Game Console Preventative Maintenance

The most common question that I am asked from our customers is "How can I prevent my Xbox 360 or PS3 console from failing in the future?"

When it comes to preventing the Xbox 360 from getting the Red Rings of Death (RRoD) or the PS3 from getting the Yellow Light of Death (YLoD), you must take precautions to prevent too much heat from affecting the consoles.

Here are some simple steps that you can take to keep your console from getting too hot.

1. It is very important that the consoles are very well ventilated.

                This includes keeping other hot electronics far away from your console. You want nice cool air to be brought into the system and hot air being blown out and away from it. Most of the hot air will blow out the back of the console so it is very important that you have the back at least six inches of clearance.  We recommend six inches ALL around the console, so if you do put it in a cabinet (Please don't), the console will be able to get some fresh air. 

2. I also recommend that you have the console laying flat.

                This means keeping the console horizontal as opposed to standing up vertically.  Air will draw in from the sides.  You can put a piece of paper against the opposite site of where the hard drive is and you will be able to let go of the piece of paper and it will stay in place since it is getting sucked in by the air that is being drawn in.  This air is what will move through the heatsinks and then get hot and blown out the back.

3. Do not set your game console on carpet.

                This should go without saying; however, you would be surprised how many times I hear that people put the console on the ground... on carpet.  Hot consoles get carpet hot, hot carpet gets hot consoles hotter!  Also, the closer an electronic device is to the ground the more dust and derby the device will draw in since that is where most dust and derby settles. 

4. Put your consoles up on a higher platform. 

                Putting the consoles up higher will also help with young kids shoving anything and everything into the DVD/Blu Ray player of these consoles.  The PS3 and the Wii consoles will suck most items in that young kids just find fascinating and when you go to play your favorite game or movie you will wonder why your disc won’t go in the drive... but I digress.

5. Blow out your dust!

                If you have dust build up in the system, the hot air can't escape due to a blockage of dust being built up on the all sides of the consoles as well as the heat sinks inside. Blow the system out once a month with a can of pressurized air that you use to clean your keyboard or any kind of pressured air that is strong enough to break up the dust build up. Some have used a strong vacuum to suck the dirt out which will work as long as the suction is strong enough.  I recommend using the air first and then the vacuum. 

These are the some main factors that cause the additional heat buildup and can shorten the life of the game consoles. If you've done all this and the system fails, it is truly a hardware failure that you could not prevent from happening. All electronics fail sooner or later... that is where GameDay Resources comes in!

Methods for Repairing the RRoD and YLoD: Part II

The other aspect of the Reflow process is the size of the chip, meaning the temperature needed in order to get the lead free solder to the point of melt is also based on the size of the chip.  The greater the size of the chip or area the greater the heat plus amount of time it will take to get to the point of melt.  Using a heat gun to get the GPU to the point of melt while the heat is blowing around other components that are very small in size will cause smaller components to get too hot, the solder will liquefy and the smaller chips will move out of place and cause permanent damage to the board.  Also, in using a heat gun you will need to monitor the temperature of the GPU as you are attempting the Reflow since you do not want to go above the 400 degree Fahrenheit mark or 200 Celsius. 

There is the amount of time that the GPU should be heated base of the size of the area of the chip that must be adhered to as well.  Based on the specifications for getting solder to the point of melt, you cannot just blast the chip to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and expect any type of good results.  You are trying to get the lead free solder to the point of melt at a safe rate.   If you get the chip to 220 Celsius then the time to liquid (TAL) is about 30 seconds, meaning if you took the chip to the highest degree over several minutes, then maintained that for an addition 30 seconds the lead free solder would flow, which is not what we are trying to accomplish.  There are four steps in the reflow process which need to be followed; the first step is the Preheat Zone; this is where you are getting the entire motherboard warmed and avoiding thermal shock.  Again you are trying to avoid ramping up heat to quickly to keep from damaging sensitive components on the motherboard.  The next step in the process is the Soak Zone; this is where you are safely bringing the temperature of the board up to the Reflow Zone.  Obviously, the next step in the process is the Reflow Zone which is where you are maintaining a level of heat adequate to get the solder to the point of melt over a short period of time.  The last part of the process is the Cooling Zone; this is where you will bring the temperature of the board down slowly over a short period of time to keep from causing any weak solder joints.

