Rrod Fix!!!

[moral champion]

My friend purchased an xbox 360 console in march '08, and yesterday afternoon we were playing test drive unlimited when the console suddenly froze, we then proceeded to turn the console off and then reboot it resulting in the RROD (red ring of death), general hardware failure.

It boggled as to why?, the console in is perfect condition in an very well ventilated area, it made no strage noises and no real indication besides freezing.

I found out that the RROD problem was caused by the soldering join between the motherboard and the outer metal case of the xbox console,

I thought heating the console to high temp then letting it cool would be the solution, so we wrapped my mates console in some towels and left it running for 20 mins, which made the console resonably hot and then let it cool for approx. 15mins, we came back to the xbox later and guess what? GREEN LIGHTS!!!, that was our last ditch effort, we tryed everything and were about to send the console away to microsoft.

I hope this helps everybody in the future that suffers the same problem.

If you have any further questions? please reply in the post.

 

[gothecrows]

My friend purchased an xbox 360 console in march '08, and yesterday afternoon we were playing test drive unlimited when the console suddenly froze, we then proceeded to turn the console off and then reboot it resulting in the RROD (red ring of death), general hardware failure.

It boggled as to why?, the console in is perfect condition in an very well ventilated area, it made no strage noises and no real indication besides freezing.

I found out that the RROD problem was caused by the soldering join between the motherboard and the outer metal case of the xbox console,

I thought heating the console to high temp then letting it cool would be the solution, so we wrapped my mates console in some towels and left it running for 20 mins, which made the console resonably hot and then let it cool for approx. 15mins, we came back to the xbox later and guess what? GREEN LIGHTS!!!, that was our last ditch effort, we tryed everything and were about to send the console away to microsoft.

I hope this helps everybody in the future that suffers the same problem.

If you have any further questions? please reply in the post.

So... instead of sending it off to be fixed, and getting it back in a week or 2, you looked up and performed a temporary solution, then posted here, claiming that you thought it up??

 

[AC for PM]

Keep doing this every time it does it.

It saves sending it back as a warranty job and when it eventually dies altogether (and is out of warranty period) we will have a chuckle at you for forking out $$$ to get it fixed.

Send the POS back and get a ps3

 

[Tiger Fury #3]

im not claiming i thought of the idea saw it on a forum and thought what the hell wouldnt u want to save money

 

[gothecrows]

im not claiming i thought of the idea saw it on a forum and thought what the hell wouldnt u want to save money

And that is saving money how, exactly?

 

[Viney]

My friend purchased an xbox 360 console in march '08, and yesterday afternoon we were playing test drive unlimited when the console suddenly froze, we then proceeded to turn the console off and then reboot it resulting in the RROD (red ring of death), general hardware failure.

It boggled as to why?, the console in is perfect condition in an very well ventilated area, it made no strage noises and no real indication besides freezing.

I found out that the RROD problem was caused by the soldering join between the motherboard and the outer metal case of the xbox console,

I thought heating the console to high temp then letting it cool would be the solution, so we wrapped my mates console in some towels and left it running for 20 mins, which made the console resonably hot and then let it cool for approx. 15mins, we came back to the xbox later and guess what? GREEN LIGHTS!!!, that was our last ditch effort, we tryed everything and were about to send the console away to microsoft.

I hope this helps everybody in the future that suffers the same problem.

If you have any further questions? please reply in the post.

You certainly implied you thought this fix up. It's well known. It can work for good, or it can be temporary.

Your mate should send it in to MS, get it fixed free of charge under the 3 year warranty and be done with it.

 

[Traffic Light]

This reminds me of the ridilculous measures my mates and I would go to in order to get my old PS2 running.

It only worked on a perfect 5-10 degree angle leaning away it's usual upright position.

 

[Mancey]

im not claiming i thought of the idea saw it on a forum and thought what the hell wouldnt u want to save money

They have a 3 year warranty mate. The repair is free.

Generally doesnt work for too long anyway

 

[moral champion]

instead of waiting forever and a day to get it back from microsoft we'd rather play it now considering it works perfectly 1 week on and has had absolutly no hitches or problems.

Look if i worded as if i had created this method then my bad, just wanted to inform others incase they have ran out of warranty or are having problems with microsoft repairing thier console.

In the end i hope this fix works for everyone.

can anyone do any better...
(Viney U CAT!!!)

