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[SnufftheCrimeDog]

Well it great to see the numbers of successful replacements, I was wondering if we have determined if this is a perminent fix yet or not.

[makaveli86]

might still be too early to till, but it sure does look promising.

[sunsrun]

Tollbooth, I don't think it matters what material your motherboard is on, as long as it isn't something that can give out static electricity. I usually use something wood, or metal. Be sure that all memory pads are covered, meaning all 5 on the back and the 2 underneath the GPU heatsink. Are you sure the rattling noise is coming from the capacitor? I noticed when I shook my 360 it made scary noises - then I realized I had washers swimming around underneath lol.

As for the memory chips, in my case, I didn't have any thermal pads on the GPU side (quite the stupid idea Microsoft - thermal paste wouldn't make good contact either) when I uncovered everything. So, I took two of the sticky pads and cut them in half. They expand enough when you squish them to use only one half of each pad per chip. Of course, copper ramsinks would work alot better than straight sticky pads, but that would be more of a permanent solution. I recommend that if anyone wants a permanent bond that gives out AS5 temps to pick up some Arctic Silver Thermal Adhesive. Much better than glue, heh. I would not recommend using it on the GPU or CPU, only because I like the option of being able to disassemble everything (this stuff is pretty much permanent).

I would consider RBJ's method a permanent fix, though; and keeping temps under control will only help. The shroud mod lowered my fan noise considerably. The more degrees cooler the better. That will lessen the chance of anything happening again.

The problem with the X Clamps is that they stressed the motherboard...bowing it, even, right underneath the most critical components. Factor in the lack of screws near the middle part of the board, but all on the outside. That contributes to the bowing effect.

With the intense heat (from another poor design) from all the gaming, it all comes together and I think this is why we're seeing so many 'broken' 360's these days. RBJ's method is very basic, yet fundamental - that is what's important. The X Clamps are just a quick fix to what they were trying to accomplish, IMO. Obviously, Microsoft didn't do too much in-house testing.  

[soul-assassin]

What an awesome fix, came at just the right time. I've had my console since launch, no problems. Last week, 3RLOD! Of course, 2 weeks before I'm ready to sell the sucker on Ebay (making room for an Elite). Of course the first place I go to is here and low and behold there is this amazing fix. Due to a complete lack of free time, I wasn't able to put any real time into it until tonight. Followed the original fix (5m bolts, no cutting the GPU hs). It works, it really friggin' works! The most time consuming part was cleaning the processors/heat sinks. I havn't had time to do a long test, but it is definately working at this point, that's much more than before the fix. Thanks to all that put the time and effort into this.

Happiness pictured below!

[ferrari_rulz_02]

QUOTE(soul-assassin @ Apr 19 2007, 01:53 PM)

Happiness pictured below!

and happiness looks very good.

the fact that they can go dead like yours out of the blue was me worried....not 100% sure wether i want to take the plunge and crack it open

ive had it since launch (im in Australia....March 23)

[benfinkel]

Awesome stuff Lawdawg.


Two questions for the community:


1) Has this had success resolving error code 0020?  That's the error I'm getting and I don't see a lot of info regarding who has what error and if it worked or not.

2)  You mention in the tutorial:

"They force the motherboard to flex up at the anchor points, causing solder points to become compromised over time/heat."

But you don't appear to offer any solution to "reverse" the damage that has been done to those Solder points.  Am I missing something?

Thanks,

-Ben

[lawdawg0931]

@benfinkel
1. Error 0020 is not known for sure, but possibly caused by overheating
2. By removing the X clamps and re-flowing, this basically fixes (or reverses) what the X clamps broke. The overheating step in my tutorial helps in that aspect, but should only be done if the X clamp replacement itself didn't clear the existing errors.  

[makaveli86]

hey lawdawg, got a question. Wasn't able to get the 'flat' head machine screws, kind of ended up getting onces that bulge out slightly. When i try and place the mobo back in the casing, obviously the ports dont line up (cause the screw heads have elevated it slightly). Now what i think might work is if i drill big enough holes where the bolt head lays, the heads will simply fall through. now if they fall through, i assume the bottom of the mobo will be directly touching the metal case...i think? not sure, but if so would that be a problem?

[benfinkel]

QUOTE(lawdawg0931 @ Apr 19 2007, 03:57 PM)

@benfinkel
1. Error 0020 is not known for sure, but possibly caused by overheating
2. By removing the X clamps and re-flowing, this basically fixes (or reverses) what the X clamps broke. The overheating step in my tutorial helps in that aspect, but should only be done if the X clamp replacement itself didn't clear the existing errors.  

Thanks for the reply

I read the part about the overheating after I had posted.  My bad for not reading through fully.

As for error 0020 I was just wondering if many or even any of the 50 success started with code 0020.  Maybe thats something that could be added to the success sticky?  A spreadsheet breaking down specific errors and the success or failure with those errors.

Thanks again!

