My xbox 360 wont show a picture but it has sound

Wrap the 360 in a 100% cotton towel. Place it on a hardclean surface...then take a Sledge Hammer and beat the crap out of it...Place in box, take a piece of blank paper...put your hand in the birdie position and trace your hand on the paper...place the paper in the box with the Xbox and send to Microsoft.

My Sons Xbox had sound but a blank screen. at first i thought it was the video leads.. Borrowed a set from his friend but still the same.. blank screen but sound. I thought about the towel trick but was wary.. so instead i went to a comp repair shop. He suggested the towel trick... he said it may or not work. So being out of warranty with nothing to lose , i gave it a go.
Remove your hard drive and video leads leave just the power lead attached. Wrap your xbox in three towels and switch it on for about 20mins (which i did). Switch it off (it may already have switched itself off ! leave it to cool for about 15 mins and then plug everything back in . I was amazed to find my sons xbox up and running agian. Hope it works for you !! It did for me and i still can't belive it!

when we experience a no video/display but with sound as if your logging in at your default blade, try to disconnect all the cables including the power cord and the audio video cable. (its the cable going from your console or xbox 360 to your tv). Before you plug it back try also to wipe the prongs or the metal part of the cables to ensure it has no debris or anything that would mess up the connection. If your using an HDTV make sure that the switch of your component cable is click on the hdtv settings. if it still not working for you, try to use a different cable and TV just to isolate the problem. If the issue still persist.. its the system that has a problem. Not exactly the hardware but it would definitely the prongs at the back of the console. So, bring it back to the retailer if its still in 30-days warranty or send for repair to its authorized service center.

If you have no video but you have sound you most likely have an issue with your Xbox's components and the way they were soldered. Microsoft started using lead free solder which needs a higher temperature to melt and also makes the joint structurally weaker. The easiest way to fix this problem is the "towel trick" where you wrap a bath towel around the Xbox and turn it on for 15 to 30 minutes and then turn it off and cool down. This heats up the Xbox's components to the point where the solder will melt and re-solder the joints that have become weakened.

Throw a pancake on it

Guys No need to worry. I also got the same problem two days back. It boots up with normal green light No error light or nothing just the Black screen with sound. Since my box was out of warrenty I had to try something on my own. This is what I did.
OPen the Xbox and take out the mother board. Remove the X shaped of unit under the GPU.
Which basically unlock the heat sinc. Remove the heat sinc screws.
Get 4 Machine screws which are 5mm x 10mm. / 4 numbers of Spring washers which are 1mm (Thickness) / 4 Numbers of fiber or nylon washers which are 1mm(thickness). Make sure washers fits in to the screw perfectly.
4 Numbers of 1mm flat steel washers.
Put the spring washer in to all 4 screws and crewl it through the bottom of the mother board to the top.
From the top of the mother board put one Nylon or fiber washer followed by flat steel washer on each screw.
Put the heat sinc back on top of the screws and tight all 4 screws equally.
Point is to make the pressure on the gpu with the heat sinc.
connect the motherboard to the power and the tv cable without the fans.
This point it might start working right away but keep it switched on for 2 , 3 minutes.
Wait till it over heats and showing 2 red lights.
Unplug the power cable and let it cool down.
then put the fans back on and try. You will see what you like to see the most. Xbox start up of course.
But in my case as soon as i pluged the board to the power without fans it started showing 2 red lights without even overheating.
In that matter take out the 4 steel washers from heat sync side and tighten up firmly.
Two red light error shows that there is too much space between gpu and the heat sinc.
Now you have a fix for the No display with white dots + sound error.
Its a very simple method and all I spent was like less than 1 US$ for the washers and screws. Thats in my country. If any help needed mail me on hasitha5@hotmail.com
Good luck Guys.

I have seen the no video problem with several consoles that friends have given me and every time it was remedied by an X-clamp replacement (the BGA solder balls on the GPU have cracked and broken loose due to the motherboard warping from excessive heat). This involves replacing the heat sink mounts with screws and washers that apply downward pressure on the heat sinks to re-connect the broken solder balls of the GPU. That is why the towel trick works for a short while, the broken solder balls re-attach themselves just barely but not very well.

This process is not for the faint of heart as it involves COMPLETELY disassembling your Xbox. Xbox-scene has many good tutorials that detail this process. Llamma also has a good tutorial at this link:

http://www.llamma.com/xbox360/repair/ring_of_light_x-clamp_fix.htm

If you are brave enough to go this far you may also want to make some cooling modifications to help the airflow increase over the GPU heatsink. RJBTech has a good article on this at this link:

http://rbjtech.bulldoghome.com/pages/rbjtech_bulldoghome_com/Xbox360.htm

He is one of the innovators in the Xbox 360 repair scene and has some good tutorials as well.

There of course are other things that can cause the no video problem but more often than not the GPU overheating and breaking its solder balls is the cause. Yes, the new units are SLIGHTLY more reliable with the added GPU heat sink but if you nose around the xbox-scene forums you will find that they are failing in the same manner as the earlier xbox 360 units, just not as high a percentage of them.

The new GPU heat sink just moves heat from the area of the GPU and passes it right through the CPU heat sink so the problem of too much heat in that small box has not been fixed. Only a die shrink in the GPU and CPUs will alleviate that problem (or increase the fan speed to increase the exhaust, but that also increases noise greatly).