 

[Lunchlady Doris]

No worries mate, and thanks for the effort. Microsoft will get it back to you in 1 to 2 weeks in most cases.

 

[davey_magik]

My advice is send it away now mate, otherwise you'll run out of warranty.

I did the towel trick once, worked for a week (The thing was bloody hot when I took the towel off) but then I decided to send it away and not risk voiding my warranty.

 

[Viney]

instead of waiting forever and a day to get it back from microsoft we'd rather play it now considering it works perfectly 1 week on and has had absolutly no hitches or problems.

Look if i worded as if i had created this method then my bad, just wanted to inform others incase they have ran out of warranty or are having problems with microsoft repairing thier console.

In the end i hope this fix works for everyone.

can anyone do any better...
(Viney U CAT!!!)

Meow?

No 360's are out of warranty for the RROD as it's been extended to 3 years.

I understand your point about playing it now rather than waiting, but generally MS have been exceptionally good at fixing and returning the console.

I waited about 5 working days and it's all good.

Fine it's working now, but if it happens angain, send it in

 

[Hollow Knight]

Bump.

I got Fallout 3 a few weeks ago and it seemed to hang every five minutes.

Then I saw the dreaded RROD for the first time.

Tried again the next day and the console has worked flawlessly ever since, and have been churning through Fallout 3.

Until tonight, the RROD is back with a vengeance, every time I try to turn it on.

My console is about 2 and a half years old and I lost the receipt. To my surprise, this wasn't a problem. Microsoft are emailing me a shipping label and are repairing it at no cost.

 

[Mancey]

TBH grugg, its the best thing that could have happened to you mate.

You're another one of the launch console buyers around these parts with the old chip. But when they repair it, they'll refurbish the guts with the new set which is way more reliable.

It's like having a new console.

Better now than 6 months later when its out of warranty

 

[Biggy_Boy]

instead of waiting forever and a day to get it back from microsoft we'd rather play it now considering it works perfectly 1 week on and has had absolutly no hitches or problems.

Look if i worded as if i had created this method then my bad, just wanted to inform others incase they have ran out of warranty or are having problems with microsoft repairing thier console.

In the end i hope this fix works for everyone.

can anyone do any better...
(Viney U CAT!!!)

In the grand scheme of things, sending it to MS is a much better solution. It's free, a good fix and you wont be waiting that long to get it back.

The towel trick prolongs the inevitable. It's a temporary fix that lasts for varying amounts of time. I've heard people doing it, then not getting the RROD for months and people who have got it after a couple of days.

Personally, I wouldn't be wrapping my electronics in a towel and overheating them. The more you do it, the more risk you run that MS will realise and not fix your console. It may be fixing the problem now, but it will do more severe damage to the console in the long run.

 

[Hollow Knight]

TBH grugg, its the best thing that could have happened to you mate.

You're another one of the launch console buyers around these parts with the old chip. But when they repair it, they'll refurbish the guts with the new set which is way more reliable.

It's like having a new console.

Better now than 6 months later when its out of warranty

Yeah, I'm not too concerned. Was looking forward to getting my Fallout 3 on for the remainder of my uni holidays, but a fresh console is a decent trade.

 

[Viney]

Yeah, I'm not too concerned. Was looking forward to getting my Fallout 3 on for the remainder of my uni holidays, but a fresh console is a decent trade.

No surprised F3 RRoD'd a launch console

It's pretty load intensive, oblivion RRoD'd a number of launch consoles also

TBH, I'd be grabbing a new arcade for the price (finances permitting of course) and selling the launch once it's back from MS

 

[davey_magik]

Just for anyone who hasn't had the RROD before, if you Xbox keeps freezing when you are playing it that is a sure sign the RROD isn't far away.

 

[Viney]

Just for anyone who hasn't had the RROD before, if you Xbox keeps freezing when you are playing it that is a sure sign the RROD isn't far away.

true, but it also depends on the game

certain games like F3 can have hangs

 

[Bosun]

I wouldnt do the towel trick. Apparently MS can tell if you have tried it and viod the warranty. (Thank you Mancey).

In all honesty I had mine back in 10 days and it is a hell of a lot quieter than it was before, it used to also freeze up all the time when playing Far Cry 2 but hasnt done it once since being repaired, as MAncey said before they replace the guts and its a new machine.

 

[Hollow Knight]

No surprised F3 RRoD'd a launch console

Funnily enough, the last game I played before it RROD'd for good was the NHL 3 vs 3 Xbox Live Demo.

