Proper Usage Of Your Xbox 360 And The Red Ring Of Death
Marc Sandford
December 11, 2008
The Xbox 360 is a marvelous machine as long as it's working. With amazing games and superior performance, it draws you in and then...nothing. Just when things couldn't get any better, you're suddenly staring at the three red lights or ring of death.
This is a very serious problem that has happened to more than 500,000 people worldwide. Once you get the 3 red light error, the problem will never go away on its own. Your machine may work ok when you switch it back on after a few hours, but you've not seen the last of this problem. If you haven't experienced the ring of death yet, there are measures that can be taken which may prevent it from happening to your machine.
The Xbox was badly designed and assembled. This caused it to be very prone to overheating. Ultimately, the ring of death is brought on by an excessive buildup of heat.
To improve your chances of trouble free gaming with your Xbox, you will need to run it cool. Now, I'm not saying that you should put your Xbox in the freezer or outside in the snow. Believe it or not, people do this and it isn't recommended because the Xbox's internal components were designed to work near room temperature.
To prevent overheating, you must keep it well ventilated. Therefore you'll have to keep it out of confined places such as a crowded entertainment center or storage cabinet. Wherever you decide to put it, there must be lots of well ventilated space on all sides.
Shaggy carpeting is bad because it will interfere with the fans in the back of the unit. Elevate it off the carpet with props, put it on a table, or use it on a firm, uncarpeted surface. The fans will also be blocked if cords or cables are bunched up in the vicinity.
Be very diligent about keeping the fans free of any debris. Depending on the nature of your environment, human hair, pet hair, dust, lint, grit, and dirt can build up pretty fast. This happens because there's so much air passing through the fans which funnel dust just like a vacuum cleaner. Blowing out the fans with some compressed air will help tremendously.
Don't use your Xbox for time periods of excessive length. The interior components will get hot with use and will continue to do so. If your Xbox is not being used, let it cool off some by turning it off.
Most users with failed Xboxes typically used their machines for more than four hours at a time. If you live in a warm part of the world without air conditioning, your Xbox will tend to heat up even faster. Under these circumstances, you'll need to decrease your playing time even more.
Like it or not, the Xbox 360 is a very undependable and "high maintenance" product. Diligence at keeping your Xbox cool is still not a guarantee of avoiding the ring of death failure. However, you can count on it happening if you habitually allow your machine to get too hot.
Marc Sandford is a gaming enthusiast and author. Get Xbox 360 trouble shoot information about fixing the Red Ring of Death.
This is a very serious problem that has happened to more than 500,000 people worldwide. Once you get the 3 red light error, the problem will never go away on its own. Your machine may work ok when you switch it back on after a few hours, but you've not seen the last of this problem. If you haven't experienced the ring of death yet, there are measures that can be taken which may prevent it from happening to your machine.
The Xbox was badly designed and assembled. This caused it to be very prone to overheating. Ultimately, the ring of death is brought on by an excessive buildup of heat.
To improve your chances of trouble free gaming with your Xbox, you will need to run it cool. Now, I'm not saying that you should put your Xbox in the freezer or outside in the snow. Believe it or not, people do this and it isn't recommended because the Xbox's internal components were designed to work near room temperature.
To prevent overheating, you must keep it well ventilated. Therefore you'll have to keep it out of confined places such as a crowded entertainment center or storage cabinet. Wherever you decide to put it, there must be lots of well ventilated space on all sides.
Shaggy carpeting is bad because it will interfere with the fans in the back of the unit. Elevate it off the carpet with props, put it on a table, or use it on a firm, uncarpeted surface. The fans will also be blocked if cords or cables are bunched up in the vicinity.
Be very diligent about keeping the fans free of any debris. Depending on the nature of your environment, human hair, pet hair, dust, lint, grit, and dirt can build up pretty fast. This happens because there's so much air passing through the fans which funnel dust just like a vacuum cleaner. Blowing out the fans with some compressed air will help tremendously.
Don't use your Xbox for time periods of excessive length. The interior components will get hot with use and will continue to do so. If your Xbox is not being used, let it cool off some by turning it off.
Most users with failed Xboxes typically used their machines for more than four hours at a time. If you live in a warm part of the world without air conditioning, your Xbox will tend to heat up even faster. Under these circumstances, you'll need to decrease your playing time even more.
Like it or not, the Xbox 360 is a very undependable and "high maintenance" product. Diligence at keeping your Xbox cool is still not a guarantee of avoiding the ring of death failure. However, you can count on it happening if you habitually allow your machine to get too hot.
Marc Sandford is a gaming enthusiast and author. Get Xbox 360 trouble shoot information about fixing the Red Ring of Death.