The Xbox 360 is certainly one of the more popular game systems to hit the market over the last few years. This crowd pleaser of a product has one very dark downside: "the red ring of death".
This three quarter ring of light around the start button indicates a malfunction of one of motherboard components.
A number of design and manufacturing mistakes are the culprit behind this problem. The biggest design flaw lies in a cooling system that frequently allows the internal components to get excessively hot.
This frequent overheating inter-reacts with the design faults and bugs to produce the red ring of death failure mode. Therefore it is in your best interest to keep your Xbox 360 as cool as possible. How this is done is the subject of this article.
The first order of business is to make sure that the cooling vents are kept unobstructed. This is probably very obvious to most people, but what is less obvious are the unintentional ways that the vents can be blocked. This frequently happens whenever the Xbox is placed on soft surfaces such as pillows, sofas, rugs, and beds.
Putting the Xbox in sealed off areas that have no ventilation is another way that the Xbox is commonly overheated. Places that restrict the free flow of air include racks, bookcases, cabinets, or simply a tight cluttered area. Since we all tend to arrange things in a way that saves space, this oversight is common.
Try tipping the Xbox over on it's side to give it's external surface greater exposure to the surrounding air. Additionally, blow air across it with a small fan.
The Xbox should be kept away from any sources of heat. Typical sources around the home include heaters, radiators, furnaces and stoves. Keep the air conditioner on in very warm and humid weather. Also try not to put your Xbox in direct sunlight.
The power brick needs to be kept cool as well. The power brick has it's own fan to vent out excess heat. However, placing the power brick in closed off areas with no ventilation is quite common. This is to be avoided. Keep it away from shaggy carpets and try to place it in elevated locations with plenty of exposure to the air.
This advice is preventative and is best used when your Xbox is brand new. If your Xbox isn't new and you've had your screen freeze up, then your Xbox has already seen too much heat which automatically shuts down internal chips. This is a clear symptom of overheating and that more attention to the cooling issue is required. This screen freeze up is the precursor to the red ring of death.
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