Red Ring Of Death - How To Properly Use Your Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is a great machine as long as it's working. With amazing games and superior performance, it draws you into it's own little world and then...nothing. Right in the middle of a game you're suddenly staring at the three red lights or ring of death.
This is a very serious problem that over 500,000 people are dealing with. Once those three red lights turn on, the problem will never go away on its own. If your Xbox hasn't had the ring of death failure, there are steps that you can take to reduce the chances of it happening to your machine.
The Xbox was badly designed and manufactured. This makes it very prone to overheating. The red ring of death is ultimately caused by heat and the Xbox's inability to tolerate it.
To reduce the odds of the ring of death happening to your Xbox, you'll have make sure that it stays cool. This does not mean placing your Xbox out in the snow or in your freezer. Believe it or not, people do this and it isn't recommended because the Xbox's components are supposed to operate around room temperature.
To prevent your Xbox from getting too hot you must make sure that it stays well ventilated. This means keeping it away from closed in spaces such as a storage cabinet or a cluttered entertainment center. Wherever you decide to put it, there must be lots of open space with plenty of ventilation.
Shaggy carpeting is bad because it can block the fans in the back. Either prop it up off the carpet, place it on a table, or use it on a firm, uncarpeted surface. The fans in the back can also get blocked if you allow any cords or cables to get all bunched up there.
Make sure that you keep the fans free of any debris. Depending on the nature of your environment, human hair, pet hair, dirt, grit, dust, and lint can build up quite rapidly. That's because of all of the air passing through the fans which funnel dust just like a vacuum cleaner. Using some compressed air to clean the fans will easily increase air flow into your Xbox.
Don't keep your Xbox running for time periods of excessive length. The interior components will get hot and continue to do so with use. If you are done with your Xbox, let it cool off some by turning it off.
Most users with failed Xboxes typically had their machines on for more than four hours at a time. If you live in a very warm climate without air conditioning, your Xbox will tend to heat up even faster. In this case, you will have to scale down your playing time further.
Like it or not, the Xbox 360 is a very finicky and unreliable "high maintenance" machine. Even if you follow the precautions mentioned here, there's no guarantee of avoiding the ring of death failure. However, it is guaranteed to happen if you let your machine overheat.
This is a very serious problem that over 500,000 people are dealing with. Once those three red lights turn on, the problem will never go away on its own. If your Xbox hasn't had the ring of death failure, there are steps that you can take to reduce the chances of it happening to your machine.
The Xbox was badly designed and manufactured. This makes it very prone to overheating. The red ring of death is ultimately caused by heat and the Xbox's inability to tolerate it.
To reduce the odds of the ring of death happening to your Xbox, you'll have make sure that it stays cool. This does not mean placing your Xbox out in the snow or in your freezer. Believe it or not, people do this and it isn't recommended because the Xbox's components are supposed to operate around room temperature.
To prevent your Xbox from getting too hot you must make sure that it stays well ventilated. This means keeping it away from closed in spaces such as a storage cabinet or a cluttered entertainment center. Wherever you decide to put it, there must be lots of open space with plenty of ventilation.
Shaggy carpeting is bad because it can block the fans in the back. Either prop it up off the carpet, place it on a table, or use it on a firm, uncarpeted surface. The fans in the back can also get blocked if you allow any cords or cables to get all bunched up there.
Make sure that you keep the fans free of any debris. Depending on the nature of your environment, human hair, pet hair, dirt, grit, dust, and lint can build up quite rapidly. That's because of all of the air passing through the fans which funnel dust just like a vacuum cleaner. Using some compressed air to clean the fans will easily increase air flow into your Xbox.
Don't keep your Xbox running for time periods of excessive length. The interior components will get hot and continue to do so with use. If you are done with your Xbox, let it cool off some by turning it off.
Most users with failed Xboxes typically had their machines on for more than four hours at a time. If you live in a very warm climate without air conditioning, your Xbox will tend to heat up even faster. In this case, you will have to scale down your playing time further.
Like it or not, the Xbox 360 is a very finicky and unreliable "high maintenance" machine. Even if you follow the precautions mentioned here, there's no guarantee of avoiding the ring of death failure. However, it is guaranteed to happen if you let your machine overheat.
About the Author:
Marc Sandford is a gaming enthusiast and author. Get more Xbox 360 trouble shooting information about fixing the Red Ring of Death.