XBOX 360 and the whole red rings of death issue
Discussion
Neil_H said:
MS were desperate to be first to the market for this generation, as they missed out against the PS2 with the original Xbox - the 360 was rushed out, and this shoddy hardware quality is the result.
Not quite imo, it's the production (and cooling system design) that is shoddy, the system architecture of the xbox360 is very well designed.scorp said:
Neil_H said:
MS were desperate to be first to the market for this generation, as they missed out against the PS2 with the original Xbox - the 360 was rushed out, and this shoddy hardware quality is the result.
Not quite imo, it's the production (and cooling system design) that is shoddy, the system architecture of the xbox360 is very well designed.Got my 360 at launch on the 5th December at 5am 
had no issues at all for the first 13 months (month after the warranty expired, it RROD). I was very lucky though, my best friend behind me had to send his console back 5 times during the year!
Had to pay £80 but it was quickly refunded when Microsoft accepted the early systems had serious problems. All returns are given a 3 year warranty free of charge repair service which cost Microsoft an estimated $3 billion.
If it does die and you can't be bothered to send it back. Try the "Towel Trick" Worked like a charm.
Edit - Most of the problems were pinned to two seperate things. Overheating of the GPU fractured the actual chipset and rendered the 360 unable to display graphics and the second was dodgy solder joints on the motherboard that overtime were heated by the GPU heat and broke connection.
had no issues at all for the first 13 months (month after the warranty expired, it RROD). I was very lucky though, my best friend behind me had to send his console back 5 times during the year!Had to pay £80 but it was quickly refunded when Microsoft accepted the early systems had serious problems. All returns are given a 3 year warranty free of charge repair service which cost Microsoft an estimated $3 billion.
If it does die and you can't be bothered to send it back. Try the "Towel Trick" Worked like a charm.
Edit - Most of the problems were pinned to two seperate things. Overheating of the GPU fractured the actual chipset and rendered the 360 unable to display graphics and the second was dodgy solder joints on the motherboard that overtime were heated by the GPU heat and broke connection.
Edited by mr_krissy_kris on Monday 15th December 16:25
mr_krissy_kris said:
Got my 360 at launch on the 5th December at 5am had no issues at all for the first 13 months (month after the warranty expired, it RROD). I was very lucky though, my best friend behind me had to send his console back 5 times during the year!
Had to pay £80 but it was quickly refunded when Microsoft accepted the early systems had serious problems. All returns are given a 3 year warranty free of charge repair service which cost Microsoft an estimated $3 billion.
If it does die and you can't be bothered to send it back. Try the "Towel Trick" Worked like a charm.
Edit - Most of the problems were pinned to two seperate things. Overheating of the GPU fractured the actual chipset and rendered the 360 unable to display graphics and the second was dodgy solder joints on the motherboard that overtime were heated by the GPU heat and broke connection.
Towel trick? had no issues at all for the first 13 months (month after the warranty expired, it RROD). I was very lucky though, my best friend behind me had to send his console back 5 times during the year!Had to pay £80 but it was quickly refunded when Microsoft accepted the early systems had serious problems. All returns are given a 3 year warranty free of charge repair service which cost Microsoft an estimated $3 billion.
If it does die and you can't be bothered to send it back. Try the "Towel Trick" Worked like a charm.
Edit - Most of the problems were pinned to two seperate things. Overheating of the GPU fractured the actual chipset and rendered the 360 unable to display graphics and the second was dodgy solder joints on the motherboard that overtime were heated by the GPU heat and broke connection.
Edited by mr_krissy_kris on Monday 15th December 16:25
IMHO stand well clear of the towel trick; unless you have nothing to loose.
You basically wrap the 360 in a towel so that it overheats so much that the solder joints start to melt. This does fix some consoles whose issues were due to dry solder joints. However you will have heated all the electronics up to a very high level which may give you chipset faliures later on.
