My Problem

I fix my Xbox 360 in order to save money if I can and I didn't want to recycle it unless there was a way to fix it.

My Fix

It was little difficult to fix the problem but it help me get the Xbox 360 working again.

My Advice

Just relax while repairing your console and take one step at a time and don't rush it.

My Problem

I own a small computer repair shop and business is a little slow these days. I'm always looking for ways to bring in more revenue and when an opportunity comes up I usually jumped on it.

My wife saw a post in FaceBook from one of her friends that asked if anybody knew where to get a shattered screen replaced on an iPod. There were, of course, several replies telling her where to take it and what it would cost. My wife asked if I would be interested. I did a quick Google search which brought me to ifixit.com. A general search on the site took me right to an overview of the repair and the general cost of a replacement screen. I immediately knew it was something I could do, so I told my wife to reply back and give the person a quote $40 below the highest shown in the replies and have her give me a call if she was interested. She called within half an hour.

While I was on the phone with the customer, I was going through the ifixit website. Based on the information I was learning from the site, I was able to explain to the customer how to get the model number from her iPod and when she gave me that, I immediately found the replacement screen. I was literally learning on the fly, searching the site, answering her questions and sounding like I've been doing this for years. I ended the call and prepared to finish the order. Going through the instructions, I found out I needed a heat gun and special tools to disassemble the iPod. In the end, I was relieved when I figured out I wouldn't be losing any money on this deal.

So, I ordered the iPod Touch screen, a heat gun, and the tools needed to make the repair. The price I quoted the customer covered the cost of the parts, tools, and shipping with $20 left over. I guess I get to keep the tools and my wife gets the 20 bucks. Anyway, now I just had to hope that I can do the repair when the part comes in.

My Fix

The repair went great! The ifixit.com instructions were perfect and very precise.

The iPod screen was shattered on the bottom left side corner next to the Home button. That actually made it a little easier to get started with the disassembly since it gave me a small opening to pry on. The first few steps went without a hitch. However, to my dismay, in step five I learned that I didn't have the right size screwdrivers. I had the same micro driver set for years and very rarely did I ever use the 2 smallest drivers. At this point it was too late in the evening to go out and purchase a set and I was too impatient to wait until the next day. So I improvised by fashioning some flat tip screwdrivers from exacto knife blades. I ground the tips to fit snuggly in the screw slots. These were a little awkward to use, but it got the job done. I won't do it that way again . . .

I followed the rest of the procedures and had the iPod back together in a little over an hour. That does not include the time it took for fabricating the screwdrivers and uh, looking for a screw that fell on the floor (that alone blew 45 minutes).

This wasn't part of the procedures and I'm not sure how dangerous for the iPod it was, but before applying the glue, I put everything together and fired up the device to make sure everything worked. It did just fine!

To my surprise, reapplying the glue wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be. Using a razor blade, I cut to glue strips apart and lined them up the way they would go into the iPod. Using small tweezers and an exacto knife I put the small strips in place and used my smallest (too big) micro flat tip screwdriver to press the adhesive into the appropriate areas. I let it sit for a while before pulling the backing off.

After making a last check, I lined up the screen and pushed it down and it fell right in place. I was very excited that it fit perfectly and looked like the original screen all the way around the edges. After that, a final test to determine that everything worked and I was done!

The customer was very happy and I'm sure she'll recommend me to others. I know for sure that she updated status in FaceBook about getting her iPod fixed at a really good price.

My Advice

Don't over estimate your tools. I thought I had everything I needed but my smallest micro-screwdriver was too big for the job.

A small low-strength magnet will help hold small screws while you're working on the device.

My Problem

I just needed to fix an auxiliary cable that had been cut the helping hands were perfect for holding the wires where I needed them while soldering the splice.

My Fix

Process went great, took about ten minutes total and was very easy.

My Advice

I recommend having plenty of space between your solder points and the helping hands grips as bringing the grips too close together makes it difficult to properly solder the wires in the splice.

My Problem

My Xbox360, after 3 years of solid use, starting having video problems. The video would be all messed up, and then it stopped showing a picture all together. The audio continued to work though. Lots of posts online seem to agree that this was an early symptom of an impending RROD!

