The Cover Project
General Category => General Discussion => Topic started by: juan0tron on December 04, 2009, 08:24:44 PM
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So, my friend wants me to help him fixed his red-ringed Xbox 360 so he can give it to his friend or christmas, since I'm the one with all the fancy tools in his shed. Anyways, I know there are guides out there online, but I've heard people on here say they've permanently fixed their 360's, and I'd like to hear the methods they've used. Also, the person we're fixing this for is kind of a Gears of War nut, so we're also looking into doing an LED crimson skull on the side of the console as well as painting it black. Now this console has had quite a run; it was owned by quite the hardcore gamer (3-4 hours a day, and a hell of a lot more on weekends) and it was from the first run of 360's on the market. It has been repaired twice already, (once by M$, once by Play N Trade) and red ringed again for some reason. Anyone got tips to make this thing last as long as possible for an awesome christmas gift?
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I would suggest replacing the stock fan for starters, thats where a lot of the problems happen. The fan that comes with the system can't filter air through th system quick enough. I have not done this myself becasue i'm still under warranty. Actually, you should PM Satoshi Matrix. If i remember correctly he said that he made a pdf on how to fix most RROD problems.
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I have successfully repaired 4 units using the x-clamp fix from http://www.llamma.com/xbox360/repair/ring_of_light_x-clamp_fix.htm (http://www.llamma.com/xbox360/repair/ring_of_light_x-clamp_fix.htm).
I did not purchase their kits as they list everything you need and I was able to get it locally:
nuts/bolts/washers @ Home Depot
You need metric stuff so you have to go through the drawers in the hardware section - total cost about $9.00 IIRC and that will do both the GPU & CPU.
Heatsink compound @ a local electronics store (Altex)
They also suggest upgrading the fan and have a link to either a red led or blue led fan ($19.99).
(I did not replace the fans, but I probably should.)
ETA: The only reason I have a 360 is that I got to keep one of the ones I fixed (for cheap). It has been working for about a month - I have used it for HALO3 (I suck), a few other games, watched DVD's, streamed video from my network and left it on 24hrs at a time 'just to see'.
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Heatgun heatgun heatgun. I wrote a detailed tutorial on my blog, so do read that if you want to fix a RRoD 360.
http://satoshimatrix.wordpress.com/2009/10/05/xbox-360-red-ring-of-death-repair/
Let me explain a few of the more common fixes and why they aren't as good:
Towel trick - This is a simple trick people commonly use to attempt to reflow their solderballs and get their 360s working again. By wrapping the console in a thick towel plugging it in and leaving it on for a good while, the system will overheat so much that it will start to melt the solder. As common sense would suggest, this is a rather inefficient way of getting to the solder and runs the risk of an electrical fire.
X-clamp fix - The x-clamp is a device that works by clamping down on top of the GPU and causing it to work by sheer pressure alone. I don't think that it's a bad fix, but again it doesn't really solve the problem. Since the parts to do it are cheap, its worth buying but I've personally seen 360's red ring even after an x-clamp has been installed.
Penny fix - inferior x-clamp like fix.
new fan - many aftermarket fans increase airflow at the cost of noise levels. If you install a new fan, your system will run cooler but it will also be much louder. Still, not a bad idea. I have a Whisper max fan installed in my 360 and I've learned to live with its second speed noise levels.
Heatgun - Heatgunning your solder is the more direct and best way to fix your system. If you follow my tutorial, you can apply the amount of heat you need to just the specific spots you need it to without worrying about overheating any of your compactors and other motherboard components. The most important thing to keep in mind when heatgunning is to provide even heat to the affected area. Never just point the heatgun and keep it pointed in one spot for more than 5 seconds.
Hope this helps. best of luck to ya.l
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OK, I have read through your blog and will definately try this in the future.
I like lots of pictures and explanations ;D
(Although I noticed that your step 3.5 (optional) includes the x-clamp. ;) )
The x-clamp tutorial I used recommends overheating the GPU (for like 30-45mins) after installation to reflow the solder. I did not do this step, (I did it for about 5 mins) My fear was melting the GPU.....
After reading your blog, I guess the chips can withstand an awful lot of heat.......
Wish I had read your blog earlier, now you got me waiting for the return of the RROD >:( j/k
P.S. Now you got me looking at heat guns... another tool I can buy for my shop. ;D
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Yeah, the chips can withstand an extreme amount of external heat; but the 360 caps cannot. This is why you need to wrap the system up in stick tac, thick plastic and foil. The goal as mented is to reflow solderballs and then allow them to harden in place. Also, heatgunning your 360 doesnt prevent the RRoD from returning. Nothing will unless you have a 3k solder reflowing station and replace the solder altogther. As this is completely unreasonable to most of us, you just have to keep up with it. I've noted general success of 8-12 month periods between RRoDs.
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My son-in-law has a 360 which has the E-74 error, think the heatgun can fix that?
