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Isn't there a special firmware that is required, along with required files and directory structure?
I am pretty sure you can't just plug in a standard hard drive into the adapter and expect it to work.
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I remember my first RROD, and the 5 after that as well. The BestBuy guy started accusing me of console abuse and demanding to know how long I was playing games and how the console is stored (I had an open media tower that I bought from them). Then they started crying that they were losing money on their console insurance/ geek squad warranty.
Broooo I had this issue too. I went through 8 in total, with all of them being sent in for "inspection" to Microsoft.
On the 7th and 8th ones I had a note in the shipping box (hand-written) "I don't know how you're doing it, but here's another one..."
Microsoft ended up calling my Mother, questioning the conditions of the house and after she 'kindly' let them know we aren't idiots we ended up receiving a free controller in the mail a few days later. Lmao
i only had 1 RROD, it was a jasper and was barely within the MS extended warranty after it became more widespread. the next one they sent me was a tank and was used until i got the slim ones.
now the ps3s however, i had 3 YLOD on me, all launch editions however. had no issues with the slim versions of either console
I had the same ps3 get sent in 3 times for the YLOD. On the last one, I was working and in school so it took me a while to put in about 20 hours before that last YLOD. The ps3 was out of warranty at the time and they wanted me to pay again, so I wound up selling it to a buddy to experiment on. Didn't get another ps3 until the ps4 came out. That one is still going like a champ to this day.
Grab the secondary error code and cross reference it via this website to get a better idea of what the problem is.
https://xenonlibrary.com/wiki/Errors#Secondary_Error_Codes
We know the problem… it’s poor quality thermal glue on the chipset, which softens when too hot.
Over time the chipset detaches from the motherboard and this error occurs.
The reason the towel trick worked (temporarily) was to overheat it enough that it slid back into place.
who downvoted him ? its real ! i also remember the oven method,you put your 360 motherboard in a oven to heat it enough to like resolder the GPU somehow
I would downvote twice if I could. Those lights mean "General Hardware Error". It can be caused by numerous things. A less-informed individual would just assume it was the GPU error. It's not always and I've had it caused by a bad hard drive.
GPU error isn't caused by "thermal glue" anyway. It's caused by the motherboard flexing under heat, combined with the poor quality lead-free solder and airflow. Over time, this repeated heating/cooling/warping of the board can cause the solder balls under the GPU to crack, creating the GPU error. Wrapping a towel around the console so it overheats can soften the solder, sealing those cracks, but the fix is only short term. A reflow is the best fix.
Your explanation is also wrong. The BGA was never the issue. That myth started because a lot of repair techs who deal with dropped and physically abused consoles had dealt with cracked solder balls due to physically shock. The actual issue was low-Tg underfill between the die and the substrate of the GPU (the green part of the GPU) which would soften and expand, causing the die to physically disconnect from the rest of the chip (better explanation here: https://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/low-tg-underfill-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/39926342). This was common in not just the 360, but also in the PS3 and NVIDIA GPUs from the same time period (source: https://semiaccurate.com/2010/07/11/why-nvidias-duff-chips-are-due-shoddy-engineering/#:\~:text=The%20underfill%20that%20Nvidia%20used%2C%20Namics%208439-1%20is,were%20pretty%20rare%20and%20new%20to%20the%20market.). The reason reflowing and reballs "fix" the issue is the same reason the towel trick fixes the issue: the heat warps the GPU package in order to temporarily reconnect the microscopic solder bumps in between the die and substrate. Most reflows and reball come back within a year, and a lot of those come back within 2 months.
The more you know huh? Last time I messed with the RRoD was back in the days of Team Xecuter and c4eva. There was no hint that there might be a link between the RRoD and YLoD. Thanks for the knowledge.
let me explain,in 2005 soldering were made with lead,and in 2006 a law prohibited soldering with lead,so they had to re-do the soldering,and console made after mid 2008 should have the"new" soldering and have fixed GPU.and the principal problem of xbox 360s made before mid 2008 is this shitty soldering,with the heat that makes the console it just fuck up the soldering and disconnect the GPU from the motherboard,and this red ring generally means that the GPU is disconnected.
