Topic: Xbox 360 Freezes Only With Hard Drive (Read 328 times)

Harrisondh · « **on:** August 14, 2008, 07:19:00 AM »

I bought an Xbox 360 off of Ebay, WIth th 12V mod From the DVD to the fans, When I got the system it worked just fine, I played Gears of War for hours with no problem the system never froze, SO I started playing some other games, and I most them froze, Some didnt Like Ninja Guidan Worked Fine, Gears of war, ran perfect, but games like PGR 4 froze, Blacksite area 51 would freeze, and now Rainbow Six vegas freezes, SO I got Fed up and took it apart and here are the things I tried, I took the Dvd rom apart and Adjusted the pot, all the way from 2.8k to 4.80k in .2 Increments, PGR4 would still freeze, and it doesnt do it while in the Game only while its loading, and its random, not at the same point, the Disc is near perfect so I know its not that, After trying that I assumed it was the Drive so I ordered a new one, its on its way, but today I decided to try it without my hard drive, the game ran perfect, No freezing for hours, So then I though ok cool its my HDD, well I borrowed my friends HDD which works fine in his XBox and tried it on mine, Same problem it freezes, SO now I dont know what to do, I can play without my HDD but whats the point I cant save, has anybody had this same problem and fixed it? Also I already tried the Cache Clearing in the Consoles Blade, and the System reset while holding the Sync button at startup, no help still freezes.

-Big-Daddy- · « **Reply #1 on:** August 14, 2008, 07:15:00 AM »

Sounds more like your system is dying because of the x clamps. When it freezes does it make a beeping sound through the speakers? its not a good thing freezing of any kind to have and is a sign of a general hardware failure on the way in my experience.

My very first 360 had this problem but when it froze a beeping sound went through the speakers always used to freeze within 5 minutes of play.

You dont have to use a hdd you can get them small memory units which are just as good 256mb is all you need for gamesaves. 64mb one is too small especially if you have multiple profiles on it.... i got a 20gb hard drive but always prefer using my 256mb memory unit for some reason.

Harrisondh · « **Reply #2 on:** August 14, 2008, 07:52:00 AM »

its, not the X-clamps, They have been replaced with washers and screws, and if it was the 3 red lights coming, then it wold freeze on all games, not just some, and it would do it all the time, Mine only freezes when it loads something, and when it has the Hard drive in it, if the hard drive is out, then It Doesnt Freeze at all, It will run all day, I really dont want to use the Memory unit, I should be able to use the HDD like everyone else, and when it freezes I dont get any colors or patterns just a frozen loading screen , and I can still turn th Xbox 360 off with the power button,

GXuner · « **Reply #3 on:** August 14, 2008, 09:37:00 AM »

I'm not entirely sure of it, but maybe the 12v fan mod might be the problem. You said that the power source for it came from the dvd right? maybe you should move it to another spot on the board and try it again. There's a thread that details the specific spots to get power from, try looking for it. Just my 2 cents, but like I said, not entirely sure.

jdbkbuddy · « **Reply #4 on:** August 14, 2008, 10:21:00 AM »

Is the 360 lying flat or up on its side?

The HHD constricts air intake on the left side. Standing the 360 on its end constricts air intake on the right side.

Does it play all day without freezing with the metal top off and the HDD plugged in?

Wilhelm_I · « **Reply #5 on:** August 14, 2008, 11:10:00 AM »

I guess I know what it is...
Reset the cache of your harddrive this should fix it(search for it you will have to enter a secret combination to perform system maintenance on the HDD)

If this doesnt get rid of it it will really be a problem with your GPU but I would rather bet on the harddrive...

Vendeta · « **Reply #6 on:** August 14, 2008, 03:46:00 PM »

Try disabling the 12v mod for now and trying the HDD out

Harrisondh · « **Reply #7 on:** August 14, 2008, 05:55:00 PM »

Well I disabled the 12 volt mod, an Still freezes, and Still only while its loading, The only thing I can think of now is maybe the DVD rom is bad, I'm out of Ideas, my DVD rom is coming soon hopefully that will fix it..

killamayne · « **Reply #8 on:** August 14, 2008, 06:17:00 PM »

QUOTE(Harrisondh @ Aug 14 2008, 05:31 PM)

Well I disabled the 12 volt mod, an Still freezes, and Still only while its loading, The only thing I can think of now is maybe the DVD rom is bad, I'm out of Ideas, my DVD rom is coming soon hopefully that will fix it..

gpu problem

Harrisondh · « **Reply #9 on:** August 14, 2008, 07:11:00 PM »

Everybody keeps saying its a GPU problem, but how could it be a GPU problem if it doesnt freeze when the Hard drive is out?

Harrisondh · « **Reply #10 on:** August 14, 2008, 10:40:00 PM »

Come on SOmebody has to be having this same problem, ....

Harrisondh · « **Reply #11 on:** August 15, 2008, 12:16:00 AM »

Well I tried to Play a demo to see what would happened, I decided to Download PGR4, Well I start the game, and when it starts loading it gives me error, Please clean Disk,

? what disk its a fucking hard drive, So i'm even more confused, What could be the problem with this thing, is the hardd drive dirty, lol

jdbkbuddy · « **Reply #12 on:** August 15, 2008, 12:21:00 AM »

Ok, does the eject button work when the 360 freezes? The on/off button work? Can you pull up the dash board after it freezes?

If must turn the 360 off to bet back to the dash , then it is the GPU. Heat is causing a cracked or cold solder joint or lifted pad in the BGA to separate.

You wanted ideas and you got ideas from all of us.

No one suggested replacing the DVD drive. A new laser for less than 18.00 would have worked, rather than a new DVD drive for 60.00.

Did you clean the cache as Wilhelm suggested?

Does your HHD cause your friends 360 to freeze?

Harrisondh · « **Reply #13 on:** August 15, 2008, 12:54:00 AM »

Actually I got the DVD drive Brand new for 29 dollars, bought a laser HD-63 same kind as my drive didn't work, Theres nothing else to try,

When the Game Freezes I have to push the power button to turn the system off,

I havent tried to see if My HDD freezes my friends xbox i'm going to try that,

My question is though, if it is a Gpu problem, why would It only freeze with the Hard drive in, I understand the Issues the Xbox has with overheating, but wouldnt that relate To the Load put on the Gpu, not wether there is a hard drive in or not, I mean, it should freeze with the hard drive out.. but it doesnt, and thats why I cant figure it out, I tried 2 hard drives in my Xbox and they both froze but your right.. maybe there both Messed up... Now I gotta check and see.

and yes I mentioned about 3 times Now I have cleared the Cache, It resolves the issue with loading the game after a freeze, but it will eventually freeze again and I will have to clear the cache again.

jdbkbuddy · « **Reply #14 on:** August 15, 2008, 08:59:00 AM »

It is the GPU. The DVD Drive has no effect on the dashboard. Were did you get a good drive for 30.00? Why buy a laser if you got a new drive?

The truth is that the 360 motherboard and manufacturing is a piece of crap. Exactly what is wrong with the thing is still being debated. Solder? Motherboard? Cooling?

Even M$ can't figure it out with 5 billion to spend on repairing them. Other devices use lead free solder and x-clamps and they all work fine. The 360 is like quicksand the more you struggle with the deeper you sink.

After repairing about 150 360's, I realize that about 5% of this 360 are not repairable at all, and 10% are coming back within 3 months for re-repair. So, you can't always expect to get the answer you need to fix a system.

If you have a heat gun, do the GPU, or sell the system and buy one locally from a trusted seller.

Author Topic: Xbox 360 Freezes Only With Hard Drive (Read 328 times)