Facts about the Xbox 360 Red Ring of Death (RROD)

If you are an Xbox 360 gamer, the “RROD” or “Red Ring of Death” is reason enough to turn you into an insomniac! It is the most common technical problem encountered by Xbox 360 owners around the world and there are entire forums and urban legends dedicated to finding a “solution” to the problem.

Of course, you can send your faulty system to Microsoft for repair, but you need to understand that Microsoft sells thousands of Xbox 360 units each year and about 30 out of every 100 units sold begin to malfunction immediately after purchase. Now, with all those faulty units piling up at service centers, you can’t expect to have your console repaired and shipped to you overnight. Owners have been known to wait 2 months, or even longer, before they actually get their game console back from the company workshop.

The “Red Ring of Death” is called a “General Hardware Failure” by Microsoft and is characterized by the appearance of three red lights on the illuminated power button of the Xbox 360. A good understanding of the problem accompanied by a repair guide from Xbox 360 could help you repair the RROD at home in less than an hour.

The following are the main causes responsible for RROD:

Overheating – The Xbox 360 is not equipped with an effective cooling system. This causes the system to overheat and trigger a pair of circuits that connect the CPU to the motherboard.

Cold solder joints: the presence of air bubbles inside the solder joints causes them to crack when the temperature fluctuates.

Nyko Cooler – The Nyko intercooler seems to draw too much power from the console, causing the Xbox 360 to malfunction.

Faulty Powerbrick – The powerbrick ensures adequate power flow to the entire unit and also contains a fan that regulates the operating temperature. A faulty powerbrick could render the system unusable.

Whatever the cause of the Red Ring of Death, a simple Xbox 360 repair guide could help you fix the problem in less than an hour using simple household tools. Look for simple repair guides on the Internet and you will find several sites that offer help. Make sure the Xbox 360 Repair Guide and the videos that follow are from a reputable site, because you don’t want to end up making the problem worse by following unprofessional and impractical advice.