College Humor

Xbox 360 gamers must cope with the dreaded Xbox 360 flashing red lights error if you were unlucky enough to purchase a defective gaming console. The infamous "3 Rings of Death" occurs because of hardware failure within the Xbox's core motherboard + hard drive system.

While there is no easy way to prevent this occurrence from happening again, there are a few quick ways to prevent your Xbox 360 from displaying the 3 red rings of death.

1. Move Your Xbox 360 to a Spacious Area on the Floor - Many believe the red rings error is partly caused by overheating problems with the 360's hard drive. Microsoft packed so much into the system that it gets hot very quickly. Always place your Xbox 360 on the floor with plenty of free room around the console to breathe. This will prevent overheating & limit the chances of seeing the 3 xbox red lights.

2. Always Turn off the Xbox Console with your Controller - Not a huge issue, but manually turning off the Xbox using your hand could put additional stress on the hard drive to shut off. By Using the controller, you give the Xbox a smoother shut down phase, and may extend the overall life of your Xbox console.

3. Clean All Games Thoroughly Before Inserting into the Xbox 360 - Often your Xbox games will collect dust & dirt after you play them for a while. Extra dust creates friction within the unit, perhaps causing it to fail during your gaming sessions. Keeping all games clean, along with your console, will help to prevent the xbox 360 3 red light error.

The easiest way to solve any problem is to prevent it from occurring in the first place. If your Xbox 360 console still shows the 3 blinking red lights, please see my resource box to fix your problem at once.

This article may be republished as long as the resource box is included and left in tact.

Need a Quick Fix for your Xbox 360 Console?

Visit my site to get your own Xbox 360 Red Lights Repair Guide.

Most Xbox 360 owners would have heard of the dreaded "Red Ring Of Death", a glowing light which appears on the front of the console. According to some sources, one third of all Xbox 360 consoles suffer from general hardware failures which cause the red warning light to displayed. However, what many 360 owners are not aware of is the fact that different types of red flashing lights actually mean different things, some more serious than others. Today I am going to tell you exactly what each specific red light configuration means for you and your Xbox, what the causes of each are and what can be done to fix the problems.

Before we can begin you need to inspect the front of your Xbox 360 console and get accustomed with the light display circle. Look carefully and you'll notice that its broken up into four sections, all of which glow green when the console is functioning correctly. For the purposes of this article section one is the top right hand corner section of the circle, section two is the bottom right hand corner, section three is the bottom left hand corner and section four is the top left hand corner.

If section two of the light circle is the only one glowing red then the console has simply overheated. As many gamers are aware the Xbox 360 is notorious for overheating due to a somewhat inefficient heat removal system. Using the 360 for extended periods of time can cause the console to overheat and the only solution is to power the console down for an hour or so until it has cooled down. To help prevent overheating from occurring in the first place it is advisable to move the console to an area where it receives plenty of air flow and is raised off the ground.

If all four sections of the light circle are glowing red then the problem is even easier to fix. All that has occurred is that the AV cable has become disconnected from the back of the console. Completely remove the Xbox 360 AV cable and plug it back in until a clicking noise is heard. Restart the console and all should be working as normal. However, if the console still displays the four red lights then you should ring the Xbox 360 technical helpline (1-800-4MY-XBOX for American gamers, 425-635-7180 for international gamers) between 6am to 10pm Pacific time.

The real problems start when either section three, or all sections but number one of the light ring are glowing red. This means that your Xbox 360 console has experienced a genera hardware failure and is basically unusable. One of the most common causes of general hardware failure in the Xbox 360 is the malfunction of the Nyoko intercooler. Another common cause is the fracturing of the lead-free solder used during the construction of the console.

No amount of rebooting or cursing will fix the problem, and there are only three options to get yourself gaming again. The first is to purchase a new 360 console. However, this will be an expensive option and there is no guarantee that the new console you purchase will suffer the same problem as the old one. If you do choose to buy a new Xbox 360 then it would be wise to get an additional warranty to cover you in case you once again suffer the "Red Ring Of Death".

Another option would be to send your faulty Xbox 360 back to Microsoft for repair. To do this you need to call the technical helpline (1-800-4MY-XBOX for American gamers, 425-635-7180 for international gamers) and explain exactly what the problem with your console is. A box will then be shipped to the address that you gave to the technical specialist that contains the instructions for shipping. Pack the console only (remove the hard-drive and all cables, controllers and discs from the drive) into the box unless otherwise stated in the instructions. Ship the box to the address provided and get yourself ready for the wait. It will take a few weeks to receive the refurbished console, and far longer if you live overseas. Some gamers have been unfortunate enough to have shipped their console for repair, only to have the replacement break down on them as well. Still, if you're the patient kind of person then it's worth giving it a shot!

However, if you're the sort of person who wants to get back to gaming as soon and for as little money as possible then the best option would be to attempt a home repair job. Now you're probably thinking that it can't be possible to fix an Xbox 360 from home. I'm not gonna lie, it's not as easy as it should be, but there are a number of excellent guides to DIY 360 repair that can be purchased online for a reasonable price. Of course there is some risk involved - opening your console will automatically void the warranty so the cautious Xbox 360 gamer would be wise to send their console back to Microsoft. For those who wish to get back to gaming quickly and cheaply home repair is a truly viable option and in most cases requires no special technical skills.

