Welcome to our comprehensive guide on fixing the Xbox 360 Red Ring Of Death! But before we go ahead, let's have a short introduction on the infamous RROD and what it means to you!
Introduction
The Xbox 360 Red Ring of Death (usually) rears its ugly head when the GPU and/or CPU begin to overheat due to insufficient cooling. These failures are often attributed to Microsft's barely-adequate cooling system on early units, bad or just badly-applied thermal compound (which can hinder heat conduction between the chips and the heatsinks), dust accumulation, and users who do not give their consoles enough room to "breathe".
The excess heat can eventually damage the solder connecting the chips to the motherboard, resulting in a complete system failure indicated by three red segments on the 360's front panel, otherwise known as the Red Ring Of Death. Precursors to the red ring can include two illuminated red segments which indicates that the system is overheating.
From the early days of these failures intrepid modders have devised ways to repair and improve on the Xbox 360's original cooling system. These fixes replace the thermal compund and the weak spring clips (known as X-Clamps) which hold the heatsinks onto the system's CPU and GPU. The fix we are going to outline here incorporates the best of the knowledge acquired over the years of homegrown Xbox repairs by this active community.
In this guide we're going to be using our very own Xbox 360 RROD Repair Kit (pictured above), as well as the optional console opening tool and Torx screwdriver set.
This fix will take a beginner approximately one hour if they are careful and follow the instructions thoroughly. Some experience working with PCs or other electronic equipment is preferable, but not essential if you are capable of following the instructions.
Disclaimer / Warnings
No Xbox 360 RROD repair kit is 100% guaranteed, and ours is no different. Unfortunately it is impossible to tell if irrepairable damage has been caused without attempting the fix first. That said, this fix has an extremely high success rate, and short of sending your Xbox 360 off to Microsoft, is the most effective way to bring your console back to life.
Of course, if your Xbox 360 is still under warranty SEND IT BACK TO MICROSOFT BEFORE ATTEMPTING ANY DIY FIX!
ConsoleBUZZ will not be held responsible for any damage which may be caused by would-be Xbox repairers. These instructions are presented as a guide only and are followed at the repairer's own risk. Xbox 360 RROD Repair Kits are not returnable should the fix be unsuccessful.
Finally, it is recommended to take precautions against static electricity when carrying out this fix. This includes sufficiently grounding yourself to dissipate static by means of an anti-static wristband or other method.
What You Will Need
For this fix, you'll need the following items:
- The required washers, screws, and thermal compund which make up the core of an RROD repair kit.
- Torx T8 and T10 screwdrivers
- A very small flat headed screwdriver
- A large, wide flat headed screwdriver
- A small plastic or wooden scraper
- Akasa TIM cleaning solution (or similar), turps, or nail polish remover
- An Xbox 360 Case Opening Tool (optional)
- A flat, stable surface on which to work
Many of these items are available directly from us at a very reasonable price. Please see the links in the list above to purchase our kit. It is recommended that you read the instructions below and familiarise yourself with the procedure before beginning.
What You Won't Need
This method / kit doesn't involve any cutting, drilling or soldering. It is a simple mechanical fix which can be carried out using readily available tools (except perhaps the Torx screwdrivers, which are available from us as part of our kit).
The Fix
First up, we'll need to get the outer casing away from the tasty gubbins inside. This is actually a relatively straightforward process with the correct tools and technique. The first step is to remove any cables, HDD, memory units, and face plate which may be fitted to the console. Next, we remove the grey end pieces. These are held in with small clips which can be seen if you look carefully into the air vents at either end of the console.
Pictured above: By pressing the clips gently inwards with a small, round object (like the Torx T8 screwdriver included in our kit) you can ease these end pieces off without damaging them. If you're having to force anything, you're trying too hard and you'll probably break something.
Pictured below: Next we ease the front of the console open. With the faceplate removed (you did remove it, right?) the clips are exposed. You can gently prise these apart with your fingernails if they are strong enough, or use a flat, wide screwdriver. If you're really careful you can even leave your warranty sticker in tact, but if your 360 is under warranty you probably shouldn't be attempting this fix anyway...
Next up, we need to crack open those nasty tamper-proof clips at the rear of the console. Fortunately, our kit optionally includes an Xbox 360 Case Opening Tool which is custom-made for the job. Simply insert it as pictured, apply firm pressure, and pull the case gently apart. Doing it this way will get the bottom part of the case off in a matter of seconds.
The Case Opening Tool fits into one end of the console's outer casing (above), and then the other (below), causing it to pop open effortlessly.
If you don't have the opening tool, you can use a very small screwdriver or other hard, pointy object and insert it into each of the holes in turn while levering the case open. Having used both methods and seen the damage caused to the Xbox by not using this tool, I'd prefer the tool over the manual method any day!
Now pull the bottom of the console off and place it to one side. Turn the Xbox 360 over and place it upside down on the table, and use a Torx T10 screwdriver to remove the 6 long screws indicated below. You can then flip the console over and lift the top off.
We're not quite ready to operate on this side of the console just yet, but I find it best to remove the DVD drive and the fans at this point to make removing the motherboard easier in a moment's time.
Below: A picture of the 360 with the drive and the fans removed.
Next, carefully balance the Xbox 360 on its back and get your Torx T8 screwdriver handy. You'll need to remove the board pictured below from the front of the console. This circuit board is home to the main power button, the red ring itself, and the wireless circuitry for the controllers. The small plastic part pops off and there are 3 screws to remove, then it simply unplugs from the rest of the console and can be placed safely to one side.