Good luck,

Hoyt

A Solution...........................This is for everyone and anyone who waited countless hours for a system that would later or working on them. The Solution that i am about to tell you is totally illegal, but it works... Trust Me..... Me along with many other of my friends with faulty XBox360s have done this.... Well first this, solution requires several steps... 1. you need money for a xbox 360 arcade console (Obviously because its the cheapest one)... and dont worry....you'll get every nickel back :)...... 2. (Tools) you'll need a minature flat head screw driver along with a Torx Head scew driver...(its the one with a 6 point star shaped head) 3.(Instruction) this is perhaps the most important step of all... because it requires the dissembly of your system and for those who dont know how to... here is a web site that gives you detailed instructions on how to take your 360 apart (http://www.xbox-accessories.com/instructions/disassemble360.html) trust me, its not that hard 4. (Prey) I would suggest picking the least tech savy store such as wall mart or target were i would get the system.... 5. (The good ol switcher rue) Once have both systems in front of you, there are several things that you need to be aware of... there are four stickers and three of witch contain bar cods which identifies each xbox; one is in the front by the usb ports. the other one is in the back (DO NOT PEEL THIS ONE) the whole plastic panel is going to be sent back the retailer... The third sticker is inside.... you'll see it on the aluminum panel as you open it.... the last one is located in the front after removing the face plate (this is a tamper prof sticker and i suggest letting it slide of when you separate the two main white pieces) all three stickers with the bar codes need to be with the one console that is going to be returned...... all you need to is switch the your console with the brand new one (if the new one has HDMI ports and yours doesnt, dont worry... they wont even notice the difference between the old version and the new version.....
6. Return it...... the only thing that they will mostly look at is the bar code in the back and the rest of the merchandice in the box

I know this seems like alot of work but it isnt and it saves you money in the end with a brand new updated 360 Enjoy :)

I had the same exact problem then it Occured to me. Is my HD switch on? The answer was yes and i was playing on a non HD TV. It may or may not be your problem but check that before you kill your xbox with the towel thing.

I would not recommend the towel trick. Too much heat is not a good thing for the 360. You can fry other components doing this. Clean everything you can, wires, connections. If your warrenty is out. Open it up and try to find an area that solder is lose or not connected. Check the gpu/motherboard connection, that seems to be the most errors i have gotten. (twice). there are ways to find out which error you have if you have the flashing lights after the picture goes out. just search it here.

I recently got a black screen with white dots on it. Im thinking about using the towel trick because it's out of warrenty. Anyone know what hardware is causing the problem? I think it's probably the motherboard or video card.

After reading through a hell of a lot of people telling me to open up my 360 or wrap it in a towel and let it melt itself i did eventually find a simple logical solution.

Get in onto the AV setting where you can hear the sound. Turn off the 360. Turn the 360 back on. Hold the Y and RT buttons down.

This resets the picture mode and you should get the screen back.

I'm not saying it will work for everyone but it did for me + it must be worth a try before you do any long lasting damage to your 360!

I also have an xbox 360 that went from having a video image to not having one within one sitting. I was playing assasin's creed and mass effect, during my mass effect game the system's resolution started to actually get darker and the color depth faded as well ( as if it was in safe mode ) , after rebooting no video at all. Removed all cables and hard drive. Re-connected and tried rebooting several times no luck, eventually on 4th reboot got red ring of death. That's 3 red flashing lights starting at the 1 position, and also in the 3rd and 4th position. If I removed the video cable if gives me a FULL 4 flashing red (AV issue), and then back to the ring of death (1,3,4).

Call MS said it was out of warranty, as is my older unit that has a busted DVD rom, yes I have two of them. I have already had to replace one. So I am taking my working DVD rom out of my busted unit , and putting into my working unit. Hopefully this will solve my issue. My suggestion is to try and make sure all is connected, clean pins etc. But don't mess with it too much things like the towel trick are temporary fixes. If you are in warranty send it in, it's free. If you are out of warranty and you are capable of servicing electronics it's just a few beads of solder, near the back where the AV comes into the MB.

And for all those replacing DVD roms it's a Serial ATA DVD rom, can be replaced with any model.

Hope this helps.

Of and if you get the red lights, that means the Video or GPU is shot. No video no games I am afraid.

Good luck!

My son's Xbox 360 is about two years old and has worked fiine until recently. While playing a game, the screen went pink, green, then black. After restarting it, there was no video, only audio.

We did the steps recommended by the tech. support, but nothing worked. They wanted us to pay $99.00 for for the repairs. I had a huge problem with this, becasue after doing research on the web, it began to sound like an over heating problem. Why was I going to pay for a factory default? Even on the Xbox website, they interviewed the head designer, and he stated that the biggest challenge was getting the cooling fans in such a tight space.

I contacted them tech. support again stating my anger and frustrations. They were still standing by their offer to fix it for $99.00

I then contacted the Better Business Bureau for the Washington area. I told them everything that had transpired, and they agreed to take on the case. After two days, Micosoft called me and said that they would repair it for free (plus FedEx me a box with prepaid overnight shipping).

Good luck everyone. Persistence paid off for us.

