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[Tfizzle]

just wanted to post my results.  i went ahead and went with the original pdf tutorial.  went to the local hardware store yesterday and picked up the parts.  put everything together with AS5.  powered it up and immediately got the two left overheating leds(1 and 3).  

so i messed with it a whole bunch and couldnt figure it out.  so today i decided to remove the metal washers and just use the fiber washers.  put everything back together and powered up.  only this time it worked.  i think with the metal washers the heatsinks were sitting to high off the CPU and GPU.  

i have had it running a match of GRAW for the past 5 hours.  no lockups at all.  

anyways, one question i wanted to ask was is anyone having problems getting the motherboard to fit back in the metal casing when using these screws?  mine doesnt rest all the way in.  looks like im gonna have to drill out the 8 holes on the bottom.  dont know if i got the wrong machine screws or not.

[rec0ndite]

I just wanted to thank the original poster of this fix, it got mine working again.

[lawdawg0931]

Glad to hear about all the fixes, and even temp. fixes. I still feel that this is in trial phase, as we're still getting mixed results. Overall I believe this is a necessary fix for anyone experiencing the 3RLOD, but I DO NOT recommend this on a working box (even as preventative measures). If it 'aint broke - don't fix it!
@Tfizzle
Thanks for your input, I have a box I bought off E-bay that is giving me the 1 & 3 lights after the "X" clamp mod. I'll try to remove one set of washers & check results.
@ All
I think people need to pay close attention to the board as a whole when securing it back into the bottom case. The screws around the video input, the screws around the power supply input, the portion where wired controllers are plugged in.....pay close attention to the board as you tighten those areas down. If the board isn't sitting down in the case as it should (maybe too many washers on the "X" clamp mod), then as we tighten down those screws - "WE" are flexing the board in doing that! Original spacing is critical in this mod, so just pay attention to this area. If you see flexing as you tighten those screws, then maybe remove one set of washers from the mod. This would definitely be the set under the motherboard, as that is where it would be too high. Just a thought - any others agree here?

[langnao]

QUOTE(lawdawg0931 @ Apr 8 2007, 10:47 PM)

Glad to hear about all the fixes, and even temp. fixes. I still feel that this is in trial phase, as we're still getting mixed results. Overall I believe this is a necessary fix for anyone experiencing the 3RLOD, but I DO NOT recommend this on a working box (even as preventative measures). If it 'aint broke - don't fix it!
@Tfizzle
Thanks for your input, I have a box I bought off E-bay that is giving me the 1 & 3 lights after the "X" clamp mod. I'll try to remove one set of washers & check results.
@ All
I think people need to pay close attention to the board as a whole when securing it back into the bottom case. The screws around the video input, the screws around the power supply input, the portion where wired controllers are plugged in.....pay close attention to the board as you tighten those areas down. If the board isn't sitting down in the case as it should (maybe too many washers on the "X" clamp mod), then as we tighten down those screws - "WE" are flexing the board in doing that! Original spacing is critical in this mod, so just pay attention to this area. If you see flexing as you tighten those screws, then maybe remove one set of washers from the mod. This would definitely be the set under the motherboard, as that is where it would be too high. Just a thought - any others agree here?

For my case, a definite 'no go' with those washers. Too high ...

It is just the bolt directly onto the mobo. Even this setup, it is still a few MM too high. Could have cut away the portion of the metal that touches the bolt but it is rather troublesome.

anyway, i added additional rubber spacer onto the heatsink just to make sure everything sits evenly before tightening the bolt. Might have applied too much pressure.

till the red light appears again ... (finger crossed)

[RBJTech]

QUOTE(lawdawg0931 @ Apr 8 2007, 03:47 PM)

