If you are looking for an Xbox 360 repair manual, then you should know that they’re quite a lot of different manuals and guides to choose from. Because of this it is important to do a bit of research, that’s why I dedicated quite a few hours and over one hundred dollars to determine which guide was the best for the Xbox 360 repair. Although each guide is only about 20 or $30, you don’t want to waste your time getting the wrong guide, because it simply painful having to stuff around with your Xbox for over an hour and then having it not work.

Many of the guides that are available on the Internet right now come in the format of PDF or video. Having used both, I would personally recommend that you look into getting one that is based on video instructions. Because of the nature of video, and how it allows you to simply follow along and pause when you get stuck, it is ideal for this sort of thing where you need to stop and start while you are getting used to the process.

Although you still have the option with most of the guides to simply use the follow a long e-book instructions, I think you’ll find that it’s much easier to simply use the video. Because of this reason I have focused mainly on reviewing the guides that include video.

It is important to note that these guides mainly focused on fixing the three rings of death problem with the Xbox 360. If you are looking for something different than that as in a problem with the laser or something else, then you may have to actually send it off unfortunately, seeing as this is a much more technical and more of a hardware problem.

So the three guides that you may be interested in are three red light fix, Xbox 360 red lights fix, and 360 red light fix. Now I know that all these names sound pretty much the same, but they are actually all different guides. So the good thing about both the first two guides, is that they include both video and PDF instructions. Both these guides are cheaply priced, to the point, address the basic instructions, and will allow you to get the job done.

The fact, is I found the third guide, 360 red light fix, to be the most professional guide even though it only had video instruction when I bought it. The fact was that the video production of this particular instructional guide was so high-quality, that it was very easy to follow and I found it immensely useful and helpful. While the other two guides had video, it simply wasn’t up to the standard of 360 red light fix.

By: Nick Earl

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If you have found your way to this article then you are more than likely an owner of a faulty Xbox 360. Well do not worry to much as this article will tell you how you can go about getting Xbox 360 Repair fast so you can get back in the game in the quickest time possible!

The reasons that you can need Xbox 360 Repair can vary and can range from the red lights problem, that have many different reasons to just random freezes or sometimes the DVD drive just packs in and will not play games.

The best thing to do fist is to ring Microsoft customer support and they will ask you what the serial number is on your Xbox and more than likely run through a few different things with you to see if the Xbox can be saved first.

If you do not want to rind them here is what you can do first.

Remove the hard drive and also all of the leads attached to the Xbox and try plugging them all back in and see if the console then starts up. This might sound weird but it will give the console a “hard reset” and sometimes can solve the problems.

Also make sure that you turn it off at the wall before you do this.

Next thing you can try is hoovering all of the dust out the vents on the Xbox 360 as it does tend to attract a lot of dust the same way that a PC does, except the Xbox 360 does only have one fan so this might solve the problems you are having especially if you have the 2 red lights error.

Finally give the power brick a dust and try to set it up off the floor as sometimes this can solve the problem as the power brick does have fans inside it also and will need to pump out air and this will allow it to do so on all sides!

If all of these fail then you will have to send it in or repair the Xbox 360 yourself!

Good Luck!

By: William Turner

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If you have ever wondered if it’s possible to copy XBOX 360 games, you will be happy to know there is a way to make exact backup copies of any XBOX 360 game. It’s a little trickier than just using the same software as you do to burn music cds, but it’s easy to get the hang of.

The key to being able to copy xbox 360 games is to find a software that is specifically designed to make backup copies of video games. Video game discs have “copyright protection” measures in place that won’t let you make copies by using the regular burning software used to copy music cds. To get passed this problem, there are software companies that have developed specialized software that can “knock-out” these protections and copy Xbox 360 games (along with other types of games).

Without this software, your computer doesn’t recognize a video game disc. When you have the software in place, all of a sudden the disc makes “sense” to you computer and it can read the disc in order to make a copy.