Here is the problem (in theory). Microsoft was forced to use a lead-free solder to comply with international (EU) trade laws restricting the use of lead in what might be considered toys. The problem is that MS didn't design the 360 to be put together with lead free solder as it melts at a higher temperature than solder normally used in most solid state electronics. Because of this the units were put together with "cold solder joints" attaching the components to the logic board.
Cold solder joints are essentially joints of hot metal that were either not heated to a high enough temperature, or where cooled to quickly. This creates a very weak electrical contact that has a high potential of breaking.
Flexation experienced by the logic board, due to to variances of height in the standoffs and the "X Clamps" holding the heat sinks down on the GPU and CPU, increases the chance of breaking the cold solder joints on the CPU and GPU. This is what causes the Red Ring of Death, and the no video problems. The theory behind the towel method is that the overheating GPU will get the solder hot enough to fix the cold solder joints (this is called reflowing). This combined with replacing the X Clamps and leveling the stand offs that the logic board rests on, in theory, will fix the source of the problem. However, the truth is that the towel method doesn't allow the GPU to really get hot enough to fix the problem because the CPU has a sensor that detects overheating and shuts down the power to both the CPU and GPU causing any reflowing to prematurely cease and create a brand new cold solder joint. This is still brittle and will likely to break again, especially if the flex problems are not addressed prior to the reflowing. Another way that has been suggested is to remove the logic board, insulate everything except the CPU and GPU and run a heat gun (on low) across the board to reflow the solder joints to an appropriate temperature as to fix the cold solder problem and create good solid solder joints. This, in theory, will fix the source of the problem and "should" keep the problem from ever happening again.
Good Luck

I just noticed that my A/V cord had a little switch on the side for either TV of HDTV. I feel so stupid right now. I had accidently switched it to HDTV when I unplugged it to move.  Before you try the towel trick or whatever else you hear, look at the A/V cord and see if you have that switch on it.  

I experienced color distortion the night before it went black. I was skeptical of the "wrap in towel" solution, but I tried it any way. It worked.
Check hd/tv switch on cable first.
Solution: 1. Turn on Xbox 360. 2. Take one dry bath towel, and cover the entire 360 tightly (1 layer). 3. Check every 4 minuntes, for 20 minutes. 3a. If the red, half circle pops up turn it off promptly.   4. Turn off the 360. 5. Let it cool for 10 minutes.
Always avoid direct sun light to the console.
Reason it works: 1. The heating compound on the heat sync has dried up, and broken the video connection. 2. When in the towel, it heats the heat sync up to (approx 110-120 degrees). 3. The heating compound becomes liquid. 4. That creates a connection to the heat sync.

easy solution: forget the other posts check the cord hdtv or regular if you dont have hdtv slide the switch easy

that same thing happened to me. I couldn't afford to buy a new one and Microsoft said it was out of warranty. My friend recommened this site and I wound up getting one for FREE!! it took me about a month but it was better than spending the money. It takes time but it's totally worth it.

http://www.rewards1.com/index.php?referrer_id=571475

This is Audio but no Video problem of Xbox 360, I have read a lot of thread where game lovers are having this kind of problem.
You can check the blog post at http://www.fix-xbox360.info/2008/09/11/xbox-360-disc-read-error-e74-error-no-video-problem/ for fixing no video problem.

i suggest this for everyone who has an xbox 360.......GET RID OF THE PIECE OF ****......i had the same no video but sound problem and its really irritating especially since i just bought two new games for my consloe which i cant play now....to me it ridiculous that a compnay like microsoft could put out such a flawed product...as i can tell everyone is having the same problem and thats just sad that we must suffer while bill gates pockets are getting fat.......now to me xbox should be repairing this issue for us free since this issue is very common and quite frankly im pissed off witth xbox one because this is my 6 or 7th xbox i had in the past 2 years and two xbox support is not out to help the customer instead they are just takin our money......so my advice is this dont pay pay to get ur xbox fix especially if u dont this before just throw the **** away and spend ur hard earn money on something else........

i cant beleive it the towel trick worked (not slegde hamma 1) i am so happy yay thank u hu every found that out

This has just happened to me so i called microsoft and spoke to a chap in tech support who tried to charge me £60 for the repair and told me it would be 6 to 8 weeks to get it back, as my xbox is out of warranty.

However, as i had looked on line before i called about 360 problems, i told him that this is a known issue with build quallity and as such Microsoft should sort this for free, he put me on hold for around 5 min and came back offering me a free repair, collection, and told me that it would take 2 to 3 weeks max.

Give it a go, but dont loose your temper

I just fixed 3 rrod 360s this morning, one that had sound and no picture, and one that had 1 red light e74 error. I fixed all five the way that I always do. It requires opening the xbox and voiding the warranty (because of stupid stickers) but if its past warranty that doesn't matter anymore anyway. Once you take the plastic shell off the bottom side, flip it over and take out the 6 longest screws from the bottom. Once they are out, flip it over again and remove the top plastic cover with the aluminum cage. Once your xbox guts are exposed, lift out the DVD drive and set it to the side, no need to unplug it, but you can if you want. unsnap the white fan cover and remove it. firmly pull up on the metal holding the fans down, then pull the fans inward, then up/out. Keep the fans plugged in as well. We will use them to trick the xbox into thinking that it is NOT overheating.
Next is the critical part. Take a dry cloth or small hand towel and fold it over a few times to create a heat barrier, then wrap your video heat sync in in the towel. set the fans directly on top of the CPU heat sync blowing downward, and make sure that the towel is keeping the breeze from hitting the video heat sync! Run it like this for about five minutes, then turn the system off while applying great pressure to the towel on the video heat sync. Press and hold with about 25 lbs of weight, and keep it steady and in place for two or three minutes (till the un-leaded solder cools down enough to become solid). Then gently lift the metal frame onto its side and tighten the video heat sync screws about 1/4 turn at a time, going clockwise until they don't want to move anymore. Don't torque the heck out of it because this can literally crush your video chips!!!
after it is tightened back down, place the xbox back on its bottom and set the cpu fan off to the side. Turn it on with no fan blowing on either the cpu or video heat sync and let it heat up till you get the 2 flashing overheat lights. Unplug it as soon as you can after the two lights flash then give the screws on the heat syncs one final torque down just to make sure none of them are lose. After it cools, 90% of the time it works first try.
If it is still stubborn, repeat the process, but keep the video heat sync covered with the fan blowing down into the CPU heat sync for 10 minutes instead of just 5. I have only had to repeat the process to one xbox ever though. And I have fixed about two dozen of them over the last year and a half. I hope this helps you all. It took me about six months of digging through blogs, and researching micro-electronics to develop this method.

