Need RROD help!

Ok, so I got a free Xbox 360 from a coworker. YAY! The catch? It's a classic RROD. So I said, "No problem!"

and now...

Basically, I went straight for the X-clamp fix. After about 3 hours of hunting down all the tools and parts needed from various shops around town, I tear the system open, remove the heatsinks, clean them and the processors as best as I can (add new thermal paste and all that jazz), and install the new parts. I reattached the power button, fans, and dvd drive and power it on...

Here's where things don't go as planned. Normally, it's supposed to show the 3 red lights again, and you let it overheat the processor under the dvd drive for 20 minutes and then cool down and put everything back in place. Well, instead, I powered it on and it immediately jumped to the dashboard. No RRoD or waiting. So initially I was all "NO WAI! IT'S ALIVE! YAY!". So I powered it off and put all the internal components in the right places and plugged in a controller to test it out. But to my dismay, it RRoD'd again.

After some trial and error I've found that the reason is the processor that sits under the dvd drive (I'm pretty sure it's the GPU) is overheating like mad. Within 3 minutes of turning the cold system on with no RRoD, the heatsink was hot to the touch and the fans are steadily speeding up to the point they sound like a jet engine. I power the system off and back on again and it gives me another RRoD.

So now I'm at a loss.
I can temporarily remedy the RRoD by adjusting the screws holding the heatsinks in place after giving it a chance to cool down, but they just overheat again.

Any suggestions?

Take a hot air gun to the motherboard, look up reflowing with a hot air gun. And remember, it's a temporary "fix". It isn't going to last very long.

I had the same issue. The reason that you're RRoDing isn't from the GPU overheating, because only the CPU causes the system to shut itself down upon overheating.

Do the X-clamp fix again, and set the fan on top of the CPU heatsink. That'll ensure that the GPU gets really hot without it shutting off. Leave it on for 10 minutes or so, then take the fan off of the CPU heatsink until it overheats. Then reassemble and it should work. If it doesn't, some places (I think Consoleshop does, but I'm not sure) sell an RROD kit with the X-clamp fix and some other stuff that could help.

EDIT: Also, after re-reading your post, reapply the thermal paste. Get some Arctic Silver and put it on both the CPU and GPU heatsinks, because after reading that, it sounds like the heatsinks don't have enough paste on them, if you can actually get it to start and it heats up that quickly.

Leaving the console to over heat itself to reflow the solder doesn't work anywhere near good enough. Reflow it with a hot air gun like I suggested in the first place.

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Originally Posted by Inferno.

Leaving the console to over heat itself to reflow the solder doesn't work anywhere near good enough. Reflow it with a hot air gun like I suggested in the first place.

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Overheating doesn't have anything to do with a broken or cold solder joint. He can still actually get the thing to run by adjusting the heatsink screws, which makes me think that the thermal paste is gone, m$ does a horrible job with it.

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Originally Posted by JagerSlushy

Overheating doesn't have anything to do with a broken or cold solder joint. He can still actually get the thing to run by adjusting the heatsink screws, which makes me think that the thermal paste is gone, m$ does a horrible job with it.

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These terrible X-clamp replacement guides tell you to leave the console to overheat itself to reflow the solder.

Anyway I don't care what he does, he's fighting a losing battle trying to fix this 360. He'll be better off just paying someone to reball it. :)

It seems to be working just fine now having made another fine tune adjustment to the screws. I just played through the first 2 missions of COD:MW2 with no errors or overheating, and was able to shut the system off and back on again with no RRoD. The fans don't sound like jet engines anymore either. I think it had something to do with the airflow in the case. During testing, I had been letting the dvd drive sit outside the console (while still connected). Now that I look at the way the air duct is lain out, it easy to see that the dvd drive sitting above the GPU plays a part in directing air directly onto/through the heatsink, whereas before, there was nothing to actually direct air to that area.

@inferno:
I don't have any of the equipment to do an air reflow, even though, after doing the research, it seems to be the best way to "fix" it. I got the console for free and don't really wanna put too much money into it if I don't have to.

Anyhow, it seems to be working fine now. Only time and usage will tell. Thanks for the input guys. I do want to look into modding it though, now that I've already cracked it open. It's on older model, so maybe J-tagging is a possibility. I know you know a good bit about this Inferno. :)

Check the dash version, if it's blades (pre-NXE) then it's definitely JTAGable. Or if it's on 2.0.7371 or below, if it's higher than that you're screwed.

What's blades (pre-NXE) mean? Also, it's dashboard version 2.0.89550, so I guess I'm screwed there. What other options are there?

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Originally Posted by Tayls

What's blades (pre-NXE) mean? Also, it's dashboard version 2.0.89550, so I guess I'm screwed there. What other options are there?

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Not JTAGable then.

You can flash the DVD drive and play games from burnt DVD+R DL instead...

Moved to the right section btw ;)

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Originally Posted by Inferno.

Not JTAGable then.

You can flash the DVD drive and play games from burnt DVD+R DL instead...

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I'm cool with that. It has a BenQ drive with FW: 64930C

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Originally Posted by Tayls

I'm cool with that. It has a BenQ drive with FW: 64930C

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Ridiculously easy to flash then.

Guide here:
http://www.jungleflasher.net/downloads.html

Heres how u solve it...DONT BUY MICROSOFT XBOX 360 MEANS ITS BROKEN OR IN SHOP 360 DAYS OUT OF THE YEAR

Ok, I got the files. How do I use it? Hotfile won't let me download the tutorial for another 28 minutes. :<

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Originally Posted by Tayls

Ok, I got the files. How do I use it? Hotfile won't let me download the tutorial for another 28 minutes. :<

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Flashing a BenQ is so easy.

I'll find another link for the guide brb.

Megaupload isn't working so I'll have to upload it to Rapidshare instead. :/

http://rapidshare.com/files/448815410/jftut1.3.8.pdf

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Originally Posted by TheGreatZio

Heres how u solve it...DONT BUY MICROSOFT XBOX 360 MEANS ITS BROKEN OR IN SHOP 360 DAYS OUT OF THE YEAR

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Shut up you bellend.

EDIT: Tutorial mirror posted in the post above, Tayls. ;)

Ok, got your messages and the tutorial (thanks a bunch), but I have one last concern, and that's the LT+ firmware. According to IXtreme's forum and download thread for the LT+, the latest version does not support my 64930C drive. http://www.ixtreme.net/lt-lite-touch...uch-t2485.html

Or did I misread that? Maybe that's the list of Liteon drives that are currently supported and that all BenQ drives are supported. Can you clarify for me?

Edit:
Oh and one last thing! Can I still update my 360 (I might as well since I can't J-Tag it)?

Yes you can update the dashboard, do it before you flash the drive.

BenQ iXtreme LT+v1.1 Lite Touch Firmware Download << Get that one, all BenQs are the same, so one firmware works on all. :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Inferno.

Yes you can update the dashboard, do it before you flash the drive.

BenQ iXtreme LT+v1.1 Lite Touch Firmware Download << Get that one, all BenQs are the same, so one firmware works on all. :)

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OIC. Thanks for everything so far. I can't wait to get this working. At this point, it looks like the hardest part now is gonna be just connecting the drive to my PC to flash it. Didn't we used to have a "Thanks" button around here somewhere? (:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by TheGreatZio

Heres how u solve it...DONT BUY MICROSOFT XBOX 360 MEANS ITS BROKEN OR IN SHOP 360 DAYS OUT OF THE YEAR

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HAHAHAHAHAHA!

eat shit