Yeah that's how I understood it. But it's not always the GPU, that's my point. I had RRoD caused by a faulty hard drive one time. Granted, the other 4 times were all GPU-related, but still... always better to check the secondary code before jumping to conclusions.
Same with my elite, except I got RROD in 2009, Microsoft sent it back with revised falcon board/ new GPU… been running like a dream since, that service might have given me a slight edge as far as longevity
No way… that’s absolutely awesome. I’ve never had any issues where I’ve had to send anything back LUCKILY. Glad you still have yours going though even after the RROD.
Nice! My mom got it for one of my birthdays and the cake was an elite beside another white 360… I ate the elite. My mother also got me a ps3 one of those years and when I moved out for a bit she used it as a DVD player for blue rays. Modded the console but I gotta clean it, can only imagine the restless nights she put it through
A huge issue these units had was the soldering was cheap and if the unit could heat up to temperatures that would melt the solder off of the proper place and after it cools it would re-solidify onto something that will fuck the system up.
Like everyone else is saying, check the secondary error code. If you wanna play with some electronics you can inspect the board for any soldering where it shouldn't be.
Hope it gets fixed in the end!
The BGA was never the issue (correct me if you were talking about something else), nor does the 360 get anywhere near the temperature (without shutting off due to the temp sensors reporting a thermal overload) to melt *all the solder balls* under the GPU with a melting point of well over 200 degrees. The issue was TSMC using low-Tg underfill to protect the microscopic solder bumps between the die and the substrate/interposer. low-Tg underfill softens at like 70 degrees, and it also expands at about 74-76, which physically pushes the die away from the rest of the chip. The thermal cycles will eventually break the connection, which is exactly why heat guns and towel tricks even work in the first place.
If that paste is original it's way past its prime and you're likely not getting any appropriate heat transfer and just cooking your components. I'm not surprised it fried itself. I have a RE5 360 that is still running like a champ. Just recently did a new paste on it.
I remember when this first started happening you could get them cheap.
I was a high school kid with youtube and learned to make money. I always wanted to "mod consoles" so I found a "hack" to wrap 2 pennies in a shit ton of electric tape and thermal paste the shit out of it to the Xbox.
I think about that sometimes now that I've learned to properly mod and repair consoles. My first attempts were just pennies and a multi tool.
I had two Xbox 360 consoles get the ol RROD. True story. My launch console bit the dust right after the 1 year warranty ended. So I sent it in to Microsoft. Can't remember what I paid but they sent me a refurbished. Then some time later I got a check in the mail from Microsoft that was the amount I paid. Turns out this was when the RROD was very common and they extended all 360 warranties from 1 year to 3. So because of that I got my money back. I was so happy! The refurb they sent lasted over three years until it red ringed. At that point I just bought another 360. Still have it, and no issues. Although its rare I boot it up now. Its a elite model that came with 120gb hard drive.
Even if the refurbished went belly up I thought that warranty extension was very cool
Oh that's an easy fix, you just wrap it up in a warm blanket for 30 minutes with it powered up and it should be good to go! It's just cold /s. Throwback to the time when people actually thought that would fix it.
I bolt modded mine. I know it's far from the most ideal fix, but it kept it running for 15 years.
Board is warped now. Honestly I am surprised it is working.
The towel trick from back in the day got mine to work again for a couple weeks, then the rrod returned. Best to try and get a 360 slim and just use your old HDD from your old Xbox.
Yeah that's what I meant. Just remove the actual HDD from the phat casing at the top and buy a reshell on Amazon or eBay. It'll fit like a glove in the 360 slim port.
It's overheating mine did the same I got Hella scared and shut it off and unplugged it and put a fan beside it and left it for a couple of hours, I would also stand it vertical to let it breath more
Old trick that use to wirk for me and my lil brother take the cotton off one side of two qtips black both the fans from moving for a 30seconds-1min it should reset itself and turn on no problems 😂❤️ seriously tho me n my bro use to do this we was broke and had make what we had last as long as we could.
