Cooler Operation Of Your Xbox 360 – Five Tips
To get ahead of the competition, Microsoft rushed the production of it's Xbox 360 product too quickly. Because of this, over 30 percent of these products have experienced the red ring of death failure. The Xbox 360 is a fragile device due to poor design and manufacture.
Its cooling system is inadequate and barely keeps up with the heat output of it's circuitry. When it gets too hot, one or more of it's design 'bugs' spring to life and eventually kills your machine. You will have to baby your Xbox and keep it cool if you wish to prolong its life.
This article will present different ways to keep your Xbox cool.
1.) While you may not intentionally block the ventilation openings, there are other ways of effectively doing the same thing. These will involve putting the Xbox on very soft or shaggy surfaces that block local cooling currents such as pillows, beds, soft rugs and sofas.
2.) Be careful to place the Xbox in an environment that is well ventilated. What this means is that the Xbox should be kept out of confined or closed in spaces, such as bookcases, stereo cabinets and racks. Often, people will do contradictory things like keeping the ventilation openings obstruction free only to place the Xbox in a closed in area.
3.) Try placing your Xbox on it's side which exposes more of it's surface area to the surrounding air. You may also want to blow air across your Xbox with a small fan.
4.) Avoid areas next to sources of heat such as furnaces, radiators, heater vents, stoves and other heat generating electronics. Also take care not to place it next to a window that gets direct sunlight.
5.) While keeping the Xbox cool is vital, it is also important to make sure that the power adapter or power brick is getting proper ventilation. We all have a natural tendency to place the power adapter on the floor without a second thought. However, if it is placed on soft shaggy carpets, cooling air currents will be blocked.
The above suggestions are preventative measures for your Xbox when it is brand new if you wish to avoid heating problems in the future. However, if this is your first run in with the ring of death, then these steps should be your first actions to take. Hopefully this first time heat build up shut down the Xbox before any real damage could be done.