While the XBox 360 is a great gaming system, it is also unfortunately prone to some major hardware issues. It is a problem that Microsoft is certainly aware of, but have yet to solve. If it's happened to you, you know exactly what it looks like -- the 3 Red Rings of Death!

As those three red rings light up around your power button, you try not to cry, gnash your teeth or throw your console across the room.

Okay, before sending your XBox 360 back to Microsoft for a warranty repair that might have you waiting 2-3 months before you get it back, here are a couple of things to check first before you give up the ghost. And if these don't work, you can repair the XBox 360 yourself. But try these first!

• Cool down time. If the XBox seems awfully warm, unplug it and leave it sit for awhile until the box is again room temperature. If you are able to get it working again when you plug it back in, be certain to make sure that the console has plenty of ventilation around it. So don't be hiding it under your laundry! This is a good preventative measure too. Make sure it is not too close to a wall and that air can circulate and you should be okay most of the time.

• Get the dust out of the vents. You should do this while your XBox 360 is unplugged. Get yourself a can of compressed air (you can get them at most big drugstores like CVS as well as places like Best Buy) and use it to blow all of the dust out of the vents on your console. If you can't find compressed air, use a hair dryer on a low, cool setting if you have one.

If the three red rings haven't gone away after trying these simple things, then you have a couple of different options to consider.

1. Send box to Microsoft for repair under warranty
2. Have another repair place do the job and pay for it
3. Fix it yourself

If your XBox is still under warranty (likely it is because Microsoft has extended them due to all the problems) then you can probably just pack it up and send it back to them. But that will mean waiting, possibly for ages. I want to play Halo 3 now, not two months from now. The next option is to send it to another repair place and pay them to do the job. You should have it back in a couple of days at the most.

The best option, I think, is to just fix it yourself. There are repair guides available and they cost less money than having someone else repair your console and it is not that hard to do it yourself and shouldn't take more than an hour or so.

I suggest you get the XBox 360 Repair Guide from Chris Jones as he includes a complete video guide so you can follow him step by step through the process and if your XBox still doesn't work after you follow his instructions, he'll refund your money. So you have nothing to lose by trying to fix it yourself before sending it back for a repair.

You can also check out these reviews of different repair guides at: XBox 360 3 Red Lights Repair