Save Time and Money by Knowing How to Stop Xbox 360 from Freezing

At first, you think it's a bad dream and all you need to do is to wake up and your Xbox 360 system will not be frozen up. Then you realize that it has really happened. It's definitely a kick in the pants when your Xbox 360 freezes up. It's usually not much consolation, but you're not alone. It is estimated that nearly one-third of all Xbox 360 owners experience freeze ups, and have no idea why or how to stop Xbox 360 from freezing.

Your first thought, when your Xbox freezes up is to send it to Microsoft for repairs. This assumes, of course, that it's still under warranty. That's a reasonable thought, but it can be quite the logistical nightmare to repackage the Xbox 360 and ship it to a Microsoft repair center. You'll need to wait about seven weeks to get the repaired Xbox 360 back, and you have no guarantee that it will stop Xbox 360 from freezing again in a few months.

There are two major reasons that your Xbox 360 can freeze up: too many people playing at once can overwhelm the system with commands and computations. Eventually the system overloads, and freezes up. It's sort of like an overworked human saying "I quit. I can't take it anymore!" The second, and most common problem is overheating, which causes many problems inherent to the Xbox 360 systems.

Finding out how to stop Xbox 360 from freezing because of the first problem is easy. Simply shut down the Xbox and let it cool for a couple of hours. After it has dissipated the excess heat, you should be able to resume playing with no problems at all. Of course, if you overload it again, it will crash. That, however, is normal. Not a problem that needs to be corrected by Microsoft or by your messing with the hardware. Just give the system a rest now and then.

The second problem, that of serious overheating, is fundamentally different. Sometimes Xbox 360 systems overheat due to some fundamental problem with the cooling system. If the Xbox system overheats long enough and at a high enough temperature, internal hardware can be damaged or their connections to the motherboard can be broken. When the problem is this severe, you are confronted with two options: send it to Microsoft for repairs, or learn how to stop Xbox 360 from freezing, and fix it yourself using a good repair guide. You're undoubtedly familiar with Microsoft's repair costs if your warranty has expired. If that's a problem, you may want to try the second option.

To fix the problem yourself, you'll need a few hours; some basic electronics repair tools, and an excellent do-it-yourself Xbox 360 repair guide. Guides are easy to come by. The Internet has many that include step-by-step video tutorials from which you can quickly learn how to stop Xbox 360 from freezing. With the right guide, and the proper tools, you should be able to solve most problems within an hour.

Keep in mind that to repair the Xbox 360 system by yourself will take some basic skills and knowledge of how to repair sensitive electronic equipment. If you're not confident of your skills, or do not have an expert to advise you, you may be better off spending the time and money to let Microsoft fix the problem for you.