If you’re an Xbox 360 gamer, the “RROD” or “Red Ring of Death” is reason enough to make you an insomniac! It is the most common technical issue encountered by Xbox 360 owners around the world and there are entire forums and urban legends dedicated to finding a “fix” for the problem.
Of course, you can send your faulty system to Microsoft for repair, but you need to understand that Microsoft sells thousands of Xbox 360 units each year and about 30 out of 100 units sold begin to malfunction immediately after purchase. Now, with all those faulty units piling up at service centers, you can’t expect to have your console fixed and returned to you overnight. Owners have been known to wait 2 months or even longer before retrieving their game console from the company workshop.
Microsoft calls the “red ring of death” a “general hardware failure” and is characterized by the appearance of three red lights on the Xbox 360’s illuminated power button. A fair understanding of the problem accompanied by a troubleshooting guide the Xbox 360 could help you fix the RROD at home in less than an hour.
The following are the main causes that are responsible for RROD:
Overheating – The Xbox 360 is not equipped with an effective cooling system. This causes the system to overheat and trip a couple of circuits that connect the CPU to the motherboard.
Cold Solder Joints – The presence of air bubbles within solder joints causes them to crack as temperature fluctuates.
Nyko Cooler – The Nyko intercooler seems to draw too much power from the console, causing the Xbox 360 to malfunction.
Faulty Powerbrick – The powerbrick ensures proper power flow to the entire unit and also contains a fan that regulates the operating temperature. A faulty powerbrick could render the system useless.
Whatever the cause of the red ring of death, a simple Xbox 360 repair guide could help you fix the problem in under an hour using simple home tools. Search for easy repair guides on the Internet and you will come across several sites that offer help. Make sure the Xbox 360 Repair Guide and the videos that follow are from a reputable site, because you don’t want to end up making the problem worse by following unprofessional and impractical advice.
