There may be
nothing more frustrating than having your system freeze up during a
movie or gameplay. Whatever is causing the problem it is still
incredibly annoying. However, there is a lot of information
available to you to help you fix your system.
Your unit needs to be kept cool in order to work properly, so if it
starts to freeze up or your graphics start looking strange, you
probably need to clean out the inside of the console.
DVD problems can also cause the system to freeze, but if this only
happens during gameplay or at particular points during a game, you
probably need to clean the console. You can fix overheating issues
without any problem, so don’t worry.
If you open the console, take out the hard drive and DVD drive but
leave the rest of the contents alone. Use compressed air to clear
out the heat-sinks and spray outside the console first so that you
don’t leave liquid propellant in your console as you blast air
through it. This liquid is very cold and can seriously mess up the
interior of your system.
Inside your console, heat generators are indicated in red and
cooling inlets and outlets are indicated in blue. Keep spraying to
clean the dust from the board with the compressed air. Pay
particular attention to the heat dissipation holes in the front and
sides of the case – if these aren’t clear you will end up with
serious problems due to overheating.
Once the motherboard has been cleaned you then need to take out the
heat-sink’s backing and put it squarely on top of the chip. Apply
firm pressure for a minimum of two minutes. Then replace the power
course for the cooling fan with a power source which can produce a
higher voltage. This will cause the fan to run faster which should
allow it to dissipate heat much more effectively from the system and
preventing future problems.
If you don’t have any technical knowhow or experience this will seem
rather complex and you may prefer to pay someone else to do this for
you. Just be aware that the information exists that will allow you
to sort out any issues with your Xbox 360.
