Famicom World

Misc. => Other Gaming => Topic started by: satoshi_matrix on January 01, 2009, 10:15:18 pm

Title: Xbox 360 hardware woes
Post by: satoshi_matrix on January 01, 2009, 10:15:18 pm
Anyone have any experience repairing Xbox 360s? I hope so, because I need some help.

My 360 is red ringing again. When this first happened, I tried the towel trick, which made the thing work for a time then crap out again. I later read that the towel trick is potentially a really bad thing to do but its too late now I guess. I then bought the x-clamp fix for both the GPU and CPU and installed it according to http://www.llamma.com/xbox360/repair/ring_of_light_x-clamp_fix.htm.

I followed the procedure and I let it cool and now it still gives me the 3 lights. Is there anything you guys can suggest I try next? Sending it to M$ is out of the question, I've opened it countless times as well as flashed the drive.

is there anything more I can do or is my 360 essentially bricked?
Title: Re: Xbox 360 hardware woes
Post by: 133MHz on January 01, 2009, 10:27:45 pm
Heat gun.
Title: Re: Xbox 360 hardware woes
Post by: manuel on January 02, 2009, 04:00:19 am
Heat gun?
... wouldn't that be ... weird... and quite bad for the console again?  ???

Perhaps the best thing you can do is getting a new console.
Title: Re: Xbox 360 hardware woes
Post by: wolf9545 on January 02, 2009, 09:52:23 am
I know a lot of people were stating that the heatsinks did not have enought thermal grease (helps transfer the heat from the processor to the heatsink).  One website I found, http://arstechnica.com/journals/thumbs.ars/2006/6/16/4353 (http://arstechnica.com/journals/thumbs.ars/2006/6/16/4353), seems to have some directions.  Someone else might want to double check the directions the guy has posted because I have not done this.
Title: Re: Xbox 360 hardware woes
Post by: Lorfarius on January 02, 2009, 12:11:27 pm
The towel trick should really only be used to get all your stuff off the system :( Its dodgy because it melts all the solder inside.
Title: Re: Xbox 360 hardware woes
Post by: satoshi_matrix on January 02, 2009, 01:01:59 pm
Yeah. but I did do it, and it worked.......for a while. Various places say it kills your system. The 360 repair scene has more myths than the ancient Greeks did, so I'm not sure what advice I should follow and which I should steer clear from.
Title: Re: Xbox 360 hardware woes
Post by: 133MHz on January 02, 2009, 01:13:37 pm
(http://www.freepler.de/userdaten/38928917/bilder/xbox360/k01010007.jpg)
Title: Re: Xbox 360 hardware woes
Post by: Lorfarius on January 02, 2009, 03:53:36 pm
Quote from: satoshi_matrix on January 02, 2009, 01:01:59 pm
Yeah. but I did do it, and it worked.......for a while. Various places say it kills your system. The 360 repair scene has more myths than the ancient Greeks did, so I'm not sure what advice I should follow and which I should steer clear from.


All the trick does is melt the solder so the contacts etc inside are more exposed. The reason it doesnt do the job for good is because theres no controlling what it melts. Everything goes with it.
Title: Re: Xbox 360 hardware woes
Post by: manuel on January 03, 2009, 03:33:25 am
Quote from: 133MHz on January 02, 2009, 01:13:37 pm
(http://www.freepler.de/userdaten/38928917/bilder/xbox360/k01010007.jpg)


Good old German brand... :D

Title: Re: Xbox 360 hardware woes
Post by: satoshi_matrix on January 11, 2009, 12:18:52 am
Well I tried it, and guess what? IT WORKS! My 360 has now offically risen from the dead. I shall call it, Undead Xbox!
Title: Re: Xbox 360 hardware woes
Post by: manuel on January 11, 2009, 03:11:10 am
Undead XBOX 360

I hope for you it stays alive for some time.

So 133MHz, how much do you charge for the repair tip?  ;D :P
Title: Re: Xbox 360 hardware woes
Post by: satoshi_matrix on January 11, 2009, 07:35:43 pm
Eh? I wasn't aware there was a fee  ::)
Title: Re: Xbox 360 hardware woes
Post by: manuel on January 11, 2009, 07:38:36 pm
That's the secret of successful money making.  :D jk
Title: Re: Xbox 360 hardware woes
Post by: Romeo on January 17, 2009, 09:02:59 am
Satoshi, when did you get your 360?
Microsoft added 3 year warranty for RROD specifically no?