As a side note, the software doesn’t only copy Xbox 360 games. It also works for PS3, Nintendo Wii, PS2 and almost every other major game system. This makes it a lot more convenient if you own multiple game systems. You won’t have to buy a new program for each one.

The software works in three easy steps:

First, you insert the xbox 360 game disc and your computer will make a duplicate “image” of the game. When this is done, you insert a blank disc and the software will transfer the image onto the disc. Afterwards you are left with an exact backup copy of the game that you can use whenever you need to.

If you have any interest in making copies of Xbox 360 games, this software gives you an easy and effective way of doing so. It’s important to copy Xbox 360 games in case they ever become scratched or damaged.

By: Tommy Paxton

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If you are lucky enough to have yourself an XBox chances are that you have been unlucky enough to experience or at least hear of some of the issues that are plaguing the great little machine. With an estimated one in three consoles suffering some type of failure you should consider yourself very lucky if you have had a problem free run with yours and hopefully things will continue this way, however if you are one of the unlucky ones please read on for information on how to diagnose the problem and what can be done to rectify the situation.

The most common issue around is the dreaded red ring of death. So named by the gaming community because of the normally green lights on the front of the console turn to flashing red and the number of flashing red lights give an indication of what the problem is. If you have four flashing red lights on the front of your console, say a prayer and thank the gaming gods for your good fortune. This simply means that the AV cable is unplugged or has come loose from it’s socket. Switching the console off and reinserting the cable should see you back in action.

If you have one or three red flashing lights in place of the green ones unfortunately the gaming gods are not looking favorably upon you at this time. This indicates that you have a hardware failure and as the name implies, your console is dead. This does not have to mean the end of your fun though, it can be repaired and back to life without too much fuss or drama.

The reason this problem exists and is so widespread is that the first generation XBox was not given enough testing time before being released and there is a couple of fatal flaws in the design, the first being the inability of built up heat to escape from the console. Over time this heat has a negative effect on the processing units and can cause them to overheat and cease functioning.

The second issue relates to the type of lead free solder used throughout the console. Once again over time the solder is affected by the built up heat and can become brittle to the point where hairline cracks develop and the red ring of death shows it’s ugly face. You may have seen the dodgy ‘towel trick’ that is doing the rounds of the internet and I believe that it temporarily works on some machines because the solder heats up and becomes soft enough to fill in these hairline cracks. Use this method at your own peril though, I **** to think of the damage being done to the processing units while being super heated.

So now we know why these problems occur and we know of one dodgy method of repair that will do more harm than good, what other options do we have? If you bought your console new and have the receipt and don’t mind waiting weeks for a return you can send it off to the factory to have it repaired or you could take an hour or two of your time and repair it yourself. Sound difficult? Not at all, when you have step by step instructions and videos showing you exactly what is needed to be done you can be back in your favorite chair playing your favorite game in next to no time!

By: Craig Wilson

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The Xbox 360 is still one of the most popular selling consoles currently on the market. It has a huge selection of games, online capability, ability to play HD DVD’s and much more!

However…it also has a couple of HUGE flaws that have probably scared a lot of people away from purchasing it. I am writing this article to inform you of the possibly problems you may encounter if you are thinking about purchasing a Xbox 360.

First off, Microsoft decided to skimp on the Xbox 360’s internal cooling. The systems all work fine for a couple of months maybe even a year or two. You may be playing Halo 3 someday and the console will just freeze. You will probably just restart it and it may fire right up, you or might be presented with dreaded three red flashing lights.

If you see three flashing red lights, you have a couple of choices.

Send it off to Microsoft to have them repair it. Depending on if you are in warranty or not this may cost you $140. You will also be without your console for 4-6 weeks.

The second option is to fix it yourself. It is a very simple repair that can be done in under a hour.

The second most common problem is DVD drive failure. There is no known reason as to why this happens. Microsoft uses 4 different DVD drives in their consoles. None of these fail more common than the others.

