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How to Replace a Southbridge on an Xbox 360

The southbridge in any computing device, as a part of the chipset of the motherboard, allows communication between the main computer and items such as storage devices, USB ports, expansion slots, CMOS RAM and the clock. In an Xbox 360, this chipset will sometimes malfunction, usually due to excessive heat. A piece of material, usually metal, can be placed in an Xbox 360 to put pressure on the RAM chips below, fixing single flashing red light errors E04, E09, E67, E69, E71, E72, E73 and E76; and three flashing red lights errors 1020, 1013, 1021, 0010 and 0021. This is also called a clamp fix.

Things You'll Need

Small piece of metal or plastic, 3.1 centimeters by 3.1 centimeters
2 millimeter or 3 millimeter drill
4 M2 10 millimeter machine screws
4 M2 10 millimeter nuts to match the screws
Electrical tape

Instructions

- 1
  Open the Xbox and find the southbridge chipset, which is a square, gray metal device toward the middle of the circuit board. It has a circle with the Microsoft and Xbox logos imprinted on it.
- 2
  Put electrical tape over a large capacitor above the southbridge area as a precaution. If the drill bit or the metal plate should touch that capacitor, it could create an electrical short.
- 3
  Drill 2 millimeter or 3 millimeter holes centered around the southbridge chipset in the Xbox. According to the Xbox-Experts website, the side measurements are 3.1 centimeters and the diagonal measurement of the 3.1-centimeter-square plate is 4 centimeters. Xbox-Experts shows the holes should be drilled so that there is 3.6 centimeters from the inside edge of one hole to the hole on the other diagonal corner. There should be no drilling on soldered points; if the measurements are accurate, the drilling should fall on open areas of the circuit board.
- 4
  Drill holes in the metal or plastic plate you have provided with the 2 millimeter or 3 millimeter drill in the four corners measuring 3.6 centimeters from the inside edge of one hole to the hole on the other diagonal corner, just as was done around the southbridge in the Xbox.
- 5
  Screw the 10 mlilimeter machine screws in the holes drilled in the Xbox, and then place the prepared metal plate drilled holes over the screws. Press down and secure the plate, pressing it against the southbridge with the 10 millimeter nuts. Depending on where the Xbox heat sink is located, you may need to cut a small notch in one of the corners in order for the plate to fit over the southbridge.

Xbox 360