This error indicates a general hardware failure. Exactly why does this happen? It turns out that the Xbox has a number of design flaws or weaknesses that combine together to cause the red ring of death failure mode.

These design mistakes are discussed below.

1) Heat - There are many high powered components packed into the Xbox 360. They put out a lot of heat precisely because these components use up a lot of power. Heat sinks, vents, and fans within the console are used to dissipate this heat. If enough air cannot get into the Xbox, it overheats because the cooling system has little reserve capacity. The ring of death failure then occurs when this heat buildup interacts with various design flaws (discussed below).

2) Lead free solder - Microsoft uses lead free solder in the Xbox in order to avoid the use of lead in products used by children. Lead free solder is very brittle. In addition, the wrong type of lead free solder was chosen by Microsoft, a type that with long term exposure to heat tends to get very brittle. Hair-line cracks will form when this brittle solder is stressed. The cracks result in a weak solder joint that easily breaks and can block the flow of electrical current.

3) Flawed heat sink clamp design - The X clamp was not designed well because it exerts a very non uniform pressure. The X clamp has a plastic spacer at it's center that pushes hard against the motherboard at one small spot. When the GPU and CPU get hot, This pressure gets more intense which causes the motherboard to flex. The motherboard's flexing stresses the solder joints which use the brittle lead free solder. After enough exposure to these stresses and heat, the solder points break.

4) Foil left on the heat sink - On many of it's units, it seems that Microsoft didn't remove the foil from the heat sink. This has been attributed to several "ring of death" failures. You will have to reapply the thermal compound if you choose to remove the foil.

So now the mystery behind the ring of death has been revealed. This knowledge is no consolation for not being able to play actual games, but it should help out when you're evaluating the different repair guides around. Don't forget that your warranty will be voided if you choose to open your console.