Preparation is actually one of the very first steps and very important step in repairing the Xbox 360 from the RRoD.  Once you have disassembled the Xbox 360, you need to clean the motherboard.  You can use distilled water, but you would have to completely dry the board prior to the Reflow process or you can use electro static alcohol made specifically for electronic components.  Also, you will need to use liquid flux around the GPU and CPU prior to the Reflow process.  The flux will help to clean up the lead free solder and remove most of the oxidation that has built up around the solder balls. At this point you are ready to reflow the GPU on the motherboard with your heating device whether it is the heat gun, hot air solution or with the preferred method of the Infrared system, like the PACE IR 1000.  Once the motherboard has been properly heated you are going to need to allow time for cooling of the motherboard; the time needed to cool prior to assembly will depend again on the size of the chip that was heated.  With the chip cooled you are ready to reassembly the console or device, whether it is an Xbox 360, PS3 or other device. 

GameDay Resources makes some minor changes to the Xbox 360 to help eliminate as much of the heat as possible by adding a small resistor to the motherboard which will speed up the fan drawing out more of the heat that is created by the Xbox 360.  Adding the resistor helps to speed up the fan as well as keep the fan quiet, as opposed to rewiring the fan with the DVD power cable.  Rewiring the fan to the power cable will also increase the fan speed, but it will also make the fan very loud which can take away from the enjoyment of game play.  We also make some changes internally to help draw out some of the heat from the front of the console so the overall temperature of the system runs cooler than the original design.  We have also developed some methods for the PS3 during the reflow process to help increase the life expectancy once the GPU has been heated. From our latest improvements to our reflow process we have had very good results in units that had repeated failures over a small period of time as well as seeing better results of units that did not have repeated failures.  GameDay Resources continues to improve their processes with research and development in an effort to provide our customers with the very best customer experience that is available with today’s video game consoles.  

Methods for Repairing the Xbox 360 for the Red Rings of Death (RRoD); Part I

Methods for Repairing the Xbox 360 for the Red Rings of Death (RRoD); Part I
The biggest question I get is, “why did my Xbox 360 fail?”  The second biggest question I get is “what is involved in repairing the Xbox 360?”  This article will go over steps in repairing the Xbox 360 for the Red Rings of Death (RRoD).  If you read my previous post on the “why” question, then you have an understanding of how the Xbox 360 gets the dreaded Red Rings to begin with, which will help you in understanding how to repair the problem.

What we are trying to repair are all the solder balls under the graphics chip (GPU) and under the central processing chip (CPU) as the solder balls have developed cold solder joints.  Most people that explain the failure of the Xbox 360 state that the solder under the GPU has melted… this is not the case.  Lead Free solder cannot get hot enough in the Xbox 360 case to melt.  The hottest it will get in the case is about 200 degrees and it takes a much higher degree of heat to melt solder.  The solder balls under the GPU will, however, begin to breakdown and oxidize causing cold solder joints.  There are about 900 solder balls under the GPU (called Ball Grid Array or BGA), so there are many potential points of failure.  To actually melt the lead free solder you would have to get to 220 degrees Celsius (°C) or about 428 degrees Fahrenheit (°F), which is the specifications for melting lead free solder.  It is also recommended that you stay about 20 degrees below this level since we are only trying to get to the point of melt and not have it start flowing.  The process of getting the lead free solder to the point of melt is called “Reflow”.  Once the lead free solder gets to the point of melt it will reform and correct the cold solder joints that are like micro fractures.

There is different equipment types that can be used to take lead free solder to the point of melt during the reflow process such as a heat gun (although not recommended), the hot air solution and the infrared system.  The heat gun is the cheapest way to perform the reflow but is also the most damaging if it isn’t done properly.  To use a heat gun you would need to cover the area surrounding the GPU and the CPU so as to not damage other electronic components.  All the nearby components are held to the motherboard by the same type of lead free solder and if you get these components as hot as the GPU, you will melt the solder and the components may slide away from where they belong.  As with the heat gun, the hot air solutions have similar potential to damage the surrounding electronic components except that most of the hot air solutions come with a nozzle that fits over the chip you are heating. Hot air solutions normally come with a temperature gauge and a timer, but since they do not built up the heat slowly enough the heat can do damage to the chip.  


