I recently suffered the Red Ring of Death on my Xbox 360.  As it was out of warranty, I decided to try to fix it myself.  Most places are charging about $20 for the instructions and are offering ”kits” with the materials for about $40 plus shipping.  I was able to find all the tutorials I needed for free online, and the materials at home depot for about $20.  It just took some digging.

First you will find my video which describes where you can get the materials, what do look for, and a few tips  I learned from doing it myself. You don’t have to watch it, but it will honestly save you about an hour of work, a few trips to home depot, and some sore-ass fingers, and a lot of frustration.

As for the tutorials, I did not come up with any of the methods. I’m just bringing them together and sharing a few issues I had and how to get around them.  Thanks to Xbox 360 Repair guides   and Llammas adventures  for the actual know how…. oh and the guy at Home Depot helping me find stuff that I knew nothing about.

Watch this First:

 Steps to fix your XBOX 360 Ring of Death:

1.Check to see if your xbox is covered under the extended warranty. They extended the warranty for 3 years for this specific problem.  Free fix including shipping.  http://support.xbox.com/support/en/us/nxe/contact.aspx (you have to call)
If not, Here’s how you can fix it (this will void your warranty…not and issue if it’s already expired anyway…)

2. Watch my video first.  I’ll hilight where things get caught up before you start to avoid the same problems I had.
3. Watch the Youtube videos to see how to take the case apart and remove things.
4. Follow instructions on the Picture/text tutorial when you get to actully fixing the problem.
5. Refer to youtube video to put it back together.

Here are the materials you will need:

Here is a picture of the hardware you will need. Handy to bring with you to Home Depot along with the list below (pic is just one set, but remember, you want TWO sets to do both CPU and GPU.  List below is for TWO sets)

• 8 M5 x 12mm Machine Screws (home depot MUST be M5 and 12 long. head type not as important)
• 16 M5 Nylon Washers (home depot. sizes wacky. Make sure same diamater as steel and that center hole is big enough for 5mm screw to go through easily)
• 32 M5 Steel Washers -  (home depot)
• Arctic Silver Thermal Compound (Radio Shack)
• Goo Gone (Home Depot)
• Toothpicks (Makes cleaning goo around CPU/GPU Easier)
• Buttload of Qtips (Wifes make up bag)

Total Cost: About $20-25

Tools:

• Torx T10
• Torx T8
• 1/4″ Nut Driver or Wrench/Pliers
• 13/64 Drill Bit and Drill (Can go tiny bit bigger. Don’t need to be exact)
• Large and small slotted Screw Driver
• Tiny Ass Screwdriver  (paper clip MIGHT work, but didnt try) 

Picture/Text Instructions:

http://www.llamma.com/xbox360/repair/ring_of_light_x-clamp_fix.htm

Video Walkthrough:

Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bo2dl2vlwis&feature=related

Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvdJ-Q_T6Js&feature=related

Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-wni_SNFXU&feature=related

That’s it. Hoped this helped some folks.  Drop a comment if you have any questions and I will see if I can help out.

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