How To Fix Xbox 360 3 Red Lights

There you are, loading up a copy of Barbie Horse Adventure on your console of choice, which is of course two days out of warranty, when suddenly the worst thing that could ever happen in this world happens. Suddenly you find yourself staring at the Red Ring of Doom and frantically searching for how to fix the Xbox 360's 3 Red Lights yourself. Fear not, you are in a position that literally 70% of the gaming community has found themselves in at some point since the 360 was released, and those 3 Red Rings are burnt into the memory of all but the most casual of gamers. While there are no methods that are guaranteed to work 100%, outside of sending the Xbox 360 back to Microsoft for repairs, there are some quick fixes that might hold you over long enough until you have a chance to get a new console.

Now, it is important to know that any of these fixes will void your warranty with Microsoft. If you are still in warranty, the best thing to do is to send the console back to Microsoft. It may take a while, but they will most likely either fix it completely or send you a new one to replace the defective one. If you are out of warranty, or your system is modded and thus voided anyway, any of these methods may help you.

1. The Penny Trick. Also known as the 12 cent fix, the Penny Trick seems to be the most successful of the cheap fixes. This involves you opening up your Xbox 360 and taking it almost entirely apart. There are many tutorials online, including on this very site, that will tell you the easiest way to do this and what materials you will need. When you actually have the Xbox opened, all you need is a roll of electrical tape, 12 pennies, and either a hot glue gun or a bottle of thermal paste depending on your patience. When the Xbox is entirely disassembled, you will want to take the motherboard and find the four little sponges. These are believed to be the source of all the issues with overheating. So remove them and wipe any excess glue off of the chips. Now, take your pennies and make four stacks of three, then tape them together using the electrical tape. Make sure no copper is showing. Using either the hot glue gun or your thermal paste, put a very small dab of the adhesive on the chips and press the pennies into place. Now, reassemble your Xbox. Some ports may be at awkward angles now, but it will still work. If the Xbox still gives you the RROD when it starts up, you will most likely need to do the towel trick also in order to reset the circuits.
2. The Eraser Trick. The eraser trick is exactly the same as the penny trick, except, obviously, it uses erasers instead of pennies. You will need four erasers, or four pieces of eraser rubber, that are about 4mm thick. It uses the same concept behind the penny trick.
3. The Towel Trick. This won't void your warranty, but it might actually make things worse. Essentially, the towel trick overheats your Xbox at an incredibly high level and forces the clamps back into place and resets the circuits. All you need is two or three towels. Unplug everything but the power supply and wrap your Xbox in the towels while it is on. Leave it for about 20 minutes, then turn it off and let it cool down. When you restart, it may actually have fixed the RROD, but this is a very temporary solutions. Use it in conjunction with the penny or eraser tricks for it to be slightly more permanent.