ive had this problem for a while now. No video but sound. I have taken apart my xbox 3 times now and two of those times the xbox started working but eventually failed. Thats why i had to open it up three times and the third time, im not getting any luck. I did the x-clamp change to bolts and washers but im not getting any luck anymore. Anyone wanna chime in?

*************************READ THIS FIRST!!!*****************************
As mentioned in another post, BE SURE to check HD TV switch on cable FIRST.
Check this link if you don't know where it is: http://xbox.about.com/od/xbox360faqs/ss/x360hookupsbs_4.htm

We were going to follow the instructions for taking the xbox apart, etc., but then I read a post here about this switch. We just checked it and sure enough, it was switched to HD when we don't have HD TV. I'm SO glad for that post!!!

Its all to do with the microsoft software
if its an elite the audio but no visual is equivalant to the red ring of death which is the software there is no solution to this
i still have the microsoft sticker inside my xbox, to find this take your front cover of and its near the on button if that is still on get in touch with microsoft they should send you a brand new spanker :D
hope this is help to all

Try this link . . . www.microsoft.com/Xbox360Console

To find your best solution.

6

dont buy that trash just remove the x clamps from the heat sinks and put screws in it after you clean and thermal coat the two chips and your done there's too much info out there to need a book any more its a cheap book but completely unnessesary just pay attn to the online tutorials you might not have the rrod but treat it as you do

wat u do is u wrap a towel tight around your xbox so nothing is exposed. let it run until it turns off. i did that three times. take off the towel for 10 minutes let it cool off and start it and it'll work. trust me im a doctor.

all you need to do is red ring it, i have done this and it really works
first you need to take off the hard drive then wrap your xbox360 in a thick towel from front to back so that it covers the fans switch it on and leave it to over heat this can take a while it took mine over 30 mins you will hear the xbox cut out switch everything off wait 10 secs then plug it all back in and happy playing

I fixed my 360 today using the X-clamp fix found all over internet sites like Youtube. I replaced the x-clamps with nuts, bolts, and nylon washers. Cleaned the GPU (graphics processing unit) and CPU (central processing unit) with some rubbing alcohol. If you can find thermal compound remover it is easier to clean both of them. I used a toothbrush with the rubbing alcohol and my fingernails to scrape the old thermal paste away. Cleaned the gpu and cpu to a mirror shine. Replaced the 2 heat sinks and secured them with the new nuts, bolts, and washers. NO X-CLAMPS. Saved like 150 bucks.

IVE REPAIRED ABOUT 40 XBOX 360 WHICH WHERE THREE RED LIGHTS YOU CAN COVER THEM UP AND BAKE THEM FOR TWENTY FIVE MINUTES BUT THEY WILL ONLY LAST ABOUT TWO WEEK MAX . SO WOT YOU AFTER DO IS RECLAMP THE CPU AND GRAPHICS PROCESSING UNIT ON THE MOTHERBOARD THE HARDIST PART IS GETTING INTO THE MACHINE BUT IF YOU GO ON YOU TUBE THERE IS PLENTY OF VIDEOS SHOWING YOU HOW TO DO EVERYTHING NEEDED .THE KIT YOU REQIURE IS ONLY ABOUT TWO POUNDS OF E-BAY GOOD LUCK

Your graphics unit is failing. Get a cooling fan from gamestop or trade it in before its too late!

Billy D

Hi , my name is Curtis and i'm new to FIXYA but not new to the xbox360 ! If you have the " RED RING OF DEATH " I can fix it so it never happens again! I have fixed several with a 100% success rate. I clean out your console and repair it for $50 plus $15 to ship it back to you , Total $65.00 ! So don't sell your games for $5 and your console for $40 , when you can play again for $65.00! It will return to you in a week or two, once i receive it. My email address is curtetheredge@hotmail.com if you have any questions and to receive further instructions on where to send it!

Also, if you have the newer video/audio cable then make sure it is set to the right type of TV. HDTV or just regular. It wont work if u have it set to the wrong one.

I tried the towel trick and it actually worked... for about 10 minutes. Then in the middle of my next game it went blank again.

Hi there, Now this is going to sound weird !! but I say the truth. I had the same problem and here is how i fixed mine..

The screen started off going green and then blue sometimes , one day after this i turned on my 360. there was sound but no picture. I changed TV's and i changed the AV lead.. still blank screen.

this is what I done.....

Took off the hard disk...
turned on 360
folded a towl length ways and wrapped the 360 back to front to cover the fan area. this was to make it overheat.. I know this sounds crazy !! but it works!!
Wait for red lights to come on and quickly remove the towel and turn off your 360.
wait few seconds and then turn your xbox on again..

There we are !! Sound and picture returns ...

I thought I would try this as if you do get red lights, Xbox fixes it for you for FREE, plus, your 360 dont work now anyway does it..

