Since the Xbox 360's introduction in November, 2005, a significant number of Microsoft's brilliant game consoles have experienced a malfunction that is indicated by three flashing red lights on the front of the console. The error is known, for obvious reasons, as the Xbox 360' Red Ring Of Death or E74 error.

The "Red Ring of Death" is actually a very common problem. In July 2008, Microsoft admitted that over 800,000 people are dealing with it and 30% of all consoles sold are failing and the rest have a chance of failure. With an Xbox which suffers from the red ring of death, you will not be able to play games and you can't use Xbox live membership without constantly dropping from online games, and losing your progress.

Owning a broken $400 game system is annoying to say the least. If you don't fix the red ring of death, your system will only deteriorate over time, and your Xbox may stop working altogether (which will cost you in the hundreds of dollars to fix).The sooner you fix red ring of death the better, but first you should know what is wrong with your Xbox 360?

The main cause of the 3 flashing red lights is overheating. To be more precise, it is an electrical connection failure between the CPU,GPU and the motherboard which is due to an engineering flaw in the construction of the Xbox 360. When Microsoft designed it, they downsized the heat sinks ( which keep the system cool ) to accommodate the DVD drive, and they chose a slightly unusual way of mounting to link them to the processors. They also failed to include and active cooling system other than a couple of inadequate fans at the back, which can easily become clogged or broken. So when you play on your Xbox for too long, the temperature reaches overs 120 degree, the motherboard heats up and begins to vibrate and flex against the X-Clamp plastic support . These vibrations loosen the soldering holding the graphics processing unit in place. This causes an electrical failure and the Xbox red ring of death error will happen.

So how can you fix this then?

Well, first of all, there is a myth going around that to fix the red ring of death errors by wrapping your Xbox 360 in a towel, turning it on for 20 minutes or so, and letting it overheat . BE CAREFUL !!! If you use this bogus repair method, you will risk turning a temporary problem into a permanent damage. Your Xbox 360 is a piece of high tech equipment not a toaster, avoid completely the "towel fix" and any "fix" involving heat. Your home may be at risk if you do this and leave it unattended!!!!

So is there a simple, permanent fix for this?

Of course, believe it or not fixing the Xbox red ring of death is not a difficult process and you don't need advanced technical skills or special tools to perform the "fix" yourself, I suggest you see a professional Xbox 360 repair guide with detailed clear video instuctions and pictures. These guides are developed by technicians with good knowledge and many years of experience in the electronics and video game repair industry. They will show you step by step how to take your Xbox 360 apart safely, how to remove the X-clamp and heat sink, how to apply the washers and artic thermal compound, and put it all back together. There are also written instructions with the videos and the 24/7 tech support can assist you to save time and money and get your Xbox 360 up and running within 2 hours

Those Xbox red ring of death errors will be a distant memory and now you can enjoy gaming again without fear of freezing.

Be careful there are some repair guides in the market which are a total scam . For the best guides I recommend that you visit this website and read their reviews. Good Luck

If we have recently noticed three red lights flashing on your xbox console, then the bad news your xbox 360 is suffering from the so called xbox 360 rrod or red ring of death and you need to fix it immediately in order to avoid further damage to your gaming console. Microsoft has admitted that a large number of xbox 360 consoles may suffer from the red ring of death or xbox 360 rrod problems. You can identify it by noting one or more problems as given below especially if you didn't notice the three red lights on earlier occasions.

• If you notice that a disc is unreadable or disc error problems start occurring frequently

• If you notice that your xbox 360 suddenly freezes or crashes

• If you notice any strange or abnormal sounds from inside the Xbox 360

• If your system suddenly fails and you are unable to play the game on it.

Causes of Xbox 360 RROD problems

Overheating of the XBox 360 generally causes the rrod problems and if you continue play games for many hours, then the temperature inside the console reaches well beyond 100 degree centigrade. At such high a temperature, the soldering used for connecting the electrical wires melts. To avoid this problem, keep your console at an open space and if required it can be air cooled from outside by a fan.

Xbox 360 rrod repair yourself

of course, if your xbox 360 is under warranty, you should send it to Microsoft for rrod repair. If, however like most people who encounter this error, the warranty is over, it is better to repair it yourself. You dont need to be an engineer or technician, if you simply can follow the audio-video instructions and can understand English well, you can do the job yourself. The Xbox 360 rrod repair technique is quite easy and you will not be doing soldering work or any complex tasks for fixing the problem, which is quite easy and simple. So, instead of sending the console to Microsoft for repair, using a guide or ebook, you can fix xbox 360 rrod problems yourself.

There are many guides available, but the best ones come with detailed high quality video to show you each step in detail. When my XBox 360 developed the RROD i went to this website and bought the number one guide there. Within 2 hours i had fixed my XBox 360 console and was enjoying Halo 3 again

Xbox e74 error is a very common problem.When you don't have any technical skills, fixing this Xbox 360 error can be very frustrating. In an official Microsoft announcement in July 2008, Microsoft admitted that 25% of all consoles sold are encountering this problem and the rest have a chance of failure.

Shocking facts about the Xbox 360 and why so many people need to fix the Xbox e74 error!

- Almost 2 million consoles suffer this error all around the world

- The first 12 million XBox 360's sold had "a design flaw that could cause the e74 problem. In order to accommodate the DVD drive, Microsoft made the LSI heat sink ( which keeps the system cool ) smaller. Now, after prolonged periods of use, the xbox 360 can reach temperatures of over 120 degrees Fahrenheit

- The disc can be scratched by the drive if you move your system while its on ( this is not mentioned in the warranty )

- The late 2006 update caused some consoles to develop the Xbox e74 error

- Some Retailers have reported failure rates of up to 40%

- To fix the Xbox e74 error, you don't need new parts. In fact, this problem can be fixed at home within an hour.

