What the hell happened to my Xbox???

[FusionWhite]

So Im playing my Xbox 360 yesterday and suddenly the thing makes a popping noise (sort of like a record skipping) and freezes. I shut the thing off and turn it back on. The lights on the front which are normally green turn red. After a quick search I find out that my beloved Xbox is telling me its dead. After a little more searching I find a possible solution. Several websites say to wrap your Xbox in a towel, turn it on and let it run for about 20 minutes. After that unwrap it and it might work again.

Well I was skeptical but tried it. And it freaking worked. I dont know how and I dont know why but it did. After a little more research I saw a site which explained that sometimes the solder that holds some of the chips in place cracks (due to thermal stress). By wrapping the towel around the Xbox it heats it up enough to let the solder melt and reconnect. I dont really buy this, yeah that thing gets hot in that towel but hot enough to melt solder??? I doubt it. Plus wouldnt the solder get all drippy?

So EE's what the hell fixed my Xbox? Any theories?

 

[MetroRAFB]

Your X-box was trying to tell you that you're not spending enough quality time with it. It misses you. It feels neglected. That's why it popped and fizzed out, it was trying to get attention. By wrapping it in the towel, you scared it into thinking that you were going to just throw it away, so it decided to straighten up and fly right.

They're just like little kids and most women. They need an innordinate ammount of TLC.

 

[FusionWhite]

Your X-box was trying to tell you that you're not spending enough quality time with it. It misses you. It feels neglected. That's why it popped and fizzed out, it was trying to get attention. By wrapping it in the towel, you scared it into thinking that you were going to just throw it away, so it decided to straighten up and fly right.
They're just like little kids and most women. They need an innordinate ammount of TLC.

Ill print this and show it to my wife. Maybe that way she'll let me play more.

 

[benbo]

I think solder usually melts above 400 degree F. I doubt the towel can get the thing that hot, and it would likely melt plastic and insulation as well. But heat can expand things, maybe making boards fit better in slots, or pins fit better in connectors. Likely temporary. Moisture also effects some things. I thought computer type things generally failed for getting too hot, but this is a new one.

 

[grover]

It's a little known fact, but towels contain a small bit of smoke. So, if electronics let some of their smoke out, sometimes you can wrap them in a towel to replace it.

Either way, it's not melting the solder. The popping sound you hear was probably the printed circuit board popping from thermal expansion, and causing all sorts of solder trace cracks and/or loose components. The towel fix might be able to press them physically back into place for a few hours, but it won't be permanant, since it's not actually FIXING the problem, just sorta holding the broken pieces together. Is it still under warranty?

 

[FusionWhite]

It's a little known fact, but towels contain a small bit of smoke. So, if electronics let some of their smoke out, sometimes you can wrap them in a towel to replace it.
Either way, it's not melting the solder. The popping sound you hear was probably the printed circuit board popping from thermal expansion, and causing all sorts of solder trace cracks and/or loose components. The towel fix might be able to press them physically back into place for a few hours, but it won't be permanant, since it's not actually FIXING the problem, just sorta holding the broken pieces together. Is it still under warranty?

Its still under warranty but it will take 2 weeks to fix. And since Im a video game junkie thats tough to give up. Its worked perfectly for the past 10 days or so. I hope whatever I did to it will hold up for the next 3-5 years.

 

[Techie_Junkie_PE_LEED_AP]

Probably Operator error. Just kidding. Sounds like you have a cracked main board or a ribbon connector popped open. Sounds like the problem will reoccur, keep us updated.

I think your Xbox was trying to tell you to study and give it a rest until after April 20th!!!

 

[FusionWhite]

I had to box it up and send it in to Microsauce for repair after it died again. Took about 2 weeks for shipping, repair and shipping it back to me.

Good thing I didnt have to study for the PE.

 

[Hill William]

I had to box it up and send it in to Microsauce for repair after it died again. Took about 2 weeks for shipping, repair and shipping it back to me.
Good thing I didnt have to study for the PE.

Man, just reading this gets me worried. I have heard a few bad stories about the 360 but I'm hoping I got a good one. What the hell, I can't go back to playing the old XBox if this one goes away.

 

[FlyPaper]

I like Tomb Raider for the Xbox. I think it is amazing all the things that Lara can do. It must be really cool to be able to sit around and figure out how to make the characters in a video game do all that kind of stuff and still look like a real person (or as much like a real person as possible, considering they have to use polygons to render the three dimensional images). I bet if I had a job like that I would get fired because I would end up playing the game and not writing it.

You know what other game system I have heard is really cool, the WII system. I haven't played it, but I was told by a friend that it is really neat. You hold the Wiimote and use it for all the games. It isn't like a normal game controller, this thing actually has sensors in it so it knows when you move it. So, if you were playing a tennis game and swung the wiimote, the tennis racket on the screen would swing also. If you were playing a third person shooter, then you hold the wiimote like it is a gun and the gun on the screen points to where you point the wiimote.

That is totally rad, dude.