XBox 360 Home Repair
I haven't read many posts about people repairing their own XBox 360's on this board, so I'll post my success story. After having my second XBox 360 die, this one out of warranty, I decided to try one of the heatsink mount replacement mods. (http://forums.xbox-scene.com/index.php?showtopic=594487)
I was not receiving the error code for overheating, but the box was showing all the regular signs. I used the exact hardware listed at this link and had to float an extra $6 for a Torx driver set. I was a little uncertain of the last steps which call for you to let the cpu overheat for about two minutes before reinstalling the fans. After doing a half-ass attempt the first time and the box failing to boot, I went ahead and tried the burn-in procedure as called for. After allowing for this burn-in, it booted up fine. So far, played about 2 hours of GH2 and it hasn't had any problems. Before, the box wouldn't last 10 seconds.
BTW, the thermal compound on the original mount was ridiculous. Overall this was an extremely easy mod. So, I hope this offers an alternative to anyone who might be staring at a $140 repair fee or purchasing a new one outright.
I am a sinner who does not expect forgiveness, but I am not a government official.
~Francis Wolcott
XBox Live: XRayDevil
Very interesting.
My box (already repaired once for free) I believe is out of warranty toward the end of this month. If I have any further trouble I'll be sure to give this a shot.
Maybe I'll do the black case replacement while I'm at it too.
Thanks for posting it!
XBLive: Thin J
PSN: Thin_J
I don't imagine master craftsmen leaping away from completed projects and shouting "Done, motherf*ckers! - 1Dgaf
Thermal expansion. It's a bitch.
" Did my love gun hit you?" -Gaald to Certis while playing Sins of the Solar Empire.
I've been thinking about giving a go at my recently dead 360. It's out of warranty anyway so I'm assuming that even if I can't get it going I can always just give MS the $140 that I would already.
What symptoms is this fix good for? I haven't had any problems with my 360 until the last couple of weeks. I had a couple of lockups with some graphical artifacts shortly after powering it up but then when I reset it everything worked fine for a normal hour or two game session. The other day though it stopped POSTing. I just get the NW, SE, and SW red LEDs flashing now.
Seems like an overheat problem would at least let it start before dying. I have a hard time believing my system has gotten hot enough to damage solder points without having more stability issues in the past though.
[Edit] Ah, I just did the trick to get the system error code. I'm getting 0102 which is "Unknown Error".
Xbox Live: LiquidmantisGWJ | PSN: LiquidmantisGWJ
Web: Mantis on the Mountain
--
My wife liked the man part monster I made. -Pharacon
the "Unknown Error" was the exact error I got after not following through on the burn-in. I initially was not getting any error codes. The system would simply lockup once any major graphic scenes were being displayed. Usually lasted about 20 seconds into a Guitar Hero song.
I am a sinner who does not expect forgiveness, but I am not a government official.
~Francis Wolcott
XBox Live: XRayDevil
HOOOLY sh*t! The towel trick worked. Ok, maybe I should try this improved mounting mod and maybe go ahead and do the hopped up Talismoon fan kit install too.
Xbox Live: LiquidmantisGWJ | PSN: LiquidmantisGWJ
Web: Mantis on the Mountain
--
My wife liked the man part monster I made. -Pharacon