XBOX Guru's inside

**rajiv1998** · 11-10-2008, 04:03 PM

My xbox 360 has the red ring of fire when i turn it on. I tried taking every wire out and hardrive and wait for 30sec and put it back and it didnt work (worked last time) Do i have to take it apart and fix it internally? Any1 know how to open it up safley? Its in MINT condition (only played it like twice) I purchased the intercooler (me and my friends were playing HALO non stop over the summer with a system link) but i doubt that caused the problem. Any1 know how to open it up and fix it? I got the whole day tommorow so ill tear it apart then or start tonight.

**B34M3R** · 11-10-2008, 04:48 PM

*WARNING WARNING*

If you take it apart, MicroShit won't fix it for you... you can send it back to them, and they'll send you a replacement.

Otherwise, you are shooting in the dark... there are several problems it could be, and you wouldn't know until you took it apart and looked... and you would have to know what you are looking for. I hear the most common prob is the connections from the GPU to the motherboard breaking from heat cycling... if thats the problem, you can just solder the connections back.

Other then that, I don't know.

**rajiv1998** · 11-10-2008, 05:25 PM

Originally Posted by B34M3R

*WARNING WARNING*

If you take it apart, MicroShit won't fix it for you... you can send it back to them, and they'll send you a replacement.

Otherwise, you are shooting in the dark... there are several problems it could be, and you wouldn't know until you took it apart and looked... and you would have to know what you are looking for. I hear the most common prob is the connections from the GPU to the motherboard breaking from heat cycling... if thats the problem, you can just solder the connections back.

Other then that, I don't know.

Yeah i heard u can send it back, but they charge you $200 to fix it. I knew a kid who works a gamestop that knows his shit, but cant seem to get a hold of him.

**B34M3R** · 11-10-2008, 05:33 PM

What?

No they don't, as long as the 360 is less than 3 years old, its free. Call them up, and they can check the serial to see if it will be free or not...

**B34M3R** · 11-10-2008, 05:34 PM

Oh, and the people at those gaming stores RARELY "know their shit". 95% they are full of shit, and the other 5% they admit that they don't know shit.

Thats been my experience with them.

**garver** · 11-10-2008, 06:11 PM

if they dont honor the warranty check out the forums over at xbox scene. Many people including myself have fixed the problem and it cost about 5 to 10 bucks.

**SeVeReDiStOrTiOn** · 11-10-2008, 06:45 PM

Mine has been freezing lately.....mainly when playing that new spiderman game so I hope it's just the game.

**Tide** · 11-10-2008, 08:10 PM

Originally Posted by rajiv1998

My xbox 360 has the red ring of fire when i turn it on. I tried taking every wire out and hardrive and wait for 30sec and put it back and it didnt work (worked last time) Do i have to take it apart and fix it internally? Any1 know how to open it up safley? Its in MINT condition (only played it like twice) I purchased the intercooler (me and my friends were playing HALO non stop over the summer with a system link) but i doubt that caused the problem. Any1 know how to open it up and fix it? I got the whole day tommorow so ill tear it apart then or start tonight.

I believe the intercooler voids the warranty.

That said..DO NOT OPEN IT UP. Contact MS and they'll send you a prepaid shipping box for you to pack it up in.

**kickflippin1** · 11-10-2008, 09:32 PM

Originally Posted by B34M3R

What?

No they don't, as long as the 360 is less than 3 years old, its free. Call them up, and they can check the serial to see if it will be free or not...

+1. yeah man. i've had to send mine in, and so have 2 of my friends. one of my friends bought his when they first came out, and it was still covered by microsoft. call their support line and they'll give you instructions on what to do. but, whatever you do, DO NOT take it apart and try to fix it yourself, you'll only screw yourself over by doing so.

**B34M3R** · 11-11-2008, 10:35 AM

Originally Posted by Tide

I believe the intercooler voids the warranty.

That said..DO NOT OPEN IT UP. Contact MS and they'll send you a prepaid shipping box for you to pack it up in.

The intercooler doesnt void it... they are attached to the outside of the box...

**ATCharming** · 11-11-2008, 10:42 AM

i work at a used gaming store, ill admit im not a pro but i work with some guys that really know their shit... do not open it unless ur warranty is void and microsoft wont do shit for u.

there are a few different things it could be, a couple fixable, but most likely its completely fucked. me and a guy i work with actually just bought 2 red ring 360s for $25 each and just fixed one because it was just some magnet problem (dunno, he did most of it), but the second one is unfixable

and the intercooler doesnt void a warranty, but i have heard of it causing problems

**Tide** · 11-11-2008, 10:54 AM

Originally Posted by B34M3R

The intercooler doesnt void it... they are attached to the outside of the box...