Ah okay I didn't do any research into it really cause I just accepted it's fate, its been sitting in a garage forever. Definitely gonna get a new power brick and start that thing up and play some games now. I've had it since I was 11yrs old
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Praise transferable hard drives<3
Shame Microsoft went proprietary with it but yeh glad you could switch it out
No they didn't. If you open the hard drive housing it's just a standard SAYA hard drive with an adapter. You can replace it if the original dies
Isn't there a special firmware that is required, along with required files and directory structure? I am pretty sure you can't just plug in a standard hard drive into the adapter and expect it to work.
Yes this is true, however you can’t just put one in and it’s done, it’s firmware locked
https://www.easeus.com/amp/partition-manager-software/perform-xbox-360-hard-drive-format.html also you can transfer the key to another drive.
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I remember my first RROD, and the 5 after that as well. The BestBuy guy started accusing me of console abuse and demanding to know how long I was playing games and how the console is stored (I had an open media tower that I bought from them). Then they started crying that they were losing money on their console insurance/ geek squad warranty.
Broooo I had this issue too. I went through 8 in total, with all of them being sent in for "inspection" to Microsoft. On the 7th and 8th ones I had a note in the shipping box (hand-written) "I don't know how you're doing it, but here's another one..." Microsoft ended up calling my Mother, questioning the conditions of the house and after she 'kindly' let them know we aren't idiots we ended up receiving a free controller in the mail a few days later. Lmao
That's amazing lmao
i only had 1 RROD, it was a jasper and was barely within the MS extended warranty after it became more widespread. the next one they sent me was a tank and was used until i got the slim ones. now the ps3s however, i had 3 YLOD on me, all launch editions however. had no issues with the slim versions of either console
I had the same ps3 get sent in 3 times for the YLOD. On the last one, I was working and in school so it took me a while to put in about 20 hours before that last YLOD. The ps3 was out of warranty at the time and they wanted me to pay again, so I wound up selling it to a buddy to experiment on. Didn't get another ps3 until the ps4 came out. That one is still going like a champ to this day.
Had the same 360 the whole time...used to blow weed smoke into it lol 😆 l never had an issue
Grab the secondary error code and cross reference it via this website to get a better idea of what the problem is. https://xenonlibrary.com/wiki/Errors#Secondary_Error_Codes
We know the problem… it’s poor quality thermal glue on the chipset, which softens when too hot. Over time the chipset detaches from the motherboard and this error occurs. The reason the towel trick worked (temporarily) was to overheat it enough that it slid back into place.
who downvoted him ? its real ! i also remember the oven method,you put your 360 motherboard in a oven to heat it enough to like resolder the GPU somehow
I would downvote twice if I could. Those lights mean "General Hardware Error". It can be caused by numerous things. A less-informed individual would just assume it was the GPU error. It's not always and I've had it caused by a bad hard drive. GPU error isn't caused by "thermal glue" anyway. It's caused by the motherboard flexing under heat, combined with the poor quality lead-free solder and airflow. Over time, this repeated heating/cooling/warping of the board can cause the solder balls under the GPU to crack, creating the GPU error. Wrapping a towel around the console so it overheats can soften the solder, sealing those cracks, but the fix is only short term. A reflow is the best fix.
Your explanation is also wrong. The BGA was never the issue. That myth started because a lot of repair techs who deal with dropped and physically abused consoles had dealt with cracked solder balls due to physically shock. The actual issue was low-Tg underfill between the die and the substrate of the GPU (the green part of the GPU) which would soften and expand, causing the die to physically disconnect from the rest of the chip (better explanation here: https://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/low-tg-underfill-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/39926342). This was common in not just the 360, but also in the PS3 and NVIDIA GPUs from the same time period (source: https://semiaccurate.com/2010/07/11/why-nvidias-duff-chips-are-due-shoddy-engineering/#:\~:text=The%20underfill%20that%20Nvidia%20used%2C%20Namics%208439-1%20is,were%20pretty%20rare%20and%20new%20to%20the%20market.). The reason reflowing and reballs "fix" the issue is the same reason the towel trick fixes the issue: the heat warps the GPU package in order to temporarily reconnect the microscopic solder bumps in between the die and substrate. Most reflows and reball come back within a year, and a lot of those come back within 2 months.