TBH, I'd be grabbing a new arcade for the price (finances permitting of course) and selling the launch once it's back from MS

Not sure I understand what the benefit is?

 

[Viney]

Funnily enough, the last game I played before it RROD'd for good was the NHL 3 vs 3 Xbox Live Demo.



Not sure I understand what the benefit is?

You cannot be sure they will replace the guts with the latest components when they fix the RRoD, however, you can be sure you'll get the latest components with a new console.

Additionally, you will have a FRESH 3 year RRoD warranty, as opposed to one that will run out next month in case it happens again.

You will get a new MUCH QUIETER disc drive

You will also have a HDMI output

It's almost stupid not to

 

[Mancey]

You cannot be sure they will replace the guts with the latest components when they fix the RRoD, however, you can be sure you'll get the latest components with a new console.

Additionally, you will have a FRESH 3 year RRoD warranty, as opposed to one that will run out next month in case it happens again.

You will get a new MUCH QUIETER disc drive

You will also have a HDMI output

It's almost stupid not to

Actually viney, the original motherboards with the 90nm cpu's are a discontinued item. They are no longer manufactured, and i did read somewhere, can't remember where, that these are no longer around to be used in refurbs. They used to be, which is why back a couple of years people would get multiple failures

These days they are apparently doing refurbs these with 65nm opus CPU's, which only draw 120w compared to 175. Makes the cpu run much cooler, pretty much eliminating RRoD issues caused by overheating. They also boost up the heat sinks

Its easy to tell if this has been done when you get the console back, because you'll have to reinstall a few things like updates. Being basically a new console and all, and the having the onboard memory replaced with the new motherboard all the old ones are gone. If you have to do any of this its guarenteed you have a new motherboard (seems standard repair practice, no doubt due to the fact it takes 10min to do)

Seems pretty standard for them to replace your drives in the repair now too, especially if you request it. The one i sent off had a rooted DVD drive, made horrible noises, disc read errors etc. Mentioned it in the fault report and it was replaced free of charge under the 3 year warranty, it was out of the standard 1 year comprehensive coverage.

As a result, seems pretty pointless buying a new arcade just yet. It'll most likely come back and be fine, in which case the money on a new console is wasted.

If it ****s up again after the warranty expires, look at getting a new one then.

Thats what i'd do anyway

Unless the HDMi is super important to someone i guess, but i can't see that being the case given its more of a convenience thing for most.

 

[Viney]

Actually viney, the original motherboards with the 90nm cpu's are a discontinued item. They are no longer manufactured, and i did read somewhere, can't remember where, that these are no longer around to be used in refurbs. They used to be, which is why back a couple of years people would get multiple failures.

I see your point, but people may not still be getting the latest components. There has been that many redesigns.

These days they are apparently doing refurbs these with 65nm opus CPU's, which only draw 120w compared to 175. Makes the cpu run much cooler, pretty much eliminating RRoD issues caused by overheating. They also boost up the heat sinks.

ok

Its easy to tell if this has been done when you get the console back, because you'll have to reinstall a few things like updates. Being basically a new console and all, and the having the onboard memory replaced with the new motherboard all the old ones are gone. If you have to do any of this its guarenteed you have a new motherboard (seems standard repair practice, no doubt due to the fact it takes 10min to do).

agreed

Seems pretty standard for them to replace your drives in the repair now too, especially if you request it. The one i sent off had a rooted DVD drive, made horrible noises, disc read errors etc. Mentioned it in the fault report and it was replaced free of charge under the 3 year warranty, it was out of the standard 1 year comprehensive coverage.

They won't replace it if it's not faulty though and some of the launch disc trays are noisy as

As a result, seems pretty pointless buying a new arcade just yet. It'll most likely come back and be fine, in which case the money on a new console is wasted.

I guess it's just personal preference

If it ****s up again after the warranty expires, look at getting a new one then.

Thats what i'd do anyway

Unless the HDMi is super important to someone i guess, but i can't see that being the case given its more of a convenience thing for most.

Good points, all of them....one point is that some screens don't display 1080p via component and HDMI is required to get 1080p

I see your points, but I'd just grab a new console personally....but that's me

 

[Hollow Knight]

Got my system back today. All peachy. Could swear is it substantially quieter too.

Kudos to Microsoft for their excellent customer service, got a free months subscription to Xbox Live as well.

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