Gnomie Hai-Shuo Shu writes:

Hi there Chris!

I thought I would share a few tips on how to extend the life of the Xbox 360, and possibly stave off the onset of the various “rings of death” issues. I don’t know if you already have a list like this; I’ve tried Googling Pirillo AND Xbox 360, but I haven’t seen any videos on this so hopefully I’m not repeating something you’ve gone over and over again!

Okay, so what are the tips?

1. Your 360 is a delicate piece of equipment. It really is. Think of it in this manner: if you wouldn’t do it to the tower of your PC, don’t do it to your 360, because that’s essentially what it is — albeit a PC that only places games on DVDs that only the Xbox 360 can read. But the basic principle remains: it’s as fragile as your PC and so should be treated as such. I’ve never seen anyone just toss the tower of their PC into their trunk or the back seat of their car like a sack of potatoes. But I see that all the time with the Xbox 360. Don’t do that! Shock and dust are two of the biggest killers of electronics. May I suggest getting some kind of travel bag for your 360 if you intend to move it a lot? A low-tech way is to simply wrap it with a towel, which will mitigate at least some of the shocks it’ll get being bumped about in your car. And just because you placed it gently in your trunk doesn’t mean it will remain unperturbed for the entirety of the journey. Anything could happen: you may have to come to a sudden stop. Or perhaps make a sudden turn, or perhaps hit a road bump. Any of these things could cause your console to receive a possibly fatal blunt-force shock.

2. Don’t move your 360 when it’s trying to read a disk. This will possibly cause the console to at best not read properly, at worst scratch your disk. Movement causes microshocks to the system; you can never truly move it in a smooth fashion. Your hands will always shake somewhat, and the disk reader is based on a laser sensitive to even the slightest of shocks. Besides, why would you WANT to move your console when it’s reading a disk anyway? Just don’t do it, trust me.
3. Keep the console in a horizontal position. Now some people will argue this point, but especially if you happen to have a carpeted floor, the best position for your console is horizontal, and here is why. On the bottom end of your console (if held vertically) is a huge vent. This vent is one of the several places that the Xbox 360 releases air heated by its CPU and GPU (Central Processing Unit and Graphical Processing Unit). It also happens to be the largest vent, and thus if you were to place it horizontally (and especially on a carpet), that vent would be blocked. The hot air would have nowhere to go but straight back into your system, where it could and probably would play havoc on the electronics inside. Heat is one of the biggest suspected causes of the dreaded Red Rings of Death, and nobody wants to see that. Maintain the 360 in the vertical position at your peril!
4. Dust is the enemy of all electronics. Your PC doesn’t like it and neither does your Xbox 360. Those huge vents that allow hot air to escape the console also allow dust to enter, and after a few months (depending on location) the insides of your 360 may have a nice carpet of dust. What dust does is trap heat between itself and whatever is directly below it, rather like a blanket. This trapped heat, unable to escape, increases the ambient temperature inside your console, and we all know what that means. Red Rings of Death often ensue, followed by tears and gnashing of teeth. There really isn’t any way to truly remove ALL the dust from your console short of opening it up and voiding your warranty, but you can remove a decent amount by purchasing a can of compressed air. Blow the air gently into the vents of the console (do it at an angle, please, and not directly in, because if you blow into the vents too hard you might damage something). This should clear much of the dust that has clogged your system and has the added advantage of also clearing the vents, which are probably also clogged with dust by now.
5. Keep the brick well-ventilated. The “brick” is the huge power unit of the Xbox 360. Unlike its cousin the PlayStation 3, the Xbox 360 has an external power unit, and man is it big. This thing needs its oxygen though, because if it doesn’t get it you might get something called the “Four Red Rings of Death.” It’s similar in nature to the more popular “Red Rings of Death,” except it’s four quadrants instead of three. Be that as it may, the fact remains that a red quadrant is never a good thing, no matter how many there are. Four red lights means “A/V failure.” In other words the Xbox 360 isn’t getting enough power. Try reconnecting the Xbox 360 to the wall socket after ventilating your brick for a few minutes. If that doesn’t help… well… call Microsoft.

   Under most ordinary circumstances, the Xbox 360 is a fairly rugged machine. It’s not the tank that the PlayStation 3 is, but it can usually withstand the rigors of daily use. As long as you don’t mistreat your console, it shouldn’t have a problem — and if it does you have the comfort of the one-year warranty of the machine, plus the three-year warranty specifically for the “Red Rings of Death” issue. Chances are you won’t get the red rings, but in case you do, may I suggest you get a store warranty when you purchase the console? The benefit of such a warranty is that usually the store will replace your defective console immediately, whereas Microsoft has been known to take days, weeks, or even months to ship replacements back. I hope that these tips will help a few people extend the life of their Xbox 360s. After all, none of us like the idea of a $380 paperweight!