When I buy an exciting new electronic toy, proper care and maintenance is the last thing I worry about. I like to power it up soon as I can and start using it.
If this new ‘toy’ is an Xbox 360, you should start taking good care of it immediately. In fact, some oversights about where you place your console can cause it to over heat in the first few hours of use. This can trigger the red ring of death and possibly damage your machine.
Other oversights in proper care may take longer to affect your machine but the end result is the same: an Xbox that doesn’t work anymore. This article will list care and maintenance tips that you should use immediately.
The location of your Xbox is extremely important. Your home can present numerous environmental dangers to the console. These include:
1.) Inadequate ventilation.
The console is a powerful electronic machine that generates a lot of waste heat. To cope with this, it has a number of fans that draw in air to keep the electronics cool. Therefore, there must be plenty of open space to allow these fans to draw in enough air.
If you are using in an entertainment center, it should be open on all sides including the back. Don’t allow clutter to build up on or around the console. It can potentially block the fan inlets and will act as an insulator if it is stacked up against the machine.
2.) An overheated environment.
Placing your Xbox in a wide open space won’t help if the environment itself is too hot. Sources of heat such as a furnace or wood stove must be avoided.
Less obvious heat sources are the various electronics that often find a home on top of the console. Still another source of heat is direct sunlight.
3.) Dust and cigarette smoke.
Dust is a kind of silent killer that gets worse over time if you don’t stay on top of it. It can block the fan intakes or get sucked into the console.
It can form an insulating blanket over the electronics which traps internal heat. If cigarette smoke is present, the sticky tars will cause dust to adhere to the motherboard. If this should happen, removing the dust will not be an easy task.
The red ring of death has affected millions of consumers across the globe. If you heed these tips, this need not happen to you.
Got an Xbox that runs too hot? Get more Xbox 360 repair advice about fixing the Xbox 360 3 Red Lights Error.