So How do I fix the e74 error ?

As i mentioned above, the main cause of the Xbox e74 error is actually overheating.The graphics processing unit is held in place by solder which can get melted and your console starts showing the Xbox e74 error which won't go away until you fix it.

So, the key to fixing your machine is to deal with the source of the problem - the overheating. The best thing is that the e74 repair method can be done yourself. All you need are some simple tools and a bit if time. A professional Xbox 360 repair guide will show you everything step by step. For best results, you will want to get a guide that has detailed video instructions which can assist you through the process.

Xbox repair guides are fairly cheap, and they save you over $140 (Microsoft charges $140 to perform the fix and it can take up 8 to 10 weeks to get it back). Once you fix it correctly, you will no longer experience the Xbox e74 error and you'll be gaming again , usually within an hour or two.

There are many guides available but, like most things some are better than other. When my XBox 360 developed the E74 error I visited this website and got myself their number one guide.

I bought a guide from the website that came with Professional High Definition Video Tutorials, With In Action Camera Zooms , Fix in Less Time than it Takes to Mail Xbox 360 to Microsoft, Use Ordinary Household Tools ,Real Human, Knowledgeable Customer Support , No Special Skills Needed, Guaranteed Fix or Money Back, Be Playing Again - in 2 Hours or Less.

you know the problem - you are just about to blast your way into the alien HQ when - blam - your Xbox 360 freezes! not only that, but its been doing it more and more recently. Well, if your Xbox 360 console keeps freezing up you there are some things that you can do to fix this problem by yourself. Xbox 360 problems happen to nearly one third of all consoles according to Microsoft, so you are not alone. The main reason for your Xbox 360 freezing up is the build up of heat in the systems causing it to overheat. The Xbox 360 runs very hot on the inside while gaming is taking place. These overworked components soon fail when to much heat builds up causing your XBox 360 to freeze without warning.

When you first experience Xbox 360 freezing due to overheating you should immediately place the Xbox near a window or a door to cool it down. Your Xbox is not designed with the best internal cooling systems and ambient room temperature can have a major effect. This is one of the most common problems and placing it near a window is one of the easiest ways to cool the system down. However, sometimes this is just not enough.

The second reason for your Xbox 360 keeps freezing up could be an internal hardware problem. Your Xbox indicates a hardware problem by displaying three red lights. This is commonly known as the Rings of Death, and as its name suggests is not a good thing. This matter is more serious and needs fast attention. Microsoft would love to have you send in the gaming console to them so they can charge you while you wait six weeks for it to be fixed. The truth is you can fix your Xbox 360 yourself with a simple guide and can have the problem solved in about an hour.

There are many guides available to download - remember the best ones have video guides, and its easy to learn from a step-by-step guide that will ensure that if the problem occurs again you will be able to repair it and continue gaming within the hour.

When my Xbox 360 started to freeze I visited this site and bought their number one guide - I save $100 by investing an hour of my time. You should try it.x

The Xbox 360 e74 is one of several of Xbox error codes that can affect your console . There are literally thousands of Xbox 360 consoles worldwide which are affected by these errors, with one of the most prevalent being the e74 Xbox error. Chances are, if your XBox 360 has the three red lights error, then its the e74 error thats causing it. Today i will show you what causes the Xbox e74 problem, as well as whether you can fix it yourself, or not.

The e74 Xbox error is caused by overheating. Excess heat causes damage to various components, and eventually major malfunctions in the hardware of your XBox 360. Why is this heat able to build up and cause damage that leads to the Xbox 360 e74 error? Well, this is actually due to a cramped case design and a lack of active cooling devices such as fans and heat sinks. Although overheating is usually a problem for all electronic devices, the Xbox 360 does seem to suffer particularly badly from this issue.

Although you could fix your Xbox e74 problem by sending your Xbox 360 back to Microsoft for repair, the best method you can actually employ is to fix your Xbox yourself. Here's why-

* If you send your console away for repair then you will be without an Xbox 360 console for at least a couple of weeks. Why put up with this when you can fix the Xbox 360 e74 issue yourself in a matter of hours?

* If your warranty has expired then you will have to pay someone else to have your console repaired and this costs money. If you do it yourself, you will have to buy some cheap parts necessary for the Xbox repair, but you will still save around $100 by carrying out the repairs yourself.

If you want to fix the Xbox e74 error yourself, then you will need to buy a video repair guide. These come as downloadable e-books or better still, video repair guides format, and can be purchased online for a reasonable price (you won't need to spend anything over $30) You really need to buy one if you want to fix your Xbox 360, as written instructions just aren't detailed enough.

To ensure that you get the best deal, purchase one that covers ALL Xbox error codes (there are some guides that offer only information about the "red ring of death", so you need to carefully read the sales page to ensure that it teaches you how to fix any type of Xbox error) Look also for a money-back guarantee, free customer support and free video samples so that you can check the quality of the product.

When my XBox 360 developed the 3 red light error , I visited this site and bought their number one choice. Not only was my XBox 360 up and running within an hour, its been firing on all cylinders ever since.

Click here to learn more about an easy step-by-step e74 Xbox error repair guide that will allow you to fix Xbox e74 error codes in under one hour, in the comfort of your own home.