Mar 232010
ive been thinking about getting a 360 and was wondering if anyone can give me the top 10 xbox 360 problems and how to fix them?
Xbox 360 Problems
Fix your Xbox 360
ive been thinking about getting a 360 and was wondering if anyone can give me the top 10 xbox 360 problems and how to fix them?
Well, if you’re buying an xbox 360 new then you shouldnt have much to worry about, as microsoft offers a one year warranty. Also, most damaged and broken consoles are more than a year or two old at this point and were from the launch consoles. As long as you treat your console right and give it pleanty of room for air circulation, you shouldnt have a problem.
However if you plan on fixing xbox 360′s for extra money, you need to understand that there’s a LOT that can go wrong with them, just like computers, from customer abuse and improper care. The number one and two problems have to do with the Red Ring of Death/E74 and damaged disk drives. You can find numerous tutorials online on how to fix both, however there are two simple ways to fix each.
RRoD/E74 fix:
1) The best method to fix this type of problem is called a Reflow. It requires you use a BGA Rework station and a preheater to heat the GPU/CPU on the xbox motherboard up to about 350C and remelt the solder back to how microsoft initially manufactured the console. Reflows are often perminant fixes, however the machinery required to fix these consoles can be quite expensive.
2) Alternatively you can try what’s called an X-Clamp fix. X-Clamp fix is just replacing the Heat Sink Clamps in the xbox 360 with a set of Cheese Head screws and some nylon washers. This is usually temporary and often ends in long term failure, as all it does is hold the solder joints together by sheer pressure. For a more perminant fix try the reflow mentioned in step #1. Most of the time I’ve actually seen the X-Clamp fix end up in more damage to the xbox 360 in ways such as warping of the circuit board.
Damaged Disk Drives:
Most disk drives that are broken require you to just buy a used or new working disk drive of the same make and model and replace the hardware. Xbox 360s use what’s called a DVD Drive Key, meaning the circuit board inside the DVD drive will only work with the motherboard supplied in your console! They are inseperable! In order to replace the DVD drive and still have your console play games, you must swap out the Drive Key in the Drive you’re replacing.
1. Red Ring of Death – Call MS.
2. E74 – Call MS.
3. Scratched disk – Don’t move the 360 when the disk is spinning.
4. 2 Ring – Turn off 360 and let it cool down.
5. 360 says insert game disk – Try cleaning lens.
6. Can’t play download contents – Log in to XBL.
The 360 is a faulty system, but I don’t think it has that many problems.