XBox 360 3 Red Lights

So, you are searching for a fix to repair your damaged Xbox 360 with the 3 Red Lights problem

2012-06-01T16:09:00.001-04:00

How did I understand?

Most likely because 10% of Xbox 360 360s will build up the dreaded Three Red-colored Lights, generally known to because the Red-colored Ring of Dying (RROD).

And also the sad factor is, Microsoft has been doing hardly any to assist the participant community. We spend 200 dollars or even more for any product that's almost certain to fail, after which are squashed into having to pay costly and (what ought to be) unnecessary support from the organization.

So What is the Answer?

If this involves the 3 Red-colored Lights on Xbox 360 Fix, you've 2 options:

1. Send the console off and away to Microsoft, purchase costly repair services (excluding pricey shipping costs), wait 4-6 days to allow them to ship it back, and cope with horrible customer support on the way.

-or-

2. Repair it yourself.

Repair it Myself! Are You Currently Crazy? Don't panic, I am not crazy.

Unlike what you are able think, fixing an Xbox 360 is actually easy. It's not necessary to be considered a computer genius or perhaps a technical guru. It just takes a couple of tools you are certain to have around your home, a while, along with a guide with step-by-step instructions to idiot-proof the procedure.

Why you receive individuals three red-colored lights on Xbox 360 is due to something known as an X-clamp. The X-clamp supports the graphical processor in position so when the machine will get too hot, it flexes and makes you have an error message - three red-colored lights.

How About my Warranty? So you are still under warranty? Which means you'll pay to possess your 360 shipped off, wait 4-6 days, then obtain a refurbished system back that will in all probability provide you with individuals same three red-colored lights soon.

You Stated it requires a Couple of Tools. What type of Tools? For that three red-colored lights on Xbox 360 fix, you will need simply a screwdriver along with a knife to pop the situation off.

How Lengthy Will it Take? Got 45 minutes to an hour? You'll be able to have your Xbox 360 ready to go much like new.

Just How Much is really a Repair Guide Likely to Cost? The 3 Red-colored Lights on Xbox 360 Fix Guide which I use costs $30. Which includes pictures, step-by-step videos, online support, along with a cash back guarantee. You heard right, whether it does not work (should you start watching the videos but still think you are in over your mind) you can aquire a 100 % refund.

So my question for you is what is the risk? You are 360 is not likely to start like magic working again. You are likely to put more income in Microsoft's pockets should you send them back for them. You'll also find to hold back per month or even more to obtain your console back, in addition! So why wouldn't you try fixing it yourself. Used to do, saved a lot of money, and wish to help everybody else perform the same.

Are you aware that it may cost over $130 to possess Microsoft repair your Xbox 360. And that is still not certain to repair the problem.

Are you able to afford that? In the event you pay that? Absolutely not, when you are able repair it yourself!

Xbox 360 Red Ring Of Death Repair Options

2010-12-24T06:52:00.002-05:00

If your Xbox 360 warranty has expired and you have the well-known Xbox 360 red ring of death error (also known as xbox 360 3 red lights), it is important to find a proven repair guide for your Xbox 360. These types of X360 repair manuals teach you how to restore this hardware malfunction in approximately 60 minutes.
This repair option appeals to Xbox 360 owners because the 3 red light repair alternatives are more expensive and take a lot more time.

When the Xbox 360 console gets hot, one of the basic concerns is damaging one or more of the crucial components in the game console. By playing for long periods of time, the hardware inside the console gets increasingly hotter and this can affect some fundamental solder connections. The on-going heat build-up can become so bad that one or more of the electronic components end up breaking down either because they get too hot or some other part inside the xbox 360 gets too hot and breaks.

The Xbox 360 red ring of death repair on its own is quite simple and doesn't require any specialized tools or too much time. But you do have to be comfortable taking apart the entire console since the overheating problem area is hidden at the very bottom of the console. Do get too stressed however. Thousands of people have successfully fixed the "xbox 360 red ring of death" and not had any future problems.

In order to discover the best 3 red light repair guides, make sure to go online and search "Xbox 360 3 red lights repair guide reviews". You will be able to get a listing of Xbox 360 3 red light review web sites. It is essential to read these reviews carefully and compare the precise guidelines each one suggests that can fix your Xbox. Look for a repair guide that talks about the overheating hardware failure and one that also includes videos of the actual repair process.

XBox 360 3 Red Lights Problem - Which Repair Option is Best For You?

2009-02-20T21:03:00.004-05:00

So you're cruising along playing your favorite Xbox 360 "shoot'em up game" when all of a sudden "IT" happens! Bam! You've been hit with the infamous Xbox 360 3 red lights problem.

