There have been a lot of questions on the internet as to how to fix or repair Xbox 360 red lights or red ring of death error. Working as a test engineer and testing Xbox 360 games every day, I got interested: my Xbox 360 at work has never experienced such a problem, but after consulting my colleagues I understood that the issue is far from being resolved. So, I tried my best to disclose the red ring of death mystery and offer some methods to help those who are in despair.

THREE RED LIGHTS ISSUE CAUSES

I found out top 3 reasons why Xbox 360 red ring of death error appears.

Reason 1: Overheating

It is evident overheating may damage electronics and Xbox 360 console has got the same components inside as a high-end gaming personal computer.

Reason 2: Poor Xbox 360 graphics processor unit technical side

Your console video card may require too much cooling, and the fan might not cope with that task.

Reason 3: Bad Power Brick Position

The power brick in the console may be responsible for overheating.

3 RED LIGHTS ERROR PREVENTION

In order to prevent the red ring of death error you are advised:

* To keep your console far from heating devices like radiators,

* Not to keep your power brick on the floor,

* To use additional fans or other cooling devices available on the market.

XBOX 360 RED RING OF DEATH FIX

You are sure to have heard about several ways to fix Xbox 360 red lights issue if you have been studying the topic for at least some hours. You should have then found out something about the "towel" method, which I find exotic and really harmful. After finding out that the problem consists in overheating one should be crazy to cover his or her Xbox 360 console into a towel!

The only safe way to fix the red lights issue is to exchange your console for a new working one. It is possible as Microsoft released a statement formally announcing the problem and offered a 3-year warranty for this specific fault. The only down side of this was that the console had to be sent back to Microsoft, who would then send a new one "within a few weeks". You are getting a free Xbox 360 console with free shipping so really there is no real harm in choosing this option.

If your MS warranty is void, you might need to try the ways to repair your Xbox 360 console yourself. The Do-It-Yourself way consists in taking Xbox 360 apart and then reassembling it. It is possible to do everything using a mere screwdriver. All you have to do is to take the cover off, take the hard drive out, leave the console like this for some time and then reassemble the console. This way may guarantee that your console will work as usual if the red ring of death appeared due to overheating, and as you see overheating is the major 3 red lights error cause.

If that doesn't help, you had better try looking for a new console as your console might suffer from a hardware failure that cannot be fixed using usual house tools.