You basically wrap the 360 in a towel so that it overheats so much that the solder joints start to melt. This does fix some consoles whose issues were due to dry solder joints. However you will have heated all the electronics up to a very high level which may give you chipset faliures later on.
guffhoover said:
IMHO stand well clear of the towel trick; unless you have nothing to loose.
You basically wrap the 360 in a towel so that it overheats so much that the solder joints start to melt. This does fix some consoles whose issues were due to dry solder joints. However you will have heated all the electronics up to a very high level which may give you chipset faliures later on.
You basically wrap the 360 in a towel so that it overheats so much that the solder joints start to melt. This does fix some consoles whose issues were due to dry solder joints. However you will have heated all the electronics up to a very high level which may give you chipset faliures later on.
Neil_H said:
So you're saying that doesn't fall under 'hardware quality'?
Depends on the listener i guess, i work with these systems for a living so 'hardware quality' seemed a bit ambiguous to me. But yeah, the build quality is what's f
king it up. Also you mention it was rushed, which suggests it isn't well designed, which i disagree with (from a hardware, not build point of view).Edited by scorp on Monday 15th December 16:46
guffhoover said:
IMHO stand well clear of the towel trick; unless you have nothing to loose.
You basically wrap the 360 in a towel so that it overheats so much that the solder joints start to melt. This does fix some consoles whose issues were due to dry solder joints. However you will have heated all the electronics up to a very high level which may give you chipset faliures later on.
A friend of mine has done a varioation of this, hereby named the tinfoil and grill trick. As it says on the tin, open the 360 up (tricky) take out the main board, put a sheet of foil over it and whack it in the grill so the solder melts slightly and reseats the components. Only to be used as a do or die last gasp though.You basically wrap the 360 in a towel so that it overheats so much that the solder joints start to melt. This does fix some consoles whose issues were due to dry solder joints. However you will have heated all the electronics up to a very high level which may give you chipset faliures later on.
scorp said:
Neil_H said:
So you're saying that doesn't fall under 'hardware quality'?
Depends on the listener i guess, i work with these systems for a living so 'hardware quality' seemed a bit ambiguous to me. But yeah, the build quality is what's fking it up. Also you mention it was rushed, which suggests it isn't well designed, which i disagree with (from a hardware, not build point of view).Edited by scorp on Monday 15th December 16:46
I hate linking to the Guardian but this outlines the design flaws and how they came about
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/nov/13/x...
agent006 said:
guffhoover said:
IMHO stand well clear of the towel trick; unless you have nothing to loose.
You basically wrap the 360 in a towel so that it overheats so much that the solder joints start to melt. This does fix some consoles whose issues were due to dry solder joints. However you will have heated all the electronics up to a very high level which may give you chipset faliures later on.
A friend of mine has done a varioation of this, hereby named the tinfoil and grill trick. As it says on the tin, open the 360 up (tricky) take out the main board, put a sheet of foil over it and whack it in the grill so the solder melts slightly and reseats the components. Only to be used as a do or die last gasp though.You basically wrap the 360 in a towel so that it overheats so much that the solder joints start to melt. This does fix some consoles whose issues were due to dry solder joints. However you will have heated all the electronics up to a very high level which may give you chipset faliures later on.
I will give a prize to the first pistonhead who fixes his 360 by seating it in an engine bay and going for a spirited drive
The 3 year warranty only applies to the 3 red lights failure though; mine went the other day with a single red light (failure of network) which isn't covered.
It would have been 60 quid for Microbesoft to fix it, so I thought bks and bought a new one. I believe these are a lot better cooled and it's certainly quieter.
I'll eventually get the original fixed and keep it as a hot swap for if the new one goes pop.
It would have been 60 quid for Microbesoft to fix it, so I thought b
ks and bought a new one. I believe these are a lot better cooled and it's certainly quieter.I'll eventually get the original fixed and keep it as a hot swap for if the new one goes pop.
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