Unfortunately, there is no fix for this problem. You either have to send the console in to Microsoft for repair or you could possibly buy a replacement drive on eBay and replace it yourself.

There is a rumor going around that if you keep your console horizontally, you are less likely to experience the DVD drive failure. There is no confirmation of this, however it doesn’t hurt to do it anyways.

By: David Clow

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I am sure you will agree with me when I say that the Xbox 360 is a fantastic gaming console, the only problem is that its has so many hardware problems such as the red ring of death. The red ring of death can be caused by a number of different things going wrong inside the Xbox a more specifically it is due to the main chips on the motherboard overheating.

So there lies the key to fixing a broken Xbox 360. What you need to do is find a way to stop the heat build up on the motherboard and also a way to protect the GPU and the CPU which deal with the main processing of all your games. I could of course go into great detail but unless you are technically minded it would be very hard to explain the exact problem.

However before you get ready to throw your console in the dustbin you should not give up as there is still hope that you can repair your console with a good Xbox 360 repair guide. You see a few of them about online and if you are going to go down this route it is advisable that you pick up a repair guide with a complete guarantee and also it should contain preview videos so you can carry out the work and see what you’re getting first.

Another thing any good repair guide should say and guarantee is the fact that the work will be a permanent fix and you should not need to do it again. You can of course send the Xbox back to Microsoft and they will fix it for you for a price. The amount you pay for the fix will be about $140 and the other downside of this is that it can take about six weeks to get your console back with no guarantees that you will not encounter exactly the same problem again in the future.

Lastly make sure with any repair guide that you get good customer support and you cannot really go wrong and this is a viable option to fix your broken console!

I hope this article has explain some steps that you can take to repair your Xbox 360 as quickly as possible!

Happy gaming!

By: William Turner

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The “red ring of death” is the general name for a number of massive problems which affect around one third of all Xbox 360 consoles at some point or another. There are various errors which involve things such as red flashing lights, Xbox 360 freezes and the dreaded Xbox 360 e74 error. Today you are going to learn about what causes the Xbox 360 crash problem, as well as what can be done to fix it.

1. The cause of the Xbox 360 e74 problem is overheating. Too much heat is able to build up far too quickly inside your console due to a lack of cooling devices such as fans and heat sinks. This heat causes disruption to a number of different components such as the graphics processor, motherboard, hard drive and disk drive. In order to fix the red ring of death you need to deal with this overheating and the damage it causes to your console. This is the only way to get rid of Xbox 360 freeze and crash problems.

2. One method you could use to resolve your red ring of death nightmare is to send your console back to have it repaired by Microsoft. Provided your console is under warranty this is free. However, it is a very slow way to have the Xbox 360 e74 problem fixed- you will have to wait a number of weeks to get your console returned and in working condition.

3. That’s why the best way to deal with Xbox 360 freeze errors such as the red ring of death is to fix them yourself. In order to this you will need basic tools such as a screwdriver set, a flat bench, as well as an Xbox 360 e74 repair guide. This is a collection of video files which will show you how to disassemble your Xbox 360, repair the cause of the problem, re-assemble it then test that everything is working correctly again.

By: James Philipson

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If you want to repair an Xbox 360 then you will need the right instructions to be able to fix your console. The best instructions come in video format, and the only way to get these is by using one of the various Xbox 360 repair guides available on the market today. In this article, you will learn how to get the best repair guide for your specific needs, be it fixing the red ring of death, the Xbox e74 or any other common Xbox 360 error.

Most Xbox 360 repair guides come in digital download format, meaning that once you have paid for the product, you are able to instantly download the information you need. Some come in the form of membership websites, wherein you pay a one-off fee and have access to the videos and other Xbox 360 repair information in the “members’ only” section of the products website. A small number of repair manuals offer both services

When looking to repair an Xbox 360 using a manual, look for the following features-

1. You should not pay more than $30 for your repair manual. A good price to aim for is less than $25.

2. Ensure that your personal information is kept secure during by the payment process by checking to see if the payment page (where you enter your personal information) has one of the little padlock symbols displayed in your Internet browser.

