Hey, So late last year I got my first 360 from a friend for pretty cheap. Sadly after a few weeks it RROD'd on me, but thankfully I fixed it by doing the x-clamp trick (Didn't even need to overheat the console afterwards and it runs to this day). So I thought "Hey, I can fix a 360" and saw this dude selling four Xenon RROD consoles for $50. The cool thing is that they're all old enough that they're pre-NXE, which means they can be JTAG'd. I figured if even one of the systems comes out fully working I'll have gotten my $50 worth. Turns out one of the systems I got worked fine at first and I was able to extract the CPU key and flash Freeboot...but right after I got Freeboot It started RRODing How successful have people here been with the x-clamp method? I've seen mixed options everywhere with some saying they'll always die soon after, while others say theirs has worked fine ever since. Having tried to fix one and it not work is kind of a bummer, and makes me wonder if I should get more parts and see if I can fix the others I can also surface mount solder pretty well, and have a heat gun around...but I'm not sure that's a good route to take / learn about...it's especially scary because there's a hoard of resistors on the underside of where I'd be applying heat and I'm afraid they might come off. How would you guys approach trying to salvage these systems?
Well, if I remember correctly, the x-clamp fix isn't all about reflowing, it's to stop the board being flexed by the clamps. So, if you're feeling manly, you could run some of the xboxes with the clamps removed but heatsinks on still, if they boot okay, finish the fix and hope for the best. If you're going with the heatgun, be sparing, do it in small spurts, testing after each attempt(given time to cool a bit).
I have never done the x-clamp fix myself, from what ive heard its only really a temp solution. I wouldn't expect many 360 that have had the x-clamp fix done to still be in a working state in 6 months time. The old Xenon's are basically ticking time bombs, but who knows you might get lucky. As its a jtagged console its probably worth give it ago and getting some use out of it, enjoy the 360 homebrew, Sonic 4 and all the other leaked games the rest of the world wont be playing for a long while yet.
Just a random suggestion but maybe flash the original nand back and leave the console playing a game just to see if it still Rrod's. The reason is I remember reading some jtag consoles would randomly rrod when jtagged due to bad wiring or something (carnt remember exactly what now, sorry). It is most likely that the console is on its way out though. If all else fails you can sell the consoles keyvault for at least $50 if the console is not banned from Xbox Live, i've seen people pay more than that for a non banned keyvault. People easily make many times the amount back hosting hacked lobbies for Mw 2 on Xbox Live. (not that i agree with people hosting hacked games on live). The heatgun methods is supposed to be the most reliable way to fix an rrod 360, but the most risky.
Hmm yeah, I guess giving away the CPU key would be a good idea...but that's an idea if I just give up hope with these systems. I've tried flashing Xell back on to the NAND and was unable to see any visual output...but hadn't given the original NAND any thought. It's worth a shot. Thanks for the suggestions