Need Help With Freezing XBOX

02/29/12 11:34 pm | #1

Every time I play my XBOX for about an hour and a half to 2 hours (whether it be online or not), it seems to freeze on me. I believe it is because the console is overheating, but am not sure. Does this ever happen to anyone else? Any suggestions? Should I put a fan near the console? Any help appreciated.

Thanks.

Good Night & Good Luck,

GentlemanJack40

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Re: Need Help With Freezing XBOX

02/29/12 11:42 pm | #2

Do you get any red lights when it happens? Two blinking lights on the left side of your ring of light means your console is overheating.

What does it do when you turn it off and restart it? Does it ever boot up with sound, but no video?

There are a few things that cause freezing. Is it a slim or a phat? How old is it? Has it ever been opened up?

I know there are a lot of questions, but I'm trying to narrow down your problem!

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Re: Need Help With Freezing XBOX

02/29/12 11:50 pm | #3

I have the same problem. My Xbox freezes from time to time, especially when I play Skyrim for a while. I don't have any red lights thankfully (knock on wood), but it gets annoying. I turn it off, turn on the base fan I've got and let it cool for a bit before I turn it back on and get back to gaming. I live in the middle of the desert too, so it's always hot here.

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Re: Need Help With Freezing XBOX

03/01/12 12:02 am | #4

First off to both of you, make sure that your power brick is plugged directly into the wall and not into an extension cord or power strip. Next time it freezes, look at your power brick and see what color the light is.

Power bricks are a pretty big culprit for 360 freezing, and it's a cheap and easy fix compared to CPU and GPU problems. That is the first thing I would check.

Anyway, I'm off to bed, but I'll check back tomorrow and see if I can help you guys figure it out!

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Re: Need Help With Freezing XBOX

03/01/12 11:54 am | #5

No I have not experienced either the two red rings (or any for that matter) nor have I heard the sounds. I am just assuming that the XBOX has been on for too long and was curious if there is a way to keep it cool.

Thanks
GentlemanJack40

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Re: Re: Need Help With Freezing XBOX

03/01/12 1:15 pm | #6

Quote by GentlemanJack40:

No I have not experienced either the two red rings (or any for that matter) nor have I heard the sounds. I am just assuming that the XBOX has been on for too long and was curious if there is a way to keep it cool.

Thanks
GentlemanJack40

Well nobody ever wants to hear it, but it's not as simple as cooling it down with a fan. The only way it's overheating and not giving you two red lights is if someone opened your Xbox and cut the thermostat trace on your motherboard.

Do you get any kind of pattern when it freezes, like a checkerboard? Or does it just freeze in-game? Does it ever happen when you play arcade games? Or just retail?

Do you have another 360 or a buddy with one that he might be able to bring it over? If so, try swapping the power brick and playing to see if it still happens.

If the brick is not the problem, then it is most likely internal. Two hours of playtime shouldn't push your console beyond it's limits, so there's something wrong, no matter how hot your house is.

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Re: Need Help With Freezing XBOX

03/01/12 1:39 pm | #7

To save from typing this again, this is what I posted in a different thread about a similar problem. He didn't have exactly the same problem as you, but what's going on is similar if it's not the power supply. I can only speculate without more info, so this isn't gospel.

Quote by theEVOL1:

Quote by Grenade Rising:

Tried a friends power supply, same result. So I'll be needing to open my xbox it seems.

OK. Do you have a plan for what you are going to do when you open it up?

I was seriously hoping it was the PSU, because that is easy and cheap to replace. Most likely what you have is a GPU solder failure. It's a red ring of death without the fancy lights.

When you get the RROD, what happens is that your chipset, (usually the GPU, but sometimes the CPU or both) gets so hot that the plastic of your motherboard begins to warp, but the chips themselves stay rigid. The solder beneath the chips comes apart effectively disconnecting your GPU or CPU from your motherboard. The console interprets this as a general hardware failure and translates it to the famous three red lights every xbox owner dreads.

However, there is not always a clean break. You are not necessarily overheating as much as you have overheated in the past and that has compromised the solder joint. If you were still overheating, you would get the two red lights on the left side blinking. This is the internal thermostat telling your xbox that it is too hot.