3. Make sure the product you are going to purchase offers step-by-step video files, as it is almost impossible to repair an Xbox 360 without them. Look for free sample videos so you can check their quality.

4. Free updates and customer support are also a bonus. A money back guarantee is also vital.

By: James Philipson

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If you have found your way to this article then you are probably having problems with your Xbox 360 and some of the most common include your games freezing, red lights, graphical glitches and also your DVD drive will sometimes not play any games.

All of the above problems are caused by the motherboard overheating, and the reason that you get different problems is because the heat will sometimes effect different parts of the system hence the reason that some people will get red lights and others will get faulty DVD drives.

Basically, as the Xbox heats up the two main chips on the motherboard called the GPU and the CPU take the brunt of the heat and eventually they will shut themselves off and that is when you get a game freeze. Then as the console takes more and more heat the soldering becomes lose and snaps off and that is when you will see the red lights flashing.

If you have any of the above problems then I would suggest that you give Microsoft customer support a quick call and they will probably tell you to do a series of tests and then let you know that they are sending you an empty box to put your console in and ship it back to them for repairs.

The other method that you have to get rid of these problems is to find a good Xbox 360 repair guide that will show you how to stop the main chips from taking so much heat and this will allow you to get back to your games.

There are a couple of good ones out there but also a lot of rubbish, so you have to be careful.

As long as you make sure there any guide you pick as a step by step videos and a complete guarantee and you cannot really go wrong. Also an idea is to try it out the customer support before you purchase any guide and then you will know how quick they respond and how helpful they are!

I hope this article has told you a bit more about the Xbox 360 and the problems that it faces and hope that you get back to your games soon!

By: William Turner

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What is the Red Ring of Death?

When Microsoft designed the Xbox 360, they attempted a innovative method of mounting the heat sinks to the motherboard. During normal operation, the temperature within the case is very hot. Which in turn causes the motherboard to flex against the x clamps. It is this flexing, which results in the soldered joints around the processors coming away from the motherboard. The fault is indicated by the now infamous 3 red lights!

Recent Xbox 360 Elite’s have been upgraded with a stronger epoxy resin to glue the processors down. Whether this will work, only time will tell!

The X Clamp fix
The modification detailed in this guide, alleviates the flexing of the motherboard and maintains uniform pressure on the processors, this in turn ensures the heat sinks are far more effective in dissipating the heat build up.

Kit list
Torx Screwdrivers T8 & T10
Pliers
Artic Silver Thermal Paste
Thermal Paste cleaner (nail varnish remover!)
Thin flat bladed screwdriver
8 m5 10mm bolts
8 m5 steel spring washers
24 m5 1mm width washers

Step 1 – disassemble the console

Stop and take a look at your warranty, is it still in date? If so contact Microsoft for a replacement! If not, then proceed.

Remove the front face plate by placing your thumb into the USB door, applying pressure on the side panel, you will be able to lever the cover off. Do not force it!

Once removed this will expose the Microsoft warranty sticker. Next, we need to remove the side panels.

They are kept in place by 3 lugs on each side, which can be seen by looking through the ventilation holes. Using the thin screwdriver (or wooden skewer), push the lugs through the holes, whilst gently levering the grey side panel up. Once you have released a couple the panel will lift up quite easily. You will have to remove one of the rubber feet, to access one of the lugs and the hard drive if you have one.

Once both panels have been removed, we can move onto the case itself. On the rear of the case are 6 retention slots and 4 clips on the front of the case.

Unclip the front clips using the thin screwdriver, and gently lift the front up about an inch.

Now locate the rear 6 retention slots, and again using the thin screwdriver, push gently into each slot, you should hear a click each time.

