I fixed my first RROD

[jcalder8]

I know this isn't a big deal but I was pretty excited to get it done and I was surprised at how easy and quick it was.

I bought a broken one for 25 and I bought a kit off e-bay that had everything I needed to repair it. I started at about 11 pm and I finished at about 2 am but I had to deal with a kitten getting into everything and I had something to eat so I think I could have shaved at least an hour off my time.

So I had 2 working 360's for about 2 days until my first one, which is still under warranty crapped out on me this morning so I'm now waiting for the coffin from MS for that one.

[old_skoolin_jim]

Oh yeah? Was it the infamous 3-ring RROD?
I'm interested because I bought my 360 in August (first wave of 60gb Pro systems) and have yet to encounter it, but want to be able to punch it in the face (figuratively speaking) when it inevitably does get here.
How much was the kit?

[Nitrosport]

Oh yeah? Was it the infamous 3-ring RROD?
I'm interested because I bought my 360 in August (first wave of 60gb Pro systems) and have yet to encounter it, but want to be able to punch it in the face (figuratively speaking) when it inevitably does get here.
How much was the kit?

You don't need to waste money on a kit. All the parts you need could be found at home depot or lowes for few a bucks.

8 M5-.80 x 10 Machine Screws (Lowes part number: #138433)
16 #10 Flat Washers – Nylon (Lowes part number: #139065)
16 5mm Flat Washers – Metal (Lowes part number: #13831)

[TheDomesticInstitution]

Saving me the task of searching the whole Internets for how to do this, could you provide a link. And a few questions:

Is it a permanent fix? Is there soldering involved? Or any other basic useful info, that might pertain. Sorry for bein' a n00b.

[ProgrammingAce]

If it works for you, great; but it really isn't a solution.

If your console is still under warranty, then i recommend going that route. If it isn't, then i guess you can start randomly bolting things to your motherboard, but in the end it only makes the problem worse.

In any case, i recommend sending the console back to microsoft.

[jcalder8]

If it works for you, great; but it really isn't a solution.

If your console is still under warranty, then i recommend going that route. If it isn't, then i guess you can start randomly bolting things to your motherboard, but in the end it only makes the problem worse.

In any case, i recommend sending the console back to microsoft.

I agree that sending it back to MS is the best idea. But since I bought it used and it was a day 1 release it was out of warranty.

I didn't know that this wasn't a permanent solution. I thought it would have fixed the problem.

So how can the problem get fixed?

[omnedon]

Nothing can be done to make those crap mobos 'reliable'. (MS's new ones still have a very high fail rate, so if they can't fix it, why should washers?)

If it works for you great. There is no procedure on Earth that will make those systems reliable enough to last 6 months or more 9 times out of 10.

That's why OSG doesn't do them. I'd rather skip $10,000's in business than leave a trail of ripped off people behind me. The choice has cost me a LOT.

However, for a DIY fix, YMMV. As a DIY you've got nothing to lose, so what the hell. I hope it works for a long while for you.

[jcalder8]

Nothing can be done to make those crap mobos 'reliable'. (MS's new ones still have a very high fail rate, so if they can't fix it, why should washers?)

If it works for you great. There is no procedure on Earth that will make those systems reliable enough to last 6 months or more 9 times out of 10.

That's why OSG doesn't do them. I'd rather skip $10,000's in business than leave a trail of ripped off people behind me. The choice has cost me a LOT.

However, for a DIY fix, YMMV. As a DIY you've got nothing to lose, so what the hell. I hope it works for a long while for you.

So does this mean that there is something inherently wrong with the mobo? Or are each of the RROD's unique, to one degree or another?

[eugenek]

So does this mean that there is something inherently wrong with the mobo? Or are each of the RROD's unique, to one degree or another?

There is something inherently wrong with the whole system, at least early models, but within that there are still a lot of different precise causes for the RROD. It could be motherboard warpage, insufficient heat dissipation, cracking in the solder bumps between the die and the substrate, etc.

[Joe West]

I sovled the promblem with my 360, i bought a PS3...no problems now.....

[jcalder8]

There is something inherently wrong with the whole system, at least early models, but within that there are still a lot of different precise causes for the RROD. It could be motherboard warpage, insufficient heat dissipation, cracking in the solder bumps between the die and the substrate, etc.

So if this is true, not that I doubt you, how will MS be able to fix the system that I am sending off to them?

[eugenek]

So if this is true, not that I doubt you, how will MS be able to fix the system that I am sending off to them?

Well, I don't think they'll fix it at all. You'll just get a refurbished machine off the shelf, possibly with a newer motherboard revision.

With that said, Microsoft's replacements are not always 100% fixes either, as many people would tell you.

[ProgrammingAce]

MS has fixed the problem. The boards that come in "refurbs" now are new boards built using a new manufacturing process.

The problem with the 360 was never overheating or warping, but stress fractures from the heating/cooling cycle. After bringing in a 3rd party to redesign the manufacturing process, the boards are "good" now.

[nate1749]

MS has fixed the problem. The boards that come in "refurbs" now are new boards built using a new manufacturing process.

The problem with the 360 was never overheating or warping, but stress fractures from the heating/cooling cycle. After bringing in a 3rd party to redesign the manufacturing process, the boards are "good" now.

Time will tell.

[omnedon]

I hope ProgramminAce is right. It sounds right.

It's the growing stack of blown mobo (E74, three red) Elites and halo3 versions that make me wonder.

If they've solved it, it's a damned recent thing, and damned late. It's been out ore than 3 years!

[channelmaniac]

Congrats on fixing it!

The way you keep it running longer is to try and kluge some better heat sinks in there. Microsoft had redone the heat sinks and airflow in the later version of the 360 in an attempt to make it more reliable.

Yes, it's more reliable, but still prone to the same problems.

The only way to keep the warpage down on the board is to make a thicker, better quality board plus better heatsinks and more airflow. I don't think they've done enough on the airflow or thickness of the boards. It's a limitation of the packaging that marketing has dictated for the overall device.

Although I will say it's fun to see a device run so hot (high end network gear under early design stages) that it melts the solder off the chip and fail. That was after making the board thicker and epoxying the chip down to help avoid board warping. The step after that was modifying heatsink size and fin orientation to help with airflow.

I've not taken the 360 apart myself, but I would be curious to see the airflow capabilities of the fans in use as well as the heatsink material and size.

RJ

[raylydiard]

i think m$ should use lead solder as it makes it better than lead free
my xbox 360 has been reballed by myself with bga tools and works for me and has been working for ages