Kind of neat and I thought I would share.
I just finished fixing a second Xbox 360 with the dreaded RROD. It was a pretty straight forward procedure, and I thought I would share it. The guys who owned the Xboxes had already opened them so the warranty was voided, this meant I could go in and work on them without worrying about that.:naughty:
To accomplish this I had done a little reading, (at the time I was on the boat for a workup so I had very very limited internet access) and discovered that the primary problem was when the XBOX got hot the mainboard would warp, this seems to be a manufacture defect as a mainboard in those conditions should really have a metal frame to prevent flex. Whatever the reason, a lack of design proficiency, cost cutting, the 360 does not have this. So the mainboard flexes when it heats up. Unfortunately as the mainboard does this one of the larger chips (GPU) becomes susceptible separation after several heat cycles. A few of the hundred or so small solder points under the chip break away. This is further aided by the fact that they used lead free solder, for environmental reasons, and lead free solder doesn't have any flex to it, it's brittle. So those two problems combine to create a very bad situation inside the XBOX. :evil5:
To fix it, I broke it down to just the mainboard. I removed the heat sinks so the bare chip were exposed and so that they wouldn't remove any of the heat I was about to apply. Next I moved the four thermal pads that they had place on the memory chips on the underside or the board, too directly underneath the GPU chip This will help transfer heat from the hot plate I'm going to use next to where it needs to be. Next I place the mainboard on the hot plate. I turn on the hot plate and dialed it to 330°F. Any less and I found I couldn’t get the solder to melt properly. Next I used a thermaljet set to 900°F to blow hot air underneath the GPU. Then I used a non marring tool to gently apply a small amount of pressure to the top of the GPU(This part must be done very VERY carefully as to avoid damaging the delicate GPU) The next XBOX 360 I fix I will see if I can eliminate this step as I don’t like doing it. I blew hot air on all four sides, as well as the top of the GPU chip for roughly five to six minutes. Any shorter and I wasn’t able to melt the solder points underneath properly. After this I let it cool down, and returned the thermal pads I had moved to their original location. This completed the repair portion of this. Next I reassembled the Xbox.:arcadefre
One thing to note upon reassembly is I replaced the thermal paste that was originally on the GPU and CPU with arctic silver 5. This should aid in cooling of the Xbox. People who have built computers before should understand how to apply it, if not there are countless how to guides on the internet for just such a procedure. Remember you only need a very thin film of thermal compound not a big glob, as the guys that originally assembled the 360 seem to think. :nono:
Also, remember, this only repairs the effect, it does not fix the original problem. The factory defect is still there, as well as the potential for it to happen again. The only band aid to the original problem that I have heard about is using better heat sinks that have stronger bracing on the back side of the board. This helps keep the mainboard from flexing as much around the chipsets. I’m not sure which heatsinks they are, or where to get them.
One of the reasons I’m putting this up here, is so there is another documented procedure defining what must be done and where the problem is. As Microsoft is still denying the defect and even the problem area. :3d_frown: They accept that a few of their 360’s need repaired and that is a much as they will admit. I have seen with my own two eyes that the problem is the GPU, and proven it by fixing it.:rant2: Plus I thought it might be informative for anybody that is interested in this stuff.
I just finished fixing a second Xbox 360 with the dreaded RROD. It was a pretty straight forward procedure, and I thought I would share it. The guys who owned the Xboxes had already opened them so the warranty was voided, this meant I could go in and work on them without worrying about that.:naughty:
To accomplish this I had done a little reading, (at the time I was on the boat for a workup so I had very very limited internet access) and discovered that the primary problem was when the XBOX got hot the mainboard would warp, this seems to be a manufacture defect as a mainboard in those conditions should really have a metal frame to prevent flex. Whatever the reason, a lack of design proficiency, cost cutting, the 360 does not have this. So the mainboard flexes when it heats up. Unfortunately as the mainboard does this one of the larger chips (GPU) becomes susceptible separation after several heat cycles. A few of the hundred or so small solder points under the chip break away. This is further aided by the fact that they used lead free solder, for environmental reasons, and lead free solder doesn't have any flex to it, it's brittle. So those two problems combine to create a very bad situation inside the XBOX. :evil5:
To fix it, I broke it down to just the mainboard. I removed the heat sinks so the bare chip were exposed and so that they wouldn't remove any of the heat I was about to apply. Next I moved the four thermal pads that they had place on the memory chips on the underside or the board, too directly underneath the GPU chip This will help transfer heat from the hot plate I'm going to use next to where it needs to be. Next I place the mainboard on the hot plate. I turn on the hot plate and dialed it to 330°F. Any less and I found I couldn’t get the solder to melt properly. Next I used a thermaljet set to 900°F to blow hot air underneath the GPU. Then I used a non marring tool to gently apply a small amount of pressure to the top of the GPU(This part must be done very VERY carefully as to avoid damaging the delicate GPU) The next XBOX 360 I fix I will see if I can eliminate this step as I don’t like doing it. I blew hot air on all four sides, as well as the top of the GPU chip for roughly five to six minutes. Any shorter and I wasn’t able to melt the solder points underneath properly. After this I let it cool down, and returned the thermal pads I had moved to their original location. This completed the repair portion of this. Next I reassembled the Xbox.:arcadefre
One thing to note upon reassembly is I replaced the thermal paste that was originally on the GPU and CPU with arctic silver 5. This should aid in cooling of the Xbox. People who have built computers before should understand how to apply it, if not there are countless how to guides on the internet for just such a procedure. Remember you only need a very thin film of thermal compound not a big glob, as the guys that originally assembled the 360 seem to think. :nono:
Also, remember, this only repairs the effect, it does not fix the original problem. The factory defect is still there, as well as the potential for it to happen again. The only band aid to the original problem that I have heard about is using better heat sinks that have stronger bracing on the back side of the board. This helps keep the mainboard from flexing as much around the chipsets. I’m not sure which heatsinks they are, or where to get them.
One of the reasons I’m putting this up here, is so there is another documented procedure defining what must be done and where the problem is. As Microsoft is still denying the defect and even the problem area. :3d_frown: They accept that a few of their 360’s need repaired and that is a much as they will admit. I have seen with my own two eyes that the problem is the GPU, and proven it by fixing it.:rant2: Plus I thought it might be informative for anybody that is interested in this stuff.
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