How can you tell? Well, your screen freezes, rebooting your xBox doesn't help, and you now have 3 red flashing lights on the front panel where you used to see 4 steady green lights. Your gaming has come to a sudden halt.

What you've just experienced is a hardware failure that has struck over 30% of all Xbox 360 owners. Those three flashing red lights indicate a hardware failure caused by overheating inside the GPU (general processing unit). You see, when the engineers designed the 360 they didn't design in enough cooling to dissipate the tremendous heat generated by the processors. So the result is with extended play or possibly defective chips inside your Xbox you end up with what has now been commonly known as the "Red Ring of Death". Now what do you do?

In the overall scheme of things what you need to do is improve the cooling inside the GPU. That means getting rid of the heat buildup faster.

Here's a quick rundown of your options...

1. If your XBox is still covered by Microsoft's extended three year warranty (which covers just the 3 red lights error) your only practical choice is to send the unit back to Microsoft for repair. The reason for this is that if you open your Xbox unit, you immediately void the warranty. So if you have any other trouble with your X360 Microsoft won't repair it for free.

2. If you are not covered by Microsoft's warranty any more, you have a few other options open to you. If you are not so mechanically inclined, your best bet is probably to send your Xbox 360 out to one of the third party repair services that have sprung up since this problem has become more and more common. I recently found a person on eBay who repaired 360's that specifically had the three red lights problem. The charge was around $45 with free return shipping. That particular unit has been working perfectly ever since.

3. If you are a do-it-yourself type person, there are several 3 red light repair guides available for instant download on the Internet. Just type in the "Xbox 360 3 red light repair guide reviews" and you will get a long list of websites that review the various guides. Be careful when using these sites for honest objective information. The majority of the sites are really just glorified advertisements for a specific guide that the website owner sells as an affiliate. In any case, all these guides now come with videos so that you really don't even need to refer to the manuals anymore. I recently repaired my son's Xbox using just the videos that came with a repair guide.

4. You're fourth option is to purchase a fan unit that you install right on the box. This fan add-on essentially sucks more air out than the simple convective cooling (i.e. heat naturally rising through the ventilation holes) that was designed into the original XBox. The fan add-ons cost about $40. They've had mixed reviews. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don't. If the chips inside the GPU have become damaged because of the excessive heat build-up, no amount of extra cooling is going to improve your situation.

Whichever option you decide on to get your hardware repaired, you will be playing again soon enough. Sure it's frustrating but then again the Xbox is a machine and machines to break so be patient don't panic and pick the repair option that best fit your situation.

After our evaluation, we've selected this one as the best XBox 360 3 Red Lights Repair Guide.

X360 3 Red Lights Repair Guide

2008-01-22T18:48:00.002-05:00

The cause of the problem is overheating inside the main X360 game unit. All of that processing power generates a lot of heat. That heat has to go somewhere. The original X360 design didn't allow for sufficient cooling and X360es began failing shortly after the product was launched. Microsoft has since this problem and newer X360es don't have the three red lights issue any more. But there are several hundred thousand units out there that are susceptible to coming down with the X360 "Red Ring of Death" at any time.

The X360 uses heat sinks, vented openings, and fans to aid in dissipation of the heat that is generated. The flow through these vents can become obstructed for a variety of reasons. This then causes reduced system performance and hardware failure. The three red lights is the code that indicates a hardware failure due to excessive heat. If you see this, you can try placing the X360 console in an open area, free any debris that might be blocking the vents.

A second problem, also heat related, is the CPU (Central Processing Unit) becoming overheated. When this happens it can cause the motherboard to flex causing the soldering to become loose. Modern solder is lead-free and is more brittle than older solder which had tine and lead in it making it more flexible.

Initially, Microsoft repaired consoles under the 90 day warranty at no charge. Out-of-warranty units were repaired for a $140 charge, pretty steep. In July 2007, Microsoft extended extended the warranty of all X360 consoles suffering general hardware failures to one year.

If you've had the X360 three red lights problem, you can ship it to a repair center and wait. Not a very attractive option. Fortunately, there is a better and cheaper alternative, There are several X360 three red lights self repair guides available that will get you up and running in about an hour using regular household tools. I've reviewed the top four XBOX 360 repair guides and found what I feel is the best one. Whatever your situation, good luck in getting your X360 repaired as soon as possible.

Can "Do-It-Yourself'ers" Really Fix The XBox 360 3 Red Lights Problem?

