So last week, if you follow me on Facebook, you know our XBox died.... Red Ring of Death, often refferred to as RROD. At our house, the XBox controlls our Media Center used to for DVR and music through the XBox, we watch Netflix all the time, and we like to GAME.
The most common cause of the RROD, E74, and other issues is a faulty or "cold" solder connection on the motherboard.
For a complete list of XBox 360 error codes
What to do now??? Not too many options. I'm out of warranty.
1. Throw it in the gutter and go buy another
2. Send it out for a "reball" solder repair for $100 or more [this is the best repair BTW]
3. Send it out or take it to a local gamer shop for a reflow at a cost of about $60-$90
4. REFLOW IT MYSELF.
You know how Bruce T does it, that's right, HIMSELF. And I did. We got out our new Flip HD Slide video camera. The videos will be posted at the end of this post. I know, there are several XBox repair videos on YouTube, but this is Bruce T, and I have street cred with my followers. We did this in under an hour, not including the time it takes for the unit to cool off after reflowing.
The best videos on this subject are listed in my YouTube favorites. Click here for my YouTube Channel.
So I spent a few days doing my home work. I did not come up with this method, but I put all my research in to get it done RIGHT, just for my followers.
Here's what I found:
DON'T do stupid stuff like the "towel trick" or block your fans to overheat the CPU and GPU. It doesn't work, I tired it. It was a fix that lasted for about 30 minutes. Luckily, I didn't permanently destroy anything.
X-Clamp Mod??? Yes, but only if you are getting overheating errors. This won't fix an error like 0102-"cold solder joint" on CPU. It will put more pressure on the processor, but not fix the solder connection.
Also, don't purchase and X-Clamp mod kit, I'm going to give you the parts list in a moment.
If you are under warranty, send it in and wait. I know that sucks, but that's what I would have done had I been under warranty.
What I am about to show you can permenantly damage your Xbox. I will not be responsible if you completely destroy your XBox.
Special thanks to Paul D, my cousin, for donating the test Xbox we performed this method on first. The video in this blog is of our actual Xbox. We have now successfully repaired the E74 code on the donor Xbox and the 0102 cold solder joint on CPU & the E74 code on our home Xbox.
Here is what you need.
X-Clamp replacement parts list [Lowes part numbers in X-Clamp Mod link below]:
8pcs M5 x 10mm philips head screws
16pcs #10 Nylon washers [16mm were too long for the second unit we repaired]
You may need 8-16pcs M5 Flat Washers, depending on how thick the nylon washers are.
If you use the fasteners and washers from Lowes, you should have no problems. In our video, we used some washers from out local mom & pop hardware store and they were too thick. It is really important to make sure that when you put your heat sinks back on, that they touch the chips. And yes, you really need to use the Arctic Silver 5 compound.
Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound, found at your local radio shack, click here.
Here's a good link if you just want to do the X-Clamp Mod, depending on what error you have.
Heat Gun with a High and Low setting.
A Griddle, the kind you cook on, no, seriously.
Furnace Tape
Basic tools like T8 and T10 Torx screw drivers.
Aluminum Foil
And old catalog or magazine.
Q-Tips
Isopropyl Alcohol
View the videos below for the rest of the story.
Comment and email if you have any questions or anything to add. I hope this helps.
If you get an over heating code as soon as you turn it on, or if you fans are louder and stuck in high speed once you get to the dashboard, chances are you heat sinks are not properly seated on the processors.
Thanks again to the orginal posters and ideas.
And that's how Bruce T does it!!!!
Update: 11/16/2013
The original unit we did is still running and the one from died and we successfully brought it back to life using this procedure on it one more time.
The most common cause of the RROD, E74, and other issues is a faulty or "cold" solder connection on the motherboard.
For a complete list of XBox 360 error codes
What to do now??? Not too many options. I'm out of warranty.
1. Throw it in the gutter and go buy another
2. Send it out for a "reball" solder repair for $100 or more [this is the best repair BTW]
3. Send it out or take it to a local gamer shop for a reflow at a cost of about $60-$90
4. REFLOW IT MYSELF.
You know how Bruce T does it, that's right, HIMSELF. And I did. We got out our new Flip HD Slide video camera. The videos will be posted at the end of this post. I know, there are several XBox repair videos on YouTube, but this is Bruce T, and I have street cred with my followers. We did this in under an hour, not including the time it takes for the unit to cool off after reflowing.
The best videos on this subject are listed in my YouTube favorites. Click here for my YouTube Channel.
So I spent a few days doing my home work. I did not come up with this method, but I put all my research in to get it done RIGHT, just for my followers.
Here's what I found:
DON'T do stupid stuff like the "towel trick" or block your fans to overheat the CPU and GPU. It doesn't work, I tired it. It was a fix that lasted for about 30 minutes. Luckily, I didn't permanently destroy anything.
X-Clamp Mod??? Yes, but only if you are getting overheating errors. This won't fix an error like 0102-"cold solder joint" on CPU. It will put more pressure on the processor, but not fix the solder connection.
Also, don't purchase and X-Clamp mod kit, I'm going to give you the parts list in a moment.
If you are under warranty, send it in and wait. I know that sucks, but that's what I would have done had I been under warranty.
What I am about to show you can permenantly damage your Xbox. I will not be responsible if you completely destroy your XBox.
Special thanks to Paul D, my cousin, for donating the test Xbox we performed this method on first. The video in this blog is of our actual Xbox. We have now successfully repaired the E74 code on the donor Xbox and the 0102 cold solder joint on CPU & the E74 code on our home Xbox.
Here is what you need.
X-Clamp replacement parts list [Lowes part numbers in X-Clamp Mod link below]:
8pcs M5 x 10mm philips head screws
16pcs #10 Nylon washers [16mm were too long for the second unit we repaired]
You may need 8-16pcs M5 Flat Washers, depending on how thick the nylon washers are.
If you use the fasteners and washers from Lowes, you should have no problems. In our video, we used some washers from out local mom & pop hardware store and they were too thick. It is really important to make sure that when you put your heat sinks back on, that they touch the chips. And yes, you really need to use the Arctic Silver 5 compound.
Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound, found at your local radio shack, click here.
Here's a good link if you just want to do the X-Clamp Mod, depending on what error you have.
Heat Gun with a High and Low setting.
A Griddle, the kind you cook on, no, seriously.
Furnace Tape
Basic tools like T8 and T10 Torx screw drivers.
Aluminum Foil
And old catalog or magazine.
Q-Tips
Isopropyl Alcohol
View the videos below for the rest of the story.
Comment and email if you have any questions or anything to add. I hope this helps.
If you get an over heating code as soon as you turn it on, or if you fans are louder and stuck in high speed once you get to the dashboard, chances are you heat sinks are not properly seated on the processors.
Thanks again to the orginal posters and ideas.
And that's how Bruce T does it!!!!
Update: 11/16/2013
The original unit we did is still running and the one from died and we successfully brought it back to life using this procedure on it one more time.
2/12/12: Almost ONE YEAR later, both of the units we fixed using this method are still functioning perfectly.
ReplyDelete--Bruce T