Archive for January, 2011

Do you have something less than 4 green lights on the power button of your beloved Xbox?

Not sure what all of those lights mean? Here’s an easy-to-understand summary of all of the different error codes. In a follow-up post, we’ll talk about what you can do about them, if anything.

Xbox 360 Errror Light Codes

The green power light is ringed by 4 two-color LED lights – either green or red. As you can probably guess, GREEN=GOOD, RED = “OH CRAP”.  These four lights are identified by their quadrant. Here are the different quadrants:

Quadrant 1 (Q1) = Upper Left
Quadrant 2 (Q2) = Upper Right
Quadrant 3 (Q3) = Lower Left
Quadrant 4 (Q4) = Lower Right

You basically go left to right, top to bottom. If you lay it out in a grid, it looks like this:

Hardware Failure = When there is a hardware failure, the light in quadrant 4 (Q4) will flash with an ominous red color. There will also be an error code displayed on your screen, such as the infamous E74 error.

Overheating = If your Xbox gets too hot, the console will shut down to prevent damage (this is what should happen in theory, anyway) while the fans will continue to run and cool the unit. The lights in Quadrant 1 and Quadrant 3 (Q1+Q3)will flash until the console has cooled down. Make sure you have good airflow through your unit and that nothing is causing the system to overheat.

General Hardware Failure = When the system has a ‘general failure’, lights Q1, Q3 and Q4 will flash red… this is similar to the ‘Hardware Failure’ above, however there may not be an error code displayed on the screen.

AV Cable Error = When the AV Cable is not connected properly OR there is a serious error, all four lights will flash red. Good times.

If you’re reading this, I’m guessing your Xbox is suffering from the RROD (red ring of death), and you’re either:

1. Out of warranty – and out of luck  – OR-
2. You are a serious Xboxer and want to get up and running TODAY

That’s where the repair guides come in… there are currently more guides around than you can count, but the basic guide will walk you through a DIY Xbox fix using some common items you can find at your local Lowe’s or Radio Shack.

Are these guides worth it? or should you have someone professionally repair your Xbox? One of the more popular guides is the James Dean Xbox Repair guide, which focuses almost exclusively on the RROD error (which is caused by an overheating Xbox). It’s also one of the more expensive guides, but I have personally reviewed this guide, and I feel that it’s worth the money.

Why? First of all, you get access to eight online videos which walk you through – step-by-step – how to disassemble your beloved Xbox. Once the Xbox is apart, James walks you through the process of removing the heat sink, making the fixes, and then reassembling everything. If you’re comfortable turning a screwdriver, you can probably handle this operation. If you’ve ever added RAM to your computer, this isn’t really much more complicated than that.

You also get access to a complete ebook which discusses the process in detail with some other good information and tips. I suggest you watch all of the videos AND read the ebook before you begin. If you decide you’re in over your head, just return the product for a full refund. James is great about giving refunds to those who aren’t 100% satisfied.

On the downside, the RROD is really the only issue this guide addresses, so if you’re suffering from another problem, this guide won’t help you much. The only omission which I felt the guide left out (which probably goes without saying) that you should probably take a can of compressed air and thoroughly clean all of the dust out of your Xbox during this repair, as dust build-up can cause temperatures inside electronic devices to skyrocket. Even a thin layer of dust can act like a blanket and cause electronic devices to overheat. If you have pets in your house, the problem will be even worse due to pet dander accumulating inside of your Xbox and other electronic devices.

I would give this guide a 4 out of 5 stars! Great Job, James! You can also read my complete James Dean Xbox RROD Guide Review on Ezinearticles.