Friday, June 19, 2009

How to Repair Xbox 360 - The Cause: II

Welcome back, friends. In order to learn how to repair Xbox 360 consoles, you first need to know what causes the problems. Yesterday we talked about the X-clamps and motherboard. We'll wrap it all up today so that we can start ripping things to bits. I know how much you love doing that...


To top it all off, M$ have tried to make the console "quiet" (note the virtual sarcasm) by throttling the speed of the fans relative to the internal temperatures. This is common practice and makes good sense when done properly. Of course, they didn't do it properly. The fans run too slowly for any given temperature. Bugger...

Now for some maths. It's like being back at school...

Motherboard Flex + Weak Solder + Too Much Heat = RROD!!

The solder gets reflowed by the excessive heat and, under the flex caused by the X-clamps, solder joints break and cold solder joints form. You got it, components effectively get de-soldered from the motherboard! Ouch... No wonder we get our "general hardware failure".

Consider yourself informed. Don't forget to grab your copy of the Xbox 360 Red Light Fix: Pro Gamer Edition. Now we can get into the nitty gritty and learn how to repair Xbox 360 consoles. Nice...

How to Repair Xbox 360 - The Cause: I

Why, hello! In order to learn how to repair Xbox 360 consoles, you need to know what causes RROD and the other problems that the Xbox 360 is notorious for. In a word, it can be put down to overheating. As mentioned previously, the cooling system is insufficient, so components get too hot. It's not quite that simple though, as there are a few factors at play. Let's go through them one by one.

First up, the X-clamps. If you've been reading about the problem, then you've heard of these little suckers. They are basically a piece of metal in the shape of a letter "X", with a hook on each end, used to hold the CPU and GPU heatsinks in place. These are the brains of the Xbox 360. They get very hot, which is why they need heatsinks or else they'd be toasted cactus within seconds of turning the thing on.

The problem with the X-clamps is that in order to hold the heatsinks firmly, they need to apply a force to the underside of the motherbaord. That force is applied right in the middle, to a point underneath the Xbox 360 CPU and GPU chips themselves, which causes the motherboard to flex a little. That's not great, but would be okay under normal circumstances.

Next up is the Xbox 360 motherboard itself. It's manufactured by Foxconn, who have been making mobos for yonks, but they've produced a pretty sub-par effort here. It's not very stiff and the quality of the solder used to hold components in place is poor. Specifically, it has an oddly low melting temperature for this type of application. You starting to catch on here?

That's enough Xbox 360 knowledge to digest for now. In the next post, we'll wrap this up so that we can get to the good bits: ripping things apart! Oh yeah...

Thursday, June 18, 2009

How to Repair Xbox 360 - What To Do?

Okay, first post! Lets get the ball rolling...

The Xbox 360 console is powerful. Kudos to Microsoft for that. Unfortunately, in order to get it out ahead of the PS3, M$ appear to have rushed it. It has been plagued with reliability issues from launch, which are unresolved to this day.

That brings us to why you're here! You're one of the unlucky few (read: many) whose Xbox 360 console is pants. Your warranty is gone because it's been approximately 12 months and one day since you bought it, or you've been a bit naughty and opened it up... just to see what was inside, of course.

If that sounds like you, you're in the right place! Here I'll show you how to repair Xbox 360 consoles that have suffered their inevitable fate. Specifically, you'll learn how to identify your problem, open up the console without breaking anything, and hopefully get your Xbox 360 working again.

Whether you've got RROD, E74 or pretty much any major problem, the cause is overheating-related 99% of the time. The Xbox 360 cooling system is poor, to say the least. Future posts will show you how to improve it, which will help to prevent RROD coming back again. You can also apply these cooling mods to a problem-free console in an effort to prevent RROD altogether. This would be wise...

Just a quick plug here. There are many Xbox 360 repair guides out there, some good, some horrible, some free, some paid. Well, the old saying "You get what you pay for" holds up pretty well these days. The very best info is rarely given away free, and the best source I know for this info comes from a guy called James Dean, a techie with long hair and thick glasses. His guide, the Xbox 360 Red Light Fix: Pro Gamer Edition (what a friggin' mouthful), is an absolute gem. Definitely worth checking out.

Stay tuned for more Xbox 360 repairing madness... I mean goodness!