My Fix

I decided to try the heat gun reflow and also install the RROD fix kit. Everything went great, although I really took my time and it probably was about 2.5 hours total, most of which was disassembly, removal of old thermal paste, and reassembly.

I haven't tried using the console for an extended gaming session yet, but so far so good!

My Advice

Everything worked great, the guides were pretty thorough.

My Problem

My Xenon Xbox360 had begun randomly freezing and/or red ringing. It is far out of warranty so I figured I'd try fixing it myself - why not? Worst case, it would be fun to take apart.

My Fix

The directions on iFixit were incredibly detailed, I was very impressed. Was happy to have the plastic spudger - I didn't really use the metal ones I'd picked up, but I used the plastic one a LOT.

I decided to also reflow the solder (in addition to installing the RROD Fix Kit), so I bought a heat gun too.

My Advice

The most important thing seems to be taking plenty of time to clean off the old thermal paste. Mine was hardened into a plastic-like substance around the chips and very thin and gooey on top - it seemed doubtful that it was being effective at wicking away the heat. It took many, many scrubs with Q-tips and rubbing alcohol to get it all off. Chip off what you can around the chips, delicately, and then use the pointy tip of the spudger in combination with the Q-tips to slowly pull off the rest. It took quite a bit longer than I expected, but I knew if I didn't try to do a perfect job, and the machine still red ringed, I'd wonder if I needed to open it all back up and try again.

It's unclear to me if I needed the heat gun or not - I reflowed the solder as described in another guide, and that seemed to go well. The Fix Kit plus the heat gun are still way cheaper than buying a new Xbox though, so while you're mucking about inside your Xbox, why not reflow?

My Problem

My son dropped his 4th gen ipod touch and shattered the screen.

My Fix

Purchased the screen and recommended tools from the product page. Everything went well following only the guide from this site. The most difficult part was removing all of the shattered screen pieces. Son is once again happy as a clam.

My Advice

Definitely recommend the tweezers. The plastic opening tools worked well, but will only last for 1 or 2 repairs. Or at least that is my experience.

My Problem

I repaired his iPod so I wouldn't have to replace it with an iPhone! He's 11 years old and an Apple wiz kid.

My Fix

Repair went well. From set-up to clean up it took about 2:15. Had to read some sections several times to make sure I wasn't screwing it up! I did repair this outside and the wind nearly blew the tiny screws away!

My Advice

I've go some advice! 1) Make sure you give yourself plenty of time. Repairing right before you are leaving for a baseball game is not a good idea! 2) use an index card and draw a simple diagram of the device. Punch tiny holes in the card to represent where the tiny screws will go. Remove screws one at a time and place in the card hole (s). Don't do this outside on a windy day! 3) read the advice from others 4) Replace the copper tape over top of the connector, I have a small white spot that appeared, might be because the tiny sliver of copper is not behind it. I'm not recracking it's chest, it otherwise is barely noticeable and is working fine! 5) make sure your kid has a decent case. He did, except for the tiny crack in the case corner which is where the iPod landed, apparently again. The case was $35. It held up for about 18 months. The glass was $65. Yep, do the math!

My Problem

Marble floors are harder than iPad glass.

My Fix

See my post here:

https://plus.google.com/u/1/117733533633...

My Advice

Excessive heat can damage the LCD under the panel, restrict the heat gun to the outer edge.

Use more than 6 guitar picks. 12 would be a better number.

The ifixit manual stops when you get the old one off. It's up to you to figure out how to put the home button, camera bracket, and new adhesive strips on the new setup.

If your glass is broken, it will break more. Safety glasses!

If your glass is broken, expect about 3 hours repair time. It sucks getting all those little shards off.

If your glass isn't broken, why on earth are you replacing the panel?

My Problem

Do it My Self

My Fix

Great

My Advice

No Problems

My Problem

It had the three red rings.

My Fix

I used the kit to clean and reapply the thermal compound, then I reflowed the machine with a heat gun.

My Advice

Patience and attention to detail, don't rush it, it's worth taking your time.