Xbox 360 rrod

[x2xtreme360]

Got a free 360 today from a professor at college. Warranty seal was not intact and the console has the RROD. I have the console apart right now. Looking at the motherboard. Was wondering if anyone had any specific problem areas or fixes. The MB doesn't visually look bad.

[FeaRpb]

I fixed one by wrapping it in blankets and turning it on for awhile.

But if I remember right, the rrod deals with bad soldering. Tho I could be completely off and don't feel like googling to see if I am right lol.

[x2xtreme360]

lol I read about the towel fix. It works by overheating it so badly that it might melt the solder joints back together....... not doing that lol.

[FeaRpb]

Its worked ever since lol.

[IPD]

towel-fix. microshit used poor design/poor solder--causing the solder to melt and produce the RROD. the towel-trick helps melt it back into place.

[x2xtreme360]

towel-fix. microshit used poor design/poor solder--causing the solder to melt and produce the RROD. the towel-trick helps melt it back into place.

Yes, I know... I stated that above. I really don't know if I like the idea of getting the box so hot that it melts solder (which can be up to 800 degrees). Don't get me wrong, the thing was free so I will do that as a last ditch effort... but I think first I will do the extra washer trick. I have cleaned both the CPU and GPU and will be putting some fresh arctic silver on both of them.

Either way, I'm pretty stoked to have gotten a free xbox 360. If I can get it working I'm going to paint the case flat blue and buy a hard drive for it.:)

[Danube_3KGT]

cover the case in carbon fiber look alike material.. Send the case to me and with a little money I'll order the material and cover it for you..

[x2xtreme360]

Believe it or not... I actually really hate carbon fiber. lol, flame all you want. I don't like it.

[Vince86]

there are tons and tons of youtube videos on how to reflow the GPU and CPU. just need a heat gun that can reach 500 degrees some tin foil and the proper tools to take the board completely out of the casing. I did two today as a matter of fact one of them was one of the very first 360s ever released lol. both are working great and out of the other 4 I have 2 of which were also re flowed by a heat gun from harbor freight and they have been working over a year with 0 issues. if you cant find the videos or do but arent sure which is best let me know Ill find you the good ones.

Ohh and towel tricks have been known to harm other components too so dont do it, also some of the videos arent the best but two key things are this, dont ever EVER! move tilt flip or heat on an uneven surface when attempting the reflow, and two, be sure to protect all the capacitors and other plastic parts from heat by wrapping in tin foil

Edit: one of the best videos I have found


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lRdAFyvrX4

[x2xtreme360]

there are tons and tons of youtube videos on how to reflow the GPU and CPU. just need a heat gun that can reach 500 degrees some tin foil and the proper tools to take the board completely out of the casing. I did two today as a matter of fact one of them was one of the very first 360s ever released lol. both are working great and out of the other 4 I have 2 of which were also re flowed by a heat gun from harbor freight and they have been working over a year with 0 issues. if you cant find the videos or do but arent sure which is best let me know Ill find you the good ones.

Ohh and towel tricks have been known to harm other components too so dont do it, also some of the videos arent the best but two key things are this, dont ever EVER! move tilt flip or heat on an uneven surface when attempting the reflow, and two, be sure to protect all the capacitors and other plastic parts from heat by wrapping in tin foil

Edit: one of the best videos I have found


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lRdAFyvrX4

EXACTLY why I wont do the towel trick. It has potential to damage other things.

I am going to do a similar method to the above except without a heat gun. I am going to basically let the fan blow ONLY on the CPU (so it doesn't overheat. If it does, the GPU will stop heating up) and let the GPU sit without a fan. You basically do this for about 6-10 minutes, all while observing the rings on the system. Once they disappear, you can put it all back together.

[Vince86]

EXACTLY why I wont do the towel trick. It has potential to damage other things.

I am going to do a similar method to the above except without a heat gun. I am going to basically let the fan blow ONLY on the CPU (so it doesn't overheat. If it does, the GPU will stop heating up) and let the GPU sit without a fan. You basically do this for about 6-10 minutes, all while observing the rings on the system. Once they disappear, you can put it all back together.

