There are many video game consoles like Xbox, Playstation, Playboy, Wii, etc in the market. These devices are considered as branded as they come from specialized corporate companies. Xbox is a product from Microsoft Corporation and Playstation is from Sony and Wii is from the Nintendo. The latest product from Microsoft is Xbox 360 which was introduced in the year 2005. This product was introduced to give a though competition to the Sony’s Playstation 2.

PROBLEMS WITH THE X CLAMP

The device is reported with large number of console failure. After serious analysis it was found that the problem is due to the overheating of the console damaging the chips in the motherboard and thus the entire motherboard gets failed. The reason for the rise in internal temperature is due to insufficient cooling arrangements within the console. Because of lack of proper design, the console is designed with minimum ventilation. Also another reason is that Microsoft is in a hurry to introduce the product to the market as the Christmas is nearing, hence winter holidays will be good time for children to buy the device.

The problem is with the X clamp of the motherboard. The X clamps are those that hold the heat sinks in a position on the motherboard. By replacing the X clamp it is found that the heat is radiated outside very well than compared with its presence. Thus suitable arrangements are made to fix the heat sinks without the use of the X clamps. Because of this it had let to the rise of the red light error particularly the “Three Red Light Error”. It is otherwise popularly known as the “Red Ring of Death” or the RRoD. When the RRoD occurs the entire motherboard gets hang and when if users continues to work on the console with this condition it may sometimes lead to serious damages to the components of the motherboard.

SOLVING METHODOLOGIES

The console’s red light problem can be solved in two ways. The first method is that you can give the console to the Microsoft service center. The other method is by repairing the device by our own. The repairing at the service center will take some considerable amount time (can even go to few months) and it is also a bit costlier. But, when your console has a valid warranty plus unmodded console, then you can go for the first option.

The simplest method and the time saving method is by repairing the console by our own. For this you need to watch some video tutorials. The videos provide complete step by step instruction on how to open the console and repair it. This method is very economical when compared with that of giving the console to the service center and wait for months and spend over $100 for the repair work. Also you don’t require any sophisticated tools to repair the console. It can be carried out with simple household devices. This is the best method for repairing modded consoles too.

Removing X Clamps is just one way of repairing your console. There are certain other ways in which your consoles can be fixed. For example, red light error occurs even due to poor connections. You can fix this by making the connections in place. Your console may also be experiencing any small problems like this which do not required much expertise and time to fix the console. These techniques are also explained well in the repair videos.

The Xbox 360 has a power ring which is nothing but the power button and the lights surrounding the power button. The lights are programmed to blink according the operating conditions of the console. The lights are arranged in a quadratic circle manner as a thin ring around the power button. The lights blink either in green or red depending upon the condition. Also the console is designed to display error messages on the screen when any problems occur within the console. Basically the codes are displayed in an alphanumeric fashion. The light blinks in green color when your console runs without any problem. But, in case any problem occurs it turns to red in color. Apart from this the number of lights glowing during an error also changes. There may be one, two, three or four lights glowing according to the situation.

DESIGN ASPECTS

Basically the hardware runs on two processors that are the CPU and the GPU. These processors are provided with heat sinks to absorb heat radiated from them. The problem now is many Xbox user have complained about hardware failure and also overheating problem of the console. The overheating is because there is no enough air circulation for natural cooling of the processor. Though the motherboard consists of an intercooler, the console is still facing the overheating problem. All these problems aroused because of poor design, insufficient testing and poor ventilation inside the console. This overheating has caused an error in the console. The error E 74 occurs on the screen when the console gets overheated. Also you can observe three red lights will be glowing in the power ring area. This problem is widely known as the ‘Red Ring of Death’ or RRoD.

REPAIRING

The console can be repaired in two ways. One is by giving the console to the Microsoft service centre or else repairing it by your own. Free service is provided by Microsoft for those consoles which are under warranty period. But, for others repairing is charged. One more draw back here is that you need to wait for up to 3 months to get your console back and hence you can’t even see your Xbox for the next three months. Few suggest a method called towel wrapping. This is done to ensure that the weak solder joints in the motherboard gets melted and gets fixed properly when you wrap a towel around the console and made it to run for an hour. But hardware experts say that by performing this kind of technique will damage the components in the mere future.

EASY WAY TO REPAIR:

The simple and the easiest method to solve this problem is by repairing the console by your own. For this you need to watch some videos from the internet which gives you a step by step instruction to repair the console. The main objective is that you need to remove the X clamp from the motherboard that supports the heat sinks. After which the heat sinks are fixed back in their appropriate positions with the help of a screw and blot. This ensures that your processor gets enough air and gets cooled naturally. The main advantage in this method is that you can do the repairing work within one or two hours so that it gets ready on the same day and you can start playing your favorite game.