RRoD: what, why and correct
The most common cause of these failures tends to be damaged or “cold” solder spots under the graphics processing chip (known as the GPU).
Game console manufacturing comes with many complexities. One of them is the ecological effect of your article. Because of this, the 360s are produced using lead-free solder. This is good for the planet but bad for the life of the console. There is a heat cycle involved in the use of devices with processors (CPU and GPU). During these periods of heating and cooling, there is pressure on the solder joints as the motherboard tends to move a bit when it cools down. This is regular and generally does not cause harm. Insufficient lead in solder makes the joints much less flexible and usually breaks a little. This sure can happen with leaded solder, and it does it all the time. The difference is when it happens; 500 power cycles versus 4000 power cycles is the difference between your 360 console that lasts 18 months and your 360 console that lasts 6-8 years. That is a big difference! There are several ways to solve these production problems. Some are useless and some are worth the weight of a 360 in silver …
“The Penny Fix”
This is where you put a penny between the GPU chip and the heatsink. This may have worked for someone, somewhere, who had a loose X-clamp, but it doesn’t fix overheating or processor solder breaks and is a bad idea. You can tighten the X-clamp and solve the current error, but it causes bigger problems. There is a layer of thermal paste between the chip and the heat sink that is very critical for cooling the chip. Not only will the penny physically damage the chip, it will also disturb the cooling process and cause chip burns. I have also seen the penny under the X-clamps at the bottom of the motherboard. This is even worse as it produces tons of shorts and damages many of the tiny components. This solution will make your Xbox 360 useless and irreparable.
“The Towel Fix”
This idea came from the idea that wrapping a towel around the vents on your Xbox 360 would heat the solder enough to reflow the chip. This is not possible. There are many factors involved in performing a successful reflux. The motherboard needs to be preheated to a workable temperature for the solder to dispense evenly, there is a specific method to heat the chip itself, there needs to be an industry specific flux for the solder to stick properly and on. .. and on … and on. The only thing I’ve heard that the towel method does is nothing.
“The reflux of the oven”
This solution is achieved by placing the base plate on a baking sheet in the oven. This is the biggest nightmare repair I have had to date. DO NOT DO THIS !!! It doesn’t work and destroys many of the motherboard components! Your capacitors will explode, your resistors will drop, and your motherboard will curl up like bacon. This will render your Xbox 360 useless and irreparable. Enough said I hope!
“The reflux of the heating plate”
See above …
“The hair dryer”
This solution is ridiculous. I’ve also seen a lot of capacitors blown up by this. Do not try this method. Not only does it not repair your Xbox 360, it can also damage your DVD drive. This will render your Xbox 360 useless and irreparable.