my 360 is dieing, thanks to the Crackdown Demo

[Lestat]

well after downloading the crackdown demo last night i played it for like 5 minutes then got blank screen (no video) and the system hard locked.
i power down and powered on a minute later.
the Splash screen was totally garbled and the audio sounded like a chicken hawk in heat.
i powered off and on again and it was ok.
so i decided to play some RB6. after about 30 minutes the screen turned into green checkerboards
if you know anything about computer type components when video goes to green checkerboards thats 1 of two things. the GPU is overheating really bad or the video ram is bad.

this is the first time this has ever happened to this 360 and it only happened AFTER i ran the Crackdown demo.


the case has been modded the 360 itself has not, so making a warranty call is out of the question as far as i know.

just a bit of warning when it comes to the crackdown demo.

[afireinside]

How can you be even remotely sure that the demo caused it to die?

[JeffnWV]

I love that avatar pic Lestat! LOL!

[Zardokk]

Thanks for being a participating member of the community, JeffnWV. I'm sure you just solved Lestat's problem for him. Regarding the problem, I'd say there probably is an issue with the video chip/RAM. Try Candyman's suggestion and clear the cache. See if it helps anything. Other than that, I really dunno...consoles aren't as user friendly as PCs.

[[XC]thewildblue]

You say your case is modded. Could it have pulled in more dust than usual and the components are now overheating ? I know mine blasts out the heat when gaming.

[jabski]

normal if its overheating you get error code.
As explained here

Sections 1, and 3 are flashing red
- Overheating
/ \
\ /
Alternativly Overheating can be cause by the console locking up or "freezing" after a set amount of time. Lockups that occur at a specific point in a game are generally problems with the game itself and not caused by overheating.

THINGS TO TRY
Let the Xbox 360 console cool.
Note You may have to wait several hours for the console to cool enough. Do not turn on the console when the console is hot.
Verify that the console has sufficient ventilation and that the fan is operating. For more information about ventilation, see the "More Information" section.
PREVENTION SUGGESTIONS
To try to prevent this problem, use the following precautions:
Do not block any ventilation openings on the Xbox 360 console.
Do not put the Xbox 360 console on a bed, on a sofa, or on any other soft surface that may block ventilation openings.
Do not put the Xbox 360 console in a confined space, such as a bookcase, a rack, or a stereo cabinet, unless the space is well-ventilated.
Do not put the Xbox 360 console near any heat source, such as a radiator, a heat register, a stove, or an amplifier.
DO NOT EVER PUT YOUR CONSOLE IN THE FREEZER OR OUT IN COLD WEATHER
Some people think that doing this might help "fix" an overheating console, in fact doing so could cause even bigger problems. Electronic devices like your console are made to function at and around room temperature, extreme cold temperatures can often cause just as many problems as extreme warm temperatures (such as overheating). Also if the console is located in a dramatically cold area while running, the difference in temperature between the hot console and cold air can create condensation which in turn will short out your console making the situation far worse. Condensation will happen more quickly if your console is overheating due to the greater difference in temperature. In short... DON'T DO IT.

A more agressive Solution to overheating is to improve the cooling system of the console. The best solution is to replace the thermal compound. If you attempt this you do so at your own risk. If you're console is still underwaranty it is recomended that you contact MS for a replacement before attempting to fix it yourself.

[Lestat]

just to report back since i posted this and left it.


How can you be even remotely sure that the demo caused it to die?

uhhh cuz it ran fine never once had a lock up or anything and then i installed the crackdown demo and the box is dead. end of story.


try deleting the hdd's cache


did that first thing, but technically as far as i ever knew oblivion was the only game that had the "delete cache" trick, which was booting the game up while holding the X key. i had done that on many games other than oblivion and never notied anything.
but it didnt work.


I love that avatar pic Lestat! LOL!

lol, yeah me 2


You say your case is modded. Could it have pulled in more dust than usual and the components are now overheating ? I know mine blasts out the heat when gaming.


no, like i said ran fine for ever, then poof, crackdown demo created an unstoppable red ring of death. no other game gave any problems, it was the crackdown demo


Mine blasts out heat when idle lol. Anyway boot the thing up with no disk and delet the hdd's cache that usually solves most problems. Let us know if it works im itching to see

there is no "delete cache" on the 360, it is self deleting as it needs room. or the X button trick when booting a game.


normal if its overheating you get error code.
As explained here

yeah i know, knew that long ago, but if you do enough research into the red ring of death heat is only the straw that broke the 360's back. the ultimate issue lies in the solder balls and the baking procedure that is used to manufacture the baords.
it was been proven, that the solder balls under the 360's CPU, not gpu, the CPU, do not make proper contact. because of the heat flexing the baord during the baking process, and then the subsiquent heat of play causes the baord to flex again and makes the solder balls that are not full melted together lose contact with each other and thus the red ring of death.



any who i tore the thing down to its nubbins.
put a shim on the GPU and CPU and then washers on the screws that hold down the heatsink so that it allowed you to screw in the screws more and put more pressure on the CPU/GPU. thus making contact again with the solder balls.

i have had it running since about a week after i posted this.
i play with the lid off so there is an unrestricted supply of cool air. and itsbeen running ever since.

but i had already went and purchased another core system.

i got screwed on the trade i did for this 360 as it died less than 30 days after i owned it, and the guy wouldnt do a damn thing about it, all i got was "thats too bad"

so i modded the firmware on it :)

funny thing is the new one gets hotter than any 360 i have ever seen, its insane, M$ needs their a$$es beat for doing the 360 this way.
the air coming out the back of the 360 is 54c, tested with a infrared thermal gun. 54c just from the air out the back, imagine how freakin hot the cpu and gpu are.....

[Lestat]

i think its just the hold the X key when booting,,, i think.
or Y key blah..

but cache issues wont cause the red ring of death, that is 100% hardware failure, mostly related to heat.

its a widespread well known issue with only a couple of minor temporary fixes.

oh well, the place i got the new one from has a 90 day return/exchange policy so if this one pukes out i will go get another, and another and another until i get a good one.