A man can only tolerate so much!

So about two weeks ago, while I was playing on my xbox 360, I got two red lights. Not the red ring, mind you, just two red lights right after the fan on my system sped up and emitted this loud whirring sound. And any time I get on, I can only play about five minutes worth before it does it again. My warranty is expired, so since then, I've cracked open the case and tried everything. I've cleaned the fan and the heat sinks, I've applied a new thermal compound, and I've got no idea as to how I should proceed. Is this an actual hardware issue or can my elite still be salvaged?

Is the fan spinning when you turn it on? If not, you could probably just replace it and call it a day as long as it didn't overheat anything too much.

Yes, I can feel air coming out of the back.

Sounds like you need to replace it then... since it is some kind of hardware error and you can't even pay microsoft to fix it since you broke the seal... I recommend an arcade (then just re-use your HD, but remember to transfer the licenses)...

Before you just go out and replace it, I would do a little more research on your problem. It might be something that you can take and get soldered, which wouldn't cost much at all, especially if you know how.