If your Xbox 360 gaming unit has stopped working and you are getting the 3 red light error don’t despair, there is hope. With some basic tools and a decent repair manual you can perform a Xbox 360 Repair it yourself.
You will have to get a set of torx screwdrivers, If you do not have a set you can pick up a cheap set at your local hardware store.
The 3 red light problem means there is a general hardware failure. 1st thing you can try is to take off everything and let your console sit for twenty minutes unplugged from the power. replug everything and try it again, If you are still getting the problem remove the hard drive and re-install it. Sometimes they get loose and you get a bad connection.
If that did not repair it you will need to open it up at this point. The most common problems are no video or disks will not read. Both can be fix fairly easily.
If you have no video you can attempt a different video cable, borrow a friends if you do not have another one. If you still have no video but audio is working you will need to check the soldering connections on the main board for the video connector. Consult the Xbox 360 Fix manual before attempting this or any other internal repairs.
If your Microsoft Xbox is not reading the disks or getting disk errors make sure your disks are clean.You may have to replace the DVD drive or if you have the skills you can remove the DVD drive and replace just the pick up assembly. This is a lot lower costing than replacing the entire drive. Again look at the repair manual before attempting this.
Your other available option is to send your unit off to Microsoft and Wait. Nothing worse than having Halo 3 and not being able to engage in it. I prefer to do my own mods and fixes. The system unit is very similar to your home personal computer, it is actually a small personal computer. With a little patience anyone can learn how to do there own repairs.