With the 2 infamous problems of the current gen consoles, the RROD (Xbox) and the YLOD (PS3), it is getting to a point where we all know someone who has had this problem and has searched high and low for a console repair company to strike thier machine up again to carrying on do what it does best.
It is all well getting your machine repaired, but it takes more maintenance than just the repair to make ensure that the RROD and YLOD doesn’t come back anytime soon. To understand how to do this, I feel I must first explain exactly what has happened to your console once you get these problems.
Both the RROD and YLOD are effectively the same problem. The older versions of both the Xbox 360 and the PS3 run very hot basically due to the technology within them being in an early stage and requiring a lot of power running through them to get the blistering fast speeds to keep up with the graphically demanding games. Now this is OK but what happens over time is the mainboards inside the Xbox and PS3 start to bend slightly because of the constant heat. If the mainboard bends too much it can make one of the chips on the boards lose one of the solder connections from the mainboard. If this happens, this is where the RROD and YLOD kick in.
To repair the RROD or YLOD, we use a rework station to heat up the chips and mainboard to solder melting point, reflow the solders so they reseat themselves back onto the mainboard. The Xbox of PS3 will happily work at this point.
The issue here is that eventhough the issue has been repaired, the console is still running too hot and it could happen again. To prevent this there are several things you can do to help cool your console and prevent further disaster.
Keep your console in an open space: Try not to put your console in a bookcase, cabinets or anything that puts it into an enclosed area.This will help keeping cool air flowing through it.
Keep the vent holes clear: It is very easy to get something in the way of the vent holes. Could be a pillow, rugs, a bag, anything. Make sure the console has plenty of room to breath.
Use an external fan to add extra cooling: Extra fans help suck that hot air out of the system faster. If you do want to use an external fan, make sure you get a USB powered fan and not one that takes power from the console main supply. If you are not sure what ones to get, we are selling the USB powered cooling fans in our online store.
Click here to view Xbox 360 and PS3 cooling Units.
Keep the console upright: This purely gives the console more suface area to cool air so it can keep cooler.
There are many small things such as keeping it out of direct sunlight and keeping the temperature of the room down that will all help in stopping the RROD and YLOD from returning. If you have already got the RROD or YLOD and want us to have a look at it, please see our console repairs page.
Go to Console Repairs Section.
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