Glad to hear about all the fixes, and even temp. fixes. I still feel that this is in trial phase, as we're still getting mixed results. Overall I believe this is a necessary fix for anyone experiencing the 3RLOD, but I DO NOT recommend this on a working box (even as preventative measures). If it 'aint broke - don't fix it!
@Tfizzle
Thanks for your input, I have a box I bought off E-bay that is giving me the 1 & 3 lights after the "X" clamp mod. I'll try to remove one set of washers & check results.
@ All
I think people need to pay close attention to the board as a whole when securing it back into the bottom case. The screws around the video input, the screws around the power supply input, the portion where wired controllers are plugged in.....pay close attention to the board as you tighten those areas down. If the board isn't sitting down in the case as it should (maybe too many washers on the "X" clamp mod), then as we tighten down those screws - "WE" are flexing the board in doing that! Original spacing is critical in this mod, so just pay attention to this area. If you see flexing as you tighten those screws, then maybe remove one set of washers from the mod. This would definitely be the set under the motherboard, as that is where it would be too high. Just a thought - any others agree here?

100% - that's why I checked the height of the PCB against the standoffs in my tut.  The theory is to keep the board all level and secure - then put the pressure on the die, not the board itself.  There is 3 - 3.5mm of clearance from the board to the metal case, so if people are using your method and the bolts have thicker heads than this, then they are going to run into seating problems...

Seeing the results in the sticky that Grim_d setup is fairly promising tbh, it's up to 14 now with 3/4 failures - that's not bad at all.

I'm also interested in the longevity of the fix - so far so good with mine - I've been using it instead of my regular xbox - it's had the whisper fan upgrade, airflow divider, RAM thermal pads(4 under, 2 GPU h/s) + passive h/s on the front RAM - and it's been without a hickup or freeze thus far ... (2 weeks ish..)

Edit <sp>

[lawdawg0931]

Well, fixed another box that had the 3RLOD....sort of. Everything works great, out of the shell. As soon as I put everything back together, I get the lights again. I'm stumped for now, gonna look closer in the morning. I'm considering leaving it out of it's shell - kind of as a test. It's bound to run much cooler, but there is much less protection...ie spills, dust, pet hair etc. I know others have had this because I've seen this before. Any ideas what might be causing this? I'm sure its flexing somewhere ever-so-slightly, but I'm trying to be very careful when putting it back into its shell.

[RBJTech]

QUOTE(lawdawg0931 @ Apr 9 2007, 03:33 AM)

Well, fixed another box that had the 3RLOD....sort of. Everything works great, out of the shell. As soon as I put everything back together, I get the lights again. I'm stumped for now, gonna look closer in the morning. I'm considering leaving it out of it's shell - kind of as a test. It's bound to run much cooler, but there is much less protection...ie spills, dust, pet hair etc. I know others have had this because I've seen this before. Any ideas what might be causing this? I'm sure its flexing somewhere ever-so-slightly, but I'm trying to be very careful when putting it back into its shell.

Weird - unless your bolts are hitting the bottom of the case (doubt it..) then putting the mainboard in the case and screwing it down should make zero difference (unless the weight of the h/s are causing it to bend?) - in which case it's probably worth trying my mod which secures the h/s firmly to the case as well -  maybe ?

[lawdawg0931]

I no longer use (or recommend) my mod, I've been using yours since I was getting video freezes 2 days after mine. I see some people are still using it and getting good results, but if asked - I link them to your tutorial as its much more secure. I double checked the original spacing under the motherboard using the parts I listed. It matches perfect. I do notice the board flexing when tightening down the video, power, & controller areas - but I think there is no way around this (its very slight). You can see the actual plug center itself in the aluminum cutout as you tighten those screws. I'll keep messing with it today.

[chucksd]

QUOTE(SnufftheCrimeDog @ Apr 7 2007, 01:09 PM)

After you fastened the board to the case did you overheat again? This is pretty much the only other thing I could think of. Replacing the "X-clamps" is a good progressive step forward, but I think to actually get the full affect of the fix, the board should be fastened to the case. What I'm getting at is now that you have the board firmly fastened to the case overheating it again may flex the board and change the board back to it proper state.And then being firmly fastened should prevent it from happening again. I'm not 100% sure about this mind you.