2007-12-28T07:06:00.001-05:00

If you're a XBox 360 gamer, you've either had the XBox 360 3 Red Lights Problem yourself or you know someone who has. That's just the way it is. You've probably also heard about the guides out there that supposedly tell you how to fix this problem yourself. The question of the day is "Do they really work?" Can a guy or gal with a few simple tools really get their XBox 360 back up and running in about an hour? Well, I'm here to tell you that the answer is an emphatic "Yes". I know because I've done it. Not just once, but over and over.

Have you ever heard of "Occam's Razor?" Well if not, it's a wonderful little principle put forth by a 14th century English logician and Franciscian friar named William of Occam that states (and I'm paraphrasing here) "All other things being equal, the simplest solution is the best". In more modern terms, I guess it's the KISS principle - "Keep It Simple, Stupid". So what does this have to do with getting back to playing Halo 3 on your XBox 360? When I was first faced with the XBox 360 3 red lights problem, I was overwhelmed. It was my son's system and he was heartbroken that his game had stopped working. I didn't know what to do and ended up doing all kinds of research, Googling it left and right, learning everything I could about the problem and what one was supposed to do to get their system back up and running.

I'm here to tell you that the best thing you can do, if your XBox 360 has the 3 red lights problem (aka the Red Ring of Death) is to keep it simple. Don't over think it. Don't over research it. Just keep it simple. Yes you can fix this problem yourself and yes it does take about an hour (maybe 2 if you're overly cautious like me).

There are several guides out there that tell you exactly how to fix this problem. I bought one and had my son's XBox 360 back up and running in about 90 minutes. Then I had the bright idea of buying broken XBoxes on eBay, fixing them, and re-selling them. So I bought 4 different 3 red lights fix-it guides, I bought 4 XBox 360's on eBay that had the 3 red lights problem and I proceeded to fix each one using a different guide each time. I wanted to see if all the guides really worked. The answer is yes, they all really work.

Each guide presents essentially the same solution. But they all do it a bit differently and with various levels of clarity. In my opinion, one of them is clearly superior to the rest in terms of providing clear step-by-step instructions and supporting documentation. After reading the many repair guides out there, this 3 Red Lights Guide is the best..

If you've got the 3 red lights problem, good luck. If you choose to fix it yourself, the guide I chose as the best will get you through this fix and have you back up and fighting the aliens in no time.

Your Xbox 360 Has 3 Flashing Red Lights - Now What?

2007-12-19T19:36:00.001-05:00

I've talked to I don't know how many XBox 360 owners who've experienced the 3 red lights problem on their XBox 360 units. Their reactions range from sad to mad to confused to "HELP!". When an X360 flashes 3 red lights, there's really no need to panic, or even to get bent out of shape at all. You've got lots of company. Several hundred people visit this blog every week. And the only reason they're here is that they are having the exact same problem you are.

It's true that having the so called XBox "Red Ring of Death" is a major bummer. When my son's, X360 had this problem (about 2 week after he got it for Christmas) he was heartbroken. I would have moved heaven and earth to get it fixed for him. As it happened my best course of action was to send the unit back to Microsoft for the fix. It took about 2 weeks and there was no charge because the unit was still under warranty. If your XBox 360 is still under warranty, you should do the same. Don't void the warranty by popping it open and trying to fix it yourself. It just isn't worth it.

If, however, you are out of warranty, you should choose one of the following courses of action:

1. If you are not comfortable popping open the Xbox yourself and doing some simple repairs, then contact a 3rd party repair service for a quote (it'll be around $50-$75 and your XBox360 will be gone about a week, depending on the company's current workload.). Google it. You should find some repair places in your general area.

2. If you're like me and are a compulsive "do-it-yourself'er", you should seriously consider buying one of the XBox 360 3 Red Light Repair Guides that are available. The fix is an easy one, requires simple tools you probably already have, or that you can pick up at your local hardware store, and takes about an hour. And best of all, it sure beats being without your games for a couple of weeks, or more.

I've been through the top 4 guides and used each one to fix a different broken XBox 360 (I bought each of the 4 units on eBay and each had the 3 red lights problem). I managed to get all 4 of them back up and running within an hour by following the instructions in the respective guide book. Then I put them back up on eBay and made a nice little profit for myself. But that's another story.

Here's my no-nonsense reviews of the 4 XBox 360 3 Red Light Fix-it guides. Very brief summary... all of the guides will get the job done, but one of them is clearly superior to the others, in my opinion.

Good luck!

Xbox 360 3 Red Light Repair - Do it Yourself!

