When there is a problem within the console, then you will notice that red lights are blinking in the power ring instead of the green light. These are called as the red light error. The Xbox 360 is designed to inform the users the various kinds of error it undergoes during its normal operation. For example, when there is a loose connection between the console and the display, an error message occurs on the screen and also you can see a red light glowing in the power ring. The number of red light differs for each error. It may be one or two or three or even all the four. The lights are arranged in a quadratic ring fashion of four lights. When an error is displayed simultaneously the red light will glow.

TYPES OF ERROR

The one red light error is a normal kind of error. For this you can restart the console and the problem may get solved. Sometimes there may be some technical error like loose connections. When the AV cable is not properly connected then there will be two red lights glowing in the power ring area. The most damaging kind of error is the three red light error. It is commonly known as the “Red Rings of Death” or RRoD. The problem occurs because of the overheating of the console. When the temperature inside the Xbox 360 exceeds the normal withstanding capacity, the components inside gets affected and fails to work properly. This error sometimes may lead to the failure of the entire motherboard. This error is accompanied by three red lights in the power ring. When the error occurs, an error message E 74 is flashed on the screen interrupting the game in the middle. The error mainly affects the graphical processing unit and blocks the display resulting in a black screen without any video output.

METHODS TO SOLVE

There are various methods employed to solve the red light error problems. When the problem occurs you can give your console to the Microsoft service centers. If your console gets repaired within the warranty period, then the repair work is done at free of cost. But, if the warranty period is over then you have to pay for the repairing work. In addition to this when you are sending it to the service centre you have to pay for the shipping charges too. This is considered to be costly and also you need to wait for up to 3 months to get the console back from the service center.

The other way is to repair by our own which is very easy to do. For this there is no need for any complicated devices. A simple screwdriver will do the job for you. There are some video tutorials and repair guides available in the internet. These videos will explain clearly the steps to be done to eliminate the red light error. The advantage is that, you can save over $150 and can complete your repair work within one or two hours. This will also give you a permanent fix which is not guaranteed if you send it to Microsoft. Once finished repairing restart your console and you will observe all the lights are glowing in green color.

Red light errors are nothing but the pre-programmed error messages that are setup in the memory of the Xbox 360 console and are made to pop up whenever there is a problem in the working of the console. These messages will help the users to know where the error has occurred. The error messages are in the form of alphanumeric codes. Each and every kind of red light error has its own code so that the users can also understand and solve the problem.

Red Rings of Death

There are many red light errors like the single red light, two red lights, three red lights and four red lights error. Out of these four types, the “Three Red Light Error” is the most dangerous one because only in this type there is possibility of the console’s hardware being damaged to the maximum level if left unnoticed. The Three Red Light error is otherwise known as the “Red Ring of Death” or simply as RRoD. The name is because they signify its hardware death.

Reason

Main reason for the three red light error to occur is the cooling problem. The heat sinks function is to cool the surrounding air when the air passes by its grills. The temperature inside the console due to its compact packing and hence the cooling was not sufficient. As a result the processors below the heat sink are getting affected. Out of the two important processors the graphical processing unit is the most affected area because of this problem. So whenever the problem arises, immediately there might be problem with the display. This clearly shows that there is a fault in the cooling system of the Xbox 360 console.

Solution

The three red light error can be solved by slightly repairing the hardware. The main objective is to provide adequate cooling to the motherboard. The possibilities of providing cooling to the system are by adding an additional inter cooler to the system and by removing the X clamps.

The repairing can be also done by giving the console to the Microsoft service center. But you need to wait for 4 to 12 weeks depending upon the number of incoming consoles. Microsoft won’t repair modded consoles at any cost. For this you need to get a repairing guide from the internet. These guides will help us to solve the red light errors. These guides are video tutorials so that they will explain the steps to be taken while repairing the console.

Instead, you can repair your console in your home with the help of repair videos which are available in the internet. The advantage in repairing the console on your own is that the cost of repairing is less and the time taken will be just an hour or two.

Video gamings have grown drastically with the help of technology. They are having advanced processors that are similar to that of the personnel computer processors and come with inbuilt graphical cards. Xbox is one such gaming console introduced by the software giant Microsoft. The latest version is called as the Xbox 360 which has increased its processing speed to several mega hertz’s than the previous version and has come with increased storage space and DVD drive to change the game. The Xbox 360 has also shown improvement in the external interfacing of gadgets like joystick, guns, USB, etc.

HARDWARE CONFIGURATION

The Xbox 360 looks very slimmer than the Xbox and is very elegant, light weight and stylish. The outer surface has all the ports and DVD drive with power button surrounded by four quadrants of LED lights. The inner configuration of Xbox is that there will be two “X” shaped clamps over which the graphical processing unit and the central processing unit are mounted. Above which a part of the inner space is covered by the DVD and the rest are covered by the hard disk and the memory components making your processors jam packed. The processors are provided with inter coolers by means of a fan.

HARDWARE PROBLEMS
Since the Xbox 360 is introduced in the market there has been lot of complaints about the hardware failures. The most common complaint is the overheating and making the LEDs to glow red in color. You can play with your console only if the lights are green if not then you have a problem. There are also simple problems like the AV cable not connected properly with the console may also result in error. Now, the common problem occurring is the error called as e74. During which three red lights will be glowing. This kind of error may cause serious problems to the hardware. They call this as ‘red ring of danger’ or ‘3 red light error’.

RED RING OF DANGER

This problem has been taken to the Microsoft, and several attempts were made to solve this problem. But in the consoles which Microsoft has already sold, this problem exists. If it is under the warranty period then Microsoft itself fixes the error at free of cost. But, for other consoles you have to spend more than $125 and also along with the shipping charges to the Microsoft service centers. All the above you have to wait for about three or four weeks to get it back.

However, there is a solution to this problem. You can also repair the console by your own with simple devices. Only one thing you have to do, you need to watch the online videos which will show you how to do the repair work.

These videos comes with a ebook which will be very useful. Video tutorials and online demonstration of how to open the console is also there to help you. This gives a step-by-step process to remove each and every component from the console. The red light problem is due to lack of air flow to the processors. This may also due to reduced external ventilations also. Therefore, always keep your device in a cool surrounding. Now, you just need to remove the “X” clamps and keep the remaining components as such. By doing this enough air flows and cools your processors.

After finishing this close the console, restart it. Now you will see all the lights in green. Try this simple method instead of spending more money and wasting time.