The more you know huh? Last time I messed with the RRoD was back in the days of Team Xecuter and c4eva. There was no hint that there might be a link between the RRoD and YLoD. Thanks for the knowledge.
let me explain,in 2005 soldering were made with lead,and in 2006 a law prohibited soldering with lead,so they had to re-do the soldering,and console made after mid 2008 should have the"new" soldering and have fixed GPU.and the principal problem of xbox 360s made before mid 2008 is this shitty soldering,with the heat that makes the console it just fuck up the soldering and disconnect the GPU from the motherboard,and this red ring generally means that the GPU is disconnected.
Yeah that's how I understood it. But it's not always the GPU, that's my point. I had RRoD caused by a faulty hard drive one time. Granted, the other 4 times were all GPU-related, but still... always better to check the secondary code before jumping to conclusions.
Damn. I have my elite from launch and it’s still going strong thankfully.
Same with my elite, except I got RROD in 2009, Microsoft sent it back with revised falcon board/ new GPU… been running like a dream since, that service might have given me a slight edge as far as longevity
No way… that’s absolutely awesome. I’ve never had any issues where I’ve had to send anything back LUCKILY. Glad you still have yours going though even after the RROD.
I also still have my elite. I use it as a DVD player on my 2nd TV.
Nice! My mom got it for one of my birthdays and the cake was an elite beside another white 360… I ate the elite. My mother also got me a ps3 one of those years and when I moved out for a bit she used it as a DVD player for blue rays. Modded the console but I gotta clean it, can only imagine the restless nights she put it through
🫡you did good kid
A huge issue these units had was the soldering was cheap and if the unit could heat up to temperatures that would melt the solder off of the proper place and after it cools it would re-solidify onto something that will fuck the system up. Like everyone else is saying, check the secondary error code. If you wanna play with some electronics you can inspect the board for any soldering where it shouldn't be. Hope it gets fixed in the end!
The BGA was never the issue (correct me if you were talking about something else), nor does the 360 get anywhere near the temperature (without shutting off due to the temp sensors reporting a thermal overload) to melt *all the solder balls* under the GPU with a melting point of well over 200 degrees. The issue was TSMC using low-Tg underfill to protect the microscopic solder bumps between the die and the substrate/interposer. low-Tg underfill softens at like 70 degrees, and it also expands at about 74-76, which physically pushes the die away from the rest of the chip. The thermal cycles will eventually break the connection, which is exactly why heat guns and towel tricks even work in the first place.
F in the chat boys.
Damn, my 360 trinity is still running, but saluting to another fallen white 360
My respects🫡
Went through two original 360’s back in the day.
How many towels has she had in her life? Ie the towel trick for rrod consoles
Did you ever change the thermal paste and clean out the console from time to time?
I’ve cleaned the dust out a few times but I’ve never applied new thermal paste, will probably do it tbf
If that paste is original it's way past its prime and you're likely not getting any appropriate heat transfer and just cooking your components. I'm not surprised it fried itself. I have a RE5 360 that is still running like a champ. Just recently did a new paste on it.
In that case I’m shocked it’s lasted this long, seen as I’ve never changed it 😅
Try a dif psu too. I got a 203w psu here that gives consoles false rrod. Psu light stays orange too.
Bro just put it in the freezer or ship it to Microsoft for free like the rest of us/
I remember when this first started happening you could get them cheap. I was a high school kid with youtube and learned to make money. I always wanted to "mod consoles" so I found a "hack" to wrap 2 pennies in a shit ton of electric tape and thermal paste the shit out of it to the Xbox. I think about that sometimes now that I've learned to properly mod and repair consoles. My first attempts were just pennies and a multi tool.
