Xbox360 Over Heating Problems

Begen

Begen

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Since yesturday my xbox has over heated twice. Yesturday I was playing it for like 6+ hours playing FFXI and it over heated randomly.

I kind of took the cords apart and dusted it off because it was really dusty. I turned it back on after like 10 mins and it ran fine for the rest of the night.

Now today it has over heated again. I blew into where the fan is in the xbox and a lot of dust blew out, (thought I got all of the dust) and now it over heated again. Anyone know what the problem might be?

Before you say the position of the xbox is in a bad area, I've been playing with it in the same area for 4+ years now and have never had any over heating problems till now. Even some days where I have played up to 10 hours I shamefully admit it has never had any problems.

I am thinking of buying an intercooling fan for it but I dunno if any of you guys have any other suggestions?
 
When did you get your system? It's probably something internally. You could try increasing the air flow around it, but I don't really think that'll help. And unless the fan is Nyco, don't bother. The other ones, afaik, are junk.
 
Malagra said:
When did you get your system? It's probably something internally. You could try increasing the air flow around it, but I don't really think that'll help. And unless the fan is Nyco, don't bother. The other ones, afaik, are junk.
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It's about 2-3 years old. I am thinking that there is a great build up of dust inside it because when I cleaned it out a little, a whole bunch of dust came out. I didn't take it apart completely, just the outer shells.
 
The problem is the dust.
What happens is the dust builds up inside the system and covers over some of the microchips and heats up, becomes a gunk/residue on the chip/board and causes it to over heat because its blanketed in dust.
Ive had a couple friends now that have brought me their xbox's saying they have been over heating/freezing etc.
and everytime i open them up they are caked in dust, and most of the dustballs cannot be removed without actually opening the system.

You must examine the motherboard and look for any caked on dirt and use a moist cotton swab to clean off any areas caked in gunk including the chips then dry them off before even thinking about putting it back together.

This should be done every couple of months after your warranty expires to keep it in top condition.
This will solve the overheating problem and has for any case in which this was the cause i have encountered, and from your story it really sounds to me like this is the case.

And intercooler will not help your problem and im still uncertain how those things remain on the market with the rate of failures they actually cause more than help, and they dont do enough to help keep the inside cooled anyway. just take great care and time in cleaning the system out and do it on a consistent basis.
I have kept up with my console since launch, and i still have a launch console that has never had an issue.
 
Chasym said:
The problem is the dust.
What happens is the dust builds up inside the system and covers over some of the microchips and heats up, becomes a gunk/residue on the chip/board and causes it to over heat because its blanketed in dust.
Ive had a couple friends now that have brought me their xbox's saying they have been over heating/freezing etc.
and everytime i open them up they are caked in dust, and most of the dustballs cannot be removed without actually opening the system.

You must examine the motherboard and look for any caked on dirt and use a moist cotton swab to clean off any areas caked in gunk including the chips then dry them off before even thinking about putting it back together.

This should be done every couple of months after your warranty expires to keep it in top condition.
This will solve the overheating problem and has for any case in which this was the cause i have encountered, and from your story it really sounds to me like this is the case.

And intercooler will not help your problem and im still uncertain how those things remain on the market with the rate of failures they actually cause more than help, and they dont do enough to help keep the inside cooled anyway. just take great care and time in cleaning the system out and do it on a consistent basis.
I have kept up with my console since launch, and i still have a launch console that has never had an issue.
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Wow thank you so much. My brother and I are planning on opening it up this weekend before we make any big decisions. We were both really certain that dust build up is the issue.

However, for the future, I play my xbox very often. I play it for FFXI use only pretty much and have it on quite a bit of the time, when I am not playing FFXI I use it for DVD's and stuff. Do you think it would be a good idea to get an intercooling system anyways because I use the XBOX so much?
 
Intercoolers are never a good idea.
 
I'm surprised you still have a workin' system considerin' your systems age range falls in the old school build as much as you sound like you use it, lucky duck.

