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[sporenfrosch1411]

Hi there,

I have one of those early Xbox360...and recently it started to crash from time to time. Last week it finally gave me the Red Ring of Death for the first time. The weird thing is, the Box ALWAYS starts, with green lights. Then it works fine for a maximum of 5 minutes and crashes, no matter what game is inside.
When i reboot the Box, it sometimes crashes BEFORE the dashboard (at the 360 Logo) OR it starts the game and plays it for 5 minutes again and crashes then. When i try to restart the Box again, the RROD appears. When i wait for some time (like 5 minutes) i can start the Box, showing me only green Lights....but the Box crashes as before and the same process i described can be repeated (though its no fun (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif))

I tried the Penny fix with 2 pennies; Results:
The Xbox firste shows 3 Red Lights and then Instantly switches to 2 Red Lights
(i did NOT apply any new heat paste or remove the heatsinks or something)

I tried the Towel Fix (16minutes baking, 20 minutes letting it cooldown); Results:
Nothing.......i had the same problems as before...... seemingly the box ran a few minutes more,,,but then crashed as usual

Is this a "usual" evidence for broken ram connections? (meaning applying the Heat Gun helps?)

My Box is Flashed, so i have no quarantee.
I dont know what else to do.......PLS HELP ME

This post has been edited by sporenfrosch1411: Feb 25 2008, 02:48 PM

[Wilhelm_I]

QUOTE(sporenfrosch1411 @ Feb 25 2008, 02:42 PM)

Hi there,

I have one of those early Xbox360...and recently it started to crash from time to time. Last week it finally gave me the Red Ring of Death for the first time. The weird thing is, the Box ALWAYS starts, with green lights. Then it works fine for a maximum of 5 minutes and crashes, no matter what game is inside.
When i reboot the Box, it sometimes crashes BEFORE the dashboard (at the 360 Logo) OR it starts the game and plays it for 5 minutes again and crashes then. When i try to restart the Box again, the RROD appears. When i wait for some time (like 5 minutes) i can start the Box, showing me only green Lights....but the Box crashes as before and the same process i described can be repeated (though its no fun (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif))

I tried the Penny fix with 2 pennies; Results:
The Xbox firste shows 3 Red Lights and then Instantly switches to 2 Red Lights
(i did NOT apply any new heat paste or remove the heatsinks or something)

I tried the Towel Fix (16minutes baking, 20 minutes letting it cooldown); Results:
Nothing.......i had the same problems as before...... seemingly the box ran a few minutes more,,,but then crashed as usual

Is this a "usual" evidence for broken ram connections? (meaning applying the Heat Gun helps?)

My Box is Flashed, so i have no quarantee.
I dont know what else to do.......PLS HELP ME

You should try the the x-clamp replacement and if it doesnt work then overheat it with fans plugged out(the towel trick can damage other internal parts of the console)
However, to help you it would be nice to know the secondary error code as I can only guess what it is by your description.
So, which secondary error code do you get?
If you dont know how to get the secondary error code check out this link http://forums.xbox-scene.com/index.php?showtopic=484726

[sporenfrosch1411]

The secondary Error Code (with the Penny Trick "installed) is 1&3 (edit: red lights 1&3 flash). ... i did the test it gave me : 0011  and on the next try it gave me 0012...... (cpu // gpu overheat) which is NOT true....they are icy ^^
i just recognized that the Fans stop after some seconds (penny trick "installed). They first roar like an airplane and then totally stop....i waited like 45seconds or a minute to see if they would turn on again, but they didnt.....

I also tried to cool the Xbox by adding a fan (the box is open at that point, because as we all know the drive blocks an extra fan) but it kept doing the same errors // crashings.....

This post has been edited by sporenfrosch1411: Feb 25 2008, 04:35 PM

[Wilhelm_I]

QUOTE(sporenfrosch1411 @ Feb 25 2008, 04:31 PM)

The secondary Error Code (with the Penny Trick "installed) is 1&3 (edit: red lights 1&3 flash). ... i did the test it gave me : 0011  and on the next try it gave me 0012...... (cpu // gpu overheat) which is NOT true....they are icy ^^
i just recognized that the Fans stop after some seconds (penny trick "installed). They first roar like an airplane and then totally stop....i waited like 45seconds or a minute to see if they would turn on again, but they didnt.....

I also tried to cool the Xbox by adding a fan (the box is open at that point, because as we all know the drive blocks an extra fan) but it kept doing the same errors // crashings.....

well if the heatsinks remain cold they will most likely have no good contact to the cpu/gpu die, this usually happens when the screws are too tight after the x-clamp replacement or when you used too much or not enough thermal compound
The fact that the fans spin up loudly when you start it underline this as the 360 increases the fan speed when the temperature increases.
As you did not do the x-clamp replacement this sounds pretty wierd, did you play around with the x-clamps maybe?
It is an overheating issue for sure as you only get the 2 lights and not the 3(unless the 360 overheats too quick to let the 3rlod even appear (IMG:style_emoticons/default/tongue.gif))
I would try to replace the x-clamps + AS5 thermal compound and when you are done with that 12Ving the fans is recommended...
gruß Wilhelm

This post has been edited by Wilhelm_I: Feb 25 2008, 05:50 PM

[sporenfrosch1411]

So shall i losen the Screws or tighten them ^^ ?
(im currently thinking of applying the custom screws one can buy to replace the clamps, do i need to overheat the xbox again then? or is it enough to just attach the new screws?

