Post by: Masna on June 05, 2009, 10:12:00 AM
I got RROD recently, and so, as most do, I assumed it was from overheating. And, this definitely made sense because it only happened when I had been playing for awhile (and happened more and more with time).
So, I took it apart, removed X-clamps, applied some new thermal paste, them reattached the heat sinks. I started it up, let it sit on 3 RROD until it switched to two. Then I let it cool. Then, I attempted to start it up. It blinked quickly on one green light for about 10 seconds, then went back to 3 RROD. So I repeated the entire process.
At this point, I've repeated the process 3 times to no avail.
When I attempt to start it up, it holds a steady (non-blinking) green light for close to 15 seconds, and then displays the 3 RROD infinitely.
So, does anyone have a clue as to why this is happening?
ANY help is much appreciated!
Post by: Mholt215 on June 05, 2009, 01:33:00 PM
The main causes are the x clamps which hold the heatsinks on, lead-free solder, and microsofts crappy cooling design. The board eventually warps and flexes until the CPU/GPU chips lose contact with the board because of excessive heat and we see the RROD.
The best thing to do is not to fix your console, but to go out and buy a new one and open it up and add some fans to it or even watercool it. This is obviously a lot more pricey, but a "fix" for your console doesn't actually fix the problem. It just forces the board to make contact with the chips to work for maybe a few days at most, and then it will warp a different way and you get the RROD again.
Post by: Masna on June 05, 2009, 01:38:00 PM
QUOTE(Mholt215 @ Jun 5 2009, 02:33 PM) 
The thermal paste is not the cause of RROD, it is a factor that has its role in getting the RROD.
The main causes are the x clamps which hold the heatsinks on, lead-free solder, and microsofts crappy cooling design. The board eventually warps and flexes until the CPU/GPU chips lose contact with the board because of excessive heat and we see the RROD.
The best thing to do is not to fix your console, but to go out and buy a new one and open it up and add some fans to it or even watercool it. This is obviously a lot more pricey, but a "fix" for your console doesn't actually fix the problem. It just forces the board to make contact with the chips to work for maybe a few days at most, and then it will warp a different way and you get the RROD again.
So all these videos and tutorials on how to fix the RROD are not actually providing methods for a fix? And, there's nothing I can do?
Post by: Rickets06 on June 05, 2009, 01:48:00 PM
QUOTE(Masna @ Jun 5 2009, 12:38 PM)
So all these videos and tutorials on how to fix the RROD are not actually providing methods for a fix? And, there's nothing I can do?
Well, the xclamp fix reduces stress on the mobo, which is a fix and a good one at that. But it can't really be done perfectly because there is just so much heat no matter what. There will still be flexing even with the xclamp fix.
What you can do is heat gun your mobo, I don't know if it'll level it out, but it will reflow your solder... Trying to get the mobo to cook itself isn't a good idea.
The heat flexes the board, the board loses connection to it's pieces. The stress of xclamps decreases the time before the thing dies. Replacing the xclamps is a good idea IMO...
This post has been edited by Rickets06: Jun 5 2009, 08:51 PM
Post by: Masna on June 05, 2009, 04:35:00 PM
QUOTE(Rickets06 @ Jun 5 2009, 02:48 PM)
Well, the xclamp fix reduces stress on the mobo, which is a fix and a good one at that. But it can't really be done perfectly because there is just so much heat no matter what. There will still be flexing even with the xclamp fix.
What you can do is heat gun your mobo, I don't know if it'll level it out, but it will reflow your solder... Trying to get the mobo to cook itself isn't a good idea.
The heat flexes the board, the board loses connection to it's pieces. The stress of xclamps decreases the time before the thing dies. Replacing the xclamps is a good idea IMO...
What exactly do you mean by "heat gun your motherboard"?
Post by: Rickets06 on June 05, 2009, 06:39:00 PM
Post by: MadMaxGR on June 09, 2009, 01:58:00 AM
Post by: Mholt215 on June 09, 2009, 02:12:00 AM
The heatgun method CAN reflow the solder if done correctly, but the board needs to get very hot and you will usually blow a cap or 2.
As for llamas method of letting the GPU die overheat, thats just stupid. It will NOT reflow the solder, but it can/will damage your GPU because every component can only be allowed to reach up to a certain temperature while its on before the component may start to malfuction/break.
Best way is a professional BGA reballing machine, but thats not available for most people so the heatgun/x clamp fix/12v fans is the next best option.