X-Clamp Fix

If you are looking to fix your Xbox 360 Red Lights then you have probably heard of the Xbox X-Clamp Fix. Many people claim that this fix repairs the Red Ring of Death. But does this fix actually work? Or are they simply trying to get you to buy Xbox Repair Kits?

X-Clamp fix in action

You may notice with this method of fixing the RROD that it involves actually taking apart the Xbox completely. If one screw gets lost, or one washer isn’t put on properly, then you have a major problem, and your Xbox may stop working altogether. And whats worse, but your warranty has been voided by opening the case, so you won’t be able to replace it by sending it to Microsoft.

Also, this video assumes that the cause of the RROD is the X-Clamp, but this has not necessarily been proven. I wrote a post on the many suspected causes of the Red Ring of Death a while back, and concluded that there was no definite answer as to what caused it.

Overall, I highly doubt the effectiveness of this fix.

Have You Had The Red Ring of The Death?

A simple poll - Please leave your response!

Could The Graphics Chip Be The Cause of the RROD?

The Microsoft chip

Research into the Xbox 360 has unearthed some evidence about the graphics chip that Microsoft uses in it's Xbox 360's.

If you don't know what the graphics chip in an Xbox 360 is then you ought to know that it is basically the chip that turns the Xbox code into pictures that are displayed on your screen. As this has to be done in real time, you can imagine how much heat this thing puts out. So, you would think that Microsoft would use a good chip from a reputable vendor that was guaranteed to work with no problems?

Unfortunately, that is not the case. Microsoft decided to develop a new chip instead of buying some to use - This is something they are not used too doing, making graphics chips. As a result, the chip that was produced pumped out way, way too much heat - It has already been found that overheating may cause the RROD.

The 3 Most Annoying Things About Losing Your Xbox 360

My friend recently lost his Xbox to the Red Ring Of Death - He said it's a painful experience. Being the good friend I am, I asked why. Here are his top three annoying things about losing your Xbox.

3 - Your Annoying Friends

They call up and ask "Hey, come on halo/COD/whatever" before you have to tell them that your Xbox is broken. If this has happened to them before, then there is almost no doubt that they will try to tell you what to do over the phone and suchlike. If they haven't had the problem, they will gloat at you for being such an idiot to break it, even if it's not your fault.

2 - The many ways of "Fixing" it

Ever told someone that you have the red lights, and they automatically try to tell you how to fix it? Well, imagine that for the millions of people who post on message boards - They have literally hundreds of reply's, all thinking that they know best. Nearly everyone can suggest a different method and so the OP of the thread has all these methods to choose from... However, hardly any of them actually work.

1 - Whining Kids

Some people might think that a Red Lighted Xbox is a godsend, finally forcing the children away from the Xbox to do other things. Unfortunately, that gap will not be filled by anything as the kids still want to play Xbox - Not anything else! The result? Whiny kids demanding you fix the Xbox at every moment when they have free time - After school, before school, after dinner, it gets annoying. And it will not stop until the Xbox is fixed.

Mythbusters: Xbox RROD

You might have heard some of the Xbox 360 Red Ring of Death rumours, supposed easy cures and suchlike. Let me run a kind of mythbusters here as most of the free tips you can find on the internet are dangerous or could result in you wasting a lot of your time and hard earned money.

Myth One - You can cure the RROD by wrapping your Xbox in a couple of towels and leaving it for a while.

This myth involves wrapping your 360 in a towel, turning it on and then leaving it in a room for ten minutes or such. It has the reputation of being able to work as well - Many an Xbox has been resurrected from the dead! Or maybe not. The way this trick works is by heating up the solder and glue holding together the Xbox 360 and then letting it dry - This provides enough stickiness inside the case for you to be able to boot up your Xbox. So, you wonder, what happens when you actually try to play a game? Well, it crashes on you, with the exact same red rings on your Xbox. As soon as the console heats up (say, while playing a game) the solder immediately melts, and a second “Towel Trick” will not do any difference. Hell, it might even make it worse, as the Xbox can actually catch on fire or completely fry the motherboard if you leave it for too long or try it again.

Myth Two - You can solder the inside of the Xbox 360 to remove the RROD (I fell prey to this - Click here to read my story)

This method involves you buying a home soldering kit, and then opening your Xbox up to solder the parts back together. Notice “Home Soldering Kit”. Microsoft doesn’t use these at their factories - they use expensive, industrial grade equipment that can cost thousands upon thousands of pounds. That is something you can’t reproduce with some hardware store solder and a solder gun. This applies even if you have experience soldering electric equipment. If you do this wrong you can’t send it back to Microsoft as well - By opening the console, you have automatically voided the warranty. However, this may be possible if you have high quality video and sound - not poor quality, juddery tutorials from YouTube.

More myths coming soon… Stay tuned!

My Personal Story - How Not To Fix The Red Lights of Death

If your Xbox died recently, then you need to read on to find out my story - In effect, what you should never do. And then find out what you should do.

Last winter my Xbox died and gave me those red rings... Back then, I had absolutely no idea what they meant. All that I knew was that my Xbox wasn't working anymore. So, like most people, I ran a search on google for "Xbox 360 red lights" and pretty soon it turns out that I am in a s***load of trouble. The lights mean a general failure on your Xbox. Looking at the web, it looked like the only proper way to do anything was to send the thing back to Microsoft.

So, I wrapped it up and put the postage label on before I read the official site - Which told me that it would take eight weeks for them to fix it and ship it back! Eight weeks!  So I had to look to the Internet for other ways... Ways that wouldn't involve sending my Xbox away to be fixed.

The Xbox... Evil...

So I found this website that showed you how to crack open an Xbox's case and do some DIY soldering. According to the website, normally the Xbox has weak soldering joints and so re-soldering the joints would fix the problem. So - I gave it a try. And what do you know! After the repair, the three red lights were completely gone!  But - So were the rest of the lights. The soldering I'd done had resulted in a complete shutdown. So my Xbox is now completely broken and now won't even turn on...

So I decided to go with my original decision and sent it back to Microsoft. But since I broke the seal of the console with that stupid free YouTube video tutorial - They wouldn't replace it.

So a week later I had to spend my money on a completely new Xbox.

So as you would expect, I started looking around to see if anyone had tried the same stuff I had done, and when people asked for a red light fix, I told them that they needed to send it straight back to Microsoft, or they'd end up like me.

However - I'm not going around saying that any more. My lucky friend managed to get rid of his red lights... I tell you, he was all up in my face, gloating how he'd fixed it. Apparently, he found this system online called James Dean 3 Red Light Fix. They had a money back guarantee on it that he would have his console working - If it didn't, he got his money back. And waddya know, it worked. An hour later he was playing Halo:Reach on his 360. So I now recommend the guide... It has worked for everyone I've recommended it to. And they have found that it works just fine for them as it worked for my friend.

So if your 360 is dead, then I think you should give it a shot. With a great guarantee and the possibility of getting it up and running is less than two hours - I think it is. James Dean 3 Red Light Fix is my personal choice.