How to Defend From Red Lights

[Cyrex]

I have finally decided to post this thread as a helper to people who want to shield their xbox from the ring of death, or the 3 red lights (Hardware Failure)

I personally have never recieved these lights but i do know of ways to keep them from coming, seeing as i have never had them.

First of all, contrary to popular belief if you have your 360 vertical or horizontal it means nothing and that does not affect the fan or air intake. What needs to be done with your xbox is to fluctuate between vertical and horizontal, about every week switch your xbox's position, this allows the dust (which is the main culprite of the overheating problem), to move and get knocked into a different position. I will not go far enough to say shake you xbox because that make break something too, but if you just move it. It allows the fans to get the dust that has fallen out of the spots it has not been able to reach before.

Also people think that keeping your power supply off the ground does something, WRONG. it has nothing to do with the lights, most of the time the dust that accumulates gets too hot and catches on fire in that very small space, (this is a very minute fire that you will not see). the power supply does not change temperature if it is off the ground or on it.

Thirdly, try to keep your 360 on something that has holes on the bottom so no matter what position your 360 is in, there is a way for dust to be removed on all sides of the console. Like the example below, but try to find it in a stand or table like form.

http://www.staples.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/StaplesProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10001&prodCatType=2&catalogId=10051&productId=141821&cmArea=SEARCH

and finally, do not use any type of cooler that is not backed by Microsoft, the nyko intercooler is suppose to work but it does not, this is why microsoft has not sponsored it. There are only 1 devices that work completly, and it is made by pelican, the fan stand (1), is sponsored by Microsoft because Microsoft knows it works, there have been no complaints about it either

EDIT: also according to prophet and adams if you take a small vaccum to the side ventalation it may help get rid of some of the dust

(1) Pelican fan stand http://images.jr.com/productimages/PELXB3PL3619.PNG?WID=150&CVT=JPEG


Just though people would like a little help when trying to keep themselves as far away from the three red lights as possible

[ThrillKillBill]

wow, i'm actually gonna follow some of your advice, well written. one thing though, i don't like playing it verticle, on my first system i noticed a couple discs started gettin damaged when i did so i only play it horizontal. but this is what i plan on doing........ i'm gonna have it standing vertical whenever it's not in use and right before i turn it on i'll drop it back to the horizontal spot. i'm hoping that'll do basicly the same thing your suggesting.

[Cyrex]

i don't like playing it verticle, on my first system i noticed a couple discs started gettin damaged when i did so i only play it horizontal.

I have bought this from my local F.Y.E and i have fixed many different disks some more than once, it seems to work very well for me, and they are pretty cheap

http://www.gameseek.co.uk/pd/Multihhvhyvwtbn1/#prodimg

[prophet530]

I use a vacuum and vacuum out the vents. I remove the harddrive and vacuum the whole system it is amazing how much dust comes out of the 360! I do this twice monthly. I have a launch day unit and it still works great.

[PhotoJ]

Whats wrong with the Nyko Intercooler, I've had it for a year and it's kept the xbox 360 cool to the touch (outside isn't hot) and I get barely any freezes :confused:

[Cyrex]

since the cooler draws directly from the power supply it has a tendacy to overheat and melts into your 360;), they may keep them cooler to the touch but the fan itself is not cool.

also the 360 does not need help inside because thats not the problem, the problem is it can't really get anything out, which is what the fan stand does, push the dust out of the box

[alex4283]

I was at walmart the other day and just bought a tall standing oscillating fan for 15 bucks.

I turn it on full and use it to circulate the heat in a well ventilated area. I've never had red rings, but I always have a big fan beside the console when I play it.

[Adams06]

I find that lightly vaccuuming around the air vents of the 360 every month or so really helps it keep in good shape also. I've got a dog that sheds a new coat almost daily (ovviously a lab) and a long haired cat, so some of their fur gets into the system the odd time. It's easily remedied by either a portable dust buster or gently using a regular vaccuum with a bristled top.

[Mr Arrow]

Thanks Chuck - some good ideas. I've always had my 360 vertical, but that changed today. I'll alternate it as you suggested.

