What exactly causes an RROD?

An overheating issue in the chipset of the Xbox 360.

The RROD is caused by a general fault in the system. It could be one of a hundred things. All the RROD tells you is that a fault has occured which rendures your console unusable.

I'm under the impression that it's where the heat of the console is so great, and the air circulation is so poor that it causes the Solder Joints to warp and disfigure and thus rendering it inoperable untill it gets repaired.

As roboshi says it is a diagnostic tool if you have a quick search through google you will be able to find what each code means.... still can't fix it tho...

Depending on which parts of the ring are flashing red, it can mean different things. The true RROD is a problem related to overheating which can warp and damage some of the X-Box 360's internal parts. I believe that with a true RROD, the Player 1, Player 3, and Player 4 parts of the ring are the ones that are actually red.

It's caused by a hardware failure; specifically the soldering that holds the motherboard in place. Newer chipsets help prevent the problem, but early launch consoles (2006/mid2007) have it the worst.

it is a hardware failure you can fix it by either sending it to microsoft or opening you 360 taking off the xbox clamps and soldering the chipset.I personally have never done this but jhave seen it done and it works.

There is parts in the system that get very hot. These were placed too close to crucial parts and eventually these crucial parts will melt, causing RROD

OVERHEATING of each or all or mix of:Chipset, GPU, CPU, RAM, WARPED MOTHERBOARD
Basically The Heat warps the Motherboard and Makes SOLDER joints Snap/Break
If you need a Fix I can Try to Help
Email me At Joesscoobydoo@hotmail.com Subject:XBOX 360 Help

wiki's answer "One possible cause of the General Hardware Error is cold soldering. The added mass of the CSP chips (including the GPU and CPU) resists heat flow that allows proper soldering of the lead-free solders underneath the motherboard. This causes cracking and voids in the solders themselves from prolonged constant temperature changes inside the console. Lead-free solders, however, might be the cause of this because, when properly soldered, they take on a dull appearance that professionals take as a cold solder joint in older methods, thus leading to confusion. Lead-free solders also require a greater amount of heat (213 degrees celsius) to solder properly when compared to older lead/tin solders (185 degrees celsius)." basicly improper manufacturing