Xbox 360 problems are common. Not to say that the Xbox 360 isn’t a great gaming system–it just has some « kinks » that Microsoft didn’t work out. Among those errors, the most famous are probably the 3 red lights, 2 red lights, and E74 error. This article is going to tell you some common ways how to fix Xbox 360 3 red lights, 2 red light, and E74.

3 Red Lights Error

The most common error I’ve seen is this error. This stands for a general hardware issue. Many people refer to this as the red ring of death or RROD. I’ve seen a million different suggestions to fix this, from wrapping a towel around the system and baking it to putting it in the freezer to cool it down.

First of all, don’t do either one of those!

There is one common problem that leads to the 3 blinking lights–and that’s heat. What you want to do to fix this is first check your warranty. If your console is under warranty Microsoft will « fix » your console for free (although they usually send you a refurbished system back).

For those of you that aren’t under warranty you’ll need to do this: Take your console apart. Now remove the heat sink and the X-clamp. You will now need to reinforce the clamp so that it can no longer vibrate and bend the GPU. After that, reinstall everything and put the case back on.

2 Red Light Error

This error means that the console is overheating and could have already damaged the internal components of the system. If you ever see this error, you need to stop playing immediately and fix it. Again Microsoft fixes it if you’re under warranty, but if you want to fix it yourself, follow the same steps as the 3 blinking lights error, but you’ll need to re-apply new thermal compound to the heat sink. You can get this at Radio Shack cheap.

E74 Error

This error is becoming more and more popular, especially for Xbox 360 Elite owners. Before you do anything, check your AV cables. Sometimes bad AV (HD) cables can cause this error.

If your AV cables are fine, then this error means that the processor chip has become disconnected or damaged. You’ll need to take the console apart and make sure it’s secure. While you have the console apart double check the X-clamp and heat sink and make sure they aren’t damaged as well.