Most of the infrared systems will come with an option to set up profiles for heating.  With these profiles, you can tell the infrared system how to heat the board based on the chip size.  That gives you the ability to set up profiles for the Xbox 360, PS3, and other board types that you are reflowing on a regular basis.  The infrared systems use a heat wave as opposed to blowing hot air and that gives a better ability to correct the cold solder joints.  When you set up a profile you are telling the system how to perform; you are giving the system instructions on how long to Preheat and at what temperature, how long to Soak and how rapidly to increase the heat, how long to perform the Reflow and at what temperature and then finally, how rapidly you want the system to Cool the motherboard down.  The other great benefit of most infrared systems is that they will come with some type of cooling system.  The infrared systems that come with the ability to set up profiles are the best way to eliminate errors to repairing the Xbox 360 for the RROD.  The best BGA Rework Station on the market today is the PACE IR 1000 from PACE Inc., out of North Carolina.  This system provides everything you need to repair the Xbox 360 and the PS3 motherboards and even repair industrial type boards if you need that.  


You may contact me for more information on PACE infrared equipment as Gameday handles their US sales and distribution for game console repair.

Why Did My Xbox 360 Get the Red Rings of Death (RROD) or PS3 Get the Yellow Light of Death (YLoD)?

I get asked this question all the time, “Why did my Xbox 360 get the red rings of death (RROD)?” or “Why did my PS3 get the Yellow Light of Death (YLoD)?”.   The answer to this question is mainly due to the lead-free solder balls that are used with the Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) and the Central Processing Unit (CPU) chips of the Xbox 360 and PS3. Even though Lead solder would be a better choice for this application, back in 2006 the European Union Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive (WEEE) and Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive (RoHS) came into effect and prohibited the use of Lead in most consumer electronic products.  Lead Free solder is harder to melt than Lead solder, but will break down more easily and does not set up as well.  

Due to some inefficiency with the lead-free solder, a poor displacement of air flow, and high amount of heat that is produced from the GPU, the beak down of the lead-free solder occurs.  You will get fractures in the solder balls under the GPU as well as the CPU causing what is called “Cold Solder Joints”.  When you get enough cold solder joints your game console will shut down and the Xbox 360 will give you one, two, or three red rings (RROD) and the PS3 will give you the Yellow Light of Death (YLoD).  Yes this happens to most Xbox 360’s and PS3’s.

This article is mainly focusing on the Xbox 360, but can also be related to the PS3 since both consoles use the lead-free solder and both produce a serious amount of heat that mainly comes from the GPU which runs the graphics of the intense games that are played on these consoles.   When you are playing games on your console, the graphics chip is processing an enormous amount of code from the games and the more code is being processed the hotter the GPU will get.  The Xbox 360 produces enough heat to begin affecting the lead-free solder and it starts to break down and then oxidize; the oxidation is somewhat equivalent to corrosion.  (You get enough corrosion on metal and it starts to break down the metal and it becomes brittle, so goes oxidation to lead-free solder.)

When I am explaining to a customer why their system failed, whether it be an Xbox 360 or a PS3, I give a much shorter and less in-depth answer so their eyes don’t get glazed over.  But, I also let them know how we go about repairing their Xbox 360 or PS3 and help to eliminate this problem from reoccurring anytime soon.  Even though we can repair the Xbox 360 and PS3, it should be noted that failures will happen again in time.  Most people want a permanent fix to their game console; unfortunately there is no permanent fix, but we strive to keep the console working for a long time with some of the things we do that will dissipate much of the heat that these consoles produce.

So the next question is, how do I repair the cold solder joints on the Xbox 360 or PS3 and get rid of the oxidation and back to playing games? That will be answered in my next blog post, so stay tuned… you don’t want to miss our repair techniques and helpful tips if you chose to do it on your own. 

PS3 Eject Stuck Disc Due to Yellow Light of Death (YLoD)

You've rented a game or movie from the local "box" and you start to play the game or watch the movie when your PS3 shuts down.  Thinking it is just a abnormality you try to turn the PS3 back on, but just as the green light comes on, you see a quick flash of a yellow light and then it starts blinking red.  Now what?  The rented game or movie is stuck in the PS3.  How are you going to get it out so you can return the disc and not start getting charged for everyday that you have it?

