Friday, September 4, 2009

Xbox 360 - How To Avoid The Red Ring Of Death

By Marc Sandford

The red ring of death is a hardware failure indicated by three flashing red lights on the console. Maybe your Xbox is new and you'd like to know how to prevent the red ring of death from happening to you.

Perhaps you already experienced the red ring of death and don't want it to ever happen again. Whatever your situation, there are a number of easy to follow prevention steps that you can take.

1.) Your xbox will overheat if air can't freely flow into it's cooling vents. Therefore you need to know where the cooling vents are located so that you won't accidentally block them. There should be lots and lots of open space around these vents. Make sure they aren't pushed up against the wall and keep them clear of clutter.

2.) Make sure that your xbox is kept clean and keep your xbox in a dust free environment. The reason for this is that the cooling vents can suck in dirt, dust, and pet hair which will interfere with the cooling system. The fans get over worked if too much dust gets into the vents and they won't be able to supply the xbox with enough cooling air.

3.) The power brick also needs to stay cool during operation. Therefore, it needs to have easy access to the surrounding air. This means you need to be careful not to place it on shaggy carpets that can block airflow. Place it on a hard table or on a hardwood floor.

4.) Keep the Xbox away from sources of heat. If you are using your Xbox on a hot day, keep the air conditioner running.

Another point to remember is that the longer you run your Xbox, the hotter it will get. So it's a good idea to limit your gaming to no more than a couple of hours at a time.

At this point, you may have guessed correctly that the red ring of death is caused by overheating. The xbox has a weak cooling system and doesn't tolerate heat very well. It's internal components are very powerful and therefore put out a lot of heat. So the key to avoiding the red ring of death is to do everything you can to keep your xbox running cool.

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