Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Xbox 360 ezine 2

Xbox 360 is a video game console that has been undergoing some tough times in recent times as its hardware is experiencing some kind of problem. The problem is that the console shows up a red light when operating i.e. showing an error in the console. The lights are those that surround the power button called as the power ring as they are arranged in a ring fashion. These lights are capable of glowing in green and red colors. The color depends upon the condition of the console, when operating normally then green lights glow else red lights glow. Also the number of lights that glows depends upon the type of error and in case of the Xbox 360 there are totally four errors which are nothing but the single, two, three and four red lights error.

THREE RED LIGHTS ERROR

The three red lights error is something different from the rest of the errors as this error is difficult to solve by the users themselves. Generally, all kinds of type of red lights are designed in such a manner that they can be solved by the users themselves. But, the problem with the three red light error is that the users were unable to find the reason behind the occurrence of the error. In case of other type of errors the system itself will come up with an error message on the screen showing where the error has occurred. But, in case of the three red lights error an error message occurs as a code, i.e. E74. With this the user cannot able to solve the problem.

EPICENTRE OF THE PROBLEM

The reason for the occurrence of the three red lights error is the cooling problem. The console gets heated up to a very high temperature than normal so that the console cannot able to withstand the heat developed inside and thus affects the components of the motherboard. The reason is that the cooling provided is not sufficient to handle the heat generated even though internal intercoolers are provided. Experts say that the reason for this can also due to the design of the console as Microsoft developed the console with so many features within a single system. Thus this might have caused a lack in proper space for the components inside the console and reducing the air flow from the external.

ANSWER TO THE PROBLEM

The problem can be solved by providing some cooling solution to the console. The console must have sufficient cooling to bring the hot air inside to a normal level. This can be done in many ways but the simplest way to solve the problem is to remove the X clamps from the motherboard that act as the support to the heat sinks above. By removing these there is possibility of air flowing from the downward direction so that the processors can be cooled from the downward direction. The repairing can also be done in different methods but the most economical method is to repair the console by the user themselves. For this the user need to get a video tutorial from the internet. These tutorials are prepared by experts that will help the user to repair the consol in a set by set manner. The main advantage is that the fix is a permanent one and also a guaranteed one which you cannot expect from any other repairing methods.




The Xbox 360 is a video game console which is recently reported with hardware problems. The console is manufactured by Microsoft Corporation especially to cover game freaks. The console was developed with an objective that it covers the expectation of all game lovers and satisfies them. Thus the console came with many features when compared with other video game consoles in the market. Thus when introduced to the market it was considered one of the best consoles in the market as they had many features and well equipped.

HARDWARE PROBLEM

The console while in the middle of the game shows up some strange signs i.e. the user sees three red lights glowing in the power ring and also there is an error message E74 on the screen. Sometimes the console may also get restarted suddenly in the middle of the game. Thus this irritates the users and disappoints them. Generally, red lights in an electronic gadget represents the sign of some kind of problem in them and in similar way only the Xbox 360 also designed to inform the user which such kind of automated error indicating setup in the console. Also the users complain that the console gets overheated i.e. they were not able to play with that for long hour.

ERROR

The error that has occurred now is called as the three red light error as the power ring shows three red lights glowing when ever this problem occurs. In Xbox the errors are named after the number of red lights glowing in the power ring. The total error in the console is four and they are called as the single, two, three and four red lights error. All these errors are simple and when occurred they are solved by the users themselves as these errors will clearly indicate where and what error has occurred through the error message. But in case of the three red lights error the error message being a code it is found to be difficult to find the exact error by the user and they were unable to solve the problem.

SOLVING THE PROBLEM

The three red light error occurs due to the problem in cooling the console. Since the consoles is jammed packed with components the heat sinks inside were unable to control the heat developed the console. The internal heat when played for long hours affects the performance of the electronic components in the motherboard. Thus this is the cause for the sudden restart of the console while we are playing. Thus in order to avoid the overheating we need to cool the console do that the internal temperature is always normal. Experts say that Microsoft designed the console with the sense that if the heat generated is high then normal the external air would help in cooling but since the ventilation gaps are low that arrangement also failed in this method.

The red light error can be solved by simply removing the X clamps of the heat sinks. As we remove these air from the external flow inside the console from the downward direction cooling the processors from the below. This simple repair can be done by the owners themselves with the help of video tutorials from the internet. These tutorials are prepared by experts and they clearly explain the process. Thus the console is repaired in an economical way when compared with other methods.



Videogame console today are manufactured such a way that their configuration are way to superior to the normal PC. These components are specially designed and developed for only playing games. As these consoles came to existence only because the normal PC cannot able to match to the gaming requirements and also when installed they also affects the performance of the PC too. Thus such gaming consoles came into the market and the famous ones are the Microsoft’s Xbox, the Sony’s Playstation, Nintendo's Wii, etc. The Xbox 360 was released later with few upgrading features and was considered as the most economical one when it came to the market. But now it is facing some tough times as its console is show some kind of hardware problems.

XBOX 360 – CONSOLE PROBLEM

The console shows some kind of error and it is called by the name as three red lights error. The console shows some three red lights in the power ring area when the error occurs. The power ring is nothing but the power button surrounded by lights that are capable of glowing in green and red colors. The console when in normal condition then greed lights glows in all the lights but when it is in trouble then the red light glows and also the number of lights glow depends upon the type of the error that took place at that time.

REASON BEHIND THE OCCURRENCE

The console is designed so that the single device covers the maximum features but as the body of the console is designed in a very simple and sleek fashion the console is exhibiting over heat inside the console due to lack of proper cooling inside the console. Though intercoolers are provided the heat sinks were unable to handle them as the heat generated is enormous. There were talks that the intercooler fan is responsible for such an act as it takes large amount of power through the console’s motherboard and hence as a result it affects the other components in motherboard. Thus to avoid the three red light error the only way is to provide cooling solution to the console by some means.

SOLUTION

The red light error can be solved by providing additional cooling to the console this can be done in many ways like removal of the X clamps, adding an additional intercooler fan to the heat sinks, etc. but when compared to all the removal of the X clamps is considered as the most economical method. As when done the air flow to the console from the downward direction and it directly cools the processor from the downward direction.

The repairing can also be done in a simple way similar to the solution to this problem. Though there are several methods available for repairing the console the best method is to repair the console by own. This kind of repair gives a guaranteed fix to the problem and also it’s cost effective when compared to giving the console to a service centre. For repairing the console by own the owners must get a video tutorial from the internet that will help them in the repairing process. This method also saves time as the repair work can be completed within two to three hours where it will take around 4 to 12 weeks when the console is given to a service centre.