I agree,
I followed RBJtechs tut but did change a few things in that I wanted to limit the boards flexibility as much as possible so I only used the wave washers instead of the springs.  I found that when I really cranked down the H/S & board (you can break it be careful) I did not even need to re heat it (towel/heat gun trick etc) and the 3 rol was already gone.  I had a difficult time with cutting the vanes on the heat sink (lack of good tools) and it took a few tries to get the nuts tight enough to ensure the GPU/CPU heated up properly... You may want to make sure you have the H/S tight enough.  Also did you really clean the GPU/CPU of old therm paste? and go back with AS5 (side note not neccesary I dont think but I use AS5 ceramique on the GPU)? I always spread it out with a credit card (others don't) but that is another thing to consider.  
Check these out and let us know...

QUOTE(Tfizzle @ Apr 8 2007, 02:20 AM)

just wanted to post my results.  i went ahead and went with the original pdf tutorial.  went to the local hardware store yesterday and picked up the parts.  put everything together with AS5.  powered it up and immediately got the two left overheating leds(1 and 3).  

so i messed with it a whole bunch and couldnt figure it out.  so today i decided to remove the metal washers and just use the fiber washers.  put everything back together and powered up.  only this time it worked.  i think with the metal washers the heatsinks were sitting to high off the CPU and GPU.  

i have had it running a match of GRAW for the past 5 hours.  no lockups at all.  

anyways, one question i wanted to ask was is anyone having problems getting the motherboard to fit back in the metal casing when using these screws?  mine doesnt rest all the way in.  looks like im gonna have to drill out the 8 holes on the bottom.  dont know if i got the wrong machine screws or not.

I did use the fiber washers on the bottom and top of the mobo and did not have any problems...
Not sure if that is coincedence or not though...

QUOTE(lawdawg0931 @ Apr 8 2007, 09:47 AM)

Glad to hear about all the fixes, and even temp. fixes. I still feel that this is in trial phase, as we're still getting mixed results. Overall I believe this is a necessary fix for anyone experiencing the 3RLOD, but I DO NOT recommend this on a working box (even as preventative measures). If it 'aint broke - don't fix it!
@Tfizzle
Thanks for your input, I have a box I bought off E-bay that is giving me the 1 & 3 lights after the "X" clamp mod. I'll try to remove one set of washers & check results.
@ All
I think people need to pay close attention to the board as a whole when securing it back into the bottom case. The screws around the video input, the screws around the power supply input, the portion where wired controllers are plugged in.....pay close attention to the board as you tighten those areas down. If the board isn't sitting down in the case as it should (maybe too many washers on the "X" clamp mod), then as we tighten down those screws - "WE" are flexing the board in doing that! Original spacing is critical in this mod, so just pay attention to this area. If you see flexing as you tighten those screws, then maybe remove one set of washers from the mod. This would definitely be the set under the motherboard, as that is where it would be too high. Just a thought - any others agree here?

I do agree as I used fewer washers than what was called for in the tut and the only metal ones I used was the wave washers.  The rest were nylon (same size but not sure if they compress more?) To go along with your thoughts on board flex I am lazy and use a drill with a ratchet setting of 3 for all the screws (outside of the H/S which I did by hand) this is likely helping to stabilize the board...

QUOTE(lawdawg0931 @ Apr 8 2007, 09:33 PM)

Well, fixed another box that had the 3RLOD....sort of. Everything works great, out of the shell. As soon as I put everything back together, I get the lights again. I'm stumped for now, gonna look closer in the morning. I'm considering leaving it out of it's shell - kind of as a test. It's bound to run much cooler, but there is much less protection...ie spills, dust, pet hair etc. I know others have had this because I've seen this before. Any ideas what might be causing this? I'm sure its flexing somewhere ever-so-slightly, but I'm trying to be very careful when putting it back into its shell.

Is the shell bent at all?  I am just guessing here but maybe it was bent when drilling it? and putting it back in the case and securing magnifies the bend? again creating a flex issue?

