GamerZ-Cloud Strife Posted June 14, 2008 Report Share Posted June 14, 2008 The Xbox 360 video game console is subject to a number of technical problems that can render it unusable. These problems are identified as "general hardware failures," and are indicated by a red ring of light around the power button. Since its release in 2005, many articles have appeared in the media portraying the Xbox 360's relatively high failure rates. The three "flashing red lights" have been nicknamed in these articles as the "Red Ring of Death" ("RROD") or less often as the "Red Light of Doom" ("RLOD"). Reason The game console heats up during use, and given enough time, the temperature inside can reach very high levels due to insufficient cooling. Because of the way the Xbox 360 is constructed, this may result in stresses building up between the delicate ball grid array solder joints of the CPU and GPU and the motherboard, causing them to break. The problem is exacerbated by the specific type of lead-free solder used, a type which is more brittle than the older tin/lead solder that was used in the past and the GPU's location directly underneath to the DVD drive. A possible design goal of the Xbox 360 hardware team to have a form factor significantly smaller than the first generation Xbox is rumored to have contributed to overheating issues. Solution: Microsoft's extension of the warranty to three years only covers the so-called "red ring of death" general hardware failure.. This Guide is for those whose Xbox360 is of other region and moded or other reason Warning: Opening Xbox360 will void warranty Firstly : you have to open Xbox 360 .. 1.Follow the instruction to take off the xbox 360 face plate.. 2.Remove the bottom left rubber stand. 3.Follow the instruction to insert the XCM opening tool to the square hole (make it close to the edge of the hole then turn right as picture A, turn left as it shows on picture C) As shown by the diagram B, the XCM opening tool is used for removing the inside piece of plastic lock. 4.Plug in the XCM opening tool to the base grille to take off the right heat panel. 5.Plug in the XCM opening tool to the base grille to take off the left heat panel. 6.Take the heat panels apart. 7.Remove seal. 8.Unplug the 4 buckles 9.Plug in our XCM opening tool to the indicated holes, press it hard to let the top and bottom panels apart. 10.Take away the two parts. 11.Remove the DVD drive Eject button. 12.As indicated by the arrow, remove the 6 screws by using the Allen key provided. 13.Remove the tray face plate. 14.All case components are displayed. Nxt PArt continues ..(Opening CPU and GPU and Xclmaping) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GamerZ-Cloud Strife Posted June 14, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 14, 2008 Things Required : Machine screw phillips: 5x10mm x8 flat washer(steel/zinc plated): 5mm x16 nylon washer: 5 x16 -price Thermal Paste: Artic Silver Thermal Paste Thermal paste remover 1. Preparing the Heatsinks Remove the X clamps – CAUTION advised here. Getting these clamps off without slipping and damaging the board goes without saying. Use a small Philips screwdriver and insert it into the end of the clamp where it clips onto the legs. Slowly lever the clamp against the leg until it unclips. Then do the same to the next leg (not opposite) – you may need to do a 3rd leg before it comes off. If it doesn’t want to go, then try another leg – do NOT force it off – you’re likely to slip and take out critical parts on the board ! Video: URL: With the clamp(s) removed the heat sinks just lift off. Some heatsinks are more difficult to remove than others because the heatsink paste is still sticky. Using your finger to push the stud through the hole works great for the more stubborn ones. Once the heat sinks are free we are able to use our 1/4" nut driver, wrench or pliers to remove the studs. Nxt Step is Changing Xclamp with Screws and changing thermal paste Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GamerZ-Cloud Strife Posted June 14, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 14, 2008 2. Preparing the case After removing Xclamps Now that everything else is prepped its time to clean and prepare the processors themselves. Start by removing as much of the old heat sink compound as you can with a tooth pick. If you cannot get your hands on some ArctiClean, then use something like goo gone and a Q-tip to remove the excess compound from on and around the processors die. Alcohol will work also but it is no where near as effective at removing the old sludge. Follow up the job with a little alcohol to remove any leftover goo gone or other foreign oils or debris. The processor dies should be clean and shiny. Next we need to apply a thin coat of thermal compound to the die. The old adage "a dab will do ya" definitely applies. Notice in the photo on the top the amount of compound we have used; this is more than enough. You are looking for a skim coat similar to the thickness of plastic wrap. The photo on the bottom is a example of what you should NOT do. Silver based compounds can have adverse effects when in contact with electrical components not to mention the thermal compounds efficiency is greatly reduced when too much is applied. Next Step will be putting screws and nuts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtheK Posted June 14, 2008 Report Share Posted June 14, 2008 Avi really commendable dude...Taking time out to help fellow gamers... Its an amazing post hats off to you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GamerZ-Cloud Strife Posted June 14, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 14, 2008 Now reinstall the motherboard, you may have to adjust the positioning of the screws to get them to fit through the motherboard. Now with the motherboard in place install the final two washers, a nylon one first followed by a steel one. Again it is extremely important to have TWO washers between the heat sink and the board. One nylon washer first to protect and isolate the motherboard and one steel... just to be redundant that makes two washers. Process will be: Screw+Steel washer+NYlon+Motherboard+Nylon Screws+ Steelwashers+Heatsink Note that the Nylon washers are up against the motherboard on both sides – not metal. With two washers (1- nylon, 1- metal) on each side of the board, this matches the original spacing provided by the “X” clamp posts we have removed. In my situation with these parts listed, I could tighten down the #5 bolts completely because the spacing was identical to what it was before. Re-applying thermal compound Apply the thermal compound to the CPU and GPU. I used Arctic Silver 5. It is the recommended thermal compound for this fix. Read further down in this tutorial. Re-attaching the heatsinks Here is probably the most