PS: is a guide in this forum how to convert the fans to 12V ? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) (pls dont hurt me for asking (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) )
Gruß Jan (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

This post has been edited by sporenfrosch1411: Feb 25 2008, 09:23 PM

[Almog6k]

Hi.

I had the same problem as you have now.

If you'll unscrew the XClamp screws and disassemble the CPU's and Gpu's Heatsink you will found that the original thermal compound from Microsoft is totally cheap thermal compound.

If the fans are spinning at top speed when you start the Xbox 360 that means that the Cpu or Gpu are overheating and the fans are trying to remove as much hot air as possible to cool the system.

This is what I did and I had the same problem as yours and I fixed my friend's XBOX 360 and after that I finished Gears of war and played a all new season in Fifa 2008. And my XBOX 360 and my friend's are still working great.

1. Replace the Xclamp and clean the Cpu and Gpu dies until you can see your reflection. Remove the cheap thermal compound, Go to any electronic shop and buy a tube of thermal compound. You don't really need a AS5 or any other pricey thermal compound.  after that install the heat sinks.

2. Do the pennies trick with 3 pennies. I haven't tried with 2 I used 3.

3. Something that I can recommend to everyone. Install an external fan that blows cold air to the xbox 360's case. When the case is locked with only passive cooling the heat sinks are getting to a very high temperature . But when you install a fan you can play for couple of hours and the heat sinks are still very cool. I used 120mm fan. The fans that blows the hot air outside are always working on the lowest speed.
It's very easy and saves you a lot of time.

Good luck!  

I want to thank the XBOX-SCENE forum. I learned everything that I know from here.

[sporenfrosch1411]

sounds reasonable

the last question i have is, whether the Clamp Fix is enough...... do i need to use a heat gun too? (because i dont have one, and i dont know noone owning one)

couldnt this be done with a normal hair-dryer ^^ ?
If i apply it for like 10 minutes (or something between 5-10 minutes), moving it around over the chips, shouldnt this also be enough heat to reattach the chip issues?

This post has been edited by sporenfrosch1411: Feb 26 2008, 04:28 PM

[Scan-C]

A hairdryer isn't going to help you as it doesn't heat the solder up enough to melt. Also don't overheat or heatgun the board. Try the normal x-clamp replacement, if that doesn't work 3 penny fix and only then think about heating it up. Most of the time the x-clamp replacement is good by itself.
As mentioned earlier clean the dies on CPU and GPU and apply AS5. You shouldn't use a cheap thermal compound on a box that already has overheating issues. With AS5  the box is 5-10 degrees cooler as with cheap compound.

[sporenfrosch1411]

Ok thanks to all helping me so far....... i am now going to get me the screws, hopefully on of the shops here has them (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)
This evening ill try to attach them and report on my results

[Wilhelm_I]

QUOTE(sporenfrosch1411 @ Feb 26 2008, 05:18 PM)

Ok thanks to all helping me so far....... i am now going to get me the screws, hopefully on of the shops here has them (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)
This evening ill try to attach them and report on my results

you could also just get one of these ROD kits that they sell on ebay it will cost you like 1.50€+2.49€ for dispatch...
If you cant get the parts somewhere else

[sporenfrosch1411]

yeah baby!

I got the screws and the paste for like 11€ (good paste (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif) ) , attached them, and so far the box didnt crash (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

Ill report if it will (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)


Uhm,
there was no thermal compound attached to the ram beneath the gpu heatsink....is this normal? is this neccessary ^^?


Can i attach the same screws to replace the clamp beneath the cpu? (cause i obviously got more of them)

This post has been edited by sporenfrosch1411: Feb 27 2008, 12:20 AM

[Bandit5317]

QUOTE(sporenfrosch1411 @ Feb 26 2008, 06:01 PM)

yeah baby!

I got the screws and the paste for like 11€ (good paste (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif) ) , attached them, and so far the box didnt crash (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

Ill report if it will (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)
Uhm,
there was no thermal compound attached to the ram beneath the gpu heatsink....is this normal? is this neccessary ^^?
Can i attach the same screws to replace the clamp beneath the cpu? (cause i obviously got more of them)

Yeah, it's normal for the ram to have no thermal compound on them there. You don't really need to add any heat transferring material to them, since I have never heard of a problem with a 360 that can be attributed to the ram overheating (even though they get pretty hot). One thing you definetely don't want to do is just cake on a bunch of thermal compound to bridge the gap because that's hardly going to help at all, since all thermal compound dramatically loses it's heat transferring capabilities as it gets thicker.

[sporenfrosch1411]

Ok i leave the ram as they are then


(forget the srew/cpu question, they are the same i recognized)

[sporenfrosch1411]

I want to thank all u guys for helping me

my box did not crash yet (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) it seems to be repaired
Amazing, just the clamp replacement for about 11€ (with Compound) was enough to repair it. This way i saved over 40€, which is the fee the stores here take for repairing it ^^

[sporenfrosch1411]

Ok, my XBOX shows me the RROD again. It lastet for about a week and i hardly even played with it (max 5 hours or something)

(to remember : i did the X-Clamp Replace and also put a new thermal compound on the cpu and gpu.


What could i try now, and is there a solution that will last a little longer^^ ?

Im also right now thinking about selling this messy thing.......