2007-12-15T20:32:00.001-05:00

Well, Christmas is on the way. And if your Christmas budget is like mine, you're probably not expecting a brand spanking new XBox 360 waiting for you under the tree. If you're trusty X360 is still running great, good for you and keep your fingers crossed. If you've had the infamous XBox 360 3 Red Lights problem, then you're probably interested in a fast, low-cost 3 Red Lights fix. Good news. It's available, and it works.

I've reviewed the top 4 products on the market for the XBox 360 3 Red Lights Repair. They all have some good points, but there is one that I feel stands out from the crowd. I repaired 2 units yesterday using the exact same methods outlined in this simple 3 Red Lights repair do-it-yourself manual. If you're comfortable using some simple tools, the fix will be a breeze. Just follow the steps exactly and you'll be back up and running in about an hour.

Just a brief re-cap (I've covered most of this is previous posts). The XBox 360 3 Red Lights problem (aka X360 Red Ring of Death) is caused by a cooling problem. The X360 is, among other things, a very powerful computer. It is designed to do one thing very, very well, that is process graphics that give you a realistic view of the action on your screen. Those graphics take loads of processing power. And all those calculations mean the chips inside your XBox 360 are running pretty much full tilt all the time. That produces a tremendous amount of heat. To give you an idea of just how much heat a "balls to the wall" computer can produce, consider the supercomputers of the world. These are the massively powerful number crunches used by the military, NASA, the CIA, and large corporations. These computer come with powerful cooling units, like air conditioners, to keep the chip's temperature in a safe operating range.

The Xbox's heat generation isn't the real problem though, It's the lack of sufficient cooling that is the problem. And that's what the do-it-yourself guides deal with. The fix they take you through is permanent and works just about all the time. Statistics show that only about 6% of Xbox's can't be fixed at home, so your chances are very good that you'll get it fixed.

Check out my XBox 360 3 Red Lights repair guide reviews and see if this route is for you. All of the guides have refund policies, so you're not risking anything.

Good Luck!

The Official Microsoft Support Page

2007-12-07T08:40:00.002-05:00

Today I thought I'd take a pause and let you read Microsoft's official explanation of the XBox 360's 3 Red Lights problem. Nothing like getting your information straight from the horse's mouth. A search of the Microsoft XBox 360 support area of their website brought me to what you see below.

Now understand that depending on your situation, this information may or may not be helpful. Basically what Microsoft is saying is that you should first check your warranty status. If you're covered, great. Ship it back and they will, at their option, repair or replace the X360 unit. It's important to note that even though you'll be without your XBox 360 for the better part of two weeks, it's still worth it to go this route because if you open up the XBox 360 main unit, you automatically void the warranty. If you're out of warranty anyway, however, things aren't quite so simple. Microsoft will still fix it for you, but you pay their repair charge which is currently around $140.

The other two options, which I've discussed here in some depth, are to use a 3rd party repair service (figure around $50-$70 and 7-10 days), or get one of the Fix-it-Yourself repair guides. I went through the top 4 Xbox 360 3 red lights repair guides and posted my reviews.

Here's Microsoft's official position taken from their website (I've removed irrelevant navigation links for easier reading):

========================================================================

Xbox 360: Three red lights flash on the Ring of Light

Article ID : 907534
Last Review : September 15, 2007
Revision : 5.4

SYMPTOMS
You see three lights on the Ring of Light (RoL) flash red on the front of your Xbox 360 console. The upper-right quadrant light is the only light that does not flash red.

CAUSE
The three flashing red lights may indicate that your Xbox 360 console has experienced a hardware failure. Please read the letter that discusses warranty changes for three flashing red light hardware failures. To read this letter, please visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://www.xbox.com/support/petermooreletter.htm

MORE INFORMATION

If you suspect that you are experiencing this issue, you can submit a console-repair request online. However, before you submit your request, we ask that you first try the following two steps to verify that you are indeed experiencing this issue:

1. When you turn on the console, examine the light on the power supply. The power supply light should illuminate green even if the three lights on the Ring of Light flash red. If the power supply light is not green, please follow the steps that are listed in the following Microsoft Knowledge Base articles:

906101 Xbox 360: The power supply light is red
906102 Xbox 360: The power supply light is orange
906103 Xbox 360: The power supply light is not illuminated

2. Turn off the console. Wait 10 seconds, and then turn on the console again to see whether the symptom occurs again. If your console continues to display the three flashing red lights, your console may have to be repaired. For information about how to start the repair process online, please visit http://www.xbox.com/support, and then click Console Repair in the upper-right section of the Web page.

Note: The online console repair service is currently not available in all countries or regions.

