3 red lights, but now nothing! Is it safe to use my console?

Hey..You can play but its gonna keep shuting off on you when it gets hot inside,.You got the red ring of death.Best to call and make plains to return for repair.Cause sooner or later its just gonna die all the way.Some 360s the chipset inside of them gets cracked from over heating.....Good luck..

Can I not just clean it out, or blow a fan on it to keep it cool or something? Surely there must be ways of stopping it from overheating?

You can try those things, my old xbox has RROD'd a few times, and now I keep a small fan beside it at all times while I play, and I only play a top of 3 hours and shut it off even if I don't get the red rings. My warranty is up so I can't take it back. So unfortunately you're stuck as of right now!

I was only playing 20 minutes :S I usually play for up to 12 hours at a time on weekends and it has never been a problem.

Dunno if it is just coincidence, but this has happened to two xboxs now, and both times I have been playing Bethesda games, Skyrim and now Fallout New Vegas. Prob nothing in that though.

I think when the next gen consoles come out I shall buy a playstation 4, which I will not enjoy doing as I do not like Sony products as a rule, but I can't keep shelling out money for something that is a fault of Microsoft.

Thanks for the replies. Some advice from microsoft support would be nice?

Which console do you have? The old Xbox 360? Those are known to RROD constantly, back when the problem was viral Microsoft had announced that if your warranty was still active to take advantage of it and return the Xbox back to the manufacturer, this has been a known problem for as long as I can remember. There is no advice that I can give you except either contact Microsoft by phone and ask them if you still have your warranty on your Xbox, or stop pplaying for 12 hours at a time! :) If you have any other questions don't hesitate to post.

--

Here's the number to xbox. 1-800-4MYXBOX

I have the XBOX Elite which I thought had been made after they found the problem. I live in Sweden, and I received no information from Microsoft that I could have a faulty Xbox, or that I should send it back to them. It isn't that simple or cheap to just pack it off to the states. I have had it 5 years or just over so I would not think it is under warranty :(

My friend got his fixed a few years back and it took 4 months!!!! He bought one second hand after about 2 months of waiting, but by the time he got his other back the one he bought 2nd hand had also broken lol

Thanks for the advice, I shall prob play until it goes bang and then buy a second hand PS3.

I'm really sorry for all the trouble you're going through, but when it comes to hardware itself, the only people that can help you is official Xbox support. And I know living in a different country is a lot harder when it comes to hardware problems and sending things in, but at this time that's the only thing you can do. I'm really sorry I couldn't help you any further, but just know that these days buying a second hand Xbox is pretty cheap, (I know I say cheap but money is really hard to come by these days).

Took it to a local electronics shop and they fixed both of the broken xboxs for £100 and adjusted the fan speed on them so they circulate more air, so hopefully wont overeheat again.. Dropped them off at the shop 2pm yesterday and picked them up at 11am this morning. Been working fine all afternoon.

Great to hear Barnsey! Glad you got it all sorted out :)