Xbox 360 RROD in pictures :)

Hey guys

I saw a xbox 360 on my local freecycle that had the rrod, I thought what the hell £5 in diesel and a £5 kit with screws it is worth the punt. You can get the money back just selling the spares.

This is my first ever hands on fix so please don't follow my steps as the more experienced fixers may frown on how I did this.

This machine is a 2006 model so it has lasted very well for its age, the lady told me her son has used it everyday from the day they got it for him until last week when it failed.

OK I stripped the case of and got the mobo out:

http://img337.imageshack.us/img337/3192/1001543r.jpg
http://img805.imageshack.us/img805/2016/1001544.jpg

Strip of the x-clamps then I removed both heatsinks:

http://img717.imageshack.us/img717/3160/1001545h.jpg
http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/5613/1001546j.jpg

Ignore all the fresh gunk on the chips in the above picture I made a schoolboy error, anyway I cleaned up the chips and the heatsinks as best as I could getting them pretty shiny.

http://img443.imageshack.us/img443/2443/1001547y.jpg
http://img546.imageshack.us/img546/9489/1001548t.jpg

I then removed the lugs that were already on the heatsinks so my new screws can go through:

http://img21.imageshack.us/img21/9679/1001549y.jpg

I had some Arctic MX-4 left over from when I built my new i5 just before xmas so I stuck this on the chips:

http://img404.imageshack.us/img404/2733/1001550z.jpg

This bit was tricky and lots of swear words were flowing, trying to get all 4 screws in the holes at the back lined up with the heatsinks at the front. The screws have a metal spring washer first on the screw then a nylon washer on top of that, the screw then goes through the board and on the other side it has yet another nylon washer followed by a metal washer.

http://img811.imageshack.us/img811/4803/1001551l.jpg
http://img526.imageshack.us/img526/977/1001552d.jpg
http://img19.imageshack.us/img19/3769/1001553w.jpg
http://img545.imageshack.us/img545/8163/1001554i.jpg

Next job was to put the mobo back in the case. I then fitted the dvd back as I could put the wires in. I removed the fans and stuck this on top of the CPU. Reason for this is you need to heat the console for around 15 mins with a fan on the CPU to keep it cool. Around the 11 min mark the 3 lights went down to 2, I then waited two mins and the console shut down itself.

http://img39.imageshack.us/img39/4636/1001555nz.jpg
http://img836.imageshack.us/img836/8279/1001557r.jpg

Next job is to wait a full 20 mins to let the console cool down, during this time I just put it all back together. If it did not work it did not matter as I had no time left to play with it so it would have to wait until later. So all back together it was time for the test:

http://img221.imageshack.us/img221/2642/10015621.jpg

WOOOOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Not bad for a first attempt, it was actually a very very easy job to do. Not including the cooling down time etc you can do one in about 20mins. Not sure how long it will last.

Thank you for that! I always wondered if the self-heating method actually worked, so this will serve nicely as proof-in-pictures.
Another 360 for sale soon, huh? ;)

Well done !

I've done this to several 360s with RRoD. Some last 5 months, some last 2 days. It's never permanent though. :(

Good luck!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Bootay

I've done this to several 360s with RRoD. Some last 5 months, some last 2 days. It's never permanent though. :(

Good luck!

---

Yeah some can last years as well, will be interesting to see just how long it does last. I will update the thread when it breaks, I won't sell it. It has never been online either it has the very first dashboard back from 2006 lol. It was more of a wanting to do it rather then have a 360, my kids have 2 between them and I am a PC gamer you see. It was more of a project.

not bad,im glad you dident put those crappy x clamps back there a waist of time.

the only thing i would of done was cleaned of the old gunk completely before adding new compound.

and you got it for a fiver nice!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by roy_bates

not bad,im glad you dident put those crappy x clamps back there a waist of time.

the only thing i would of done was cleaned of the old gunk completely before adding new compound.

and you got it for a fiver nice!

---

Yeah when I had it apart with the x-clamps still on, you could actually move the heatsinks slightly so they were never tight.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Witcher1979

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by roy_bates

not bad,im glad you dident put those crappy x clamps back there a waist of time.

the only thing i would of done was cleaned of the old gunk completely before adding new compound.

and you got it for a fiver nice!

---

Yeah when I had it apart with the x-clamps still on, you could actually move the heatsinks slightly so they were never tight.

---

do you know some shops that do this for a living actually put them back in!:o


but seriusly,it dont matter how long it lasts,because it was virtually free! so nice one.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Witcher1979

... I am a PC gamer you see. It was more pf a project.

---

We know! :lol:

In any case, job well done. If firmware hasn't been updated as you say, maybe a jtag sideproject is upcoming?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by slk486

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Witcher1979

... I am a PC gamer you see. It was more pf a project.

