The Xbox 360 is a marvelous machine when it's working. With superior performance and amazing games, it draws you in and then...nothing. Right when you're enjoying it the most you get the red ring of death malfunction.

This is a very serious problem that over 500,000 people are dealing with. Once those three red lights turn on, the problem will never go away on its own. If your Xbox hasn't had the ring of death failure, there are steps that you can take to reduce the chances of it happening to your machine.

The Xbox 360 was poorly designed and built. This means that it's susceptible to getting very hot. Ultimately, the ring of death is brought on by too much heat.

To improve your chances of trouble free gaming with your Xbox, you must keep it cool. Now, I'm not talking about putting your Xbox in the freezer or outside in the snow. People have tried this and it's not recommended because the Xbox's chips are meant to operate near room temperature.

To prevent your Xbox from getting too hot you must make sure that it stays well ventilated. This means keeping it away from closed in spaces such as a storage cabinet or a cluttered entertainment center. Wherever you decide to put it, there must be lots of open space with plenty of ventilation.

Keep it off shaggy carpeting because it will interfere with the fans in the back of the unit. Elevate it off the carpet with props, put it on a table, or use it on an uncarpeted and solid surface. The fans can also get obstructed if cords or cables are bunched up in the vicinity.

Take every precaution to keep the fans clean and free of dirt and debris. Depending on your particular set of circumstances, cat or dog hair, grit, dust, lint, and dirt can rapidly clog up the fan area. This happens because there's so much air passing through the fans which act like vacuum cleaners. Cleaning the fans out with compressed air will help tremendously.

Don't use your Xbox for long periods of time. Those internal components will get warmer with use and will continue to do so. If you aren't using your Xbox, turn it off and let it cool down.

People with overheated Xboxes typically ran their machines longer than four hours. If you don't have air conditioning and live in a warm climate, your Xbox will be even more prone to overheating. Under these circumstances, you'll need to further reduce your playing times.

Microsoft has unleashed upon the world, a very undependable and 'high maintenance' product. Diligence at keeping your Xbox cool is still not a guarantee of freedom from the red ring of death. However, it will happen if you habitually allow your machine to get too hot.