Doesn't matter if it's attached to the outside of the box.

http://www.gamespot.com/pages/forums...ic_id=25320322

I've called the help line and spoken to a MS rep, and yes it WILL VOID YOUR WARRANTY.

**rajiv1998** · 11-11-2008, 01:10 PM

Yeah i tore it open along with my friend. I took it to his house and we went into his basement and got to work. Actually the problem was pretty obvious, it over-heated. Turns out the fan that was built into the 360 stopped working, so i was actually doing it good by putting the intercooler on. I didnt even know it stoped working (im so use to hearing the loud noise of the intercooler that i forgot what it sounds like w/o it) Thanks guys, and the xbox site and forums helped me out.

**WhiteHotSS** · 11-11-2008, 04:44 PM

I am in the middle of this very problem right now. I sent mine in last week and it is fixed, it just has to be shipped from MS. I got it in 2006 for x mas, and it was fine for all that time. It was free to get it fixed, call MS and tell them you want them to send you a coffin,errr box, to send it back to them. Even the shipping is free.

If you want to get it to work for a little while, wrap it in a couple of bath towels. Turn it on for about an hour, and let it over heat. Turn it off and let it cool, I put mine in my garage for an hour because it is colder out there. Plug everything back in and it should work fine for a little while. I swear to God that this worked for me. I saw it on youtube and I was like

, but it worked for a couple of days.

DO NOT TAKE IT APART!!!
good luck

**garver** · 11-11-2008, 05:55 PM

Originally Posted by WhiteHotSS

I am in the middle of this very problem right now. I sent mine in last week and it is fixed, it just has to be shipped from MS. I got it in 2006 for x mas, and it was fine for all that time. It was free to get it fixed, call MS and tell them you want them to send you a coffin,errr box, to send it back to them. Even the shipping is free.

If you want to get it to work for a little while, wrap it in a couple of bath towels. Turn it on for about an hour, and let it over heat. Turn it off and let it cool, I put mine in my garage for an hour because it is colder out there. Plug everything back in and it should work fine for a little while. I swear to God that this worked for me. I saw it on youtube and I was like

, but it worked for a couple of days.

DO NOT TAKE IT APART!!!
good luck

Done that 5 times but I only left it in the towels for 25 mins

**1 RedHot TransAm** · 11-11-2008, 06:07 PM

ya I went through that twice had to send my xbox in and with'in 2-3 months they would burn out again, so last time that happened I got sick of sending it in and bought a new one, hav'nt had a problem for almost a year now ::KNOCK ON WOOD:: i learned that the ones that were produced in the first year and a half that came out had alot of problems, and the ones that were most recently built in 07 to now have all the kinks worked out of them and thats another reason I just went with a new one, so I know where you guys are coming from! BTW gears of war 2 kicks ass, hav'nt played HALO for a few days now LoL

**LS1WS6** · 11-11-2008, 06:11 PM

i fix them and can tell you if you get the rrod (red ring of death) and it is still in warranty (microsoft has a 3 year warranty just for the rrod), don't be stupid and take it apart. Send it in and get your warranty repair otherwise your wasing your time trying to fix it unless you know what to look for and can solder some small ass contacts. RROD happens due to overheating issues. Basically the gpu/cpu create so much heat it warps the boad and puts lots of pressure on the solder contacts which eventualy breaks causing the rrod. The towel trick,heat gun trick basically over heats the unit in which some small chance might melt the solder joints making a temporary connection and your box will work for a short time till it gets too hot then the joints break again..

**1 RedHot TransAm** · 11-11-2008, 06:34 PM

well in that case since its a 3 year warranty i'm gonna send my older one that has been collecting dust for a year in, maybe i'll keep it as a back up just in case or i'll pawn it for some extra cash when its fixed

**SSwt00SS** · 11-11-2008, 06:38 PM

http://support.xbox.com/support/en/u...0/default.aspx

call them, its a free fix. thats what i did. got my system back 3 days later...

**Tide** · 11-11-2008, 06:58 PM

Originally Posted by WhiteHotSS

DO NOT TAKE IT APART!!!
good luck

Dumbass already took it apart despite people screaming at him not to.

Originally Posted by rajiv1998

Yeah i tore it open along with my friend. I took it to his house and we went into his basement and got to work. Actually the problem was pretty obvious, it over-heated. Turns out the fan that was built into the 360 stopped working, so i was actually doing it good by putting the intercooler on. I didnt even know it stoped working (im so use to hearing the loud noise of the intercooler that i forgot what it sounds like w/o it) Thanks guys, and the xbox site and forums helped me out.

The problem with the intercooler (and why it causes the 360 to fail) is that it draws it's power FROM the 360. Basic electrical knowledge says it's just as bad for something to operate with too low of power/voltage as it is too high of power/voltage. So, yeah, bingo.