But believe me !! it works....

my xbox 360 wont show pic but i hear sounds. How do i fix it?

This error is brought on by the same problem as the dreaded 3rrod (3 red rings of death), after using the Xbox 360 console for a long period of time it gets so hot that the motherboard warps and in turn breaks some of the solder connections. Once this happens you get either the 3rrod or e74.
The best way to fix this is basically the same as we do, replace the x-clamp with nuts and bolts, the instructions can be found by googling. Then also replace the heatsink paste with Arctic solver or similar good quality paste then lastly buy one of the team xecuter repair kits and install that. A combination of the three will repair this fault.

We also repair this kind of fault and do exactly what ive posted above, we also spend an hour just going over every solder point to make sure they are all ok and everything is connected. If you need any help please contact us at www.fixmyconsole.co.uk

Ok dude listen up , I had this same problem with mine and worked really well after what I did to it..... Ok first you have to open it up and take it apart ,you are going to have to take out the mother board also .I suggest you keep urself grounded with a strap, you can give ur mother board static and ruin it . Clean ur hands hands before you do this thou ,if you have a compressor give the xbox and everything in it a good spray so all the dust and other stuff in the heatsinks can be cleaned .remove the heat sink very carefully you might want to buy also some thermal paste you will need it ,you will also need 4 washers a little bit smaller than #8 insert the washers on the bottom of the board one on each side ok. If you get it the first time awesome i had to mess with a couple of times before i got it working and i did this by pressing the heat sink down firmly while it was on till i figured out the problem . I used to get like stars on screen no pictture but with sound ....... now put everything back together ,,,, hope this helps do this at your own risk ..................................................

when I plug in my x box I have sound but no video could this be my hd av plug

dont click on this site pop ups and ads galore .... scam scam scam

well had the same problem and the xbox was 2 years old now so not worth the money to send it in with new ones being 199$ now. that said i took mine apart just to clean it carrfully got all the dust and dirt outa it . put it back together nothing so i tried rubbing alcohol on the avi cord plug in got it wet in side and pluged it in sevral times then turned on the xbox and clicked the tv hdtv switch back and forth a few times and it started working. hope this helps it fixed mine.

the towel trick worked for me

cheers

no video how do you fix it?

that towel trick worked for me thak all of you for saving me money!!!!!

i have no video but still sound

The solution is the same a the "Red Rings Of Death." My son's video went out, but the towel trick brought it back for an hour or so. When I did the "Red Rings Of Death" repair it was up and running without a problem. In the tutorials, they tell you to overheat the console. I did not find this necessary in doint the repair for a video only problem. The best video I found was a three part series on YouTube by "Xbox360fix." You can buy the parts from him or at Home depot or Lowes. You need 5mmx10 pan head screws, #10 nylon washers and 5 mm steel/zinc washers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bo2dl2vlwis

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvdJ-Q_T6Js

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-wni_SNFXU&feature=related

i had the same problem. if your sure its a problem with the console and not the cable or your TV then i recommend calling microsoft and seeing if they will fix it for free. if your warranty is up and you dont want to pay you can try what worked for me. "the towel trick" check out youtube for good how to videos.

Alright people. First and foremost, your problem is likely with the XBox 360 console. This happened because of the Sony/Microsoft race. They both developed products that were not up to par, just rushing to make profit before Christmas.

To answer you: The motherboard on the 360 was, at the time, on par with any computer. Unlike a high powered computer, it does not have proper cooling devices, as Microsoft somehow thought it would inconvenience us to make a bigger console shell to put in more efficient cooling units.This, in turn, causes your Xbox 360 to heat up rapidly. On its side, it does so more, even with a fan nearby. To fix this, you should not try the towel trick. It has a 12% success rate. Some of you may find this to be alright, I do not. There is the option to solder. I do not recommend doing this yourself if you inexperienced in soldering, because chances are you are going to do more harm than good anyway. If you do decide to go with the self fix method, take it to someone who can fix it! I have found some off-brand computer stores and computer repair places will do it for as little 20$, and I live in Las Vegas, where -everything- is jacked up. If this does not help you, I am sorry to say there is little you can do. You instant fix towel method is like putting your health, and your house on the line for a measeley 200$ It -can- catch fire, after all. And I don't think many of you will sit there for the 20-40 minute wait times depending on which self entitled brainiac you ask.

To sum this all up: Leave it to people who know what they are doing. Yes, it will cost you a little more, but at least the job will be done right the first time. I hope this helps you all with your problem.

P.S.- If you do get a new system, I know many of you aren't going to follow this rule, but try it. Limit yourselves to 4 hours of game play. Until they develop a better cooling unit, it will keep internal damage to a minimum. Also remember to keep it on a flat, open surface. A wire rack would do nicely, if you can fit it around the tv. This will allow for even air distribution. Also, clean it, weekly. Buy an air blower (10$) and blow it out once a week. Take care of it. And this doesn't mean stick the tube in there and blast it from point blank range, by the way.

everything is perfect but the tv is complet black i tryed it diffrent tv and still and black i can hear the sound but the tv is black can anyone solve this please help!!!!

Hello,

Please check your AV cable, maybe borrow a friend's AV cable to see if that is the problem.

Did your Xbox 360's picture go blurry before it showed no picture at all ? The problem your suffering from is a faulty graphics card, this could of been damaged due to overheating.

Ring Xbox , if your Xbox 360 under warrentee they will be happy to pick your Xbox up via UPS and it will be gone for around 2-4 weeks depending on where you live .

