This article is for the reader who is already familiar with the basics of Xbox overheating. You have already tried using your machine in cool, well-ventilated places, away from other heat sources, limit the hours of use, keep the vents free of dust and obstructions, and keep the electrical block free of carpeting. I will discuss how a bad connection between the CPU and its heat sink or the GPU and its heat sink can cause drastic overheating issues.
At its best, the Xbox has a cooling system that barely keeps up with normal heat buildup. Because it has little cooldown to spare, it doesn’t take abuse well. Most people would reasonably expect an Xbox, no matter how battered, to take at least a few minutes to overheat.
So if your Xbox is getting the 2 red lights error (indicating overheating) within seconds of turning it on after a cold boot, you may be wondering how this could be possible.
One of the reasons for overheating so quickly is that the CPU or GPU has become detached from its heat sinks. A heat sink is a device that removes excess heat. To do its job properly, the heat sink must be in good thermal contact with the CPU (or GPU, as the case may be).
A CPU or GPU can get hot extremely fast if it is not cooled at all. Both drives consume a lot of power for their size. It would only take seconds for this electrical energy to overheat an uncooled GPU or CPU. This overheating is so fast that the rest of the console wouldn’t even have time to warm up when the overheated CPU or GPU causes the Xbox to shut down. So you end up with a console that still feels great but shows the two red light error.
There are several ways that the heat sink can lose thermal contact. Either the thermal paste is extremely old, or too much thermal paste was applied initially, or there is no paste at all. Perhaps the wrong (too thick) washers were used during the assembly process, or the heat sinks were not screwed in correctly, or perhaps Microsoft left some aluminum foil on the heat sink.
When you replace the thermal paste, remember to clean the old paste first. An alcohol wipe should work for this. Avoid applying too much thermal paste, as only a thin film is needed to ensure there are no air pockets between the heat sink and the CPU (or GPU). A good paste to use is Arctic Silver. Keep track of the spacer washers you remove because they must be replaced during assembly.
If you’ve never tried this before but are determined to do it yourself, it’s highly recommended that you get a guide to this type of repair. Also note that your warranty is void once you open the console. Good luck.
