Sup, RRoD on 360.

Anyone that's fixed one of these before want to walk me through the steps taken to fix it?

Something like

1. Open Xbox
2. Remove the X-clamps and clean off the el-cheapo thermal paste that microsoft installed
3. Apply new thermal paste and add #8 washers and re-install x-clamps
4. ???
5. Profit!

Am I doing it right? Or is there something I'm missing?

1/27/2009 1:06:09 AM

Not to be a complete dick or anything but...

http://letmegooglethatforyou.com/?q=x-clamp+fix

Seriously, there is TONS of info out there on what to do, what not to do, how to do it right, how you can screw it up, etc. It's really not that difficult. You've got the basic idea already. Except you don't put the x-clamps back on, the entire point of the washers and bolts are to replace the clamps and readjust the pressure points on the heatsinks. This is the guide I ended up using but there are several different methods for the fix each with their pluses and minuses

One thing they don't really tell you is that while the x-clamp fix does end up working out for some insanely high amount of xbox 360s, it really isn't a permanent fix for many of them. In the end most people have to keep reapplying the clamps every couple of months to keep it working. The first time I did mine it worked for about a week before I started getting the RROD again. Admittedly I did a shit job and I used too much thermal paste. The second time I ended up doing a much better job and the fix lasted for about 4 months. After that each fix lasted about a month until they finally stopped working altogether. I ended up buying a new 360 just to avoid the hassle of having to take the damn thing apart so often. On the plus side I was getting pretty good at getting the case on and off since I had to do it so often. I was getting down to about 45 minutes from start to finish for the whole process. The first time it took me several hours.

1/27/2009 1:45:04 AM

Great, thanks!

but now my xbox looks like this:

1/27/2009 3:02:10 AM

Wait, you've actually got a 360 that's older than 3 years? Otherwise MS will fix it.

1/27/2009 3:40:25 AM

^ i second that.

MS should fix it unless you've had it for over 3 years.

[Edited on January 27, 2009 at 4:51 AM. Reason : .]

1/27/2009 4:51:09 AM

it's bought 2ndhand, so MS won't fix it.

1/27/2009 5:21:38 AM

Being bought secondhand will not void the special warranty if the unit it not over 3 years old. I send in the second 360 I owned with RRoD which was bought used.

1/27/2009 7:15:52 AM

i had a guy fix mine after warranty ran out for like $25

1/27/2009 9:35:58 AM

i bought one off TWW and was I think the 3rd person to own it. I didn't have the receipt but MS will still fix it if it is 3 years old or less. Definately worth a shot as it's free and took very little time to get done, plus shipping was free too.

1/27/2009 11:01:29 AM

It still says the Standard warranty expired on 6/1/2008, and the repair fee will be $94. Do they refund your repair fee after you pay for it and determine that it's indeed a red ring?

1/29/2009 8:05:56 PM

^ They don't even charge you. When you set up the repair online theres a RRoD option. Use that, print out the shipping label and send it in. If it doesn't have RRoD, they just mail it back to you. If it does, they fix it and mail it back to you.

You won't be charged unless you send it in for service not related to RRoD.

1/29/2009 9:31:52 PM

Just make sure that the warranty sticker is still in place. I had a co-worker that bought a 360 off ebay and when it got the RRoD, she sent it in to MS to have it replaced but the previous owner had removed the sticker. So even though it was still under warranty timewise, they wouldn't touch it. Basically after they got it they told her she would have to pay shipping both ways in order to get her (still broken) xbox back. Ended up being about $50 for them to NOT fix it.

1/29/2009 10:28:01 PM

I've done the X-Clamp fix on around ten 360's now, 9 of which never had an issue again. The other one someone tried to do it before me and probably made things worse, but it ran for another 6 months after I reflowed it so I guess that's something.

The repair really isn't that hard. There are even people on Craigslist and the like that will do it for you for a small fee (usually $50 or so). If you're decently handy with a screwdriver its maybe a few hours work.


But yeah, if the warranty sticker is intact MS will fix it for free, irregardless.

1/29/2009 11:43:09 PM

K, thanks to everyone who replied.

1/31/2009 2:02:31 PM

buy one and switch em out

karma may catch you but prolly not til the xbox720 comes out

1/31/2009 3:45:21 PM

I might just end up doing that. But first I wanna know if it's the store that takes the loss or microsoft.

2/1/2009 12:17:23 AM

the store.

2/1/2009 1:27:04 AM

Hell I bought mine used off ebay, when it died I called them up, they asked if I was some other dude who had it registered already, and I said no I got it on Ebay.

They just registered it in my name and fixed it for me.

Quote :

"It still says the Standard warranty expired on 6/1/2008, and the repair fee will be $94. Do they refund your repair fee after you pay for it and determine that it's indeed a red ring?"

The Xbox hadn't even been out for 3 years by 6/1/08. I think you're good.

[Edited on February 1, 2009 at 2:07 AM. Reason : [.][.]

2/1/2009 2:03:08 AM

buy a ps3....its autmatically got a blu-ray player b/c thats what the games are on...when the gaming industry finally catches upto the ps3 it will by far be the superior system

2/1/2009 3:05:36 PM

Yeah, spending $400+ on a ps3 and then waiting around for several years for the industry to "catch up" really sounds like a much better idea than buying a $50 drive off ebay.

2/1/2009 3:42:05 PM

buy one for 200 and still get to watch the blu ray movies (which a bluy ray player in itself costs at least 400

2/1/2009 5:19:40 PM

not to derail totally, but when is 360 suppose to get its blueray addon?

2/1/2009 8:54:45 PM

Firstly, it's blu-ray not blueray.
Secondly, it's supposed not suppose.
Thirdly, that will never happen.

2/1/2009 11:56:30 PM

Quote :

"buy one for 200 and still get to watch the blu ray movies (which a bluy ray player in itself costs at least 400"

You can get blu-ray players at Walmart for $150 bucks.

The PS3 is a quickly dying platform. Dismal holiday sales, a severe lack of quality exclusive games, and a parent company that is spiraling downward.

2/2/2009 12:27:36 AM