---

We know! :lol:

In any case, job well done. If firmware hasn't been updated as you say, maybe a jtag sideproject is upcoming?

---

:thumbsup:

Yeah I was just thinking about doing a jtag, need to check the dashboard version but I am guessing it was the very first. I am shocked the games he played did not update the dash, unless he played old ones or something. Weird.

But I do have a soft spot for red dead online, it would save me taking my sons console everytime I want to play it though.

Well she has been on most of the day and still going strong lol. Keep waiting for the flashing to start :)

I did this method to one of the black 120gb (Jasper?) models when it suffered RROD.

It lasted about 3-4 days and then i started to notice black artefacts appearing on screen during play until i switched the console off and back on again and it flashed the red rings at me.

I found i got about 3 days of good play from it before i'd have to reheat and let it cool down again but i did this for about 6-8 months before i finally gave in and bought a slim.

i can complain lots and say a bunch of stuff about the xclamp fix. but generally every 1 knows by now they suck lol..

But what i will say is

Do you want the better GPU heat sink "with heat pipe?" as i ahve a few here you can have 1 for postage costs.
They are better than the crappy 1st gen ones you have theire.

on a side note..
You may want to try a reflow when it next red rings on you.
use some no clean flux, and then i would probably opt ofr the oven method v's a heat gun excetera as atleast that is a bit easier to controll the temps with..

oh and put the xclamps back on lol..
you will simply warp the board using a xclamp replacment fix.

some notes on your fix..

you will only get 2 lights when the cpu over heats. try to keep the fan on the cpu so it dosent over heat to get the full benefit of the gpu heat up part of the fix (honestly it will never get hot enough to re flow and with no flux involved thats probably a good thing)

as for the screws in the hole.. top seecret stuff was invented to make this easier...
its called sticky tape :P
just put the screws and washers in from the underside tape them in place (individually) And then flip the board over puting the washers on the top. then crew the screws in loose 1 at a time before tightening them up properly (id do oposit corners 1st (bottom left, top right, top left, bottom right)
But honestly your better off with the standard clamps as they wont cause the board to sag making it impossible to reflow/reball.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ShambleS1980

i can complain lots and say a bunch of stuff about the xclamp fix. but generally every 1 knows by now they suck lol..

But what i will say is

Do you want the better GPU heat sink "with heat pipe?" as i ahve a few here you can have 1 for postage costs.
They are better than the crappy 1st gen ones you have theire.

on a side note..
You may want to try a reflow when it next red rings on you.
use some no clean flux, and then i would probably opt ofr the oven method v's a heat gun excetera as atleast that is a bit easier to controll the temps with..

oh and put the xclamps back on lol..
you will simply warp the board using a xclamp replacment fix.

---

Yes please I would love to change that GPU heatsink because as you say it sure does suck. Regards the board bending though, as long as the screws are not to tight the board "should" be ok. You probs know a lot more then me but from my google ninja skills earlier before I done it, it seems the boards bend when people go silly with the screws.

I don't expect it to last long though lol more of a test really. I will drop you a PM regards the heatsink :) Thanks for that.

again my editing skills are a bit slow lol.
Any way pm replied :thumbsup:

Waaay to much paste but other then that it looks pretty good. Nice one.

i did remove the clamps on mine,although i did it in a slightly different way to you though.

oh its still going strong from three years ago,never had a problem.

I did a similar repair to my freely obtained RROD. I did, however, set about it with a heat gun. That was a year and a half ago and still going strong.

If the 360 is a very early one, you will find that the stand-offs for the mainboard are uneven - the central ones are higher than the outside ones. It is good to grind those down to match, so that the board is no longer bent in the middle.

Top pics and great walkthrough.

That boy was lucky to have a 2006 model still working in 2012, mine went years ago! But well worth a fun a project and £5.

Let us know how long it lasts :thumbsup:

oooh..
lets Guess!

Im going for 3 days 17 hours and 29 minuets.
or 8 reboots of 30 mins play with 30 mins down time (which ever comes 1st)
:lol:

I wish you the best of luck. I am curious to see how long it lasts. And if you have an old dash I would definitely jtag it. :thumbsup:

nice job mate

great first try with results :thumbsup:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by tokyoracer

Waaay to much paste but other then that it looks pretty good. Nice one.

---

Yeah I did go a little over the top, I did a small pea size like you would on a CPU but the GPU area is half the size of a normal CPU lol. Oh well it seems fine :)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by roy_bates

i did remove the clamps on mine,although i did it in a slightly different way to you though.

oh its still going strong from three years ago,never had a problem.

---

Yeah I think it is hit and miss, some seem to last 2 mins some can last like yours.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by BrooksterMax

Top pics and great walkthrough.

That boy was lucky to have a 2006 model still working in 2012, mine went years ago! But well worth a fun a project and £5.

