Feeling down because your Xbox won’t stop freezing? Do you keep getting the ring of death failure. You are now a member of an expanding international group of frustrated Xbox owners.

Having a lot of company that share your problem doesn’t help you any, so this article will discuss your Xbox 360 repair options. In no particular order, they are:

1.) Send your Xbox back to Microsoft to get it replaced or repaired. If the warranty for your Xbox hasn’t expired, they’ll send you a replacement for free. Otherwise you’ll be charged well over $100.

Note that if you’ve opened your console, your warranty is void. Regardless of whether you were attempting to repair it yourself or had other legitimate reasons, you will lose your warranty.

Also note that this process can take a long time. Two weeks or so is about the average turn around time. There is also a specific procedure that Microsoft requires you to follow for returning your Xbox.

2.) You can try to wet-nurse your console back to health. If this is the first or second ring of death problem with your machine, then there probably hasn’t been any real heat damage. Further ring of death freeze-ups might be avoided by keeping your Xbox cool when it’s in use.

Overheating is the root cause for the red ring of death. Keep the cooling vents open and free of obstructions. Use your Xbox in an open and cool environment. Limit your playing times to no more than three or four hours.

Note that if you’re getting repeated ring of death shutdowns, then the damage has already been done. It may not be possible to avoid the ring of death by trying to keep your Xbox cool. If your machine has had significant heat damage, things will get progressively worse with time.

3.) You can repair it yourself. Before you go through with this option, I should remind you of what I’d mentioned before that opening your console voids your warranty. If your warranty is expired or voided, then you’re free to work on your Xbox.

Repair on your Xbox can seem like a complex operation. But if you have the know-how and a few ordinary household tools, it’s fairly easy to do. The Internet has tons of information about how to fix your Xbox both free and paid.

The downside of free info is the amount of research that you will have to do. There’s too much bad advice out there and it takes time to sort this all out.

There are a number of paid instructional guides available that will show you exactly how to fix your Xbox yourself. Make sure that there’s a guarantee of some kind. Unlike the free information out there, the guarantee introduces some accountability and thus improves your chances of getting information that actually works without damaging your Xbox. It also helps if the guide provides instruction in both video and text formats.

With a little luck, one of these three options should make sense for your situation and get you back to enjoying your Xbox.