Home >> Internet Games >> Xbox 360

How to Get Your Xbox Game Out When You Have the Red Ring of Death

In a malfunction popularized as "The Red Ring of Death," Xbox 360 consoles will light up three red lights in a ring when encountering a hardware error. These errors require you to send your system in to Microsoft for replacement, so you will need to first remove any game disc left inside. In most cases, the system will still power up to an error screen, during which you can eject the drive. If the console won't turn on at all, you have to find and use the tray eject switch instead. Its location varies depending on which brand of disc drive your machine has.

Things You'll Need

Sturdy paperclip

Instructions

- 1
  Unwrap one end of a paperclip into a straight line. The switch for the Xbox disc tray requires some force to push, so a thicker paperclip will make the job easier.
- 2
  Pull off the faceplate on your console by prying it off the machine at one end. Removing the faceplate requires a bit of force, but do not pull too hard if it's stuck, to avoid snapping the plastic.
- 3
  Look for a small hole under the right edge of the disc tray. If present, attempt to use this hole to eject the tray by inserting the paperclip and feeling around inside. You need to turn a set of plastic gears about an inch inside the hole. Push the paperclip in and out to try to spin the gears. If this method works, the tray will pop open, and you can pull it the rest of the way by hand and retrieve your game.
- 4
  Look for a pair of small holes under the drive farther to the left. If you couldn't get the first hole to work, or it wasn't present on your machine, you will need to use the leftmost hole of the two in this pair. Insert your paperclip and attempt to spin the internal gears. A metal plate also lies inside this area which may block your paperclip, so work it around until you're hitting the plastic gears instead. Once the drive pops open, pull it out by hand and remove your disc.
- 5
  Push the drive closed rapidly to lock it back in position, or use the eject button if the system will power up at all.

Xbox 360