help with xbox 360 video card

[alexis524]

I just bought off of ebay a Halo edition 360 (the green one ) in mint condition but seller stated that the video card is bad. He did say he called M$ and they are willing to fix it for free, but that makes me wonder if i will get the same console back. the seller said this thing is MINT and i believe him, since in his listing he stated he not bothering with the fix since he has had little time to play in the first place. I've poked around on the internets and can't seem to get clear direction as to can i replace it myself or best to send it in? I never had to send my 360 in to M$ for repairs so i'm in uncharted waters here. Any help anyone can offer me is greatly appreciated.

[fvgazi]

You can get it fixed for free if it is still under warranty. The only way to find out is to call Microsoft customer service and ask if they can do it and if you will get the same console back.

I've never sent in a 360, but i've had good experience with MS customer service when trying to get my HDD transfer kit for upgrading to the elite.

**DO NOT DO THIS PART IF IT'S STILL UNDER WARRANTY**
If MS will charge a lot to fix it you can do this.

Depending on the error the 360 gives, you can open it up and reapply good thermal paste to the CPU and GPU heatsinks (i've used Artic Silver). Most people replace the bad xclamps with nylon + metal washers and new screws that way there is decreased stress on the motherboard.

If you're getting the 0102 error like I just got on my friend's xbox, you can do the above fix and then "re-flow the solder". It's the worst error because it means the xbox is not sure of the actual problem. I didn't do anything fancy, but some people use a heat gun. All I did was leave the console on while it was red-ringed for about 30 minutes. This let the xbox heat up and hopefully the solder re-flowed where it needed to. I let it cool for another 30 minutes and it booted like a charm. However, I did not replace the Xclamps because I didn't have the other parts to do it. Most people recommend a heat gun because it will get hot enough to melt the solder AND you can direct it to the components you want it to.

If you do what I did and it works, you can then get all the extra hardware and heat gun to do a more permanent job. I have no idea how long my shoddy fix will last.

[alexis524]

thanks fvgazi, i misread the sellers listing. He stated that M$ will fix if for a fee, whereas i thought it said free, big difference. i guess i'll wait til it arrives and see what error codes it throws and go from there. I guess i'm hoping for the x-clamp fix as it sounds easy and cheap enough to do on my own, but i'm scared that M$ won't send my halo green console back if i send it to them to be fixed. My other alternative is to pick up a donor console that i can swap out into the halo case. hmph, decisions decisions...

[fvgazi]

If you are considering going the MS route, just ask them if they will give you back the same exact console (or at least a working version of the same one). If they say they can't guarantee, just don't do it. You might have to provide them with UPC codes, receipts, or something that was on the box so this may not be feasible.

Did you actually receive it yet? If so, check for the red rings and error codes (search youtube on how to do it). Before you even open it up, you can try to leave it on for 30 min. Then let it cool down and try again. If it boots, you know that is the problem and should it fail again you can go in and do a "proper fix".

[alexis524]

i didn't get the console yet, but the seller did say that it never RROD'd and he called M$ about 6 months ago and it was determined that the video card was bad. I don't know if the no RROD is a good thing in this case, or really doesn't matter when the video card goes. is it bad to hope for an error code to point me towards a fix??

[fvgazi]

I don't know if you can get an error code without a RROD. You get the code by pressed the sync + cd eject button at the same time while there is a red ring. Then you have to count which rings are flashing fast until it goes back to the slow flashing red ring. I guess you should play it and just see. You can't just 'replace' the 'video card'. The chip is incorporated right into the motherboard next to the CPU.

I've never heard of a problem like that, though (without the RROD). You can always try over at the xbox scene forums for a problem like this. I wouldn't even know where to begin if there is a problem without the RROD. You might get an E74 or something. I have no idea.

[alexis524]

let's hope it's just a bad A/V cable

[Niode]

If you're getting the 0102 error like I just got on my friend's xbox, you can do the above fix and then "re-flow the solder". It's the worst error because it means the xbox is not sure of the actual problem. I didn't do anything fancy, but some people use a heat gun. All I did was leave the console on while it was red-ringed for about 30 minutes. This let the xbox heat up and hopefully the solder re-flowed where it needed to. I let it cool for another 30 minutes and it booted like a charm. However, I did not replace the Xclamps because I didn't have the other parts to do it. Most people recommend a heat gun because it will get hot enough to melt the solder AND you can direct it to the components you want it to.

.

This is false. Just leaving the 360 on without a heatsink simply overheats the temperature sensor into resetting (since it runs outside of it's threshold). This will allow the 360 to reboot and run until the temperature sensor is tripped again. The 360 gets nowhere near the temperature required to melt solder (between 150-300c depending on the solder quality). If it did it would have never passed safety regulations. The reason the video chip becomes unseated is due to heat warping the motherboard. This then breaks the brittle lead free solder used in the ball grid array (what attaches the chip directly to the motherboard).

The 'towel trick' or whatever they're calling it these days works because you haven't actually got a broken connection. If you did, nothing but a complete reworking of the BGA (or getting lucky with an infrared heat gun and flux like I did) will fix it. It just simply resets the temp sensor.


P.S. I've been on hiatus for a while, but lurking in the technical help forum occasionally just in case something like this crops up.