How to RROD a 360?

[vskid]

My friend bought a used 360 a month ago. It has been having errors the last couple weeks. If it works, the graphics are messed up (vertical green lines on Portal, everything 3D is screwed up in L4D, and Oblivion is just poop when you get into the game). If it doesn't work, the red light in the bottom right corner comes on and it displays error code E74 on screen. That error costs $100 to fix. But RROD is free to fix (it was made in late 2007), so we've been trying to get it to RROD, but without success.
Does anyone know how to quickly cause a RROD? Or, if he told Microsoft it had RROD'd, and they got it and it only had the E74 error, would they still fix it for free as long as he said it had RROD'd for him?

[HotDog-Cart]

Try putting a whole bunch of stuff on it to try to make it overheat.

Also, microsoft ONLY fixes RRODs that have 3 rings for free. If it has less than 3 rings, it costs $100. So anyone with a RROD 360 that displays 1 or 2 red rings, they will NOT get fixed for free.

Also, I'm almost positive that microsoft will still fix it for free as long if your freind tells them it RRODs for him. (Even if when they get it, and it doesnt RROD, you could easily fight them over the phone and explain how it RRODs for you. They usually will give in.)

[jleemero]

Also, microsoft ONLY fixes RRODs that have 3 rings for free. If it has less than 3 rings, it costs $100. So anyone with a RROD 360 that displays 1 or 2 red rings, they will NOT get fixed for free.

RRoD refers to the 3 lights.
If it has 4, 2, or 1, it's not a RRoD. It's still a problem, but it's not the RRoD.
RRoD is 3 lights.

[HotDog-Cart]

Yet to the common person any red light is RROD. Red Ring of Death. If its 4 lights, someone could percieve it as a the Red Ring of Death. Same with 1 or 2.

[vskid]

Every time it starts screwing up, he leaves it on for several hours with a couple coats on it. It usually works for a while after the heat treatment. I'm just gonna tell him to call it in as a RROD.

[HotDog-Cart]

Hmm, did he buy it brand new a month ago? If so its still under manufacturers warranty.

[vskid]

It was used.

[schmellyfart]

Try the towel trick

[XCVG]

The towel trick FIXES RROD. He wants to CAUSE an RROD.

[schmellyfart]

Oh.. I never did believe that the towel trick worked. Thought it was a hoax.

[palmertech]

It works, I have first hand experience.

It is really just a temporary fix, though.

[Twilight Wolf]

I can't imagine it'd be good for it at all...

How does it work, anyways? I've heard things about the heat affecting the poor solder joints in it, or something.

[palmertech]

From what I understnad, the GPU solder points can come off, so it is BARELY not touching. When you heat it up a lot, it makes the metal expand (Some say it reflows it, but I think that is BS.) and make the right connections again.

[Twilight Wolf]

Ah, yeah, that's a bit more along the lines of what I was thinking of.

If someone actually got the temperature inside their 360 up enough to reflow the solder, I think they'd have worse problems than the Red Ring of Death. Much worse.

[64M320N3]

Ah, yeah, that's a bit more along the lines of what I was thinking of.

If someone actually got the temperature inside their 360 up enough to reflow the solder, I think they'd have worse problems than the Red Ring of Death. Much worse.

Ya you'd need something as hot as around a 60 watt soldering iron.
You'd screw everything up if your whole 360 was that hot.
BTW i thought the 360 had cooling problems already. I don't think the heat treatment will be good for it in the long run.