How to fix an Xbox 360 with sound but no video
My brother-in-law recently gave me his broken Xbox 360. Unlike most other broken 360's out there, there were no 3 red-rings-of-death (RROD) indicating some major problem. Instead, when you turn it on, it seemed to start up just fine. Well, you could hear the audio of the startup, but there was no picture.
I cannot guarantee these will work for everyone. For a more comprehensive solution, you should buy the XBox 360 Red Light fix. They guarantee that it will work in less than 2 hours or your money back.
So I took the think apart, to see if I could find any obvious loose connections or solders. Nothing. So, I did some digging online. I found out that you can fix it much the same way as you would the common RROD issue, by removing the x-clamp from the GPU, and using screws to reseat the heat sync.
I pieced together the fix from the following pages:
- A guy with the same problem
- A step-by-step tutorial on removing the x-clamp
- A number of videos on Youtube showing how to disassemble the Xbox.
I did however make a mess of some of the plastic casing of the system, but who cares, it's working! I also managed to actually get the RROD when I put all the casing back on, so now I just leave the top off. Go figure.
on August 13th, 2008 at 2:31 pm
I have the same problem… any luck on a fix?
on August 13th, 2008 at 2:35 pm
yes, just follow the three steps.
on September 14th, 2008 at 6:28 pm
What three steps?
Thanks
on September 16th, 2008 at 8:00 pm
u should make a video tutorial. it would help alot of people on youtube.com there are no videos on how to fix this problem.
on September 19th, 2008 at 7:59 pm
Thank you so much for your help[ on this problem i was getting ready to buy another 360 but now mine seems to be working fine your a life saver
on September 24th, 2008 at 5:32 pm
Thank you so much for the fix! I tore my xbox apart, removed the clamps, did the fix and the thing works beautifully now. And I didnt even mess my case up!
on September 29th, 2008 at 2:08 pm
Also make sure the switch on the plug hasn't been switched to high def by accident,,,happened to me,,lol.. this will render the regular plug useless
on September 30th, 2008 at 11:03 am
i really need to get back on line to play halo3 because imk really behind
on October 4th, 2008 at 1:25 am
The x-clamp mod worked for me, too (so far). I just did the x-clamp mod and did the 'overheating' procedure this evening. Viola! I can see the picture again. We'll see how long it holds up. I used this tutorial because it seemed to distribute the pressure more evenly. Good luck to you, fellow xbox-owners-with-no-video people.
on October 7th, 2008 at 10:32 am
Thanks Justin for this posting. I recently experienced this problem with my console, and it is just under two years old, making it a waste of time to send it to MS for a repair. I've seen a lot of posts all over the place about this, but it seems that many people are getting the RRoD with this issue, however I am not.
Since the machine is basically a $430 doorstop, I think I might give it a shot at fixing this sucker myself instead of paying someone to just change the cover on it and send it back to me with the same problem. I did spot an article about how MS changed the heat sink (http://www.xbox360fanboy.com/2007/06/13/ms-installing-new-heatsinks-in-refurb-360s/) to supposedly avoid any more RRoD, but I haven't heard anything about them really changing the soldering methods. I am curious about something though with this problem. What is the date that your 360 was made? I bought mine 12/25/06 and it was made in 11/06, and I'm wondering if that particular model of that quarter or year seem to be more liable for this design flaw.
I'm a little wary of ripping apart the console, as I've seen a video or two on the removal of the case and it looks like a giant pain in the fanny. I'm not surprised you mangled the case, and as of right now I don't really case if the case is held together with duct tape when I'm done as long as the stupid thing works again for at least another two years. I'm surprised no one is just selling the 360 cases for people who have had no other reasonable option but to fix their own consoles, despite the cosmetic problems that occur from taking them apart. I think I might be tempted to destroy something on it just to vent the frustration! I don't want to send it to MS because I know either they will 1) send me a refurbished one minus copying the hard drive (bye-bye saved games) 2) change the case on the console I sent in and just send it back and fix nothing but charge me anyway or the highly unlikely 3) actually FIX the problem and send it back within three weeks. I've already spent enough money on this thing when I bought it, and I am not contributing more than $20 for MS to fix this when I can do it myself for less than that in a day.
