XBox Repair Guide
Of all the gaming consoles out there right now, the XBox 360 is definitely one of the most popular among gamers, however it’s also the one most in need of an XBox Repair Guide. While the console’s capabilities are amazing, there are some down sides to it; Halo 3 getting postponed was a big one, then there’s the inability most people have to afford an HD tv to make use of its high def capabilities, or even a membership to XBox live. Most importantly, there’s its tendency to overheat, which finally leads to the dreaded Red Ring of Death.
When the over heating occurs, it damages the guts of the console itself; the hard drive, DVD drive, video card and so on. Insufficient cooling systems in the design are what allow this to be possible, and when the system gets too hot, it fails. Failure means shutting down and displaying 3 red lights, the RRoD. Normally this means the console is done and it’s time for an XBox Repair Guide.
If your 360 is still under warranty, which is doubtful, you can send it off to the Microsoft repair center for over a month to get it fixed for free. Sadly if your warranty is up, this will set you back $150 bucks US.
Alternatively, you could get your hands on an XBox Repair Guide and do the repairs yourself. An electronics guide like this can be obtained online for immediate download from the sale site. Usually you can fix your 360 for FAR less than 150 dollars and in WAY less time than a month.
The RRoD is the most common problem that an XBox Repair Guide will focus on, but overheating is not the only reason a system can fail. Something else could have happened to the motherboard to cause the console to die, so you need to have some standards when choosing your guide.
Ideally, your XBox Repair Guide should have online links and Youtube vids to help expand on what the guide itself says. Being able to see someone actually doing a repair will make it much easier for most people. As I said above, the RRoD is the most common problem the guides deal with, but any guide worth its salt will have a few more repair options just in case.
Personally I’d prefer an XBox Repair Guide with video compared to just a PDF book which may or may not have pictures. While a PDF might have extremely detailed instructions, if you’re net techy enough you can end up doing far more harm than good. Be sure to get a guide with at least a 30 day refund, so that if it goes too far over your head or ends up being useless because your 360 is a lost cause, you can get your money back.
Getting the repair play-by-play from a video is far superior to just a book. Also make sure you’re well studied on Xbox diagnostics, for example; 1 red light and an onscreen error. 2 and 3 flashing lights means the disc drive is having troubles. Graphic problems are obvious such as freezing or corrupted pictures. Be sure to choose an XBox Repair Guide that you can not only understand, but is appropriate for your particular problem.