I have done that method and it can work for a while but after a week or so mine went back to the lights. The reason is because as long as the heatsink is on there the gpu wont even get close to going much over 200c. because of that all it really does is warm the board up around it a bit and bring it back to touch where it may have broken away somewhere.

However since this method uses less heat its definitely worth a shot and if it comes back just move on to the heat gun application as I did.

[x2xtreme360]

I have done that method and it can work for a while but after a week or so mine went back to the lights. The reason is because as long as the heatsink is on there the gpu wont even get close to going much over 200c. because of that all it really does is warm the board up around it a bit and bring it back to touch where it may have broken away somewhere.

However since this method uses less heat its definitely worth a shot and if it comes back just move on to the heat gun application as I did.

Heatsinks will be off. That GPU is going to get damn hot.

[95gto]

The recomended fix is to dissamble the xbox, remove the heat sinks, clean the chips, re-apply thermal compound, re-install the heat sinks using bolts and washers rather than the stock hardware, turn the system on with the fans unplugged until the unit overheats (specific light flash), plug the fans back in, re-assemble the xbox, and your done.

I fixed an RROD unit and have used it ever since with zero problems. The best video I found was by a site like i-hacked or something and a girl was doing the walk through. They show you everything except for the dissassembly procedure which can be found elsewhere quite easily, and they point out potential gotcha-type mistakes that people can make along the way.

[Vince86]

The recomended fix is to dissamble the xbox, remove the heat sinks, clean the chips, re-apply thermal compound, re-install the heat sinks using bolts and washers rather than the stock hardware, turn the system on with the fans unplugged until the unit overheats (specific light flash), plug the fans back in, re-assemble the xbox, and your done.

I fixed an RROD unit and have used it ever since with zero problems. The best video I found was by a site like i-hacked or something and a girl was doing the walk through. They show you everything except for the dissassembly procedure which can be found elsewhere quite easily, and they point out potential gotcha-type mistakes that people can make along the way.

done that one before too. worked for 2 months. then I did the fan over the cpu, and now I finally got a heat gun a little while ago and so far so good. heat gun is last measure and is supposed to permanent fix while all others semi perm-temporary.

I have 6 360's all but 1 were given to my by friends or left behind in Iraq and brought them home. all mostly RROD one was no video but had sound. all fixed and working still as I type. My first attempt was the one 95gto mentioned and that worked for a while on most of them.

[x2xtreme360]

The recomended fix is to dissamble the xbox, remove the heat sinks, clean the chips, re-apply thermal compound, re-install the heat sinks using bolts and washers rather than the stock hardware, turn the system on with the fans unplugged until the unit overheats (specific light flash), plug the fans back in, re-assemble the xbox, and your done.

I fixed an RROD unit and have used it ever since with zero problems. The best video I found was by a site like i-hacked or something and a girl was doing the walk through. They show you everything except for the dissassembly procedure which can be found elsewhere quite easily, and they point out potential gotcha-type mistakes that people can make along the way.

THIS is the method I am using. The only thing is that you need to have the fan plugged in because it controls something in the system that tells it to shut down if it starts heating up.

The system is already torn apart and the old thermal paste has been removed. I have some arctic silver from my old PC build and I am doing the "extra washers" method as well. I have high hopes that it will work.

[YoshiBishi]

Do what 95gto said but reflow the solder with a heat gun. I don't like the overheating route. I do about 10 a month and a few YLOD PS3s. I use Noctua NT-H1 with mine because it came with my Noctua NH-D14 heatsink. Keeps my computer near ambient even with a 4GHz OC Phenom X6.

http://www.innovationcooling.com/Innovation%20Cooling_files/HWREVIEWLABS.jpg

[Dbeltran24]

OH MY GOD. DO not take any advice given in regards to the overheating process. I have a side business repairing XBOXs and the advice that has been given so far is full of fail.

The towel trick is known to fry systems, as is stopping the fans or unplugging them.
Do not do the penny trick, either.

