Causes of Xbox 360 Red Ring of Death

1) Xbox-360 is meant for hardcore gaming which means that Xbox users will utilize most of his/her's time in playing games. So Xbox should be designed such as to work for longer periods. With longer work period you generate a lot of heat and to overcome this heating problem you must have a highly efficient cooling system. But in an Xbox360 the vents are structured on the lower ends of the base which makes it a little bit more difficult for cooling. This overheating problem can sometime cause the red lights to flash and can spread a fear on the user's mind.

2) Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) and the Central Processing Unit (CPU) tend to under perform when put through for longer periods. This is a serious technical demarcation which can be voluntarily taken care of. The GPU and other sophisticated chips inside Xbox 360, are programmed in such a way that the device shuts down resulting in a "screen freeze" when overheated. But, when you restart the console, it recovers itself and works fine thereafter. But, when it happens frequently, then it eventually leads to red rings of death.

3) The power source to Xbox-360 is a small box containing a transformer which is called as Powerbrick. When put through longer periods it gets quite hot and is not cooled properly. Overheating of Powerbrick can transfer some electrical surges to the console resulting in malfunctioning and shutting down of the device.

4) AV cable error is also a major cause of the red ring of death. This happens because of AV cable which is either not connected to the output or is a faulty one. This error can be overcome by checking the connections or just replacing the cable.

As, you must have observed that most of the problems in an Xbox-360 is caused due to "overheating". Therefore the best possible solution to avoid the red ring of death and other errors is to keep the console and the powerbrick in a more airy and ventilated place. Keeping it in a place where air can flush out from all four sides of the Xbox and powerbrick can improve the durability of the device to a large extent. An Xbox user can also remove closed display cabinet, at least while playing till it cools down. Bit extra preventive measures can definitely prevent the much hyped red ring of death.