Quick and dirty fixes for electronic gadgets have usually involved abuse of some kind. This included smashing, hitting, shaking, or kicking to get the device to work. The abuse worked because loose connections would reconnect if you were persistent enough. But the mechanical shock weakens other connections which make the device fail at a later time.
One of the more well known "fixes" for the red ring of death problem is called the towel trick. It also falls into this category of abusive, quick fixes. Rather than giving the Xbox a swift kick, the "cure" involves baking the internal components at extreme temperatures so that broken connections are resoldered again and warped components get reshaped.
The towel trick is done by covering your Xbox with 2 or 3 towels. Then your Xbox is switched on for around 15 minutes or so and you're through. Then it's time to do some gaming. The next time the ring of death shows up simply repeat the towel fix.
If it works, then what's the problem? As mentioned before, this technique bakes the internal components at extreme temperatures. Heat induced damage during the manufacturing process is a prime concern in the electronics industry. Getting the right soldering temperature for a strong solder join without damaging other components is difficult.
So the towel fix does it's magic at the expense of further chip damage. Of course more damage will cause more problems later on. When the towel trick is used to fix these new problems, your Xbox is weaken further with more damage. There's a limited number of times that this process can be repeated before there's too much damage for the towel fix to work any more. This is a degenerative procedure that completely fries your Xbox.
Another issue that's somewhat beside the point of this article is that the towel trick can be dangerous to do. The Xbox generates a lot of heat (hence the need for the cooling system in the first place). Because of the towels, the heat has nowhere to go and builds up fast. If your Xbox catches on fire, flammable things next to your Xbox (such as your house) can burn too.
The towel trick makes no sense at all and in this case, counterintuitive doesn't help. The ring of death is caused by the Xbox producing too much heat and having a cooling system that can't keep pace. Fixing this problem by applying more heat only makes the problem worse.
One of the more well known "fixes" for the red ring of death problem is called the towel trick. It also falls into this category of abusive, quick fixes. Rather than giving the Xbox a swift kick, the "cure" involves baking the internal components at extreme temperatures so that broken connections are resoldered again and warped components get reshaped.
The towel trick is done by covering your Xbox with 2 or 3 towels. Then your Xbox is switched on for around 15 minutes or so and you're through. Then it's time to do some gaming. The next time the ring of death shows up simply repeat the towel fix.
If it works, then what's the problem? As mentioned before, this technique bakes the internal components at extreme temperatures. Heat induced damage during the manufacturing process is a prime concern in the electronics industry. Getting the right soldering temperature for a strong solder join without damaging other components is difficult.
So the towel fix does it's magic at the expense of further chip damage. Of course more damage will cause more problems later on. When the towel trick is used to fix these new problems, your Xbox is weaken further with more damage. There's a limited number of times that this process can be repeated before there's too much damage for the towel fix to work any more. This is a degenerative procedure that completely fries your Xbox.
Another issue that's somewhat beside the point of this article is that the towel trick can be dangerous to do. The Xbox generates a lot of heat (hence the need for the cooling system in the first place). Because of the towels, the heat has nowhere to go and builds up fast. If your Xbox catches on fire, flammable things next to your Xbox (such as your house) can burn too.
The towel trick makes no sense at all and in this case, counterintuitive doesn't help. The ring of death is caused by the Xbox producing too much heat and having a cooling system that can't keep pace. Fixing this problem by applying more heat only makes the problem worse.
About the Author:
Marc Sandford is a gaming enthusiast and writer. Get more Xbox 360 repair information about fixing the Xbox 360 3 Red Lights Error.
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