• Welcome Guest to the new PlayerSquared! Please be aware the site is a work in progress & we'd appreciate your help in letting us know which features from the old site we're currently missing as well as report any bugs you find via this thread here: Bugs/Missing Features
  • If this is your first visit You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below. Sign up today to get the latest PS4 GameSaves, Game Mods and much more!

360 How to Fix E-74 Error and RRoD (Red Ring of Death)

No pennies will be wasted.The main purpose of this tutorial is for the E-74 error, and how to fix it yourself. All of this information was gathered from the internet and also my own trial and error. I will also review the RRoD repair with some custom tweaks. I have already completed the X-Clamp fix on my machine, so some parts may be improvised. Keep in mind, there is no permanent fix, therefore you may need to do this more than once, depending how much you play, one repair should last 1 month. Once the initial repair has been made, any instances to follow can be repaired very quickly (5 minutes). I will also show how to 're-fix' E-74, in case you experience another error later on. At your own risk.How to fix E74 & RRoD�vvSTRIDEvv
e74035.jpg
e74001.jpg
Items Needed:
  • 12 5mm flat stainless washers
  • 20 5mm plastic washers
  • 8 M5 x .8 x 16mm machine screws
  • Arctic Silver 5 thermal paste (Radio Shack)
  • Thread lock Super Glue
  • Foam furniture disc (optional)
Tools:
  • T10 and T8, T6 Torx (Auto Zone in the Allen key style, cheapest way to get all the sizes)
  • Pliers
  • Phillips screwdriver
  • 1/4 inch socket
  • Tin Snips
  • Generic Heat Gun
Tutorials for opening the case:�
Once you have your case open:�
  • Remove the gold T bolts, and ring of light board to release motherboard.�

  • Completely remove motherboard from chassis.

e74002.jpg

  • Next you will need to drill the original x-clamp holes on the chassis, so that your screws will fit.
e74003.jpg

  • Now superglue two plastic washers on each of the 8 holes on the inside of chassis, use the screws to hold in place till dry. Now the washers will not move. This is also a good time to glue the foam disc to the GFX (left) side of the chassis, as depicted.

  • Glue them down.
e74005.jpg

  • Hold with bolts till dry.
e74007.jpg

  • Remove bolts.
e74010.jpg

  • Now, if you ever need to do this again, you will NOT need to remove the motherboard. Since the bolts are on the outside of the chassis.

  • Now remove the original feet from the heat sinks, with the 1/4 ratchet, and throw them and the x-clamps in the trash.
e74020.jpg

  • Clean all excess paste from the sinks and the chips. You want the chips to be legible, and mirror finish. I use a q-tip with a�little�alcohol.
Dirty:
e74012.jpg
Clean:
e74014.jpg

  • Now that your chips are clean.

  • Next, you will need to 're-flow' the board with your heat gun, in the areas outlined in the diagram below. Start with the bottom of the motherboard, and make sure the board is sitting level. Heat gun on high for 3-4 minutes in circular motion. Watch this video for shielding and patterns.
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-Eyz0sOKR4[/ame]Once cool you can re-install your motherboard
  • Put your washers on all the bolts, and push the first four through on the CPU (right) side.

  • Put more washers on the inside on top of the motherboard.
Should look like so:
e74024.jpg

  • Add the thermal paste to the top of the CPU chip, not too much:
e74023.jpg

  • Now you will need to carefully thread the heat sink on to the screws.

  • Tighten screws hand tight, then torque one 1/4 turn.

  • Don't forget the washer first. You should have one stainless washer at the head of the bolt against the outside of the chassis, and then the glued plastic ones, then one stainless on the board before the CPU heatsink. So, 2 loose washers per screw.

  • Now you can go ahead and put the other 4 bolts through on the GFX side (left).

  • Use the remaining�4 PLASTIC washers, and glue them CAREFULLY�to the board. You only need a tiny drop.
e74025.jpg
IMPORTANT.�
  • Take our snips and cut a piece of the metal heat shield off from the top of your plastic box case, it will pop right off the case top. You want a small piece that resembles the assembly of your graphics chip set.�
e74.jpg

  • This piece will go over both chips and allow for more direct pressure.
e74016.jpg

  • To fit these chips.
e74019.jpg

  • Add thermal paste to chips, and put the metal piece you cut on top, then put more paste on top of the metal piece.

  • DO NOT PUT THE 2nd HEAT SINK ON YET.

  • Now you can plug your xbox in (power and AV cable), WITHOUT 2ND HEAT SINK, and turn it on. This will cause an instant 2 red light error (overheat).
e74032.jpg

  • Unplug everything, and now you can install the 2ND heat sink. Same thing, just hand tight, and then a 1/4 turn. Don't forget the washers, they should be glued down.

  • Once you have done that, plug it back in and test it out. Should work. BUT. If by any chance it gives you 3 red lights. Simply adjust the tourque of the bolts a little tighter, and try again. But at least you don't have to pull the board again..lol.
e74033.jpg

  • Now you can put the air duct, dvd drive back in, and the case back together. You should be in good working order.
e74034.jpg
Fast forward a few weeks, another E74. Easy to fix now.�
  • Pull the case off.
  • Unscrew / remove the heat sink from the GFX chip set (left side).
  • Plug everything in and turn it on so you get 2 red lights.
  • Put the heat sink back on (re-paste optional).
  • Done.
I personally only put the bottom and right side (for HDD) back on the chassis, as shown in picture above. This allows for more circulation to the gfx sinks, and much easier to fix. Like I said, this will last me a month of playing everyday in all honesty. I am not stating this is a permanent fix, and as far as I know, this is the best way to fix E74.
 
Last edited by a moderator: