 91% alcohol, acetone*be careful with this stuff* or mineral spirits<--preferred.

Then use the heatgun to preheat the board for 2 minutes, and keep the gun about 4-8 inches in distance and moving. Flip to the other side every 3 passes and don't stay in one place otherwise you'll melt the components on the board. I recommend mounting the board in a vice that way it's easier to use both hands to flip to each side.

Once the board is preheated, it time to focus on the CPU and GPU and move back and forth between the two for 10 minutes. During this time you'll want to add flux around the chips, try to inject some if you can, if you don't have any then don't worry about it, I've had success without flux.
It is essential to not bump or be careless with the board, you can easily dislodge components when the solder is near liquid state.

After 10 minutes let the board hang out for an hour to cool this is essential, if you don't do this you're risking premature failure.

Once you do that you can go ahead and put it back together. Use some good quality thermal paste, Arctic silver 5 is the best, industrial thermal compound works too.

TEST IT!

If it works, awesome, if it doesn't, chuck it!

If it does work.
You'll want to either replace the cooling fan with one that has high CFM Flow or have a way to control it so you can bump it up higher then the idle speed or have a fixed speed so the 360 never gets hot again. A warm or dull warm xbox or PS3 is preferred, and FUCK NOISE! Either keep it cool and deal with loudness of the fan or buy a new 360.

[mcdaydavies]

Re: X box 360 RROD fix??

That is not the proper way to reflow your 360.

Real reason for RROD and YLOD is not overheating but it is part of the problem. The heat/cool cycles cause micro-fractures in the solder balls used to surface mount the chips and components.

The best way to do this is to get a heatgun either 2.5A 500*F 5A 700* 10A 1000*F I prefer the 10amp heatgun. Strip the 360 down to bare board and remove it from the case. Clean the thermal paste off the cpu and gpu, use 91% alcohol, acetone*be careful with this stuff* or mineral spirits<--preferred.

Then use the heatgun to preheat the board for 2 minutes, and keep the gun about 4-8 inches in distance and moving. Flip to the other side every 3 passes and don't stay in one place otherwise you'll melt the components on the board. I recommend mounting the board in a vice that way it's easier to use both hands to flip to each side.

Once the board is preheated, it time to focus on the CPU and GPU and move back and forth between the two for 10 minutes. During this time you'll want to add flux around the chips, try to inject some if you can, if you don't have any then don't worry about it, I've had success without flux.
It is essential to not bump or be careless with the board, you can easily dislodge components when the solder is near liquid state.

After 10 minutes let the board hang out for an hour to cool this is essential, if you don't do this you're risking premature failure.

Once you do that you can go ahead and put it back together. Use some good quality thermal paste, Arctic silver 5 is the best, industrial thermal compound works too.

TEST IT!

If it works, awesome, if it doesn't, chuck it!

If it does work.
You'll want to either replace the cooling fan with one that has high CFM Flow or have a way to control it so you can bump it up higher then the idle speed or have a fixed speed so the 360 never gets hot again. A warm or dull warm xbox or PS3 is preferred, and FUCK NOISE! Either keep it cool and deal with loudness of the fan or buy a new 360.

Couldn't have said it better myself mate. The point I was trying to get across was that the X CLAMPS were not the cause of the RROD, and that replacing the X CLAMPS with bolts could damage your Xbox. I repair my mates Xbox's and I have found mostly that the Xbox's were clogged with dust and the crappy Microsoft thermal paste was dry. I do also recommend you use the method Mad_Professor said. I do also recommend you do a fan mod, with bigger fans which push more airflow.