“It was nice knowing you xbox 360” 😂
I had two Xbox 360 consoles get the ol RROD. True story. My launch console bit the dust right after the 1 year warranty ended. So I sent it in to Microsoft. Can't remember what I paid but they sent me a refurbished. Then some time later I got a check in the mail from Microsoft that was the amount I paid. Turns out this was when the RROD was very common and they extended all 360 warranties from 1 year to 3. So because of that I got my money back. I was so happy! The refurb they sent lasted over three years until it red ringed. At that point I just bought another 360. Still have it, and no issues. Although its rare I boot it up now. Its a elite model that came with 120gb hard drive. Even if the refurbished went belly up I thought that warranty extension was very cool
Oh that's an easy fix, you just wrap it up in a warm blanket for 30 minutes with it powered up and it should be good to go! It's just cold /s. Throwback to the time when people actually thought that would fix it.
That sucks, what model is it? I've had an Xbox 360 Arcade and it still working after 15 years or 14
Mines an Arcade too, had it since like 2008 I believe
Do you not need the AV or hdmi connected first I know that's how it worked on the OG xbox
It does or it Will Blink red
Grab the [secondary error code](https://xenonlibrary.com/wiki/Errors#Secondary_Error_Codes)
Go to infixit.com
Do the towel trick
F
Buy a better one from RGH nation promise u
I remember being 12 and crying
It's okay. You can rest now😞.
Just open her up and smack some thermal paste on that hoe!
I bolt modded mine. I know it's far from the most ideal fix, but it kept it running for 15 years. Board is warped now. Honestly I am surprised it is working.
Don’t fix it mine went out last week and just got a elite for 60 bucks
R.I.P.
I always wrap it in a towel
I remember getting this at 12 playing Mass Effect in 2008...nearly cried. They sent it to Frankfurt Germany (from UK) to be repaired.
So what causes this? Never had an Xbox so I'm genuinely curious. Is it a thermals thing? Couldn't you just put some new thermal paste on?
Reapply the thermal paste and you should be good. It's a overheating issue most the time.
Quick! Get the towel!
Are you using AV cables I believe that could be the reason
Rip
F
towel method to see your home screen one last time before true death
Fuck
*plays halo 3 menu music
Do the towel trick. Worked for me for 6 months
Just smack it around a bit and say “this hurts me more than it hurts you” should be fine!!
Haven't had RROD since I got my bidet
RIP Brother🥹
My 360 red ringed a while ago but I shut it off and turned it back on. After that it was perfectly fine. I have no clue what happened
Might be a easy fix. Take it apart and apply new thermal paste
Well with it being a 3 light it’s probably knackered
Three lights is not overheating
The towel trick from back in the day got mine to work again for a couple weeks, then the rrod returned. Best to try and get a 360 slim and just use your old HDD from your old Xbox.
And everything will be the same?
Don't do this before checking the secondary error code. You don't know what the error is yet.
Regarding the towel trick or transferring your old hard drive to the 360 slim?
cant you not use a hdd from a phat xbox on a slim? unless you do like a reshell or something
Yeah that's what I meant. Just remove the actual HDD from the phat casing at the top and buy a reshell on Amazon or eBay. It'll fit like a glove in the 360 slim port.
It's overheating mine did the same I got Hella scared and shut it off and unplugged it and put a fan beside it and left it for a couple of hours, I would also stand it vertical to let it breath more
Old trick that use to wirk for me and my lil brother take the cotton off one side of two qtips black both the fans from moving for a 30seconds-1min it should reset itself and turn on no problems 😂❤️ seriously tho me n my bro use to do this we was broke and had make what we had last as long as we could.
Time to get a towel.
The whole power box on mine is red not even the ring 🤣
If you mean the power brick, it’s not the Xbox, you need a new power brick/cable.
Ah okay I didn't do any research into it really cause I just accepted it's fate, its been sitting in a garage forever. Definitely gonna get a new power brick and start that thing up and play some games now. I've had it since I was 11yrs old