AboutOctane Expertise I can Answer Video Game Compatability Problems (PAL, NTSC, JAP) for Atari 2600, 5200, NES, Super Nintendo/SFC, N64, Gamecube, Wii, Gameboy, GBA, DS, Sega Master System, Sega Mega Drive/Genisis, Game Gear, Mega CD, Nomad, Saturn, Dreamcast, Lynx, Jagura, Philips CDI, 3DO, Playstation, PS2, PSP and Xbox. Plus Ways around them to play wrong regions games on most consoles.
I also have an extensive knowledge of service and repair with most home consoles as well as arcade/pinball machines.
I have a reasonable general knowledge of most new to older games (I personally own about 1000 games and almost every console known to man.)
Experience Playstation, SNES, SATURN, Genisis/MD, NES, MS conversions. Controler conversions SNES to NES. Game conversion. Multi Carts. Remix and re-wire. PSP repair. Arcade building and customising. Video Game repair
Question Hello! I've been reading lately about the Red Ring of Death because I heard of someone I know who got the disgrace... I have an Xbox360 and I really want to prevent that system failure... so, please, information:
1. How to prevent It
2. I bought my 60 GB Xbox360 on Christmas Eve last year, Does my Xbox360 belong to the "already fixed new generation" by microsoft? or does it still have more risk to fail as the first consoles?
3. Is the Red Ring of Death an inevitable disgrace? will the it eventually appear ALWAYS in all Xbox360 consoles but only with a different delay of time? or could my xbox resist and endure plain years like other consoles? (I still have my N64 for example..)
4. Does the console position have something to do? Is Vertical position better or worse?
thanks for your time
Answer Gday Sophie,
1/ The RROD is usually caused by one or a combination of 3 things. Overheating, Bad CPU or a Internal Power problem. Obviously you want to keep you XBOX in a well ventilated, cool, dust/pet hair less environment. You also may want to put it on a power serge protector. There are cooling options available that will boost the cooling aspects of the Xbox. But provided you have it in an area that has airflow (Not in a cabinet) and away from heat (Both you TV/Entertainment area and Direct Sunlight) and your cat does not sleep on it, it generally will be okay.
2/ They have gotten a bit better and MS has addressed some of the issues the console has. the newer the console the less likely it will have failure. Although they still have not fixed the problem of if you move your console while it is running it will scratch the disk. There is also a new bout of problems where the graphics chip burns out, does not cause a RROD but you are unable to view anything. Meaning replacement or costly repairs.
3/ RROD is not inevitable but due to the manufacturing of the console, lack of testing and R&D Micorsoft did before the initial rollouts there is a high then likely chance of you will experiencing a RROD with your console over the next 10 years. They are not all going to RROD but if you are comparing it to a N64 which was manufactured better and a less complex product the Xbox has a higher percentage of problems. The Xbox will have a higher rate of failure. If I where to take bets of which console would fail first my money would be on any current Xbox or Xbox 260 system. I would bet my Atari 2600 would still be running in 100 years while both my Xbox will probably quit in under 20 years. On a side note if you Xbox does RROD the better option is replace the system other then getting it repaired, as repaired systems have a higher then likely chance of failing due to something else.
4/ Personally I would think horizontal would be better for the console. Just with the way the disk would sit flat having less chance of moving due to gravity. And the heat from the rear exhaust panels would move out of the machine rather than travel up due to heat rising. Also less chance of it getting knocked over due to weight distribution.