If you would rather contact Xbox Customer Support directly, please visit http://www.xbox.com/support/contact for information about how to do this.

APPLIES TO

Microsoft XBox 360 Video Game System
Microsoft Xbox 360 Hard Drive (20 GB)
Microsoft Xbox

==========================================================================

So there you have it. Whatever your current situation, I hope this helps to clarify your best course of action to get your XBox 360 repaired. And again, if you're out of warranty and are a do-it-yourself'er, you can get this problem fixed cheap and fast by following these guides.

Good Luck!

"One Light, Two Lights, Three Lights More..."

2007-11-29T02:44:00.002-05:00

The XBox 360 3 Red Lights Problem isn't limited to 3 Red Lights. Did you know that you can also experience a 1 Red Light Problem? How about a 2 Red Light Problem? Yep. Although these XBox red light error cousins of the Red Ring of Death aren't as common, they're certainly every bit as frustrating. Here's a little more about them.

First off, you need to see which of the red lights on your XBox are red. It's a diagnostic code that points you in the right general direction of the source of the problem.

One Red Light
If you see the lower-right light in the 4 light circle flashing red, you're having a hardware problem. More specifically, a hardware failure of some sort. Here's what you should try first. Turn the XBox 360 power off, disconnect all of the XBox's external cables, reconnect them and power the unit back up. If you still see the lower right light flashing red, disconnect then reconnect the XBox's hard disk drive cable and power the unit back up. If the same light is still flashing red, power off the XBox, disconnect the hard disk drive cable again and power the XBox back up with the hard disk drive cable disconnected. If the flashing red light goes away, more than likely the hard disk drive on the unit has crashed. You need a new one. With Microsoft's new extended warranty, you should be able to call them at 1-800-4MY-XBOX and arrange to ship the unit back for a no charge repair.

"Two Red Lights Anyone?"
If the 2 left lights in the 4 light circle are flashing red, it means that the temperature inside the XBox 360 unit has exceeded the "safe" temperature operating range. You need to power off the unit and let it cool down. If you don't, you're risking more hardware damage. Also, check to make sure that the cooling fans inside the XBox 360's main unit are operating (you can hear them whirring) and the system has ventilation. Sometimes it's just a matter of putting the XBox on a hard surface (it doesn't like carpeting; tends to reduce cooling), or taking it out of an entertainment console (this also reduces ventilation).

Three Red Lights (aka "The Red Ring of Death")
Three Red Lights is by far the most common of the XBox 360's "Red Lights" problems. What you will see is show in the picture at the upper left corner of this page. The light in the upper-right corner is the only light that does not flash red. This also indicates a hardware failure. A couple simple diagnostics are to check the lights on the power supply. When you turn on the XBox unit, the power supply light should be green even if the 3 lights on the front of the unit are flashing red. If the power supply light is red, you have an electrical problem. Try plugging the XBox 360 unit into another wall outlet and power it up again. If the power supply light is orange, it means that the power supply is not connected to the main XBox console correctly. Try disconnecting the power supply, them reconnecting it. If the power supply light turns green, but the 3 red lights still flash red you need to look into your options for fixing the 3 Red Lights problem (see articles below).

If you want to get your XBox 360 back up and running as quickly as possible, you may want to looking into downloading one of the XBox 360 3 Red Light fix-it guides that are available. I've reviewed the top 4 guides for you at this site.

Reliability - How does the XBox 360 Compare To Other Gaming Systems?

2007-11-27T04:25:00.001-05:00

A survey of retailers has suggested that XBox 360 hardware problems (all problems, not just the 3 red lights problem) affect approximately 1 in 3 XBoxes. How does this compare with other gaming systems? A former EB Games store manager, Mathew Girard, says that...

"Failure rates for all other consoles were not high enough for EB to consider revising their policies. Most other console systems have a failure rate of less than one percent, including the PlayStation 3."

Another EB Games manager, who asked not to be identified, was asked if the store warranty was "worth the price". For the XBox he said "yes, absolutely". For its competitors, including PS3 and Wii "probably not". So what are the return rates for the PS3 and Wii? This manager's store location has sold hundreds of XBox 360's, PS3's and Wii's. Amazingly, not a single Nintendo Wii has come back defective. Only a handful of PS3's have come back. And what about the XBox 360? At one time, close to 30% of XBox 360's were coming back, mainly with the 3 red lights problem. That rate has since dropped way down as Microsoft has addressed the problem.

A Best Buy store manager, who also wished not to be identified, verified the XBox 360 failure rate as being in the 25% - 30% range early on.