Well, there is good news for most of the PS3 models, but unfortunately not all PS3 models will allow you to eject the disc.  I cannot state why some of the PS3 models will not allow you to eject the disc out of the drive and I have not been able to find any information to explain why some PS3 models will not allow the disc to eject.  The models that will not allow you to eject the disc are the CECH-A01 and CECH-E01 PS3 models.

You can find the PS3 model information on the back of the PS3; the model number is located next to the serial number.  If you find that your PS3 model is not one of the aforementioned models then you are in luck and you will/should be able to eject the stuck disc.  You will need to first completely shut off the PS3 by turning off the console from the back.  You should now have no lights on the front of the PS3; you are going to hold the "eject" indicator on the front of the PS3 and keep holding while you now turn the system on from the back of the console.  You will keep holding the "eject" indicator on the front of the console which will kick on the fan louder than you normally hear the fan come on.  In a few seconds after you hear the fan kick on you can stop holding the "eject" indicator and then you should see the "eject" blue light start flashing and in a couple of seconds the disc will start to eject allowing you to now take the disc back to the "box" you rented it from.

If it doesn't work the first time, try it again, it works.  If you need more help regarding how to do this you can do a search for a Youtube video and you can also go to our video which will help you get the disc out - http://www.gamedayresources.com/Video-PS3LOADEJECT.html

If you are one of many PS3 owners that have the A01 or E01 models you can try to find a walkthrough on disassembling the PS3 to physically remove the disc or you can find a local professionally licensed company that specializes on Video Game Console Repair to repair the PS3 for the Yellow Light of Death (YLoD), which once repaired, you will get your disc back.  If you are not comfortable disassembling the PS3 or don't have the tools necessary to take the PS3 apart and you are located in an area where there are company's that you can take it to, you may want to consider shipping the PS3 console to a professional company on the web, (hint, hint) we can help you with that... http://www.shop.gamedayresources.com/

By chance, if you decide to take on the task of removing the disc yourself from the PS3 console, you should be aware that the Blu Ray drive will need to be reset because it will think that there is still a disc in the drive when the console is repaired.  It is worth noting this information to any company that you take your PS3 to or ship it to for the repair of the YLoD.  I would also warn anyone attempting to remove the disc to go slow and do not force the Blu Ray drive open as you can cause permanent damage to the Blu Ray drive.

Xbox 360 and Xbox 360 Slim Disc Read Error Repair

You finally picked up that new game you've been wanting to buy and it's been that kind of week, you just need to get away.  There is no better escape than melting into your favorite chair, grabbing your favorite snack and beverage of choice and then flipping on the Xbox 360 console for some game time.  You carefully tear off the clear plastic wrap on your new Xbox 360 game, pop out the disc and place it in the DVD tray.  You hit the close button, sit down with great anticipation and then "gasp", nothing.  The game disc isn't loading, the onscreen menu just shows "reading" and then it stops attempting to read and shows "open tray".  You get up, annoyed and hit the eject button and then hit the button again to close the tray, but again it just shows "reading" and then goes to "open tray".

This most aggravating problem is commonly known as "disc read error". Even though it is very fixable it is nonetheless a major interference in your game play.  The cost to get this repaired is around $50.00 USD and about one day turn around depending on whether you can find someone local to do the repair. If you have to ship it out for repair, the time and cost will definitely increase.  To find someone you can either check your local craigslist ads or do a Google search for local repairs. You will want to find someone with verifiable electronics repair experience who has a legitimate business license and insurance. There are no actual Xbox 360 Repair Certifications since there are no programs offered by Microsoft to repair the Xbox 360.

Once you have found someone to repair your Xbox 360 for the disc read error, then you will be back on the road to game play recovery.  But, what if you cannot find someone local that you are willing to pay to repair your disc read error on your Xbox 360? There is always the possibility that you may want to try and repair this problem yourself.   It could be just a dirty laser lens; the repair would take about a half hour to an hour to repair yourself.  (We do not recommend this repair to anyone who is not experienced with repairing electronics) The first thing you will need to do in order to repair the disc read error problem is break open the Xbox 360; this link will walk you through opening your Xbox 360 console  http://www.llamma.com/xbox360/repair/Xbox-360-Disassembly.htm.  Once you have opened the Xbox 360 you will need remove and open the DVD Drive.  We are assuming at this point that you have know-how in opening your drive. Now that you have opened the DVD Drive you can clean the laser lens with a Q-tip and a very small amount of rubbing alcohol.  Put the drive back together and you will want to test the drive before you put the console back together.