Do you know how load the pelican fan is? The noise from my 360 drives me nuts sometimes and I would hate to add to it.

Thanks again.

[ThrillKillBill]

i think the entire reason that M$ and chuck support the stand fan is because it uses its own power source.... hence you plug it into the wall or what-not so it don't put any extra load on your 360.

furthermore i haven't seen the pelican fan stand but i have seen the intec glo stand with fan

www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=5651708 (http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=5651708)

is this what its like or what ya meant chuck?

[Cyrex]

that is very like what the fan stand is. I did post a link in the original thread so people should take a look at that

[goblue1590]

and microsoft says to keep your 360 at least like 2 feet or something away from your tv or it could overheat

[SteelerXBox360]

Good stuff. I have moved it around from time to time but I will try vacuuming it first and then see about the fan stand. I did see it @ BB the other day but was hesitant thinking that it was like the Nyko Intercooler. I am :) to see that it doesn't have the same bad rep.

My ? is: Can you onlly use this fan stand when it is vertical? It sure looks that way to me and I only keep it horizontal to protect my discs.

[Adam Miller]

I heard that just some re soldering will stop red lights for ever, as all it is #, is where the solder loses its connection and can overheat and one of my dad's friends tried putting 3 towels around it and burning one as it re solders itself this way.

Never had this problem ever myself but just mentioning it for those who have.:)

[angry]

I have never had a problem with mine and i keep it in the same position all the time i never move it all i do is vacum it very often, and that does do the trick for me.

[massermind19]

Although I have never had the red rings of death I know a friend who has. I will pass this along to him. Great write-up OP!

[R Rated Love]

Is some nice advice, but it is all stuff I always considered sort of common sense.

And even following all of this stuff doesn't protect you from Microsoft Updates bricking your system.

[Jdm7399]

Good stuff, Chuck! Nice write up!

A quick question for you. What would you actually recommend? The Pelican Fan Stand or the Intec Fan Glo-Stand?

[Cyrex]

personally never used the interglow fan so in that case i would have to go with the Pelican Fan. Microsoft trusts it and they would not trust anything unless it works pretty damn well

[doyle_rock]

I actually just sent my xbox in for repair 3 days ago. Once I get it back I will be switching the position and vaccuming it out on a regular basis.

[massermind19]

Another thing I would like to add as I was doing what the OP says in the write-up is do not move your system from standing to laying with a disc in the drive. It ate up my madden 06 disc and I had to get the disc resurfaced at a local gamestore. Make sure there is no disc in the tray.

[Jdm7399]

personally never used the interglow fan so in that case i would have to go with the Pelican Fan. Microsoft trusts it and they would not trust anything unless it works pretty damn well

Thanks for the quick reply, Chuck! I'll check out the Pelican Fan Stand.

[Seb The Sheep]

Some more advice you might want to take (thought it was common sense but am finding otherwise when talking to friends)...

* Do NOT sandwich your Xbox. That means you should leave at least three quarters of a meter (ESPECIALLY at the back) for the heat to move around. The most vital thing however is that you leave space on TOP of your Xbox, as heat rises and if there is nowhere for the heat to rise, where does it go? You got it, back down to the Xbox.


* Keep insulators away from your Xbox at all costs (i.e. CD cases, clothing, towels, etc.)

Hope that helps a bit too.

[COH ZAMORACK ZX]

nice, hope i ll never have to see those evil red lights again

[TG3 HAVOK]

great help. im on my 4th xbox, hopefully my last

[Rampage]

Good write up, ive had some problems with my xbox recently, started making funny noises. Ill try hoovering it out, havent done it in about 2 months now.Has my xbox for nearly a year and no problems as of yet. Cross my fingers tho.
Thanks for the guide.

[november 17th]

Thanks for the help. I'm only my third 360 .

[Shaaady Souljah]

ok, so i know multiple red lights is very bad... is one red light just as bad? or can it be fixed by me? my 360 worked fine this morning, and when i came to play tonight it has one red ring and the screen comes up and says, "system error. contact xbox customer support"

can anyone tell me if this is the same problem as multiple red lights? :(