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[Gokussj5okazu]

Ok well first off this is a different 360 from the one I posted about the other day. This is my own, personal console, not a customers. Anyhow, since January 07, it had been throwing me the 0102 error. At the time I didn't really feel like messing with it so I let it sit until this past fall. Well after many months of fooling with it, I finally revived it today.

It took a complete X-clamp replacement, AS5 replacement, washers between the heatsink and the left RAM chips, and 2 pennies under each RAM chip. Amazingly, it worked first try, but here's where it gets a little troublesome. I plugged in the original DVD drive, started it up, and it froze at the 360 Sphere screen. O_O No errors nothing, just the sphere froze. Normally you can see the light reflecting in it, but this just frozein one specific spot.

For shits and giggles, I pulled a DVD drive off my shelf that had been giving E64 errors in it's original box. Plugged it up and....it didn't freeze. Of course, it went to the error screen and spit out an E64 error, but that was to be expected.

I can see no damage at all to the original DVD drive. It's a 1st Gen Hitachi drive, right out of one of the launch consoles. Even when the sphere screen is frozen it can eject and the laser will come on and spin up a disc no prob.

I could really use some ideas on what to do here. The only known working drive I have around is at my other house, so I can't get to it till this weekend, but it'll just give the E64 error since it doesn't match the motherboard.  (IMG:style_emoticons/default/uhh.gif) I'm sooo close to getting this thing going.  (IMG:style_emoticons/default/grr.gif)

[Gokussj5okazu]

Does anyone have any ideas? Remember, it's basically just freezing at the Xbox 360 logo. Ignore all the DVD drive stuff, it's trivial.

[chipD]

QUOTE(Gokussj5okazu @ Jan 8 2008, 04:54 AM)

Does anyone have any ideas? Remember, it's basically just freezing at the Xbox 360 logo. Ignore all the DVD drive stuff, it's trivial.

I had pretty much the same problem with my old 360.It would boot to the dash and within a few minutes it would freeze.The more i messed with it, the worse it got.It then progressed to freezing at the logo screen, and now its black screen/no audio and green and while blocks all over.Oddly the thing never 3rod.

Sometimes if its really cold out side i put a dryer vent with an inline fan out the window and blow the air directly into the 360 and surprisingly it boots to dash and doesnt freeze up.

Now ive tried all the overheating mod fixes and none worked for me.But its strange that the cold air seems to fix it once and awhile.My theory is expand and contraction is caused by the cold air, and theres a loose connection that the cold air fixes when it either expands or contracts.

Or it could just be fualty ram or gpu, and requires extreme cold to run without graphical errors kinda like it is overclocked somehow.

[Gokussj5okazu]

Interesting. Does anyone think that the X-clamp replacement may have warped something else that is vital to just the dashboard loading?

When I plugged in my hard drive, it applied an update that had been downloaded using another 360, so the box obviously has actual fuctionality. I mean, it can actually do stuff, it just won't load the dashboard or play games.

 (IMG:style_emoticons/default/uhh.gif) I just have a hard time believing that there's another on board problem, since it installed that update without a problem. If this were the original Xbox my first instinct would be a problem with the dashboard files on the hard drive, but the 360 is void of such accessible storage.

Where exactly IS the dashboard stored? Perhaps it is a problem with that IC.

[Gokussj5okazu]

Honestly, does no one have some ideas? I just went through, desperately putting a little pressure on each IC I could see, just to see if it could help, and nothing.

I searched and couldn't find any other cases of 360's freezing while loading the dashboard, albeit the search engine on here sucks now days. I can't believe there's not a single other instance of one freezing at this point.

[Reyalp]

QUOTE(Gokussj5okazu @ Jan 7 2008, 02:03 AM)

It took a complete X-clamp replacement, AS5 replacement, washers between the heatsink and the left RAM chips, and 2 pennies under each RAM chip.

I'm currently fighting an 0102 error and would like to ask you a few questions...

1) You sandwiched washers between the gpu heatsink and the ram chips next to it? (GPU heatsink -> Washers -> RAM). Did you insulate the washers? eg wrapped electrical tape round them.

2) When you say "2 Pennies under each RAM chip" do you mean you did the whole 3 pennies insulated per ram chip on the bottom of the mobo?

Thanks in advance  (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

[Gokussj5okazu]

QUOTE(Reyalp @ Jan 9 2008, 05:22 PM)

I'm currently fighting an 0102 error and would like to ask you a few questions...

1) You sandwiched washers between the gpu heatsink and the ram chips next to it? (GPU heatsink -> Washers -> RAM). Did you insulate the washers? eg wrapped electrical tape round them.

Ya, I used a #8 flat washer from Walmart on each RAM chip, without insulation, but a dab of AS5 on each side to help dissipate heat.

QUOTE(Reyalp @ Jan 9 2008, 05:22 PM)

2) When you say "2 Pennies under each RAM chip" do you mean you did the whole 3 pennies insulated per ram chip on the bottom of the mobo?

Ya, I did the 12 cent fix, but only with 2 pennies under each RAM chip, so it was actually only 8 cents. I didn't like how much 3 pennies flexed the board, and 2 worked well enough anyhow.

Good luck.

[Gokussj5okazu]

Bump, for desperation.

Seriously though, anyone? Freezing at 360 logo. Someone MUST have an idea.