However, even with it's "Red Ring of Death" problems, the XBox 360 is still the most successful game console worldwide. Why? Well, speaking for myself, I like the wide selection of games, XBox Live, the overall performance of the 360, and the fact that Microsoft has somewhere around $50 billion in cash on hand and HATES to lose to anyone. I have no doubt that Microsoft is in the game business for the long haul. Video games have always been on the cutting edge of both hardware and software development. Video games have driven huge advances in graphics technology. A lot of the special effects that you see on TV and coming from Hollywood are directly related to innovations that originated in the video game industry. It's a natural fit for Microsoft and a connection they really can't afford to give up, with Google and other companies chipping away at their domination of the computer desktop.

With all that said, Microsoft still claims that the overall XBox 360 failure rate is within three to five percent of total units sold. This, they claim, is well within the industry standards. This claim simply isn't backed up with what the people who should know best are saying. At this point, however, it really isn't important anymore what the failure rate is. The XBoxes being sold today are much better in quality than those sold 2-3 years ago, so the recent reliability is probably in the 3-5% range that Microsoft claims. One just kind of wishes that Microsoft would stop "playing games" with their game. The fact that they increased the length of the warranty from 90 days to 1 year kind of says it all. I mean, what kind of a company stands behind their product for 3 months? It's absurd.

Based on a poll of retailers nationwide, conducted by DailyTech, the Xbox 360 was unanimously voted the least reliable gaming console on the market. The high failure rate of the X360 has even forced retailers, most of whom sell extended warranties on their electronics, to revise pricing on their XBox 360 warranty. Extended warranties have always been a huge profit center for manufacturers. The profit margins are typically 80% or more. For the XBox 360, EB Games was actually LOSING money on their extended warranty sales. Unheard of. So they doubled the price of their one year warranty. That speaks volumes.

"We had 35 XBox 360's on-hand when the console was first launched. I know more than half of them broke within the first six months. Two of them were dead on arrival." - said former EB Games employee Matthew Girard.

If you have questions about your XBox, Microsoft has an "800" number set up for consumers at 1-800-4MY-XBOX. If you own an XBox 360 with the 3 Red Lights problem and you are out of warranty, read my reviews of the top 4 fix-it-yourself guides and see if fixing the XBox yourself is for you.

Xbox 360 Repair - Microsoft, Third Party Repair Service or Do-It-Yourself?

2007-11-24T04:01:00.001-05:00

So your XBox 360 has the infamous 3 Red Lights Problem (or XBox 360 'Red Ring of Death' , if you prefer). What's your next step? You've got 3 options:

1. Send it back to Microsoft
2. Send it to a third party repair service
3. Fix it yourself

1. Send It Back To Microsoft?
This is a fairly straightforward decision. If you are still in warranty, bite the bullet and get it fixed by Microsoft. It won't cost you anything and their fix is a good one. There's no guarantee that you won't have any more problems with your XBox 360, but if you do, it probably won't be the 3 red lights problem.

2. Send it to a Third Party Repair Service
The third party repair services sprung up early on when people started having the 3 red lights problem and Microsoft balked at fixing it, throwing out some pretty bizarre statements and blaming everything on the customer. Like Microsoft, the third party repair services will give you a permanent fix (for the 3 red lights problem anyway). They've priced it low enough to make them a viable option, but only if your XBox 360 is out of warranty AND you are not a do it yourself'er. Expect to pay $50-$100 and be without your XBox for 7-10 days.

3. Fix It Yourself
If you are out of warranty and don't mind popping open the Xbox, there are some excellent guides for the do-it-yourself'er. The guides take you step-by-step through a permanent fix that will take you about an hour. The added benefit of learning how to fix the XBox 3 red lights problem is that you can now fix more than one. Many people have started a nice little side business for themselves buying broken XBoxes on eBay, fixing then, and re-selling them. You won't get as rich as Bill Gates. but you'll certainly make enough to finance your XBox 360 addiction (hey, there are worse things to be addicted to). Of course, you should only go this route if you're comfortable going inside your computer and working on it. Personally, I love doing that kind of stuff, but I know it's not for everyone.

I'm in the process of writing a guide that will explain step-by-step how to start an XBox 360 repair business. It's not hard at all, and as I mentioned, it's a nice little sideline to finance your game addiction. I'll post more information on it in about a week.

Here's the best of the XBox 360 Repair Guides.

Good Luck and Good Shootin' !