Let us know how long it lasts :thumbsup:

---

I sure will m8, it was on for the best part of 5 hours yesterday and no crashing/freezes or anything yet.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ShambleS1980

oooh..
lets Guess!

Im going for 3 days 17 hours and 29 minuets.
or 8 reboots of 30 mins play with 30 mins down time (which ever comes 1st)
:lol:

---

:p

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by johnim

nice job mate

great first try with results :thumbsup:

---

Ta m8 :thumbsup: I think I would do more if the price is right, get better each time you do them I guess.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Witcher1979

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by johnim

nice job mate

great first try with results :thumbsup:

---

Ta m8 :thumbsup: I think I would do more if the price is right, get better each time you do them I guess.

---

be carefull where you get them. and make sure they have never been opend before you do get them..

Some people just destroy them 1st then sell them on..
its not fun.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ShambleS1980

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Witcher1979

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by johnim

nice job mate

great first try with results :thumbsup:

---

Ta m8 :thumbsup: I think I would do more if the price is right, get better each time you do them I guess.

---

be carefull where you get them. and make sure they have never been opend before you do get them..

Some people just destroy them 1st then sell them on..
its not fun.

---

i agree theres too many peaple trying to fix them with coins and insulation tape(i kid you not)

i even seen one that had an extra fan superglued to rear of the case(not a good idea beleive it or not)

the only thing ive found with these machine is how it gets air into the system,im saying this because alot of peaple put them vertical which blocks half of the intake vents.adding a harddrive blocks some more.
well you get what im saying.

Thank you very much for commenting that about the ventilation. I have repaired a RROD (a gift), but I didn't have to use the overheating trick exposed here. I just changed the clamps with the same kit used here, and then I put a copper plate and some Artic thermal paste and it's running fine.

Reading what you are saying (you are right) and as I have to use it vertically, I've just put four tall white round rubber feets, 1 cm tall that I had since I used them in my Amiga.

I've bought too a set of rear fans to keep it cool. I hope this will be enough.

BTW: I would like to see a photo of how's the other better heat sink.

Nice job ! :thumbsup:

Personally I would also do the 12v fan mod as it may make the machine last longer :)

For holding the screws in place before tightening everything up I used to use some simple masking tape, works pretty well and doesn't leave nasty residue like some other tape does :thumbsup:

Just an update on this, even though it does not get used a whole lot, apart from Red Dead and some movie streaming this is still going strong :)

Word of advice... use less thermal grease. :roll: You only need an amount the size of a grain of rice on each tile, any more is counter productive and it's going to get all over the place. ;)

---------- Post added at 23:24 ---------- Previous post was at 23:21 ----------

Last one I did lasted about 6 months. :thumbsup:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by AmiNeo

Word of advice... use less thermal grease. :roll: You only need an amount the size of a grain of rice on each tile, any more is counter productive and it's going to get all over the place. ;)

---

Yeah I know, got carried away when doing it. But saying that, it does not seem to have done any harm :)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by scrappysphinx

I did this method to one of the black 120gb (Jasper?) models when it suffered RROD.

---

Could it have possibly been the first 360 Elite (Zephyr revision) or maybe a Falcon revision? I think Jaspers are the best so far as i've never seen or heard of one getting the RROD... Our Jasper has been going strong for over 3 years now (i'm sure i sold one to someone here on Amibay too which i guess is still going :)).

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Powerpie5000

Could it have possibly been the first 360 Elite (Zephyr revision) or maybe a Falcon revision? I think Jaspers are the best so far as i've never seen or heard of one getting the RROD... Our Jasper has been going strong for over 3 years now (i'm sure i sold one to someone here on Amibay too which i guess is still going :)).

---

Yeah it was one of the earliest black elite 120gb systems. I've never familiarized myself with the motherboard versions. As long as it works i'm happy.
I have one of the 250gb slims and had it since launch (collected from my local Game at midnight :lol:) and it still going well.

Zephyr was the second revision. 90nm on both CPU and GPU. Better heatsink and first HDMI model...

I believe the Falcon is the one you have, the first HDMI model to have a 65nm process... Same as mine :)

Falcons had the 90nm GPU but a 65nm CPU.

Jaspers had 65nm on both.


You can tell them apart by their power requirements (listed near the power socket on the rear)...

Original Models...
Xenon------90 nm------90 nm------No----203 W----------November 2005--------Original release.
Zephyr-----90 nm------90 nm------Yes---203 W----------July 2007--------------Introduced HDMI port. Improved GPU heatsink.
Falcon------65 nm------90 nm------Yes---175 W---------Late September 2007---Introduced 65 nm CPU. Power consumption lowered.
Opus-------65 nm------90 nm-------No----175 W--------June 2008--------------Available as a replacement for Xenon motherboards which have been sent in to Microsoft repair centers. (no HDMI)
Jasper------65 nm------65 nm-------Yes---150 W--------September 2008--------Introduced 65 nm GPU. Introduced on-board flash based memory. Further reduced power consumption.

