When the team at Microsoft designed and produced the Xbox 360 slim and modern gaming console, they could not have imagined the success that this machine would have had worldwide. However equally I'm sure that they never considered the design flaws that would lead to gamers asking how to fix red ring of death, or as it is also known the 3 red lights.

Quite simply it would appear that Microsoft underestimated the power of the small components contained in the small space that is the Xbox 360 and failed to provide a sufficient cooling system to prevent it from overheating, the fans have proved to be less effective than would have been desired.

In truth statistics would suggest as many as 1 in 3 Xbox 360 gamers experience this difficulty, so the best cure ideally is prevention, so let’s examine some steps you can take to prevent this problem occurring to you and your Xbox 360.

I'm sure you've heard the term prevention is better than cure and that is especially true of the red ring of death, if you take the necessary precautions hopefully you will never need to find the answers as to how to fix the 3 red ring of death, so please take note and ensure you continue to enjoy your gaming adventure.

Heres just a few points of consideration for you to be aware of:

1. This may appear common sense, but avoid at all costs blocking any of the ventilation openings on the Xbox 360 console.

2. Ensure that your Xbox 360 console is not kept on soft surfaces, such as carpets, beds, sofas, or for that matter any surface that could potentially block the Xbox 360's ventilation.

3. Keep the Xbox 360 console away from confined spaces, such as stereo cabinets.

4. This goes without saying, but avoid putting your Xbox 360 console anywhere near equipment that can produce significant heat, like a heater, a radiator as an example.

5. If you were to find that your Xbox 360 had actually overheated, don't fall into the trap of rushing to cool it down by moving it into a cold area. The mixture of heat and cold air would cause condensation with the result that your system components could well short.

This may all appear well and good, but what actually happens if your Xbox360 is already suffering from this problem, how then do you fix the red ring of death? You might be reassured to discover that there are steps you can take to hopefully cure this problem.

The first of which involves restarting your Xbox 360, with any luck this may cure the problem, assuming that it does not you need to unplug all cables, including the power cables and AV cables. Allow for a reasonable length of time and then reconnect everything.

If you have exhausted these options, and you still find that 3 red lights are still glowing then your solution from this point forward becomes that bit more technical and involves you removing the Xbox360's hard drive.

So what do you need to do?

Once you have turned the console off, removed the hard drive, you can switch the power back on, at which point if the 3 red light error is no longer showing you can re-attach the removed hard drive, and switch your Xbox 360 back on.

The reality is this if you have taken all of these steps and are still facing the dreaded ring of death it is likely that you're Xbox 360 will need to be repaired.

In this case you have some choices to make, obviously if in warranty you would be examining you’re right's under the guarantee first, if out of guarantee you either choose to send it back to microsoft in the knowledge that it will take two to three weeks commonly and a likely cost of around $150 to $200 or do you try and repair it yourself?

There are expert guides that can be found online that are relatively inexpensive and prevent you from receiving poor advice with regards to how to repair your Xbox 360, more on this in a moment!

If you want to save time and money and repair your own system, then take a look at the following Xbox 360 repair review site and make an informed choice.

Discover the top 3 Xbox360 repair guides, revealed and reviewed

OK if you tried all the basic steps outlined above, ie allowing your Xbox 360 time to cool down, unplugging your unit etc...don't be tempted to go for the Towel trick option. This no doubt has worked for some, but you run he risk of damaging more components and creating yourself a larger repair bill.

Just to reiterate if you have the problem displayed in the video above and have tried the tips I suggest the next step is self repair or sending it back to Microsoft. If you do decide to repair it yourself, which is possible. Ensure you have the right guide to make sure you take the correct steps in repairing your Xbox 360.

Discover the top 3 Xbox360 repair guides, revealed and reviewed