XBox 360 3 Red Lights - Preventative Measures

2007-11-21T20:09:00.001-05:00

You may or may not realize this, but your XBox 360 is most likely substantially more powerful, in terms of raw computing power, than your desktop or laptop computer. It's a high-end desktop on steroids. And it's that power than is the central cause of the infamous XBox 360 3 Red Lights, or "Red Ring of Death", problem that so many gamers have experienced.

You see, all those electrons moving through that CPU and it's graphics chip cousins produce a tremendous amount of heat. Turns out, quite a bit more heat than the XBox design engineers planned on. But frankly, you can't place ALL the blame on them. After all, a computer chip only does what it's software tells it to do and years ago, when the X360 was on the drawing board, some of today's best selling games didn't exist. Fact is, the processing demands put on the hardware BY THE SOFTWARE are really the culprit. Think of it this way, your car in "park" at idle doesn't produce a whole heck of a lot of heat. However, your car running flat out on the Indy 2.5 mile oval probably wouldn't even last for a full tank of gas. It just wasn't designed for that level of operation, even though mechanically it can do it.

So the solution to the problem, aside from paying Microsoft $140 and being without your system for 2 weeks, is to improve the cooling. Here's some low-tech options:

1. Place you XBox 360 in an open area, not inside and entertainment console. This will help maximize the transfer of hot air out of the vents in the box.

2. Keep the XBox 360 unit on it's end and off carpeting. This also will improve the designed in cooling of the box.

3. Limit your playing time. If you're hard core and play your XBox 360 flat out, for hours on end, you can expect more problems than someone who takes a break after a couple of hours. Hey, there IS more to life than video games (I try to tell my son this on an almost daily basis)

4. Install an after-market cooling unit. This basically is a fan system that increases the airflow out of the XBox 360 and therefore keeps the inside cooler. They run about $30, but will save you more expensive repairs down the road. They're not a sure-fire fix though.

5. Here's a simple hint. Turn your XBox off when you're not playing it. Saves electricity too.

If you treat for XBox 360 well and try the above hints, you minimize your chances of experiencing the 3 red lights problem. However, for those of you who are still having problems, there are 4 good guides out there that teach you step-by-step how to permanently fix the problem.

Microsoft's Ballmer Gets XBox 360 Repair Profits Figures

2007-11-19T18:15:00.001-05:00

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer was told today that the software giant's profits from repairing the poorly built XBox 360 soared last month to record levels. The average $140 customer repair bill per unit added "significantly" to Microsoft's Game division profit levels.

"This is great", Ballmer was quoted as saying. "Does the latest XBox have the 3 red light problem too?" he was heard whispering to one of his staffers. "Can we make it a 4 red light problem and bump the repair bill up 25%", he joked.

Customer's left out to dry were reportedly taking matters into their own hands and going the "do-it-yourself" route in droves. Several do-it-yourself fix it guides have been made available recently. This website reviews the 4 top Red Light fix-it guides.

Yea, it's fiction. But isn't it just a little bit believable? I hope multi-billionaires have a sense of humor too.

Xbox 360 Red Lights - What is Microsoft Doing About It

2007-11-17T06:00:00.001-05:00

So in the "real" world, if you put out a lousy product, the market tells you that by not buying it. So why is it that there are still so many XBox 360 red lights issues out there?

Well, my thinking goes something like this... the xBox 360 is not a lousy product. It is great product with a design flaw. To use an analogy with people, what's the first thing people do when they are accused of having a flaw, large or small? They deny it of course. Well, companies have "personalities just like people do. In Microsoft's case, their personality at the time the xBox 360 was being designed and built could best be described as arrogant. Too much success too soon does that to you.

So you can imagine what was going through everyone's heads during the design an launch of the xBox 360. Probably something like "We're Microsoft. We don't make mistakes. We make great products and we make a lot of money."

The xBox 3 Red Lights problem brought them back down to earth. It took a while, but the red Ring of Death became an undeniable reality for Microsoft and they've been forced, by their own customers, to take it seriously. It's not caused by misuse, abuse or neglect, It is caused by a design flaw, pure and simple.

In the case of the xBox three red lights problem, the design flaw is insufficient cooling. The xBox 360 is actually a very powerful computing platform. Most video game consoles have more computing power than their desktop PC cousins. Graphics is the reason, Those great graphics take incredible amounts of raw calculations. And anything that is working hard generates heat.

What Microsoft is doing with new xBox 360's is designing in a more efficient cooling system to dissipate that heat. The cooler the xBox 360 runs, the better it feels.

However, the vast majority of xBoxes out there still have the potential to suffer from the 3 red lights problem because they don't have the new design. That's why a small industry has sprung up around fixing the xBox 360 three red light problem. The Red Ring of Death do it yourself fix it guides. There's services that will fix it for you. And then of course there's Microsoft's $140 fix it plan (if you're out of warranty).