Any more question's please email me.

do the remove xclamps repair it works 99% of time only costs about £7 cfor tools off ebay

Ok, I looked at this site when I had the problem and I tried everything, I found a solution that works. If you put your xbox in your dovay cover and keep it in there untill the xbox turns off. When it does turn off let it cool for about 1 minute and then turn it back on. When you do put the xbox in the dovay, take the hardrive, game, hdtv plug and wireless adapter out. This method works fine and it works for me. I hope you find a way to fix yours :)

I had exact the same problem, no screen but audio without the 3 red lights, removing the x-clamp and screwing the heatsink to the board worked perfectly.

http://www.llamma.com/xbox360/repair/ring_of_light_x-clamp_fix.htm

The towel trick is totally temporary so please don't do it if you want any hopes of keeping your 360 alive. If you continue to use the towel trick the console will eventually become unresponsive and fully "die" beyond repair. (I know from Experience).

Your best bet is to use the High Definition Cable on a Full HD TV or use the s-Video cable, but the s-Video cable will cause a bit of "ghosting", so try option 1, if you can afford it?

wrap it with a towel for 20 minutes let it cool off, it works like a charm

I had the same problem with my 360, so i took all my games and controllers and traded them and bought myself a PS3 alot better quality product and its gonna kick the 360's ass by the end of this year.

You could try this, dont think that the towel thing you are all on about: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/911059

 I WAS PLAYING PGR4 ONLINE AND THEN MY STUPID X-BOX CHANGED DIFFERENT COLORS OF RED AND GREEN AND WENT BLANK EXEPT FOR GREEN DOTS ON MY SCREEN GOING DIAGANALLY. IT WASN'T ANY OF THE CORDS OR TV. WARRENTY IS UP...SOOO... I'LL GUESS I'LL HAVE TO DO THE TOWEL TRICK...HUH I HOPE IT DOESN'T MESS IT UP MORE...WELL HERE I GO... 

Just sent my 2nd console off for repair after the RROD, after waiting 2 weeks i got sent another (now my 3rd) which i received 2day! :)
Opened the box....... played for 1 hr and then the picture went completely, i can still hear the sound. I tried it on other TV's with different cables. Phoned Xbox, its a problem with the hardware, got to send it in for repair..... AGAIN!
It seems that alot of people seem to be experiencing the same problem, thanks Mr Gates for charging me a fortune for faulty goods (which are not suitable for the consumer market) and making my life a hassle! Forget the S**tbox it's not worth a penny

I just tried the towel trick and it worker after just about 8 min my xbox got hot as hell which kind of worries me in the long run but hey instant fix

had this problem earlier with MASS EFFECT. awsome game but i think it was killing my 360. i fixed it by dusting it off and the area around (the cabinent around was really dusty) then warming it up a bit (cuz it was way too cold in my room) with the towel trick [just 3mins]. afterwards i was able to play all of my older games just fine except mass effect as it still does that at some point.

i have an older hdtv, no 1080p; now i think mass effect[no autosave] that i had just happens to output 1080p sometime during gameplay from component because if i eject it, the screen goes back to normal. at first i had it on autosave, which probably saved the settings that 1080p setting. therefore i just exchanged it for something else and so far my 360 is working like before.

I got it.....It was a dahh for! After 2 mos.down i finally just started cleaning everything. I don't play on my t.v., But on my computer monitor. The a/v cables were clogged from the continous connecting and disconnecting. I used some alchol and an old toothbrush, poking the holes aggresively and lo'l and behold a picture. Believe you, me ....I am underestimating how pissed I was when I found out it was that simple little thing.

if i use the towel trick and it doesent work can that mean that it can get more broken while doing the towel trick

use this product to clean ur lines. ensure to wipe down the excess..
trichloroethylene. aka "trike"..we use it all the time in our aircraft avianoics
its aviation tech's 409.. if that dont work... solution11 will do.

I had the same problem with mine.I just moved mine,but there may be a diferant problem.It mite be your tv, or your wire that plugs in the tv.try these first and if that do'nt work it's your 360.


from:clintman

I had the same problem with mine.I just moved mine,but there may be a diferant problem.It mite be your tv, or your wire that plugs in the tv.try these first and if that do'nt work it's your 360.


from:Joke-O

is ther a switch on your cable try change the switch possotion

Someone had posted that powering off and then powering on while holding the 'Y' Button and 'RT' 'reset the video'. Now I dont know anything about that, this was the 1st forum I saw in. I read in another forum about a guy who basic has you 'jam the fans - with q'tips or anything else and let it heat up to 2 red lights' a different take on the the towel method. What I did was I had no video but I had sound, NO RED RING(S) OF DEATH yet either. So the video chip/heat sink potion has to be bad. I reaed futhur up the forum about th etype of solder they use and how its lead free because this (XBOX) is considered a childrens toy and according to international trade standards yadda ydda yadda - which the jest of it it, super heating the unit will cause the solder to reheat and reeconnect and work, I did a timed trial'. My XBOX being out of warranty and not wanting to go through and open it it up as I had done a few times and just distuighed as I am sure the rest of you are, I wasn't sold on super heating it because I feared damaging other components inside, and since this was a 'case on, nothing removed fix' I had no real way of feeling how hot the sink was getting, and since I didnt have RRD YET I didnt want to make it go to the RRD to fix it. So heres what I did.

