Gaming My 360 (Falcon) just RRODed help!

[glair]

Here is what happened,

I just tried playing a game (Sonic Racing) everything was fine but before a race it would just freeze so I thought it might be the disc. I installed the game to the hard drive it went to 100% just fine so I tried again, game freezes at the exact same spot. I turn off the system and try to start it up but just a black screen then I look down and see the Red Ring.

So now I’m not sure what to do. This is my second 360 (my first generation model died of RRoD 2 years ago).

I haven’t been checking up on the 360 moding scene for a while and desperately need some updates.

Questions

1. Last time I had to hunt down a 360 with a specific model number to find one with a certain type of BenQ drive as the latest ones could not be flashed.

Is this still the case? Or can I just buy any 360 from the store and flash it? And how hard is all that now?

2. When I flashed my falcon the software tools (Iprep) were very buggy. Are things better now and can we flash from windows?

3. When I try to power my system on it sounds sort of crunchy inside (hard to describe) I’m not sure if the fan is functioning (no picture shows up on the TV) does this mean anything and could I fix the system myself? (I can’t solder anything to save my life).

4. Anything else I should know?

That’s all I can think of right now, any info would be greatly appreciated

Thanks in advance everyone.

 

[Originality]

1) All drives can currently be flashed. The newer LiteOns though need soldering and a bit of cutting.
2) JungleFlasher is a windows based flashing program that works very well in 32bit Windows. For the life of me, I can't get it to work in Windows 7 x64, so I just use an old 40Gb IDE drive which has XP on it and use that. It helps if you have a connectivity kit to power the drive, but it's not necessary.
3) "Crunchy" sounds bad. It could either be some kind of obstruction in the fan, or something wrong with the drive itself. To check if the fan is "functioning" at least, you can just turn it on and hold your hand behind it. If you feel it blowing, then you know it's working. In any case, I don't think you should have to solder anything.
4) If it's in warranty, best thing you can do is send it in. If it's flashed as you seem to say it is, then never mind ;p

 

[Keylogger]

RRoD issue wasn't fixed on the Falcon & Jasper models??

 

[Originality]

All they did for Falcon and Jasper was reduce the die of the CPU and GPU. A reduced die needs less energy therefore produces less heat. Less heat means less warping of the motherboard so less chance of RRoD - but the problem is still there. They still use crappy X-clamps and it's still far too inefficient at dispersing heat, so the problem still persists.

 

[glair]

Yes my system is modified (and it was hard as hell to do, for me at least).

I’m looking into the X-clamp fix now, but it seems to have several variations from the different guides I’ve looked at. (would the heat gun be better?) (i've also look at the penny fix on youtube, would that work?)

I have all the Screws and Washers plus the Artic Silver 5 thermal compound, but I need to buy a drill bit and the thought of making a mistake with a power tool is freaking me out!

As for the fan I think its running (when I touch the back of the system I feel a little bit of air, but not much) (it’s showing three red lights not two).

any other tips?

 

[Originality]

Fortunately the screws for the 360 are fairly strong. So long as you use the right size drill bits (Torx 10 and Torx 8) then you'll have no problem using your power tool (just don't set the torque too high).

The X-clamp fix merely corrects a basic design flaw that makes motherboard warping much more likely. The kit I use involves standard bolts and 4 washers per (two nylon to protect the motherboard, two steel). When tightening the screws/bolts, make sure you don't overtighten. Most guides say thumb tight is enough.

If you know how to use it, a heatgun is a very good tool to use. It saves you having to overheat the console and risk damage to other parts.

Back to the fan, my only remaining tip is to open it up, turn it on again, and see if you can see what's making the noise.

 

[Goli]

Hmmm. the other day I was trying to play The Last Remnant with a legit game, then it froze twice in the same spot, afterwards I restarted my Xbox but it gave me an e65 error, I re-restarted it and it worked fine... I hope it's not a symptom of RRoD.
This thread has made me paranoid

 

[sprogurt]

First check the error code, hold the sync button and press the eject disc button. each time you press it, it'll flash, after 4 flashes it will go back back to normal.

4 lights = 0
3 lights = 3
2 lights = 2
1 light = 1

ex. 4,4,4,2 = error 0002

This will help pinpoint the exact thing wrong with it as it isn't always the gpu or cpu (most of the time it is but not always)

You're gonna want to replace the thermal paste on the cpu and gpu foor future use just incase. Silver artic paste should be used for this. Microsoft lag these chips with thermal paste but less is more in this case.

Try not to resort to over the heating the xbox with a towel or taking the fans out, it's a quick fix but it fries the other chips inside the xbox.

Just report back here with the error code and we'll try and help.

 

[Guild McCommunist]

RRoD issue wasn't fixed on the Falcon & Jasper models??

All Xbox 360's are vulnerable to a Red Ring. Jasper models just have the odds significantly less. I don't think Falcon models do, and if so not to the extent of Jasper ones. That's what I thought.

I really can't help ya here. You can send it to a non-Microsoft repair service or look up how to do it yourself. But the people here are always helpful, so best of luck to ya.

 

[omgpwn666]

I got red ring of death when I had dust all over my xbox, I cleaned it off and it fixed.

 

[spotanjo3]

Thats why xbox 360 and PS3 are bad. Look at Wii.. Its strong and no problem.. Blue Light of Death, anyone ? I guess not.

 

[Ritsuki]

BLOD... Scary name, huh.

 

[spotanjo3]

Indeed but no fear. It wont happen. Or will it ?

 

[Originality]

Actually, Wii had a heating problem too. Apparently leaving the Wii in Connect24 mode, for some people, meant frying the GPU because for some reason, even though the CPU and GPU would be active to allow for updates and downloads 24/7 (or whatever the hell C24 does - I never bothered), the fan would not be on during this time. Toasty.

Btw, my description may not be 100% accurate (because I haven't heard of it happening in a long time) but it's the gist of it. The latest generation of consoles just were not designed to handle heat too well, probably because previous consoles were never powerful enough to even get a lil bit hot.

 

[glair]

Good news everyone! I was able to fix my xbox 360!

I used the x-clamp fix Tutorial from llamma.com with some video help on YouTube.

I still might get a new fan (as mine seems like its not sucking out as much air as it could be... but it's working).

Hopefully this last longer then a week (keeping my fingers crossed) still I’m going to start saving up for a new or used 360 (just hope I can find one that’s modable without soldering).

Thanks for all the comments everyone, without your support I would not have been brave enough try this fix.