important portion of this tutorial. Once you have replaced the heat sinks like the illustration above (don’t tighten the bolts down – just screw the gently for now), set the motherboard back into the bottom case. Don’t screw it down yet. Replace the Power button board with the lights,Now your ready to complete the fix. Reconnect your power button assembly/wireless board. Plug your fan back in but do not reinstall it in it's original location yet; also DO NOT put your fan shroud back in yet. Connect your DVD drive so as to not get banned from Live for powering up your box without the drive connected. Now with your Xbox basically re-assembled except for the fan shroud, plug your power and video cords in and proceed. Now for the most important part and most likely the point where the majority of people who were unsuccessful completing this fix failed. This step requires you to overheat your GPU. Many tutorials tell you to unplug your fan and turn it on until it overheats. There is one major flaw with this approach. The thermosistor for the overheating protection of the 360 is contained within the CPU. The problem is that the CPU overheats without any airflow before the GPU is able to get sufficiently hot to "reflow" the BGA solder connection that has failed. In order to cool the CPU but not the GPU it is again important to have your fan shroud removed. Now take your fan that IS plugged in and lay it on top of your DVD drive with one of the fan's over the top of the CPU. This will keep the CPU plenty cool to prevent it from overheating while the GPU will get smokin' hot; like burn your finger hot! Now power on your 360. Some boxes may just work at this point because just pressure alone was enough to make the GPU's connection good. I still like to overheat even those just to make sure I don't have to deal with it again. So now you should be getting the three red lights like your were expecting. You want to overheat the unit for at least 10 to 15 minutes. The key is in the lights; as long as it is flashing the 3 red lights (1,3,4) then your are in good shape and the overheating process is working. What you DO NOT WANT is for the unit to actually overheat giving your TWO flashing red lights (1,3) at which point the 360 cuts off power to both the CPU and GPU preventing them from actually getting hot. Again is probably the difference between someone who succeeds and someone who fails. Now that you have sufficiently heated the GPU, power down your Xbox 360 and let it cool down completely (ten to fifteen minutes should be more than enough). Replace your fan shroud; you should now be fully assembled except for the case itself. At this point you should cross your fingers and power your box back on. If all went well your should now have a working 360! Congrats! If it did not work for you its not completely a bust yet. I suggest tightening the screws down even more and overheating yet again... some units are stubborn! Happy Gaming for those who were successful! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GamerZ-Cloud Strife Posted June 14, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 14, 2008 Xclamp Video Tutorial Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ctrl_alt_del Posted June 14, 2008 Report Share Posted June 14, 2008 Good work buddy getting all the info in one place. It would have been much better if you had linked to all the source as well like for the opening para, pictures and some other tid-bits. Remaining, I suppose you know where you got the info from and then post the links accordingly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GamerZ-Cloud Strife Posted June 15, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 15, 2008 Source: RBJtech's X-Clamp Replacement Tutorial. There are 2 versions of this, the MKI and the MKIII, the MKIII is easier than the MKI The MKIII is available Here If that fails, then the MKI is available Here Other sources posted by ctrl_alt_del Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackhammer06 Posted June 15, 2008 Report Share Posted June 15, 2008 AWESOME AVI!! Will help a lot of guys !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
THE DIRECTOR Posted June 15, 2008 Report Share Posted June 15, 2008 nice, and it did work for me, but......... now problem i have.. is the dvd drive doesn't open and i have to open it manually and on top of that, the dvd doesn't read the disc...... oh how i love M$ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackhammer06 Posted June 15, 2008 Report Share Posted June 15, 2008 ^^:rofl2:...throw away the 360 Amit....:rofl2: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m-JeRi Posted June 16, 2008 Report Share Posted June 16, 2008 BRAVO... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pushy Posted June 16, 2008 Report Share Posted June 16, 2008 somehow i feel that teh guide is copied from some xbox modding forums, but, it's just me though. neways, i have to tell this, there are possibly 3 screw arrangements. 1. screw-> metal washer-> nylon washer-> mobo->nylon washer-> metal washer->heat sinks (this one is preferred and suggested one) 2. screw-> nylon washer->mobo-> nylon washer->heat sinks 3.screw-> metal washer-> mobo-> nylon washer-> heat sinks (this one worked for my motherboard) btw, u don't need them XCM tool to open ur 360, u can find many home made items, i don't have or have ordered any thing but i still open up my 360 (i used some of them tools in my BIOLOGY KIT). overall nice to have one RRoD cure guide to our forums. useful contribution avi. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRMNTR Posted June 16, 2008 Report Share Posted June 16, 2008 @ Gamerz That is one rocking guide to RROD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarketTantrik Posted June 17, 2008 Report Share Posted June 17, 2008 Great job with posting this guide Avinash !! reps to you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anmolsc Posted June 29, 2008 Report Share Posted June 29, 2008 nice one man..good guide.. though check the desi fix as well man... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john117 Posted July 2, 2008 Report Share Posted July 2, 2008 nice guide gamerz .. @Athek: gamrez deserves the title of RROD -killer .. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtheK Posted July 6, 2008 Report Share Posted July 6, 2008 operation TEEN LAL RANG KI BATTI underway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SchizoidFreud Posted July 6, 2008 Report Share Posted July 6, 2008 Wow, All the best dude! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackhammer06 Posted July 6, 2008 Report Share Posted July 6, 2008 operation TEEN LAL RANG KI BATTI underway. Best Of Luck Dude!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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