360 Slim...
Trinity (360s)---Both 45 nm---------Yes--135 W----------May 2010--------------Motherboard redesign used in the Xbox 360 S
Corona (360s)--Both 45 nm---------Yes--115 W----------August 2011------------No more HANA Chip; integrated into southbridge. PSU is 9.86A, down from 10.83A (Only ones manufactured now)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Powerpie5000

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by scrappysphinx

I did this method to one of the black 120gb (Jasper?) models when it suffered RROD.

---

Could it have possibly been the first 360 Elite (Zephyr revision) or maybe a Falcon revision? I think Jaspers are the best so far as i've never seen or heard of one getting the RROD... Our Jasper has been going strong for over 3 years now (i'm sure i sold one to someone here on Amibay too which i guess is still going :)).

---

Yes I'm an owner of a jasper elite bought from here from Taj, still alive and well.

Still going strong, although gaming does not happen on it anymore. Just gets used to stream HD content.

That's great it is still going stong Witcher :thumbsup:

Although my Falcon based 360 is working just fine, I had similar RROD worries happening in the future, but after consulting with Shambles via PM, I opened mine up to find Jasper heatsinks (GPU one fitted with the pipe and a massive CPU one) had already been fitted at the factory! :cool:

Apparently, some late Falcons do indeed have the improved Jasper heatsinks.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Witcher1979

Still going strong, although gaming does not happen on it anymore. Just gets used to stream HD content.

---

My future son-in-laws is either going in the oven tonight (as per Juvvies post) or I'll be trying your way.

Haven't quite decided which way to go yet :oops:

Dave G :cool:

my nephews Jasper died a week ago and now hes paying for the xbox (he has his first job) hes bought a secondhand one from game!

do they never learn...

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by mjnurney

my nephews Jasper died a week ago and now hes paying for the xbox (he has his first job) hes bought a secondhand one from game!

do they never learn...

---

Was it RROD? That's the first i've heard of a Jasper suffering from it :(. Did he keep it well ventilated?

yes 3 rods of death...

i think its in the bin now.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by mjnurney

yes 3 rods of death...

i think its in the bin now.

---

Shame, could have fixed it for a couple of quid and it would have made a decent streaming machine. They don't get hot just streaming :)

i used to repair (try) xboxes years ago . one lasted 3 years - most 3mins to 3 months then RROD..

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by mjnurney

i used to repair (try) xboxes years ago . one lasted 3 years - most 3mins to 3 months then RROD..

---

Yeah I understand that sir, but as streaming boxes they don't get hot so they will probs last forever.

yes you could well be right :-)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by mjnurney

yes you could well be right :-)

---

Doubt it :p

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Powerpie5000

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by mjnurney

my nephews Jasper died a week ago and now hes paying for the xbox (he has his first job) hes bought a secondhand one from game!

do they never learn...

---

Was it RROD? That's the first i've heard of a Jasper suffering from it :(. Did he keep it well ventilated?

---

All of the original form-factor Xboxes may get 3 flashing red lights. It's the catch all error similar-ish to a yellow screen on an Amiga.

I chose 3 lights because I thought this would be the least frequently encountered error in the field.

And yes- you read the above sentence right. The light codes were my design as global customer experience PM for the Xbox console business.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by FastRobPlus

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Powerpie5000

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by mjnurney

my nephews Jasper died a week ago and now hes paying for the xbox (he has his first job) hes bought a secondhand one from game!

do they never learn...

---

Was it RROD? That's the first i've heard of a Jasper suffering from it :(. Did he keep it well ventilated?

---

All of the original form-factor Xboxes may get 3 flashing red lights. It's the catch all error similar-ish to a yellow screen on an Amiga.

I chose 3 lights because I thought this would be the least frequently encountered error in the field.

And yes- you read the above sentence right. The light codes were my design as global customer experience PM for the Xbox console business.

---

:wooha:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by mjnurney

i used to repair (try) xboxes years ago . one lasted 3 years - most 3mins to 3 months then RROD..

---

Once did an Elite, lasted about 7 months. Only failed when I gave it to my uncle :lol: I don't know if he had it in less than Ideal conditions, it didnt like being moved or was just ready to go again anyway... Had a good run though!

Here's knocking on wood for my Xenon Xbox360 bought in 2006, still going on strong. It does have relatively low operating hours, though. Probably will swap it for a Slim, when it gives up.

I take it everyone missed the bit where fastrobplus said

"And yes- you read the above sentence right. The light codes were my design as global customer experience PM for the Xbox console business."

:D

yeah I got it the first time, I am sure he was suprised to see that this particular code was very popular LOL