on October 9th, 2008 at 6:27 pm
Ok if you havent opened your xbox yet and you get this issue just call xbox customer support and say that you have the RROD (red ring of death)
on October 11th, 2008 at 12:54 pm
i had the same problem, i followed all the step and it actually worked. it only cost me about $20 to do it myself.
on October 13th, 2008 at 12:54 pm
I got mine about the same time godklown. I think it is the time we bought our consoles that is giving us so much trouble. I have already had to send it in for the RROD and this is just retarded. if I have to send this one in I am just going to buy an arcade version and put my harddrive on that one. then I am going to take my xbox after I get it back from microsoft and trade it in a gamestop and let them deal with it. it will be 100 to fix it and they should give me about 150 trade in value
on October 19th, 2008 at 1:13 am
I have the same issue and that step by step link looks a little scary for a guy who does not do computer type repairs or anything in that feild. How hard is that ? For $20 I'm willing to try it but dang I dont like the idea of getting into the guts of the unit with NO CLUE of what i'm looking at.
HelP…..
on October 27th, 2008 at 9:57 am
I called Xbox today and they wanted £60 to fix this problem, and they wanted the xbox for a month to do it!!!!!!!
cant believe it!!!!!! Ba*tards
on November 7th, 2008 at 11:17 pm
I had the same problem. rite before i was about about to ship it off back 2 microsoft i decided 2 try 2 fix it one mroe time. What you do is you wrap up your xbox real good in towels and leave it on for bout 15-20 min. This will cause the xbox 2 over heat this the chip will reset i think or some shit i dunno but i did that and it worked fine…no this will not set your house on fire. Email me and let me know how this works for you bryan_lee53@yahoo.com
on November 24th, 2008 at 11:23 pm
DO NOT attempt the towel method, thats what me and my friend tryied with his XBOX, and it overheated and nearly melted the case, and still didnt fix the problem…
But on the lighter side, I was able to fix my XBOX completely witht his fix, everything went smoothly, and it really isn't THAT hard, just make sure you have all the right hardware and tools.
Awsome job putting this tutorial together Justin, works like a charm!
on November 26th, 2008 at 6:53 pm
I fixed my 360 that had the "no video" problem by doing the x-clamp fix. I cleaned the GPU (graphics processing unit) to a mirror shine as well as the CPU. Fixed it just today. Don't send your 360 in to Microsoft. The x-clamp fix method that is all over internet sites like youtube works for the Red Ring of Death and the "no video" problem. Fix your 360 yourself for $20-30 depending on what tools and hardware you need to purchase.
on November 29th, 2008 at 10:08 pm
I had this same problem for my 360 just a couple days ago. Any ideas where to get this Xclamp? I think i'm gonna give it a shot.. it's that or scrap it. Also, has anyone tried to put in new fans to prevent this further over heating problem? Any help would be much appreciated. Also, which video should I check out when I go to do it?
on November 30th, 2008 at 12:19 am
I practiced last night and patiently with the proper tools I was able to remove the Xbox 360 covers and case. It is actually really easy once you know how. I haven't yet damaged it at all. Microsoft sent me this Xbox 360 for the second time and void sticker wasn't on well so I can send it back if they decide to cover this problem. I have ordered the parts, Arctic Silver 5+Cleaners 1&2. I have rubbing alcohol, and some thermal paste, but I'll go by the tutorial since I don't want to be opening this thing every time it keeps failing. Good thing I have a Playstation 3 since I should get used to using as I'm not buying a new Xbox 360 if this fix fails.