Once all 6 have been released, you will be able to lift the top halve of the case off.

Flip the console over, and you will notice 14 silver screws and 8 black screws, remove these using the Torx screwdrivers.

Once all removed, turn the console over and remove the case.

This will expose the motherboard and DVD drive. To remove the DVD drive, simply lift upwards and unclip the cables from the rear of the drive.

Now you will have access to the white plastic fan shroud, which lifts out by unclipping the retention hook at the top of the shroud. Unclip the cable to the fan.

At the front of the console, you will notice a daughter PCB, by the power button. Unclip the white power button cover and remove the 3 screws with the T8 screwdriver.

Unplug the daughter board, this will enable you to lift the motherboard out carefully.

Once you have the motherboard out, you will notice on the underside 2 x clamps.

To remove the x clamps, you will need to pry the clamps off the metal studs. Insert the thin screwdriver into each corner of the clamp, gently levering each one until they are released. If you do 2 corners at a time, it is easier. Take your time, it is essential we do not damage the motherboard.

Once the clamps are removed, flip the motherboard over and gently remove the 2 heatsinks by lifting them up. The low profile one is the GPU heatsink, the main cause of the problem!

Using the Pliers, or small spanner, remove the four bolts on the underside of each heat sink. The bolts are no longer required.

Now we need to remove all traces of the old compound from the heat sinks and processors. Start by using a plastic scraper, usually supplied with the thermal paste or an old credit card! Take extra care when cleaning the processors.

To remove the remaining compound, use the nail varnish remover or if you have it compound cleaner, only a little is required.

With the processors, we are trying to obtain a mirror finish on them!

Now apply a little dab of compound to each processor and spread with the plastic card, we want a thin film across the top of the processor, no more no less.

Now we start the process of re-fixing the heat sinks.

Place a spring washer on each bolt (m5 10mm) followed by a steel washer, insert the bolt through the underside of the motherboard and then place 2 steel washers on the bolt. It is essential we have the correct width between motherboard and heatsink.

In order for the bolts to stay in place whilst attaching the heat sink, I stand the motherboard on its side and ***** the bolts in a couple of turns until they have purchased.

Once all 4 have been attached, we need to systematically tighten each bolt, so start top right, then bottom left, bottom right and top left. This ensures the heat sink is uniformily tightened and not one side at a time. Repeat on next heat sink.

We can now plug everything back in, apart from the fans.

Turn the console on, we want it to overheat in order for the changes we have made to reset. Looking at the power bottom, wait for the 3 red lights to go to 2 red lights, this could take a couple of minutes. Once we have 2 red lights, leave the console on for about 5 mins.

Now turn the console off and let it cool down for about 1 hour.

Now we come to the test, plug everything back in including the fans and turn the console on. You should now be looking at green lights.

If you have green lights, re-assemble the console.

If you have red lights, we have a couple of procedures to follow, do not worry, some consoles take a number of attempts before the fix is successful.

First, loosen the screws holding the heat sink in place and with the fan disconnected run the console with 2 red lights for another 5 minutes, then allow to cool.

Once cooled try the test again with everything plugged in. still getting red lights?

Check the thermal compound is not too thin on the processors and before tightening the screws up, run the console again for 5 minutes with 2 red lights. Tighten screws up and allow to cool. Run the test again after an hour. If you still have red lights, run the console again with the fan disconnected for a longer period of time on 2 red lights, before allowing to cool.

It is normal for the console to take about 3 attempts to get all green. If none of the attempts work, gone back to the beginning and start again. Do not give up, this fix has been 100% successful for me.

Once you have green lights and you have put everything back together, run another test to ensure you still have the green lights, remember you will not need the 8 black screws for the case.

It is advisable, to run the console on low settings for about 20 days and keep it well ventilated. Fan upgrades are available, which run more efficiently.

By: Steve Thornton

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