Easy Tips For Keeping Your Xbox 360 Cool

Microsoft rushed the production of it's Xbox 360 product too quickly in order to stay ahead of it's competitors. Over 30 percent of these machines have had a red ring of death breakdown as a result of this haste. Because the device is full of design and manufacturing mistakes, the Xbox 360 is very fragile.

The heat output of it's circuitry is barely matched by its cooling system. Heat build up can affect design flaws and eventually shut down your Xbox if the cooling system fails to work properly. You will have to baby it and keep it cool if you wish to prolong it's operational life.

This article will discuss various methods of keeping your Xbox 360 from overheating.

Although no one deliberately blocks the cooling vents of their Xbox, there are many ways of unintentionally doing this. These will involve putting the Xbox on surfaces which act to block air currents such as very soft or shaggy carpets or sofas.

Be sure to keep the Xbox in a well ventilated and open environment. This rules out confined or closed in spaces, therefore stereo cabinets, bookcases, and racks should be avoided. It makes no sense to keep ventilation ports open if you're going to put the machine in a confined space where air can't reach it. We naturally arrange things in an effort to conserve space, so oversights like this are commonplace.

To get greater exposure to the open air, try placing your Xbox on it's side. Using a small fan to blow air across your Xbox will also help.

Don't place the Xbox near furnaces, radiators, heater vents, stoves and other heat generating electronics as these will heat up the immediate environment. Make sure that sunlight cannot reach your Xbox when placing it near a window.

Although keeping the Xbox cooled is important, let's not forget that the power brick also needs a lot of ventilation. Placing the power adapter on the floor without a second thought is a very natural thing to do. But if it is placed on a heavy carpet, this will interrupt the currents of air needed for cooling. The best place to put the power brick is off the floor on a surface that is level and hard.

The above tips were intended as prevention measures for a brand new Xbox. However, you still want to give them a try if you're having your first run in with the red ring of death. Hopefully the heat build up caused the Xbox to shut down before any lasting damage could be done.

Find out how the Xbox's flawed design causes the "red ring of death" and get some Xbox 360 troubleshooting advice at http://www.squidoo.com/Xbox-troubleshooting-red-ring-of-death-fix.