Sounds like a deadly disease and based upon the failure rate you would think it was. Originally people were lead to believe the failure rate was 3% to 5%. One early study indicated a failure rate of 16.4%. However, some of the largest resellers in the world claim a failure rate of between 30% and 33%. Whatever the real figure is, there are fixes, but here is what you should be aware of and looking for.
Warning Signs
These are warning signs that your Xbox 360 may be heading for the 3 red lights error or what is known as a "General Hardware Failure":
- Occasional freeze-ups
- Problems with your graphics right in the middle of a game
- Screen patterns
- Problems with the sound
- Only thing that works is the on and off button
These symptoms may only happen once or quite a few times or not at all before the Red Ring of Death strikes. Microsoft extended their warranty to 3 years based partly because of this very problem. If you do experience RROD and your Xbox 360 is still under warranty then send it back to them and have them fix it.
If you have already opened the console and broken the seal then the warranty is voided. Your best bet is the X-Clamp repair described on this website. There are also step by step guides that will show you how to perform this and other repairs.
If you have experienced the RROD do not despair. It is however Ok to be ticked about it, but do not give up. Stay calm and as stated earlier, if it is under warranty then send it back to Microsoft. If not, then save some money by fixing it yourself.