If after you have cleaned the laser you are still getting the "open tray" on your monitor or TV you will need to determine if the laser is bad or if something else is wrong with the DVD Drive.  Most of the time the laser will be the culprit that stops working.  But, just to make sure it is the laser you are going to want to test a couple of other parts on the drive first.  With the top and bottom DVD Drive cover removed, and the DVD tray in the closed position, move the laser forward and then backwards to see if the worm motor is moving freely.  If the lasers moves back and forth smoothly, then you can assume that the worm motor is working properly.  Next we want to test the disc spindle motor, this is the motor that spins the disc when the drive is engaged and reading your DVD's.  Again, with the tray in the closed position you will find the spindle motor in front of the laser and manually spin the motor using your finger.  If the motor is spinning smoothly then you can assume that the spindle motor is operating properly.  The last thing you will want to check is the spindle magnet on the top of the top drive cover to check to ensure that the spindle is not damaged and isn't stuck.  If it isn't damaged or does not feels stuck then you can assume that it is functioning properly.

At this point we have eliminated everything except for the laser.  Where to get a laser for your Xbox 360 DVD Drive?  First we have to determine what laser we need; here is a link to determine the drive that you have: http://www.llamma.com/xbox360/Xbox_360_DVD_Drive_Comparison.htm.  One drive missing from this list is the Phillips LiteOn drive, but it looks just like the Phillips BenQ drive and takes the same laser; the internal drive is different but as stated uses the same laser.  If your Xbox 360 has the Samsung or the Hitatchi DVD Drive, you will need to find and purchase the HD63 Laser Lens, if your Xbox 360 console has the Phillips BenQ or the Phillips LiteOn drive you will need the iHop-141x Laser Lens.  To purchase one of these lasers you can search eBay or Amazon, the cost will be around $6.00 USD to $15.00 USD.

One thing that you cannot do with the Xbox 360 DVD Drive is swap the DVD Drives due to a keycode that is on the drive controller board which is married to the motherboard.  The keycode on the controller board will only work with that motherboard and if you do swap the drives then your Xbox 360 will not read any Xbox 360 Game Discs, it will only read DVD's at this point.  If you do decide to purchase a new drive, you can purchase the same drive that you currently have and take the drive controller board out of the original drive and install the controller board into the new same drive.  The Samsung and Hitachi drives do not require any soldering, but to swap the controller boards of the Phillips BenQ or the Phillips LiteOn Drives you will need to desolder the original board and solder to the new same drive.  The last alternative is to copy the keycode from DVD contoller board via your computer and some special software and serial card and install the keycode onto any working drive made for the Xbox 360.

Note:  Using a different drive than the original drive with the Xbox 360 may keep you from updating your console with Xbox live or updates from game discs.

If all of this seems overwhelming or not practical because you lack the tools or skills to try any of these repairs, you can send in your console to us to repair the problem for you. Go to GameDayResources

Xbox 360 Repair Process Explained, but a bit about me first

I am not a morning person, although I get the most out of doing things in the mornings. I have to do things myself and I want to know everything about what it is I am doing.  For example, when it came to fixing xbox 360's, I wasn't going to watch a Youtube video to figure out how to fix them.  

I have a background in the working knowledge of BGA Reflow process when I worked for a computer manufacturer, DFI, back in the '90's.  I purchased multiple broken Xbox 360 consoles, studied the specs for melting solder and tested on the consoles I purchased until I was at the point of knowing that I could fix them better than anyone else. 

I burnt up a few of the Xbox 360's just in testing the specifications of the melting points of Lead Free Solder, but we also learned our tolerances of heat.  

My equipment that I use for this process has improved over time and the fix that I developed has greatly improved.  We added improvements to the motherboard and airflow design over time and we repeat the process on every console that we get in to fix.  

We've added PS3 repairs along the way, which is a very challenging system, but we developed a process that fix the toughest consoles.  Reflow process on the PS3 is unique and time consuming but when done properly, the PS3 can run for a long period of time.  Our process on the PS3 is different then most and it is not the same as when reflowing the Xbox 360.  You cannot fix the Xbox 360 or the PS3 the way kids show on YouTube, it may come up for a short time but it does not correct the overall problem.       

get more information from www.gamedayresources.com