Hi, I've had this problem for quite some time and just want to get this resolved. I'll give a brief rundown of what happened...
-Got the RROD
-did the xclamp fix and leveled out the motherboard
-applied new thermal compound between heatsinks and motherboard
-turned on the 360 and now got '2' RROD instead of '3' RROD
-Kept trying and still got 2 RROD
-Took the 360 appart again
-Re-leveled the motherboard and added new thermal compound
-turned back on, still getting 2RROD
Can someone please slap me in the face with their creative ingenuity so I can finally get back to gaming? I would appreciate any helpful responses.
2 lights mean the system/CPU is overheating. did u do the overheat trick where u take the fan away from the GPU and focus it on the CPU. if the CPU isnt cooled enough it will overheat and that is not good, you only want to overheat the GPU during the fix. Also you said you applied new thermal paste twice. did you clean the old paste off before applying new paste? Also how much paste did you apply, too much or too little can have an adverse affect.
I did not try placing the fan over the cpu (didnt know to do that) and i will give it a shot...but even still doesnt that mean id have to leave the fan loose in the system?
I did remove all the compound before adding a new layer..I put about the same amount (maybe less) then the thickness of a peice of paper.
Maybe I missed something durring the fix, how long should I let the system heat without the fan so the compound sets?
u need to find a good tutorial on how to do this or re-read one u have.
the compund is not being set by the overheating at all that has nothing to do with it.
im at work and do not have time to explain it all, sorry. there are some good tutorials out there that explain what to do and why.
i dont know how you could have gotten this far without some good directions though. u should first read what causes rood and it will help you to understand what the fix does and even better how to do it.
Thanks for the link, the steps I followed were pretty much the same thing and now I see where the problem is.
Instead of the 3 rrod I now only have 2 rrod and cannot sufficiently overheat the gpu. The way they explain in the tutorial is that the cpu needs to stay cooled so the gpu can overheat but at this point I should still have 3 rrod. I have 2 rrod.
The only question now is how do I fix it? Can I get back to 3 rrod? Please dont tell me Im screwed now...Any ideas?
ok 2 red lights mean the chips are getting to hot.
There are somethings you can do. and make sure u do it right and do not half ass it or it will not work, im not saying thats what u have been doing, just trying emphasize how important it is to be thurough.
1. clean all the old thermal compound from the chips, very important to get it all.
2. when you apply new thermal compund you only need to use a small dot about the size of a grain of rice in the center of the chip. You can either place the heatsink on the chip and firmly press down to spread it all around but you need to remove it to check and make sure all areas are covered. or you can spread it with a credit card of similar. It is important to make sure all areas are covered, and also make sure you dont use too much or it will flow off the chips onto the board and thats not good. and also make sure you clean the heatsink also it is just as important for the same reasons.
3. when u put the heatsink back on make sure you screw it down tightly and in a criss cross patern. do not tighten one corner completely before doing the others. Start on one corner and tighten it half way or less and then go to the opposite corner and do the same and continue criss crossing to other screws tightening in increments untill all are tightened down. it is imprtant to get even presure applied.
make sure everything is tight and secure. if all works out then the 2 redlights should go away and it should work. now if the console is to far gone it may have damaged the cpu which is just too bad. but if u get 3 red lights again do not worry cause maybe the overheating just didnt take. do not take the heatsink off again, if anything just tighten the clamp more and then do the overheating trick by placing the fan over the cpu and heating the gpu. if i were you i would do all this and test with the case off cause putting it all back together eachtime would be annoying. also make sure ur console isnt in a enclosed cabinet or entertainment center, keep it in the open and away from carpet.
another good idea, look at ur heatsink and if u see tons of dirt and dust between the little blades u should clean that out cause that is hampering the airflow and actually capturing heat.
That was very thorough thanks for taking the time to type that out. Ill do exactly that and post my results.
Theres just 1 thing I wanted to add, The bottom of the heatsink was dirty and I havent really been able to get a mirror finish on it, even after using rubbing alcohol. So I tried another standard cleaning product and still didnt get it all. I dont think its enough to stop it from working but im sure its not helping either.