[joeboyc2]

been following the thread for a long time and last night I decided to take the plunge and crack the old girl open, she'd been ring of deathin on my for about a week now, tried the towel method witch worked fine for a day or 2 and then she died again.

started following the thread a few days ago and was really interested in the results, after a bit of thinking I decided to go for RJBTechs method as it seemed to be getting the most coverage and did seem to be the most sound of the two, it dose involve a bit more work but I was up for the challenge

I gathered all the required bits and followed the tutorial (Excellent by the way) don't think it could be any more straight forward + the parts guide was spot on, although think B&Q might have cottoned on to the demand and have hiked the price by 20p, what’s an extra 20p against the price Microsoft would try to charge me if I sent it in for repair

anyways I set to work, dismantled her and started drilling and lining up, took me in all about 2-3 hours as I spent a lot of time cleaning the die's and the GPU heat sink was a bit of a challenge( might have been down to the fact I didn't really have the right tools HA) got it all together and booted it up, 3ROLD straight away so I let it on with no fan and no shroud and let it over heat, turned it back on after letting it cool down for a bit, booted to the dash no problem, left it there for a few min and then whacked in PGR3, left it on the demo screen for about an hour and came back,

IT WAS STILL RUNNING

Before this mod I was lucked if it even gave me any video out put so as you might gather I was very pleased, I turned it of as I dint really want to leave it on all night

First thing this morning I fired the old girl up and she started first time, and that’s from cold, left it on the demo and got ready for work, about half an hour passed and I came back, still on , started playing and it was fine, could stop for long as I was already late for work

not really had a chance to give it a good work out but hopefully tonight ill do some Xbox live, give the girl a run for her money, ill post again soon just to give an update,

Guess it 50+ fixes now, when it going to get on the front page?

[benfinkel]

Awesome news Joeboy.

I picked up the parts for RBJC's tutorial today at lunch and I'm going to start tonight.  I'll let everyone know how it goes.


Can I ask you:  How did you countersink the bolt holes?

[joeboyc2]

i just used a basic counter sink like you get in a drill piece kit

don't put to much pressure down as it will bend the metal, you only need to counter sink it a little anyways, don't go to far or the screws will go straight through

[WhiteBoy]

I will be trying this, this weekend and wanted to get some tips. While I have the 360 completely apart. What other suggestions or mods would you recommend to make the 360 perform and run better. Thanks.

[lukebe]

QUOTE(benfinkel @ Apr 20 2007, 03:00 AM)

Thanks for the reply

I read the part about the overheating after I had posted.  My bad for not reading through fully.

As for error 0020 I was just wondering if many or even any of the 50 success started with code 0020.  Maybe thats something that could be added to the success sticky?  A spreadsheet breaking down specific errors and the success or failure with those errors.

Thanks again!

benfinkel - I can confirm I started with an 0020 and I'm have just finished RBJ's tutorial. All signs look good at the moment but I really have not stretched it legs.

[lukebe]

I know this is a long thread but if your keen enough like me you'll read every message to ensure you have all the tips and tricks before doing this.
 
For the record, MS25 on Aus launch (23rd-ish of March). Starting locking up and recently gave the 3 light. It would work for a bit and then go red. Always at the worst time so I decided something needed to be done hence the X-clamp fix RBJ style.
 
When done I just plugged the RF plate onto the motherboard alone to start it up and got the same error code as I initially had (0020). So I thought, I'll screw the mother board properly into the housing so I can heat it up and let it flex and sit. BUT when I screwed it in I notice movement around the edges of the board. I was thinking, this is BAD. But I gave it a shot anyway when done and it started fine. Is this right??? Makes me nervous but worked.
 
My parts were sourced from Australia so had to find them around the place.
For the aussies... I found most parts at Jaycar (washers, nuts) and got the bolts from Home Hardware (Bunnings had some too). Forget DSE and Tandy.
 
1. I used 2 washers between the board and the 2 heat sinks. 3 didn't even touch in my case. Probably the same for all the Aussies as I found all of the local products a little larger than RBJ's figures.
2. All the bolts I could find in Aus had quiet a high head on them (both hex and phillips). So I took 30 mins and ground them down with my bench grinder to ensure they would not hit the plastic casing when all snapped together. You can see they actually protrude below the metal housing so I thought this was time well spent.
3. I forked out a couple of bucks and got a very thin metal file (like a nail file) to smooth out the GPU chunks I took out. This was to ensure the washers and nut sit a little more firmly and dont move on the flaky pieces where I snapped the blades off. This just gave me a warm fuzzy feeling that I was making it solid.
 
While I had it apart I noticed a few people placing a small heat sink on the southbridge chip. I thought, yeah that wont hurt. BUT... when I placed the DVD down the power and SATA cables dangle too close for my liking. If these cables touch the heat sink will it melt them or cause bad stuff?

WhiteBoy - like I just said. While I have it apart I'm looking at RBJ's cooling fan shroud mod and also cutting our the metal casing behind the fans to increase air flow. Already had the whisper fans in place of stock.

I'll post my success on the right thread once I have verified it with an intense gaming session.