Personally, I like doing things myself. Popping open a computer and working on it is not something that scares me, as long as I have some sort of guide to tell me exactly what to do. There's a website out there that reviews the top 4 xBox 360 Three Red Light fix-it-yourself guides. Check it out. The guides are around $25-$30 dollars and the fix takes about an hour.

Xbox 360 3 Red Lights Fix - Can you really fix this problem yourself?

2007-11-15T05:03:00.001-05:00

There are a lot of guides out there that claim to help you fix the XBox 360 3 Red Lights problem "in under an hour". Given the fact that we all must take what we see and hear on the internet with a grain of salt, is it really possible for a person to pop open their XBox 360 and fix this problem themselves? I mean, how many of you would "pop open" your television set and fix it yourself? Exactly.

However, where there is doubt, there is also hope. Fact of the matter is, the XBox 360 is a computer with easily interchangeable components. I used to build computers from scratch using the same parts that IBM, Dell and all the other manufacturers out there were using. The hardware is the easy part. It's the software that will really give you a headache.

Fortunately, the XBox 360 3 Red Lights problem is a hardware problem and if you don't mind opening up your XBox (and if you're out of warranty, there's no reason not to), you can fairly easily fix this very common problem.

The key is to pick up a step-by-step guide that tells you exactly how to do it. There are some excellent guides available out there. There's even websites solely devoted to the XBOX 360 3 Red Lights problem. (Ahh, I love the internet). I found one website that seems to do a very credible review of 4 "XBox 3 Red Lights" do-it-yourself fix-it guides. It seems to me, that these guides must be the real deal, because they've been available for a while now and the market would have said no to them if they were just blowing smoke. In any case, the guides range in price from around $25 to $30 bucks and some even include videos. So given that Microsoft and other outside companies want upwards of $140 to fix the "Red Ring of Death", these guides seem to be a very sensible alternative. Probably worth at least checking out my XBox 360 Red Ring of Death reviews.

About the XBox 360 3 Red Lights Problem

2007-11-14T06:15:00.001-05:00

This blog is about the infamous XBox 360 3 Red Lights problem - what it is, what causes it, what to do about it, what it will (can) cost you.

If all you want to do is get the darn thing fixed, there's a few websites out there devoted strictly to the XBox 360 3 Red Lights Problem. This one reviews the 4 top products for fixing the problem yourself.

Let's start with Microsoft's official position. This is taked directly from Microsoft's XBox 360 support site:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

CAUSE
The three flashing red lights may indicate that your Xbox 360 console has experienced a hardware failure. Please read the letter that discusses warranty changes for three flashing red light hardware failures. To read this letter, please visit the Microsoft XBox 360 Web site.

MORE INFORMATION
If you suspect that you are experiencing this issue, you can submit a console-repair request online. However, before you submit your request, we ask that you first try the following two steps to verify that you are indeed experiencing this issue:

1. When you turn on the console, examine the light on the power supply. The power supply light should illuminate green even if the three lights on the Ring of Light flash red. If the power supply light is not green, please follow the steps that are listed in the following Microsoft Knowledge Base articles:
906101 Xbox 360: The power supply light is red
906102 Xbox 360: The power supply light is orange
906103 Xbox 360: The power supply light is not illuminated.

2. Turn off the console. Wait 10 seconds, and then turn on the console again to see whether the symptom occurs again.

If your console continues to display the three flashing red lights, your console may have to be repaired. For information about how to start the repair process online, please visit http://www.xbox.com/support and then click "Console Repair" in the upper-right section of the Web page. Note: The online console repair service is currently not available in all countries or regions.

If you would rather contact Xbox Customer Support directly, please visit http://www.xbox.com/support/contact for information about how to do this.

APPLIES TO
Microsoft XBox 360 Video Game System
Microsoft Xbox 360 Hard Drive (20 GB)
Microsoft Xbox

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Now before you go rushing off to the Microsoft support website, let me advise you of a few things:

1. If you XBox is out of warranty, don't bother with Microsoft repairs. It is sloooooow and expensive! Try 2 - 4 weeks and $140. This after spending about $400 on the box itself and who knows what on games.

2. If you're still in warranty, you have 2 choices: 1) Go the Microsoft route (it will cost you only shipping and 2-4 weeks downtime, or check out some of the 3rd part products that have become available to specifically address the XBox 360 3 Red Lights Problem. This website, XBox 360 3 Red Lights has good reviews of the top 4 Do-It-Yourself fix-it guides.