What you have is most likely a partial separation of your chip from the motherboard in which the connection is just strong enough to allow you to do the low use things like dashboard and probably even original xbox titles, I would bet. Once you start getting into those heavy graphics pushing titles, your failure occurs. It's just that your failure isn't bad enough to send the 3 ring signal.

Cleaning it thoroughly will help, but it is only a temporary solution. As soon as the dust and debris build back up, you will be back to the same old problem. Eventually it will sever completely and you will get the RROD. It's only a matter of time.

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Re: Need Help With Freezing XBOX

03/01/12 3:27 pm | #8

i build electronics for a living and while solder joint failure is likely, its not from overheating. The temp of the joint would have to reach at least 650 degrees. I just dont believe the xbox gets that hot inside. They are a class 1 product which is basically a fancy way of saying this product does not meet exceptional standards and most likely will fail. It would also have to be about 650 degrees for 5-10 mins to make the mother board warp. The board is not plastic, its multilayer Fiberglas and copper. Ive seen the inside of an xbox and it looks like a 5 year old soldered it. Basically its a cheap peice of shit that has a very high failure rate. You could open it up and touch up all the solder joints yourself. That would make it alot more reliable, unless you dont know what your doing.

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Re: Re: Need Help With Freezing XBOX

03/01/12 4:37 pm | #9

Quote by punchuintheeye:

i build electronics for a living and while solder joint failure is likely, its not from overheating. The temp of the joint would have to reach at least 650 degrees. I just dont believe the xbox gets that hot inside. They are a class 1 product which is basically a fancy way of saying this product does not meet exceptional standards and most likely will fail. It would also have to be about 650 degrees for 5-10 mins to make the mother board warp. The board is not plastic, its multilayer Fiberglas and copper. Ive seen the inside of an xbox and it looks like a 5 year old soldered it. Basically its a cheap peice of shit that has a very high failure rate. You could open it up and touch up all the solder joints yourself. That would make it alot more reliable, unless you dont know what your doing.

You're right to say the chips don't get hot enough to melt the solder and blaming it on a design flaw is absolutely correct.

The overheating isn't making the solder melt, it is exposing the weakness of cold solder joints and lead-free solder that Microsoft used to attach the chips to the mobo. The chips only reach around 220F before the console will shut down, so it would be foolish to think the solder would liquefy at running temps. The problem is that even at that reletively low temp, the bad joints that previously existed deteriorate with dirt dust and other junk.

The mobo warp is also due to the design flaw of the cheap X-clamps used to try to force the chip and board up against the heat sinks. Once again, you're right, operating temperatures alone will not cause mobo warpage, but coupled with the lateral stress from the clamps, it flexes enough to strain the joints.

I would go on record as saying that if MS used well done lead based solder joints, they would've most likely had less than 1/10 as many failures.

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Re: Re: Re: Need Help With Freezing XBOX

03/02/12 10:44 pm | #10

Quote by theEVOL1:

You're right to say the chips don't get hot enough to melt the solder and blaming it on a design flaw is absolutely correct.

The overheating isn't making the solder melt, it is exposing the weakness of cold solder joints and lead-free solder that Microsoft used to attach the chips to the mobo. The chips only reach around 220F before the console will shut down, so it would be foolish to think the solder would liquefy at running temps. The problem is that even at that reletively low temp, the bad joints that previously existed deteriorate with dirt dust and other junk.

The mobo warp is also due to the design flaw of the cheap X-clamps used to try to force the chip and board up against the heat sinks. Once again, you're right, operating temperatures alone will not cause mobo warpage, but coupled with the lateral stress from the clamps, it flexes enough to strain the joints.

I would go on record as saying that if MS used well done lead based solder joints, they would've most likely had less than 1/10 as many failures.

i totally agree. I was just calling it like i saw it. And if they had used well done lead based solder joint they would have saved a lot of money, but they wouldn't be allowed to sell them in Europe. RoHS denies electronics containing lead to be sold in many European countries.

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Re: Need Help With Freezing XBOX

03/02/12 11:10 pm | #11

I'm pretty sure that North America is well on its way to the same lead free standards.

I understand the health concerns with lead based solder, but the quality certainly takes a big hit.

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