[lawdawg0931]

QUOTE(chucksd @ Apr 9 2007, 10:03 AM)

Is the shell bent at all?  I am just guessing here but maybe it was bent when drilling it? and putting it back in the case and securing magnifies the bend? again creating a flex issue?

It's not bent, I had a block of wood under it while drilling. I put it back together again, but this time only tightened the bolts until they were flush with the case (no further tension). This seemed to work, I guess tightening them down upon putting the case back together - I was tightening them too much!

[compuguy01]

Hey guys I've been following this exellent tutorial on the 3RLOD and was wondering if my system can have the same problem w/ out any error lights.  When my box boots up it just hangs on the boot screen and doesnt go any further.  When I first start it up after letting it sit for a while unplugged it will boot to the dashboard but then after about 3 minutes or so it freezes.  But no red lights no matter what, so do you think that the system is over heating and I just need to replace the thermal compound and the x-clamp?

[chucksd]

QUOTE(compuguy01 @ Apr 9 2007, 02:12 PM)

Hey guys I've been following this exellent tutorial on the 3RLOD and was wondering if my system can have the same problem w/ out any error lights.  When my box boots up it just hangs on the boot screen and doesnt go any further.  When I first start it up after letting it sit for a while unplugged it will boot to the dashboard but then after about 3 minutes or so it freezes.  But no red lights no matter what, so do you think that the system is over heating and I just need to replace the thermal compound and the x-clamp?

I have seen that before but usually after applying new paste and not getting the H/S level and tight.  ? for you; did you buy the box new or used?  If new it could still be heat related but I would try to reset the console before you crack it open and pull the clamps.  Usually you will see the ROL indicate the problem when hardware is involved.  If you bought it used I would check to see if someone attempted to work on it as they may have used a lesser quality paste or used too much of it etc...

[compuguy01]

QUOTE(chucksd @ Apr 9 2007, 08:54 PM)

I have seen that before but usually after applying new paste and not getting the H/S level and tight.  ? for you; did you buy the box new or used?  If new it could still be heat related but I would try to reset the console before you crack it open and pull the clamps.  Usually you will see the ROL indicate the problem when hardware is involved.  If you bought it used I would check to see if someone attempted to work on it as they may have used a lesser quality paste or used too much of it etc...

The system was bought new,  I havnt messed the the thermal compound or x clamps yet.  This may be a stupid question but how do I reset the console?  To make things a little more wierd on this system this all started after we were playing guitar hero for hours and I threw in a backup got a disc read error then the system just went to hell after that.  Probably doesnt have anything to do w/ it but just throwing that out there.

[rbt]

Hello guys. I've been following this thread and have the following MIXED result so far:

- Manufacture date March 06
- System frooze during GRAW 2 demo, the box did start again a few times, but finally it ended with 3ROL.
- The box did get amazingly hot during sessions, when turned off it used to snap, crackle and pop  
- Error code 0022, which interprets as GPU Error / GPU Overheating
- Have NOT done any previous attempt (Heatgun, toweltrick etc)
- I followed RBJTech's X-clamp replacement tutorial and implemented it fully (thanks for a great tut!)
- Tested the mod succefully!!! Amazing! Turned it on and it booted up, shut it down again.
- Screwed everything back together
- Tested the assembled box - back to 3ROL........ sigh....
- Took everything apart again and been testing and testing BUT no more success.
- Still have the error code 0022

So, i'm quite stuck right now.

Any suggestions? Should i perhaps give the "eraser" mod a try as well?

[lawdawg0931]

QUOTE(lawdawg0931 @ Apr 9 2007, 11:48 AM)

 I put it back together again, but this time only tightened the bolts until they were flush with the case (no further tension). This seemed to work, I guess tightening them down upon putting the case back together - I was tightening them too much!

This is worth a shot, as it's exactly what happen to me. On the bench - disassembled it worked great. Put it back in the case - back to 3RLOD.