The famous Red Ring of Death is nothing new to anyone that has been playing video games the last couple of years, specifically anyone who has owned an Xbox 360. There have been many tails of people sending back easily a handful of Xbox’s to Microsoft because of the dreaded Red Ring, between the editors here alone we have sent back over a dozen easily.

In a recent article an independent company put out some stats:

Over 18 million Xbox 360s have sold through since the console’s launch in November 2005, but just how many of those are still working? Squaretrade, a company that specializes in providing warranty support to purchasers of electronic goods from various manufacturers, claims 16% of Xbox 360s experience a hardware failure within six to ten months after a warranty purchase. Three out of every five failures were for the infamous “Red Ring of Death” general hardware failure error, a problem often linked to overheating.

That many returns is a bit ridiculous and those numbers could even go higher with prolonged usage. Not a reigning endorsement for a quality product from the MS camp.

The article even goes on to talk about some helpful remedies, i.e. putting a fan on the back of your system, which should not be necessary if these units were engineered correctly from the get go. They even reference the famed towel trick, which only works for a short time so don’t depend on that to save you.

Hit the jump for some hints on how to not brick your 360.

[Via Yahoo Games!]

Thanks to Omala03 for the tip.

How to Avoid Hardware Problems
Air it out. Many failures are attributed to the inadequate cooling system of early-model 360s, so anything you can do to give it an easier time will pay off. Make sure you put the console in a place with cool, steady airflow.
Move it and lose it. Don’t change the orientation of the console when it’s running. The DVD drive’s running gear isn’t as well secured as it could be, so knocking over a vertically-standing console can cause the machinery to collide with the disc surface. Characteristic circular scratches are the result and are generally fatal for the game.
Think new. Thanks to a well-publicized cooling system redesign, newer machines are less likely to suffer problems. Any console bought in the last six months or so should have much better chances of surviving.

Red Ring of Death: What to do
Is it a “real” red ring of death? Somewhat confusingly, the true red ring error only has three of the four quarters of the ring illuminated. If all four are lit up, you have a much simpler problem: your A/V cable is loose!

Enterprising 360 owners have discovered a homebrewed way to fix the problem, although it only works for a short period of time. It involves turning on your console, wrapping it tightly in a towel, and leaving it on for 20-25 minutes. This might void your warranty from Microsoft, so consider yourself warned.

If your AV cable is loose and you think you have RROD, you should be beaten without question. LOL.