What do you do when suddenly your Xbox 360 isn’t working? Once the shock of seeing those three red lights has worn off, you’ll probably be wondering if there are any quick fixes.

The first thing is not to panic.

While the three red lights have often been a signal that your Xbox 360 has given up the ghost, that doesn’t have to be the case. While older methods of fixing this general hardware failure were ineffective or costly, there are other options.

Sending the console back to Microsoft is one option, but it’ll cost you. Repairs start at one hundred forty dollars and it can take eight weeks to receive your Xbox 360 from the shop. That means most people don’t want to use this method if they can help it.

Thinking about cracking open your Xbox 360’s case on your own? There are a number of fixes you can supposedly do yourself, but you’ll need to have a lot of skill and know what you’re doing with a soldering iron. It’s important to remember that your console is a delicate machine, not a backyard project.

Then there are the mythical fixes and urban legends – the kind that border on magical thinking. Will wrapping the console in a towel rid you of those pesky red lights? How about tilting it at a forty-five degree angle and storing its power adapter in a vertical position?

If these fixes sound absurd, that’s because they are. You still end up looking at three red lights and an Xbox 360 console that just doesn’t work.

The good news is that you can relax, because there are other fixes you can do on your own. They’re easy and may be the secret you’ve been looking for. Developed by tech professionals, they’re the answer to your Xbox 360 problems.

These professionals have seen lots of Xbox 360s with the same problem – those three red lights – and they’ve used these simple solutions every time. It takes less than two hours to get a console up and running once more.

There are quite a few repair secrets available if you know where to look. For instance, think about checking out Xbox repair guides online. There are several put together by trained technicians to help Xbox gamers like you. You’ll get video instructions and a full manual to show you what to do.

Plus, unlike methods which require a soldering iron, you can try these techniques, and if they don’t work, you can still send your machine to Microsoft. Of course, most of the time, you won’t need to – you can fix your console in your own home, saving time and money, too.

Of course, it’s important to look for an Xbox repair site or repair manual that’ll give you a money back guarantee. This way, you won’t need to pay if you can’t fix your machine.