Left everything hooked up, took two toothpicks and slid them into the fans to stop them from spinning, let the unit sit flat - took my disc out, left everything else connected. I let it run for about 4-5 minutes, felt the top - it was warm so I imagine the inside was pretty hot. Turned it on (of course I already checked to make sure I didnt have it set to HDMI, and I used a regular low resolution cable, the high resolution seems to put a hell of a strain on the chip, and if its not working already - might as well try it at 'basic form'. After 4-5 mins, I turned it off, tried the suggestion posted above of holding the right trigger and Y button at the same time while repowering. Honestly this didnt make sense to me, because be the time it boots it has to find the controller first, but anyways I did it. Didnt work. Let it run for ANOTHER 4 mins and turned it off, powered it on and kept hitting the RT and Y button during the power up (TOOTH PICKS STILL IN) the top of the machine was hot - didnt work, but the video flickered for the first time, waited another 2 minutes did it againt (power up, RT & Y button hitting them over and over during the power up) and it actually worked, I immediately pulled the toothpicks out of the back the fan was jacked and spinning hard, loaded MW3 and started to play. 15 mins later the video started to become discolored on and off - so I took a large round coffee can and put it on the table and put the xbox back in the middle, put the tooth picks in and stopped the fans, display was good (I figured since it was working it cooled down enough and the solder loosed up and it broke contact as we all know what happens ) after a couple more minutes I pulled the tooth picks out of the fan again - I didnt shut the machine of - so far it has held up for about 2 hrs, I havent tried to recycle it (turn it off) havent got distroted colors or flashes, it has been playing fine, its still on the coffee can, as I think that by centering the weight in the middle to force the pressure into the heatsinks and heating it up I may have caused those joints to regain their contact. 2 hrs and all is well - no flickers. I will bring to Gamestop and dump it if it fires up in the morning or go through the entire process again but do a rebuild from on of the methods online. I plan on checking it - just to see if it boots and the video is good through out the day tommorrow at random. Since I have a office in my house its easy for me. If it holds then I will figure out whether I will get another one from gamstop (refurbished with a warranty) and see what they will give me for mine, I DONT RECOMMEND TRYING TO USE THE HDMI output if you have that console as I do, or using the HDMI on the switch, it seems to push to much strain on the machine. Time will tell. I am sure that if I wanted to heat it longergradully as I have it would probably do the job, maybe I will try that and repost. But that does work, I just did it slow and easy as I was skeptical as hell.Good luck and hope it helps someone

ok this is how i fixed my xbox but if u take my metho your xbox will never look the same agin... ok so i toke it apart to where the xbox just show the mother bored fan ect/// i toke off the fan n wrapped the towel trick wait for it to overheat--- then trun it off to cold down--- did it a secound time and waited to cool down--- then i added extra cable to the fans n this is why--- i after the xbox cold down--- i setted the fan on top of the heaters. witch is the only big metal things the stick out the most on the mother bored... so i placed the fans on top and it never did that problem too me... warning if ur try this dont put the xbox back together let it out free and it will stay cool--- if you have anymore question let me no... chuby408@gmail.com

i tried the Qtip solution, way faster then the towel trick, just take off the cotton from one end of 2 qtips, and put them in the holes where the fan is, here is the link, works in 20 min np.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FV4OX8-SQqY

i think that it is inside the av connection...
cause the same thing happened to mine but i think that there is dirt or something in it.

I had the something similar with my xbox a couple months before.

I've used this guide and solved it myself without paying too much.

Good luck.

Here's the best solution. Go to Home Depot and pick up these items and your problem will be fixed. You just have to watch the instructional video on You-Tube .

Here's the address - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bo2dl2vlwis&feature=channel

This is the first one and there is 3 of them. You also need some Thermal Compound for the heat sinks on the mother board. I purchased this from Radio Shack. Cost $6.50.

Home Depot parts list. I will just give you the SKU. These parts are located in the hardware isle, in the grey metal drawers.

#1 Four little bags of 030699869381. These are the plastic washers. cost $2.28

#2 Two little bags of 030699012282. These are the metal washers. Cost $ .90

#3 Two little bags of 030699356485. These are the metric bolts. Cost $1.50

The reason I'm giving you this parts list is because most people don't want to wait to order the X clamp repair kit of the internet. This way you can run right over to Home Depot and be on your way to playing your X-Box in about an hour if your mechanically inclined.

I did the install a little different than the video but it basically the same. I used the plastic washers on the bolt then stuck it threw the board, then I put another plastic washer on the bolt once it was threw the board and put one metal washer and screwed it into the heat sink. Do this for both heat sinks and you'll be happy you did it this way. Make sure bolts are nice and tight. You want the chip tight against the heat sink. After all that the reason this problem arouse in the first place. The X clamps loosened up causing it to overheat.

Note : Just make sure you clean all the old thermal compound off the heat sinks and the chip on the mother board and make sure you apply a nice coat of new componud before you install the heat sinks.

Well I hope this helps and good luck.

