Xbox 360 freezing

DeeMarie89

Hiya.
I have an Xbox 360 elite, and it keeps freezing. My warranty expired in January 2011, and for the last few weeks the screen has been freezing a lot. It freezes on games, on the dashboard, when watching films etc. I've had no red lights, and it hasn't been overheating. Microsoft say they can fix the problem over the phone for £80, which I think is a bit flipping extortionate, as I may swell just buy a pre-owned warrantied one for that price.
I'm just wondering, if it's something fixable from home, can anyone shed any light on this? Cheers

smiffy01uk

If it does go to 3 red lights or displays E74 error then you have 3 years warranty for this from microsoft.

scottishblondie

It's on its way to a RROD I'm afraid. Are you still within the 3 year extended warranty period for RROD/E74? If it fails within the 3 years they will fix it for free.

Chimpofdoom

scottishblondie wrote: »

It's on its way to a RROD I'm afraid. Are you still within the 3 year extended warranty period for RROD/E74? If it fails within the 3 years they will fix it for free.

Yup this is true.. RROD on the way, just give it a couple of weeks.

Happened with mine, I fixed it myself using some online guides, hardest part was getting the case off :mad:.

Otherwise xbox is still working

chib

I'd recommend phoning Microsoft and saying it intermittently gives 3 red lights. They'll get it picked up and issue you a refurb (As happens with them all!).

You can do it yourself with a screw, washer and thermal paste pack from eBay for about £2/£3. The tool for removing the case makes the job a lot easier and is around the same price - could be done yourself for about a fiver and be fixed in about 30 minutes.

chib

Seems I was a little off on prices... can be done cheaper than a McDonalds Value Meal!

Repair Kit - £1.54

Case Tool - £1.47

Cost to repair yourself - £3.01

Note that the seller offering the repair kit can offer you support over the phone if you get stuck. You could have it fixed in no time.

Hammyman

Only problem is that if you use that kit, you kiss goodbye to the 3 year RROD warranty from Microsoft.

And depending on how bad it is, that kit won't solve the problem.

rmg1

chib wrote: »

Seems I was a little off on prices... can be done cheaper than a McDonalds Value Meal!

Repair Kit - £1.54

Case Tool - £1.47

Cost to repair yourself - £3.01

Note that the seller offering the repair kit can offer you support over the phone if you get stuck. You could have it fixed in no time.

Wasn't there a similar fix by wrapping the XBOX in a towel and chucking it somewhere warm for a few hours/days?
I vaguely remember it being a problem with the thermal paste.

scottishblondie

The problem doesn't just relate to the thermal paste, most of the time its a breakdown in the solder ball grid array that attaches the chips to the board. Replacing the thermal paste and tricks like the x-clamp fix (using washers rather than the standard clamps) are only temporary if they work at all, and people can often damage their consoles further in the process. So don't do it whilst it's under warranty and be prepared to scrap it in the event that a repair goes wrong.

Also please never, NEVER do anything like wrapping the console in a towel, or sticking a toothpick in the fans to make it overheat etc. Unless of course you're trying to induce a RROD to get it replaced/repaired under warranty!!

chib

scottishblondie wrote: »

(using washers rather than the standard clamps) are only temporary if they work at all, and people can often damage their consoles further in the process.

I disagree with this - done mines when it failed in 2008 and it's still going strong, about 8/9 colleagues have also done the same. Whilst other issues do happen a lot of the time it's down to dried out thermal paste... if the job is done correctly you shouldn't see any other issues regarding heat.

What I do agree with though is wrapping it up in a towel and stopping the fans, it's been known to show a short term success as it melts thermal compound further (I guess!) but it's never going to fix things long term.

If you do the fix I suggested yourself, you will lose the warranty with Microsoft. For me, I wasn't wanting to go two weeks without playing Gears of War with my mates and has been advised of this fix being successful.

scottishblondie

chib wrote: »

I disagree with this - done mines when it failed in 2008 and it's still going strong, about 8/9 colleagues have also done the same. Whilst other issues do happen a lot of the time it's down to dried out thermal paste... if the job is done correctly you shouldn't see any other issues regarding heat.

Replacing the rubbish thermal paste only works if heat is the issue - most of the time it is the BGA problems that I mentioned. In those cases the washer/bolt fix works because the chip is forced back into contact with the motherboard, but this puts a lot of stress on components that aren't designed to take it.

I repair games consoles and you wouldn't believe how many shoddy DIY jobs I see where doing this has only made things worse in the long term! I don't disagree that it will work in most cases for a short time, and for some people it can last for years, but for a lot of consoles it will fail again within weeks.