Problems with an Xbox 360?
Temporary Ways to Fix a Three Red Lights of Doom Xbox 360
Many consumers are having problems with their Xbox 360s failing on them. Below we look at two temporary ways to fix some broken Xbox 360s.
Microsoft’s Xbox 360, released in 2005, has had a lot of problems with freezing consoles. Generally the console works fine for a number of months, but then suddenly begins freezing up constantly. Most of the time these problems can be temporarily fixed, but eventually the gaming system will be unplayable and will have to go to a shop.
Many consoles work perfectly until one day during play the console freezes up. Sometimes this is only a small problem, and resetting fixes it, but many times the problem continues. The machine may start running through its load up processes and freeze up, or it may get all the way to the game before freezing up, but this pattern of freezing and fixing is a clear warning that your console it about to go bad. The next, and much more severe, indication of a problem with the system is what is called “the three red lights of doom”. The power button on the main console usually lights up with green quarter circles when running properly, but when these green lights are replaced by flashing red lights, your system is out.
There are many popular temporary ways to fix a 360, but we will only look at the ones proven to work. It is important to note that these are temporary fixes only, eventually they will cease to make the console work, and there is no guarantee these will work on your console. After using these quick-fixes enough times, the system will just cease to work altogether and it will need to be repaired, these only help extend the time before a repair is absolutely required.
The first method is to wrap the console in a towel while running for a while. It seems a bit odd that this method actually helps fix a 360. Completely covering a gaming console would usually break them. The length of time the 360 should remain covered varies from system to system, but the entire process should be carefully monitored in case a problem develops. After unwrapping the system, allow it to cool for a few minutes before turning it on again. Remember that eventually this trick will stop working.
Another method some people swear by concerns the “power brick”. A lot of forum posters on IGN and Gamespot say that elevating the power pack off the ground will sometimes fix a red-lighted system; by giving the pack more breathing space to air out it helps to avoid overheating. Plugging the power brick directly into the wall or into a high-quality surge protector also, for some reason, can sometimes fix a 360.
It is unclear why these methods really work at all, but they do work on some systems. The tricks above only help delay the inevitable, but they do help to provide a few more weeks of play before shipping it to get fixed. Microsoft maintains a webpage on their Xbox homepage with details on what to do when your system breaks.