Hey guys, I fixed my Xbox 360 that's 4 year old. After hours searching at google for some tips, I finally figured out! There's 2 ways fixing it. 1: Do the towel trick, as you can on google or YouTube.(It's not the safest way, but it may work!) 2: Disassembly your Xbox (Important!) If you disassembly your Xbox the guaranty doesn't cover any longer! Clean it a bit, And try to heat up the south bridge that's is the largest of the big metal cooler thing. Amazingly it worked!! Hope it helped :)

well guys i did everything that everyone said and still it did not work. so after taking the xbox apart over and over replacing the heat sink and still nothing.bought new cables still nada. so i thought i was just going to purchase another one then called the xbox 360 support and they were no help at all. then i decieded to clean the cables were they plug up on the 360, with a toothbrush and electronic cleaner try to clean it very well. i honestly was pissed to find out it was something so stupid. just to find out (keep ur **** clean) now it works thank god another month of this i was going to go insane. well just make sure you clean everything before you start taking apart ur 360 and maybe it will b a simple fix like i had. hope this is useful for others.

this is a common problem caused by the GPU broken solder point is kinda easy to fix it, just need a  heating gun, liquid flux resin and the x clamp fix: first of all dismantle your xbox, take out heat-sinks clean the gpu, you can use benzene, put the flux under the gpu,  and heat it for 5 mins set the heat of your gun 90ºC slowly till reach 230º C let it cool down and DON'T TOUCH IT FOR 20 mins, apply heat for 5 mins in the other side of the board, let it cool down clean the flux and put some artic silver over the gpu, install the x clamp fix, put everything together, adding an extra fan can help to reduce the heat but you need to modify your case, I used in mine the fans from a dead 360, so now I have 4 fans running at max cause in my country the weather can reach 45Cº anyway my two xbox has been running for 2 yrs now without problem.    

i have figured out so far that the problem is when i connect my cd/dvd tray. it will show picture with everything i have tried, but when i connect my cd dvd drive it just plays sound and no video, all that other stuff on here hasnt worked, the thermal paste and changing the X clamps fixed my 3 rings of death, and if i reapply the paste it helps and the video plays for awhile, but not permanent

Ive have my xbox 360 for 2 years now but hardly used it, I just put it on to watch a dvd and it died like every one else, told ma fella to try these ideas esp the towel trick it worked a treat, i was pritty surprised it worked. BUT....... so far we have notist its only temporary, saying that we hvn't done it for the full 20 mins yet, but it does work. Thanks for the advice guys brilliant!!

Thank you so much, the towel trick worked for me and saved me £60 (it's a pity I waited three weeks to find this out, as I was skint and desperate)
thank you, thank you. anyone else out there give it a try :)

wow the towel trick freakn worked. i am amazed

It is an easy problem to fix just remove the xclamps put some cooling gel on gpu an cpu and then rap ti in a towel with the 360 on for 20 mins till u see 2 red lights wich meen overheating then leave it for 20 mins to cool off wallah should do trick 99% of times it does it only costs about £8 for tools off ebay

HOLY SHIT!. My kids xbox 360 had no video but sound. After a few days, the sound went out too. I tried the towel fix....and it DID fix it! I thought it was a joke but it worked. I removed the wireless adapter, hard drive, controllers and HDMI cable, then covered it with towels, as suggested.
I'd suggest trying the towel trick before paying Microsoft $99 to repair it.
Good Luck.

i had this problem and it turned out that the soldering between the video card and the motherboard was weak and when my xbox got hot the motherboard bent a little and the soldering broke leaving the video card like half attached. i had microsoft fix it because i didnt wasnt to take the chance of screwing my entire console by melting everything inside with towels wraped around it.

Ok. I have a 360 with no video. I have opened my case as it is out of warranty. I took out the cooling fan and let it over heat. This is where you get the 2 red lights on the left side, similar to the towel trick. No go. So I restarted the system and let it over heat again. Then I unplugged it, using a towel on my hand, I put pressure on the GPU heat sink for about a minute, then restarted the system, and tada, I have video, so now I will do the x-clamp fix, which I did for a different 360 with the RRoD, and that should take care of the problem.

AFTER HAVING MICROSOFT FIX MY 360 FOR NOT HAVING VIDEO $100, IT WENT OUT 1 WEEK LATTER, IM PRETTY SURE ALL THEY DO IS WRAP IT IN A TOWEL AND CALL IT GOOD. SO I TOOK MINE AND DID THE TRICK TWICE IN A ROW, NOW I DONT HAVE ANY PROBLEMS

i know exactly what the problem is...... your standard video (red ,white, yellow) componants on your 360 are sodered to it's motherboard.. their really crappy soders and they crack...unlike the high def componants where they are done diffrently because of a diffrent current that runs threw them or somthing, i'm not quite the expert on that but thats what i know ...anyways when they crack their not getting the full current they need so thats why you loose picture or it turns to a green hue while playing and then you lose your pic when you restart. there are 3 things you can do... you can wrap you xbox360 in a towle or a blanket for 20 mins untill it gets really hot... this will ("TEMPORARLY") re-connect the cracked soders. but eventually it will happen again and you'll have to re wrap it again.. 2nd if you know what your doing you can take you 360 apart and find this cracked soder i re soder it somehow which i highly recommend you don't do... and 3rd you can go out and buy a full HD t.v and buy the high def cables for you xbox360 and you should never have that problem again... and thats all i know

I did the x clamp repair on my daughters xbox 360 and now i can't get a picture but i do get sound. On my tv, i only have a white and yellow port, no place for the red cable plug. Is that the problem? What should i try? Also the dvd drive keeps opening after i put a game in it.
Thanks

I just had the same thing happen a coule days ago. Playing Mass Effect and poof, my screen went yellow, then after switching cables and power cycling the system a few times, I got sound but no video. Nothing seemed to work :( Not wanting to deliberately overheat by box for fear of making things worse, I caled microsoft and argued with a supervisor or 30 minutes. I missed my warrany by 8 days and they wouldn't budge! They ended up giving me 25% off the shipping cost. I think when I get it back I am taking the box, and ll my games etc to EB games and making a trade in for a P3!