James Philipson has been a keen gamer for over 15 years and has also worked in the electronics industry as a technician and product developer. Over the years he has repaired thousands of electronic devices and has designed a number of new products. He became interested in the technical aspects of the Xbox 360 after a number of his friends' consoles experienced hardware problems.

Visit his information page at http://www.squidoo.com/xbox-360-central to learn more about the Xbox 360 and how it can be fixed from home.

Host Gator is one web hosting company that stands above their competition. Host Gator continues to receive extremely positive feedback in the online forums across the internet from current customers. One of the main forums is webhostingjury.com. This is a major accomplishment for any web hosting company to receive because these customer reviews are completely voluntary.

There are very few hosting companies that continue to receive positive reviews from their current customers. However, Host Gator continues to surpass their competitors.

Host Gator Top Awards

Host Gator has also received numerous awards including Best Overall Web Hosting Company from zFroggy.com. Webhost Magazine and Buyer's Guide has given Host Gator the Highest Level of Recommendation. Host Gator has also received other recognition including: Top Pick for Best Reseller Hosting, Top 10 Web Host, Top 25 Host, and the Editor's Choice award from Find my Host.

Host Gator Support

When you need a hosting company that you can rely upon, it is important that you are able to reach them. Well, Host Gator has 24/7 support and can be reached via online chat, a toll free number, and a ticket system. One test of a true company is to check them out at different hours to see if you get a response. When we attempted to contact Host Gator during late night hours, we received a prompt response from an employee who was very knowledgeable and helpful. In addition, they wanted to ensure that all of our questions were answered before they let us go. This is truly amazing and makes their customer service stand at the top.

Host Gator Features

Host Gator offers very affordable web hosting packages. They have all the features that you would need in a great hosting company: MySQL Databases, CGI, PHP4 or 5, PERL, Chilisoft ASP, Python, SSI, Cron, FrontPage, CURL, GD, Image Magick, Streaming Audio/Video, POP3 Accounts, Web Mail, E-Mail Alias, Autoresponders, Mailing Lists, etc. Their packages also include Web/FTP Statistics and extensive e-Commerce Features.

Host Gator Control Panel

Host Gator has probably the friendliest control panel on the market, CPANEL10, and you have over 52 scripts that can be installed with the click of your mouse. It couldn't be any easier than that.

Host Gator Reseller Web Hosting

With Host Gator's Reseller Hosting, you get the ability to host unlimited sites. You can create your own packages and prices. Thus, this gives you the option of acting as your own independent hosting company. Your customers won't even know that you are reselling this plan. With this plan, you will get a free billing manager, free merchant account and free hosting templates. The hosting templates give you the option of just adding your name so that you can be up and running today. As a result, your customers can signup from your website, pay you instantly and have their account created within minutes. You can keep 100% of the profits.

You will also receive a free eNom domain reseller account. Host Gator offers affordable rates for their reseller web hosting.

Host Gator stands behind their packages and offers a 30 day money back guarantee...

Jump ahead with the Froggy Perspective, an Honest Review of the best inexpensive web hosting companies. Jump over to: http://www.zfroggy.com.

You might be having difficulty finding low cost health insurance simply because you've missed some really great ways to cut down your cost. I'll explore some of such ways in this article...

1. It is profitable to stay with the same insurer. You'll attract discounts of up to 5% on your health insurance if you remain with the same insurer for up to three years. The longer the years you've been loyal to an insurer the bigger discounts you can get.

2. No-appointment ambulatory care centers or emergi-centers will as well help you lower your costs. This is especially correct if you are always healthy and find it tough to pay for regular health insurance. They cost far less than using an emergency room in a hospital.

3. The pharmaceutical industry has big brand names. If you buy such drugs, your premium will go up. But will you believe it if I told you that all generic drugs are required by law to have the exact same percentage of active agents as brand name drugs? Where the dissimilarities start and end are in their choice of inactive ingredients.

This simply implies that what you get from brand name drugs is also what you get from generic drugs of similar specification. Nevertheless, check this with your doctor before making this decision.

4. Your premiums might be tax-deductible if you're self employed. You may as well be entitled to a tax break if your employer offers a flexible spending account. Ask your tax professional.

5. You'll be given lower rates if you make your payments by Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT). This authorizes your insurer to automatically withdraw your premiums from your account when due. This reduces administrative costs like those incurred when mailing payment notices. This is why this attracts more affordable premium.

6. Get and compare quotes. Visit at least five quotes sites. Using at least five quotes sites raise the chances that you'd receive better health insurance quotes. This is because insurers not covered by one site will be covered by another.

And, you know that because your chances of receiving lower health insurance quotes is tied to the range of quotes you receive, the more insurance companies you receive quotes from, the higher your chances will be.

Here are great pages for health insurance quotes...

InsureMe Health Insurance Quotes

Health Insurance Quotes

Chimezirim Odimba writes on insurance.