First step is to find out what error code you have.
- Do this by holding the eject button and sync button at the same time. Then Keep hitting the eject button to get each number in the error code. There are 4 total. 1 blinking light means Number "1", 2 means "2", 3 means "3", and 4 means "0". You should probably end up with a code like 0102 or 0002 if its a overheating issue. Depending on the error is how you should proceed.
Second step is to take it apart (Which you've done)
If the error you received is gpu or cpu related, then remove the Xclamps on the bottom of the Motherboard, if it is related to the hana chips/network/or memory, there is no need to remove the clamps

From here on I will explain the process for the GPU/CPU, since that is the most common

After the xclamp is removed, pull off the heatsinks.
Clean of all the thermal past on the GPU/CPU and heatsinks. Make sure you have a mirror finish on the GPU/CPU and no residue is visable on the heatsinks. I suggest using artic cleaner to remove the compound. It works the best and will save a lot of time. Use qtips to clean it off. DO NOT USE a razor as it will cause groves in the metal which will cause heat to transfer inproperly.
After this is done you need a reflow station and a preheat station/or heat gun.
With the preheat station/heatgun heat up the whole motherboard evenly. You do not want it on the highest setting, just want it to get fairly warm. The point of doing this is to keep the board from warping in the later steps. You can find exactly how many degrees it should be with a quick online search.
After this step comes the reflow process. First squirt some flux along each for sides of the GPU/CPU. Best way is to turn the mother board on its side and let it drip down. Clean any excess flux of with alcholol or artic clean.
Once this is done you start applying heat with the reflow station to the GPU/CPU. You will step up and down the heat in increments. Degree's can be found searching online.
After this is done, let the whole thing cool down. During the reflow process, make sure you don't make physical contact with any of the chips. The slightest bump will mis-allign components.
After having cooled down for 20-30 minutes, Re-apply thermal paste to the GPU/CPU. I suggest artic silver, for the thermal paste. Make sure it is a very thin layer that is evenly spread.
Now reattach the heatsinks with the proper screw/metal/plastic washer combination. 1 screw has two metal and two plastic washers each 5mm think. The order is Board, Plastic washer, then metal washer. Place washers on both sides of the board, with the screw passing threw everything to the heatsink
Once this is done, reassemble the xbox and all should be working.

PLEASE DO NOT DO THE OTHER METHODS MENTIONED, you can seriously f'up your xbox. If you don't feel confident doing this process, send it to me and I'll do it for you .... for a fee of course.

[sketch]

Either way, I'm pretty stoked to have gotten a free xbox 360. If I can get it working I'm going to paint the case flat blue and buy a hard drive for it.:)

keep us (me, at least) updated on if you end up doing that case mod. i've got one of the original 360 elites (one of the last ones that actually came with an hdmi cable and all those accessories, etc.) that i've been contemplating doing a case mod to and possibly watercooling (watercooling being a hobby of mine =D)

[Dbeltran24]

Here is a video of the proper way to fix an xbox 360

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJIJOPFcKe0

Here is a txt tutorial
Forums.Xbox-experts.com - [TUT] Reflowing with Thermo Couples(Reflowprofiles incl) (http://forums.xbox-experts.com/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=3074)

[IPD]

i'm just damn amazed at how much people are willing to go through in order to play games on a shittily-engineered console in the first place....when they would be better off (with a LOT less asspain) if they'd just bought a low-end gaming pc in the first place.

[YoshiBishi]

I only got an Xbox to beat my co-workers' achievement points. They freak out when they get passed in points, it's quite sad.

[x2xtreme360]

i'm just damn amazed at how much people are willing to go through in order to play games on a shittily-engineered console in the first place....when they would be better off (with a LOT less asspain) if they'd just bought a low-end gaming pc in the first place.

Yea, I have a gaming PC. I build them... but I got the XBOX for FREE!

Not to mention, in all honesty, I just like diagnosing and fixing electrical issues. Tearing it apart, cleaning it up, painting the case... it's all about me having another fun project to work on.

[IPD]

Yea, I have a gaming PC. I build them... but I got the XBOX for FREE!

Not to mention, in all honesty, I just like diagnosing and fixing electrical issues. Tearing it apart, cleaning it up, painting the case... it's all about me having another fun project to work on.

apple is hiring....

[ToMiTo]

Here it is another video showing the process.
I looks a little hard to do

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PxX4B_INXA&feature=player_embedded