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E-74 I thought was a laser Eye issue. Or a software problem.
(Microsoft should have a reboot disc for this crap)
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a quick google search found this
"The general concensus is that the E74 error is caused by a similar mechanism as the majority of RROD failures - overheating due to bad heatsinks or thermal cycling, leading to connections being broken. At the time of writing, there have been 5 different versions of the XBox 360 motherboard. Each one increasing the size of the GPU and CPU while also increasing cooling requirements. Due to the recent explosion in availability of high definition televisions, the original video scaling chip was replaced with a HDMI version called HANA. The HANA chip is a Ball Grid Array (BGA) package, which is prone to the same GPU failures which led to many RROD problems. So, in most cases, E74 errors should be examined as follows: check your video cable then check HANA chip and GPU. "
it also said that heatgun method should fix it as well.
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a Heatgun is a really handy tool to have around the house: basically a hairdryer that produces more than twice the maximum heat of a normal hairdryer (some can produce heat well over 1000 degrees), they can be used to mend pipes works well on crafts and of course, repair electronics. Because electrical components have high tolerance to external heat, using a heatgun is often the best way to remove components from PCBs. Know anyone that has a junk non working VCR? Use a heatgun to simply extract the parts and keep them on hand for future projects. Not only will it save you money on future parts, removing chips via a heatgun is.....kinda fun. Anyone of you guys thinking what you should ask for as a small christmas gift might want to consider a heatgun. Most average $25.
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Just curious, would you be able to solder the GPU instead? Surprisingly we have a crapton of soldering irons, but no heatgun. Just savin' myself a trip to home depot.
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satoshi_matrix:
Home depot has a heatgun with two settings - 750 and 1000deg, will this one work?
http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1vZ1xh4/R-100371401/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053 (http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1vZ1xh4/R-100371401/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053)
Cheapest one they sell.
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Absolutely. One word of advice though is to avoid using the 1000 degree setting for RRoD repair. The chips can take an awful lot of heat, but I wouldn't recommend blasting them with enough heat to cause steam to come off an icecube ::)
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OK, If I can get his 360, I will try it.
and post an AAR.
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Just curious, would you be able to solder the GPU instead? Surprisingly we have a crapton of soldering irons, but no heatgun. Just savin' myself a trip to home depot.
Absolutely not. Unlike common cheap PCBs, the 360 motherboard (and most other motherboards) are machine assembled and have soldering points hidden under the chips and right on top of the board. Here's three reasons why you should never EVER take a soldering iron to a 360:
1. There is no physical way to get to the soldering points with a soldering iron
2. Soldering irons provide direct heat to a single precise source. By nature, this isn't what you want to do to fix the RROD. You can to tackle a large area as per my tut. The point is, even if you could see the solder, you wouldn't be able to reflow it all at once with a soldering iron.
3. Precise interments like a soldering iron run the risk of damaging components if there were machine assembled.
bottom line: you need a low-end heatgun for this kind of repair.
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Well,
I got it, I tried it (a few times),
It will no longer power on.... :(
Oh well, so goes life......
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Won't power on? At all? That's not a Red Ring problem that's a power supply problem. For that you need to use a multimeter to determine where the powerflow stops and then what's wrong.
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Duh......
No, what I mean is, it had the RROD, I tried the heatgun method and NOW it will no longer power on.
So, yeah, it's no longer a RROD problem......... :-\
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haha, we need this to become an epic brawl about how to fix an Xbox. 11 rounds of bare knuckle boxing! Winner is declared the know it all of all electronic equipment.
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There is no epic brawl going on here.
I figured it was worth a try, I have no idea what the people prior to me had done to this box.
(I found stacks of pennies in there and it's obvious the box had been opened several times prior to my getting it. )
I tried the x-clamp fix and it worked for about 20mins and then went back to RROD.
I tried the heat gun method.... it did not work either.... , the unit is just dead now....
I figure I have not lost anything but some time.......
Hey satoshi_matrix, I want my money back!....
Oh wait, I didn't pay anything for the advice.... ;D
(that last part is a joke...)
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did you follow my tutorial...exactly? You can't JUST take a heatgun to the system of course, that will destroy it. It has to be carefully protected and only deliver heat to a specific spot for a short period of time. If you did do all that, bump/move the system at any time after the heatgun process was finished?
I've fixed my system and several friends and I've never had a problem. My best guess is that you either didn't follow it or the heatgun was on too high a setting. You want it to be hot enough that you wouldn't want your hand in front of it, but not hot enough that it could heat a room. ::)
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You got me man, I didn't even read the tutorial...
I just tossed it in the fireplace for a bit.
Nevermind, I am not holding anyone responsible, I tried it three times over the course of a week with no success and the unit finally died.
Like I said, I have no idea what was done to the unit before I got it, and no idea what else was wrong with it other than the RROD.