on November 30th, 2008 at 12:25 am
@GodKlown opening the console is easy once the plastic parts are gone. Plastic case removal requires patience and some soft hands. Most of the parts snap off/on easily these are the grill on the bottom and top, faceplate, eject button, chrome drive cover. The tricky part is the thinly flat openings at the back (7), you need to just push it and it should go loose, as well as the hinges in the front. Being careful you won't break a thing. The X-Clamp part is the hardest as you need to be careful and not slipping with too much strength behind that slip cause you can damage the mobo.
on December 1st, 2008 at 2:39 am
I used the towel trick for little over 5min and then while the system is cooling down I tapped the sides of the Xbox and the front just to move the GPU around using the vibration from tapping it. After letting cool down for about 10min, voila it works. I don't know how long it will work for but I played Halo 3 for about 3 hours after fixing it and today it turned on so I feel pretty confident it will be ok. It's a good thing to keep the Xbox 360 standing up while your use it.
on December 3rd, 2008 at 12:08 pm
Ok, well I had enough of my first trusty xbox with this problem, so I ebayed and got a new one for a budget price with no controllers or anything, then the second had the same problem, thanks for the fix I'll try that later
on December 21st, 2008 at 12:11 am
Is the gpu soldered in? If so what are you really doing by reseating the heatsink?
on January 2nd, 2009 at 7:17 am
Dude i just did the towel trick like 6 minutes and turned the xbox off and back on and now its working perfectly well for now atleast.
on January 8th, 2009 at 6:28 am
are u guys sure this works? (the x-clamp fix)
on February 9th, 2009 at 2:01 pm
Thanks Justin… My son's 360 had this issue, and after several fruitless discussions with Microsoft 'support' (and I use that term loosely!), I repaired it myself using the same technique you did. Easy as pie – took about 90 minutes and cost me about $15 Canadian! Working like a champ now. Thanks again!
on February 16th, 2009 at 6:02 am
Yeah dude, i got that video problem. I want to open up this mug, pretty sure i can fix it, but i might do the towel technique first.. hmmm… i'll probably just play my ps2, that still works, bought it almost 9 yrs ago..
on February 19th, 2009 at 11:06 pm
this seems to be the most effective fix on the web, i've looked every where and they all say to do the same thing… so i did, twice! with no success. can any one give me some ideas on what i might be doing wrong?
to much paste, not clean enough around the gpu ? i don't know… please send a reply to jasonr11470@yahoo.com
on March 4th, 2009 at 7:50 pm
yo this only works every once in a while but its worth a try: if you have the NO VIDEO problem, wrap your 360 in a towel and turn it on for a few minutes, then turn it off and on again. it worked for me
on March 9th, 2009 at 9:33 am
[...] a guy with the same problem who fixed it without sending it anywhere: How to fix an Xbox 360 with sound but no video Buying an arcade unit is your easiest but most expensive solution, the above is your cheapest, and [...]
on March 22nd, 2009 at 1:18 pm
Is it still working since repair?
on March 23rd, 2009 at 12:04 am
I had the same issue, whenever I would power up 360 all I would see is a black screen with purple lines going across it. It was out of warranty so I tried this fix just yesterday. For now, it is back up and running. I can finally play my games again. Thanks for the help!