Anyway, good to hear it has been resurrected.
Title: Re: Xbox 360 hardware woes
Post by: 133MHz on January 17, 2009, 01:00:43 pm
He modded his 360 so he couldn't reclaim warranty anymore.
Title: Re: Xbox 360 hardware woes
Post by: manuel on January 17, 2009, 06:48:59 pm
That's why I fear modding new consoles.


I bought a modded PS2 though. The seller gave a 2 year warranty.  :D
Title: Re: Xbox 360 hardware woes
Post by: satoshi_matrix on January 17, 2009, 08:13:50 pm
Quote from: Romeo on January 17, 2009, 09:02:59 am
Satoshi, when did you get your 360?
Microsoft added 3 year warranty for RROD specifically no?

Anyway, good to hear it has been resurrected.


There are four reasons why sending it back to M$ wasn't an option:

1. I bought it used originally, so it didn't come with a warranty.

2. I didn't buy another warranty from M$, only the 1 year from the shop I bought it at. 

3. I flashed the drive to be able to play backups. Even if I did have the warranty I would have received another Xbox that's drive is not flashed. I didn't want to deal with that.

4. ....I didn't want to go through the hassle of mailing it then WAITING. I wanted it fixed asap.
Title: Re: Xbox 360 hardware woes
Post by: Doc on January 17, 2009, 08:51:31 pm
Quote from: satoshi_matrix on January 17, 2009, 08:13:50 pm

4. ....I didn't want to go through the hassle of mailing it then WAITING. I wanted it fixed asap.


Ohhh god, yes. That's why I ALWAYS hate having to send stuff back. You KNOW it's going to take a month and a half to get your stuff exchanged, when it really honestly shouldn't take that long. That's why I always try to look for ways to fix things myself, instead of taking them back. To me it's not worth the hassle, and I'm a patient guy. It just takes abnormally long when you have to wait for something to be fixed, when you send it.
Title: Re: Xbox 360 hardware woes
Post by: nintendodork on January 17, 2009, 09:01:31 pm
@Doc..

Maybe for M$...

But I sent my Wii to Nintendo after my friend "accidentally" tugged on a Gamecube controller plugged into the Wii and made it fall about 5 feet onto a a very thin-carpeted floor...

Took less than 2 weeks to repair, reload all my stuff, and send it back...

And..it was all free
Title: Re: Xbox 360 hardware woes
Post by: manuel on January 17, 2009, 09:32:03 pm
It's no console, but my notebook pc took 3 days to repair. That included shipping to Tokyo and back.  :o
Toshiba has nice service. Maybe I pressured them quite hard. "I need the PC for work, guys!" I told them.

Luckily I never had problems with consoles yet.
Title: Re: Xbox 360 hardware woes
Post by: 133MHz on January 17, 2009, 10:05:19 pm
Good PC warranty repair is always fast because, as you said it, most people depend on their PC for their job.
Title: Re: Xbox 360 hardware woes
Post by: manuel on January 17, 2009, 10:24:00 pm
They said it can take up to 2 weeks initially. I haggled them down to 3.  ;D And it was delivered on a Sunday morning!  :D
Title: Re: Xbox 360 hardware woes
Post by: satoshi_matrix on January 18, 2009, 08:43:32 pm
Whoa, Japan's mailing system is that fast?! Yet another prime example of Japan's superiority.
Title: Re: Xbox 360 hardware woes
Post by: manuel on January 18, 2009, 10:03:54 pm
It wasn't by Japan Post, though. It's Nittsu. They and Yamato are pretty darn fast.
Title: Re: Xbox 360 hardware woes
Post by: satoshi_matrix on January 19, 2009, 12:38:09 am
sorry if this is getting too off topic here, but you mentioned that it was sent to Tokyo and back in record time. Just where in Japan are you? Don't worry, not planning on stocking  :P
Title: Re: Xbox 360 hardware woes
Post by: manuel on January 19, 2009, 03:15:11 am
I'm in Hiroshima perfecture.

It's about that far:

http://tinyurl.com/7fp9gw (http://tinyurl.com/7fp9gw)

If you should come to Japan, please visit me.  ;)
Title: Re: Xbox 360 hardware woes
Post by: son_ov_hades on January 20, 2009, 07:45:04 am
Google Maps Deutschland...and it's all in Janpanese lol.  ;D
Title: Re: Xbox 360 hardware woes
Post by: manuel on January 20, 2009, 08:27:40 pm
Yeah.  8)
I didn't even notice that I used google maps Germany. Basically it's all the same, so it doesn't matter.  :)