Anyway, just wanted to throw in another vote for no Intercooler, they've proven to cause more harm than good.
 
Begen said:
Wow thank you so much. My brother and I are planning on opening it up this weekend before we make any big decisions. We were both really certain that dust build up is the issue.

However, for the future, I play my xbox very often. I play it for FFXI use only pretty much and have it on quite a bit of the time, when I am not playing FFXI I use it for DVD's and stuff. Do you think it would be a good idea to get an intercooling system anyways because I use the XBOX so much?
Click to expand...

I think it was the Nyko Intercooler... I had one when i first purchased my 360 and it melted to the back of my 360. They are plagued with problems. Dont do it.
 
also might i add.
when doing this cleaning, take out the the plastic white vent/tunnel that is over the fans, it comes out by putting a flat head screwdriver into the clip and then clips right back in, there will be lots of dust and residue under there as well, also be sure to take out the disc drive and clean under it as well.

And i repeat, dont mess with the intercooler systems. If your really interested in getting a better cooling system inside there, then you can look up some deals online for home modders that actually do liquid cooling systems for the 360, Though this requires you to send out your 360 to someone to do it, and i wouldnt reccomend doing without lots of research into the place your sending it.
otherwise just take the little bit of time to take the cotton swab and a can of condensed air ever 2 or 3 months.
You do have the option since you seem to be fine opening it up to get some more powerful fans put inside there rather than the factory fans.
Might i recommend the Talismoon fans, They even light up!
http://www.talismoon.com/cgi-bin/version2/engine.pl?page=product-xbox360-whisperfan-blue


I have a launch 360, I play way more than most people i know, i have used my xbox for way more than gaming. I have burned out two lasers and one disc drive from playing it so much, and i still have had no hardware problems besides the average slowly dying of a disc drive.

I also have an Elite which i play mainly for online gaming, and no issues there either. just keep up with cleaning it.
 
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As other people have said, do not buy the cooling fan. As they cause melting XD

Mine had this problem once. I stuck a vacuum in the air holes on a low setting and a shit load of dust came out. But do that at your own risk.
 
Strid said:
I'm surprised you still have a workin' system considerin' your systems age range falls in the old school build as much as you sound like you use it, lucky duck.

Anyway, just wanted to throw in another vote for no Intercooler, they've proven to cause more harm than good.
Click to expand...

Any idea how long my xbox life has left? Lol.

Or does anyone have any idea? Rather than spending all this time and money (to replace lasers, disk drives, fans, etc.) I'd rather just spend the money to get a new xbox. I can safely say that I have gotten my money's worth lol.
 
Have you rang customer support and asked? Or asked your friend google?
 
Begen said:
Any idea how long my xbox life has left? Lol.

Or does anyone have any idea? Rather than spending all this time and money (to replace lasers, disk drives, fans, etc.) I'd rather just spend the money to get a new xbox. I can safely say that I have gotten my money's worth lol.
Click to expand...

Who knows. Mine lasted a little over two years, others only a few weeks. I'd say ride it like it is until it bites then go for the upgraded one. I wouldn't put any money into fixin' the one you have now though. I'd still clean it like Chas suggested, if you feel it's necessary, but I wouldn't put any money into the machines upkeep.
 
Perhaps not playing your 360 for over 6 hours straight would help. Geez man. I thought mine got a lot of use when I played a lot of xbox games, but that takes the cake.
 
Mine red-ringed on me Sunday while watching a movie on Netflix. It had been showing signs of an eventual demise for months, and it finally died.

I set up a repair ticket online. The box came three days later. I dropped it off at UPS yesterday, so we'll see how long it takes.

I literally just got my ps3 fixed, so this turn of events has upset me greatly.
 
sounds like its close to dying. my boss had the same scenario when his went. overheating multiple times, then the last time, just rrod after restarting. typically with electronics and such, that is the symptoms of complete failure coming soon if the problem isnt found.
 
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