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Xbox 360 3 Red Light Fix

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Xbox 360 3 Red Lights

Some games can take hours on end to play like Grand Theft Auto IV. Your Xbox 360 will be will be putting out some serious HEAT! Unfortunately this is why so many Xbox 360 consoles are experiencing the Xbox 3 red lights error.

The three flashing red lights (better known as the 'RED RING OF DEATH') indicates a general hardware failure. It seems as Bill Gates and his buddies really dropped the ball on this one.

So Whats Causing The Xbox 360 3 Red Lights?

There can be a number of reasons why your Xbox 360 is experiencing 'RED RING OF DEATH'. it could be an individual problem, or several problems working together to cause this problem. Here is a number reasons why the Xbox 360 fails.

1 Reason : Overheating

The Xbox 360 mother board is similar to that of a regular Desktop PC with a powerful graphics chip. The only problem is that they can't dissipate the heat that the graphics chip is producing like a Desktop PC can.

The heat sinks get so hot that they melt the thermal compound between them and the graphics chip. This causes the graphics chip to come in direct contact with the heat sink that get so hot that you can literally fry an egg on them.

Watch Xbox 360 Frying an Egg

Another Reason : Faulty X Clamps

There are two clamps called X clamps that hold down the GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) and the CPU (Central Processing Unit. They don't do such a good job when it comes to holding the heat sinks that are suppose to cool these chips down.

Another Reason : Lead Free Solder

Another problem the Xbox 360 has with heat is that it causes the motherboard to flex. When this happens it stresses the solder joints causing micro cracks. This results in poor connections to the tiny resistors under the graphics chip.

A Few Tips You Can Try

Turn off the console and unplug the power cable from the wall plug.

Place your Xbox 360 flat so that the cooling vents are not blocked in any way and keep your Xbox 360 in a ventilated and open area.

Try removing any dust buildup inside the machine and cool off your console with a fan.

And If That Doesn't Work

If that doesn't work, then getting your machine repaired is the only thing you can do. Microsoft extended their warranty for three years beyond the purchase date. but expect to wait 4-6 weeks if you do decide to ship it off. There is also a chance that the 'RED RING OF DEATH' will occur again.

Why not learn how to fix this problem once and for all.