Most quick fix methods for electronics have typically involved subjecting it to some form of abuse. This meant a violent action such as hitting, shaking, or kicking to coax it into functioning again. This works because loose electrical connections can reconnect after enough persistence. But other connections are loosened by the mechanical shock which guarantees more problems later on.
One of the better known fixes for the ring of death error is the towel fix or towel trick. It readily falls into this category of fixing something by abusing it. Instead of mechanical abuse, the remedy involves heating the internal chips at extremely high temperatures so that broken solder points get reconnected and badly warped components get reshaped.
The method to this madness starts with wrapping your Xbox with a few towels. Then you turn on the Xbox for about 15 minutes and you’re finished. Now you’re all set to enjoy some gaming sessions. When the next ring of death error happens you just reapply the trusty towel trick.
If the method works, then why is the towel trick a bad idea? As mentioned above, the towel trick subjects the internal chips to damaging temperatures. Avoiding heat damage to components during manufacture is a big issue in the electronics industry. To get the soldering temperature high enough for a good solder join without causing chip damage is no trivial thing.
So the towel fix does it’s magic at the expense of further chip damage. Of course more damage will cause more problems later on. When the towel trick is used to fix these new problems, your Xbox is weaken further with more damage. There’s a limited number of times that this process can be repeated before there’s too much damage for the towel fix to work any more. This is a degenerative procedure that completely fries your Xbox.
Another problem that’s safety related is that the towel fix is very hazardous. A good deal of heat is produced by the Xbox (and hence the need for fans and heat sinks). Because the towels are insulators, the heat builds up very fast. If your Xbox begins to burn, other things in the vicinity (your house) may burn as well.
The towel fix just isn’t common sense and in this instance, counterintuitive won’t work. The red ring of death is basically caused by the Xbox putting out too much heat and having an undersized cooling system. Trying to fix this problem by heating up the Xbox is like fighting fire with fire.