Can You Prevent Or Fix The Xbox 360 3 Flashing Red Lights?

By now every broadband availability 360 gamer is familiar with Dsl Lite "3 red lights of doom" metaphor. For free internet speed test newbie: this is a problem associated with the sudden death of the affected Xbox consoles. The consoles that display the red lights of death are defective to start with: some have bad ventilation systems and some have motherboard design flaws. The good news is that in many cases the "sudden death" is just a clinical death - you can prevent or fix some of the Xbox 360s that display the 3 flashing red lights.

There are some very good solutions on the Web that do not involve waiting 6 weeks and paying a small fortune to repair the console and getting the chance to enjoy the Xbox 360 world again. By following some basic tips and or doing the repair yourself, the 3 red lights of doom do not have to spell disaster.

First of all, the 3 red light error is caused by overheated system circuits. Overheating will eventually cause a permanent breakdown, but if you are lucky the first time you get it the error may just be a warning. If this is the case the solution is as simple as shutting off the console and letting the system cool down, then restarting and making sure that the Xbox has adequate ventilation. This can be accomplished by relocating the unit if it is in a confined space or using a house fan to cool. Limiting heat to the vital components can prolong the life of even healthy systems, as well as those prone to hardware issues.

Another good way of creating a better cooling environment for your system is to purchase an aftermarket intercooler. These systems plug into the back of the console and provide additional cooling to the component. However, if the 3 red light error will not go away, it will be necessary for you to either fix it yourself or send it off to Microsoft - especially if the console is still in warranty, because then the repair will be free. As always, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, so setting up a better cooling environment is the best chance a user has to prolong the life of an Xbox 360.

Finally, there are some really good manuals and repair kits that can help Xbox 360 owners maintain their systems and sometimes even repair the malfunction that triggered the 3 red lights error. In the event of a hardware breakage (which is possible) the repair guides do not always include information about repairing CPUs or motherboards. Even if the manuals or kits contain information about how to replace the parts, getting the parts is a costly proposition. If you are lucky and can catch the problem before permanent damage is done, prolonging the life of your system should be easy.

Alexander Thompson is an expert on hardware and software within the games industry.

View his recommended Xbox 360 repair guide by clicking on the link below:

Xbox 360 Repair Guide