[sammydad1]

Hi,

Total shot in the dark here, but it helped me fix my 3red light problem....

I did the X-Clamp replacement but was still getting the 3 lights when testing, so on a whim I tried super-cooling the motherboard in sections using an upsides down can of DUST-OFF...surprisingly I found one specific area around the CPU that when super-cooled would allow the unit to boot normal....

Using that observation and having read many threads in here and elsewhere, I then did the heat-gun fix focusing extra attention to the area that reacted to the super-cooling test.  Then before closing it up I also the over-heat part of finishing up the X-Clamp fix a couple times.

So Far, the unit is working nicely....  I have tried using games and DVD movies and even MP3 CD to try and stress it as much as I could, tho my step-son wasn't happy with me borrowing his games while he was at school... 8-)

Maybe I got lucky with the motherboard flexing only in one spot.  But I think using the super-cooling might also help you from what you said in your post.

SD1

[brandogg]

Take out the pennies, and see if you get the 3 red lights. My console froze at the logo a few times, then gave me 0102, I heat gunned it, and it works now (had already done the X-Clamp replacement a long time ago). Is there a game in your drive? I've read where at least one or two console froze at the logo when there was a game or DVD in the drive, but it booted completely when there was a CD or nothing in the drive. It doesn't make much sense, but it's worth experimenting with.

[flippy10]

I had an Xbox that did this solid, no matter what I did.
So, on a total whim, I turned the motherboard upside down... (Bear with me here.)
Immediately after doing so, it booted right up. But no amount of flexing, pressure, or reflow would get it to boot right side up. The GPU had been vapour reflowed already, so I doubted another BGA problem. After about 2 days of testing, the board finally E73'd and toasted. I couldn't get it to boot for the life of me, after the E73. This problem, is incredibly frustrating because it pauses right before dashboard loads.
What doesn't make any sense at all to me, is how you were able to apply that update.

[Gokussj5okazu]

QUOTE(brandogg @ Jan 11 2008, 12:25 AM)

Take out the pennies, and see if you get the 3 red lights. My console froze at the logo a few times, then gave me 0102, I heat gunned it, and it works now (had already done the X-Clamp replacement a long time ago). Is there a game in your drive? I've read where at least one or two console froze at the logo when there was a game or DVD in the drive, but it booted completely when there was a CD or nothing in the drive. It doesn't make much sense, but it's worth experimenting with.

I took the pennies out this morning and it didn't fix anything, just brought back the 0102 error. Now I gotta get that to go away first. I tried it before with and without a game in the drive and both ways it would freeze.

QUOTE(flippy10 @ Jan 11 2008, 05:01 AM)

I had an Xbox that did this solid, no matter what I did.
So, on a total whim, I turned the motherboard upside down... (Bear with me here.)
Immediately after doing so, it booted right up. But no amount of flexing, pressure, or reflow would get it to boot right side up. The GPU had been vapour reflowed already, so I doubted another BGA problem. After about 2 days of testing, the board finally E73'd and toasted. I couldn't get it to boot for the life of me, after the E73. This problem, is incredibly frustrating because it pauses right before dashboard loads.
What doesn't make any sense at all to me, is how you were able to apply that update.

Funny that you should mention this. A few months before this 360 went to craps, the only way to get it to work was to turn it completely upside down. It didn't help this time though.




So now I'm back to 0102, so once I get that fixed it looks like I'll just be selling this board off to someone. >_>

This post has been edited by Gokussj5okazu: Jan 11 2008, 05:06 PM

[ceored]

The freezing is a GPU problem, it took me a long time to sift through the forums to find it, but I can testify that it is true.  It makes the most sense as your error is a GPU error.  On my box if my clamp replacement is too tight I get the red light error, in my case 0020 which is a different area of the GPU failing than yours, if it is too loose then the screen freezes at boot or the dash.  You should tweak the pressure on the screws, also you should experiment with the number of washers you use (washer manufacturers have fairly larger tolerances, especially the Chinese Wal-mart washers).  Also I haven't found the RAM to be a problem, the penny thing might straighten the board but the washers and screws can doe the same thing, but heat is negligible on these chips.  The broken BGA solder joints on the GPU is the roots cause and it is different board to board.  Also the DVD drive will shake your screws loose, so consider some thread locker, my console used to last 3-4 days w/o freezing, now I can get it between 4-6 months without having to tune it up, man I really hope a bunch of people got fired at M$.

[Reyalp]

QUOTE(Gokussj5okazu @ Jan 9 2008, 10:35 PM)

Ya, I used a #8 flat washer from Walmart on each RAM chip, without insulation, but a dab of AS5 on each side to help dissipate heat.

Ya, I did the 12 cent fix, but only with 2 pennies under each RAM chip, so it was actually only 8 cents. I didn't like how much 3 pennies flexed the board, and 2 worked well enough anyhow.

Good luck.

Thanks for the tips. I went ahead and did RBJ's MKIII X-Clamp + washer between GPU heatsink and top ram chips + 2 pennies per ram chip on the bottom of the mobo but it's still no go. I still get 0102 and no video (confirmed with VGA, component and SCART cables) and no audio (confirmed by using optical out on each of the previous AV cables).

Am I right in assuming that despite your 0102 you can still get the initial 360 logo come up on your TV/monitor before it RRODs out?

[Pnt.sharma]

For how long u have had pennies attached