on April 6th, 2009 at 4:46 am
I never had any problems with my xbox (mfd 8-22-06) until about 2 sweeks ago and i play a lot… But, the other day I got the same problem with my xbox. I would get sound through my external speakers but the tv was receiving no signal. I though it could be the component cables not plugged in correctly or maybe the tv/hdtv had accidentally been switched. It wasn't. So i ordered a vga cable from ebay, in case they component inputs on my tv had went bad, and when it came in i plugged it in to the tv, and the same thing was going on. No video but still sound would come through the speakers that the audio plugs were plugged into (not the tv). So I called MS they told me i had to send in my 360 for repair so i just hung up because i didnt want to pay the 100 bucks. So then i looked online for ways to make my xbox rrod permanently. The towel tricked looked like the only thing that would work. So i tried it with no success. It just kept overheating and giving me the two red lights after 10 minutes. So then i decided to alternate doing the towel trick and then stick it in the freezer for like 10 minutes. The last time i did the towel trick, it actually didnt overheat until about twenty minutes so i though it might actually work. But when it finally overheated i turned it off and let it cool. I turned it back on after a while and still no RROD. By this time i was getting really frustrated, so i picked up my xbox 360 and shook it pretty hard for like 10-15 seconds, then banged both sides on my knee (not super hard or anything). For some reason, i wanted to see if i had miraculously fixed my no video problem, so i plugged in the vga cable and turned it on. To my amazement my 360 was actually working again!! So I went to the dashboard and spent some of the xbox live points i inadvertently purchased while i had the no video for about $62.50 (i was trying to change the video settings by ear) =/. I have no idea what was broke or what exactly fixed it, hot/cold/hitting it, but i've been playing my 360 happily ever since.
on April 9th, 2009 at 1:46 pm
I had the same problem. Wrapped the console up in 2 towels for maybe 10 minutes. It shut itself off. I hooked the cables back up & THE VIDEO IS BACK & IT'S WORKING PERFECTLY.
on April 10th, 2009 at 2:53 pm
i'm buying another vid cable to see if its the cable problem, if not i'll keep u updated if your method works o not
on April 10th, 2009 at 6:37 pm
I have the same problem sound but no video i have taken apart the box and fixed the red light problem but i still dont get a picture any ideas. the cosmetics on the box are flawless damn near in fact taking it apart is easy or do u no of any video or manual on any site that i could visit to see anything about the no video issue in fact ive repaired a couple of them for people now just the rrod and so far so good thank you
on April 16th, 2009 at 2:04 am
I spent that last couple hours trying to fix it and it didn't work for me. I'm not gonna lie, I did a really shoddy job. I removed the x clamps, cleaned the processors, applied the arctic 5, but i only used 1 nylon washer on both sides of the motherboard and no other washers. I actually managed to lose one of the washers somehow so there's actually no washer between the CPU heat sink and mother board for one of the screws. I give up
on April 18th, 2009 at 11:47 am
I'm not afraid of cracking my box open, even though I don't have one of Llama's fancy pieces of sheet metal.
Is there a way to tell if repairing the X-Clamp will solve the problem? Is there some kind of visible symptom I'll be able to recognize? I'm not sure what I might be looking for.
on April 21st, 2009 at 3:17 pm
Just to let ya'll know my xbox is still working 2 weeks later =)
on May 2nd, 2009 at 7:49 pm
i have a solution to get this fixed and spite microsoft for faulty products wrap your xbox in a towel and go in the other room and watch every star wars movie lol then come back turn it off and turn it back on and see if u have the rrod yet instant 3 year warranty lol
on May 9th, 2009 at 11:34 am
mine stys on for bout 5 mins den gets rrod if i leav da top of will it work
on May 26th, 2009 at 5:19 pm
I am not a player but I had to try and do something with my son's xbox. The towel trick worked but then when system was played with after about 2 hours, it did it again. Soooooo, I am going to try it again to see if it works.
on May 30th, 2009 at 7:35 pm
what tools do i need to take apart my xbox and where can i get an x-clamp
on June 21st, 2009 at 5:12 pm
hey, i just tried the towel trick. I waited until the xbox shut off, and removed the towels. I just shut it off and turned it back on. Works now, I think it took about fifteen minutes until it shut off with two towels wrapped around it. Thanks guys for the help
on June 25th, 2009 at 4:24 pm
My son had the same problem.. no video. MS support was no help, wanted $100 to send it to them for 3 – 4 weeks to fix. We tried the towel method, it worked until we moved the unit. Then no video again. Did the towel thing again, but for closer to 20 minutes, got 2 red rings, then unwrapped it and let it cool. Tapped the sides a couple of times too. Once cool, it worked again! Moved it back into his room, and it's still working several days later. Thanks for the tip!!