Now it's time to finally free the motherboard from its metal prison. Place the Xbox upside down on the table once more, and use your Torx T10 screwdriver to remove the remaining screws from the bottom. These hold the motherboard in place, and also keep things like the hard drive, power and AV connectors lined up correctly with their corresponding holes in the case.
Finally, as pictured below, you can use your Torx T8 screwdriver to remove the 8 screws in the middle of the metal cage. These attach the X-Clamps themselves to the case and are the final hurdle in the way of removing the motherboard.
Turn the case over and carefully ease the motherboard out. There is a bit of technique and you will need to be firm with it. The best place to start is towards the back where the fans were. You can use the large heatsinks in the centre of the board to guide it out if you are gentle, but don't apply too much force to them.
Place the casing to one side and you should be left with something similar to the scene pictured below. Note that the design of the heatsinks was revised a few times during the course of the 360's production, so don't be too alarmed if yours looks slightly different - the process is exactly the same.
Turn the motherboard over and you will see the two X-Clamps (pictured below). These hold the heatsinks in place, and are slightly springy to try to keep them in firm contact with the CPU and GPU. You need to remove these by VERY CAREFULLY (I can't stress this enough) prising them out with a screwdriver as pictured. DON'T SLIP WITH THE SCREWDRIVER! DON'T APPLY TOO MUCH FORCE!
Some people like to cover the surrounding area with tape to protect the motherboard from accidental slips. It is worth taking extra caution during this step as it is by far the most dangerous part of this process. Lever the ends of the clamps out gently like so:
When two sides of the clamp are detached you can pull it off easily by hand, and then press gently on the backs of the heatsink screws to pop the heatsinks off. Don't lever them off from the other side. You can throw the X-Clamps away - they're not used as part of this fix.
Now we have the most critically important part. We need to thoroughly remove all of the old heatsink compund from the heatsinks and the tops of the chips. This can be removed with alcohol, nail varnish remover, turps, or a specialist heatsink compound remover (Akasa make one called TIM which is available here). Use your plastic or wooden scraper, or a fingernail, to get the thick of it off first.
Pictured below: The top of the Xbox 360's CPU. The metal plate needs to be as shiny and clean as possible before the heatsink is re-attached.
Now we need to remove the screws from the bottoms of the heatsinks, as well as cleaning them up with the cleaning solution. I find that one of the screwdrivers with multiple bits is the perfect size, although an adjustable wrench or 8mm socket or spanner will also do the trick.
Once the parts are all thoroughly cleaned up, apply a small dab of thermal compund to the tops of the chips. You only need a very small amount on each, too much will just make a mess. Spread it around the surface to get good coverage - the heatsink should do this once it touches the chip, but it doesn't hurt to help it along on its way anyway.
We're now ready to re-fit the heatsinks using the RROD Repair Kit. This part of the process can be very fiddly, so be careful not to lose any of the screws or washers. What we need to do is fit a split washer to one of the screws, and push it up through the motherboard from underneath (in the picture below the motherboard has been turned over to show how the screw fits).
Now place two washers on top (pictured below), and replace the heatsink so that it is in its correct position on top of the chip once more. Screw the screw in a couple of turns by hand until it starts to bite, but don't tighten it right up just yet. Repeat this process for all four corners on both heatsinks, so each screw has one washer underneath and two on top. This will ensure that the heatsink is spaced correctly so that it makes firm contact with the chip without damaging it.
Finally, turn the motherboard over and carefully tighten all of the screws with a large flat screwdriver. Don't overtighten the screws - the Xbox 360 motherboard has multiple layers and applying too much pressure can cause internal damage. The washers will do their job of holding the heatsinks in place and spacing everything out properly, so you don't need to tighten anything up by a ridiculous amount.
Now place the motherboard back into the metal cage, replace the DVD drive, fans, and fan ducting, and screw in the short T10 screws you removed earlier (not the longer case screws). It's now time to test your Xbox 360.
Run the 360 for around 5 minutes, and check that the heatsinks are getting hot as expected (try not to burn yourself). Don't worry if they feel too hot - it just means that they're doing their job. Run a graphically demanding game to accelerate the heating process. If your Xbox is working, you can put the rest of the casing back together. You are done!
If You Are Still Getting The Red Ring Of Death
In some cases, the Xbox might still be showing the RROD during the test above. These Xboxes are a little closer to death but can still sometimes be salvaged with a simple overheating trick. This trick can cause serious damage and is not recommended unless all else has failed.
We need to try overheating the GPU, and to do this we need to position the fans in such a way that they are only cooling the CPU. We do this by placing them in the position shown below.
Now power the box on (it will RROD) and leave it powered up for 20 minutes. If the RROD turns into 2 lights before the time is up, pull the power. Either way you will need to physically pull the power cable out as the power button will not work. Leave the Xbox to cool for 30 minutes, reassemble as above, and try it again.
If it still doesn't work, disconnect and remove the fans completely and run the Xbox for 5 minutes. Pull the power cable, allow to cool for 30 minutes, and try it one last time. I had an Xbox which reached this very last step, and actually finally responded after all else had failed. It's still running fine 3 months later!
Where To Buy The Kit
If, after reading, you feel that you're now up for the task of trying out this fix for yourself, you can order an Xbox 360 RROD Repair Kit (as seen in the photos and instructions above) from us. If you've had good luck with our kit, why not recommend it to a friend!
