How To Open A Stuck Or Sticky Xbox 360 Disc Tray
As our Xbox 360s continue to age the parts in them feel the wear of time and sometimes start to malfunction. While sliding disc trays didnt make the leap to the next generation of consoles, and werent even to be found on the Wii or PlayStation 3, the Xbox 360 steadfastly held onto the aging technology.
Now gamers are finding out why the technology evolved as their consoles disc trays become sticky and start to jam. Rest assured there are likely ways you can reach your stuck copy of Halo 3 and theres a chance you can fix the issue entirely.
Take Apart The Xbox 360
Step 1. Disconnect ALL wires from xbox, once everything is disconnected hold power button in for 2 seconds to clear any electric charge left in the console
Step 2. Remove Hard Drive and any memory unit/cards you might have plugged into the console. You will remove the hard drive by pressing button on the hard drive and pulling straight up.
Step 3. Remove the faceplate by gripping the top and bottom near the left side of the console and pulling firmly but slowly until it pops off, then repeat this on the other end.
Step 4. Remove top and bottom gray mesh panels by prying them off with any small objects by inserting them into holes on the sides of the xbox console at the left, middle, and right points where you can see the grey tabs and pushing in to release the catches.
Step 5. Separate top and bottom of white case by inserting flat head screwdriver or knife blade into the back of the console at the points shown in the picture. You should hear a pop when each one releases go down the line starting from left to right. You should hold the side that you’re starting on and start to separate the case pieces so that they don’t click back together when you pop the tabs
Step 6. Complete separation of the case by using a fingernail to unhook the tabs on the front of the console starting on one end and working your way to the other side, there should be 4 tabs to release, after that’s done the top of the case should just slide right off.
How To Open A Xbox 360 Slim
How to open the Xbox 360 Slim
To get into the Xbox 360 youll need pretty much the same tools you needed to get into the old one. A flat head screwdriver helps, preferably one with a long, thin stem . Youll need a torx driver with T8 bit. A phillips head screwdriver if you want to remove the fan on the heatsink and a selection of thin/flat tools to help you pry bits of the case apart.
The bad news is that the new Xbox 360 is not really any simpler to disassemble than the old one. Ive included photos of the process here but for larger versions and even more than what Ive included inline, check out the gallery below. As always, proceed at your own risk – were not responsible for any damange to your console that happens as a result of following these instructions. Also know that proceeding with this will surely void your warranty from Microsoft.
To start youll want to first remove the hard drive. Next we have two plastic grates on the left and right of the system that pop right off. They are attached using clips along their edges so work one part out with your flat head driver and just pull the rest off.
The side without the hard drive is a bit more difficult. I crammed a plastic tool between the chrome casing and the plastic grate to pull it off and then wedged my fingers in there to get the entire piece off.
Now youve got line of sight into the system itself. Great.
Youve got 6 on one side and 5 on the other chrome lip, the shots below should help you.
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Cleaning Your Xbox 360 Console
Cleaning The Xbox And Reinstalling Components

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What Does One Red Led Illuminated Mean
This code indicates a hardware failure and is usually accompanied by an error code such as E-74 on the TV.
To resolve it, take the following steps:
Turn off the Xbox 360 completely. All lights should be deactivated, and you should hear the fan in the console turn off.
Disconnect all cables and devices from the console. This includes power sources, controllers, USB sticks, and other accessories.
Remove the external hard drive if one is attached. The external hard drive is a bump on the top of the console. Press the release button on the top of the hard drive, and it will lift away.
Reconnect the power source and restart the console. Connect controllers and accessories one at a time until either the error is tripped again, indicating a problem with that specific accessory, or the controllers and accessories connect without issue.
Shut down the console and reattach the hard drive. Reboot the console and check the drive. If the error appears again, shut down the console and contact Microsoft support for possible repair or replacement options.
How To Clean An Xbox 360 Slim
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That obnoxious buzzing noise you hear when your Xbox runs could be a sign it’s in need of a cleaning. The first step in cleaning your Xbox is removing the side panels. After that you’ll be able to remove the outer casing. With the outer casing gone, you can remove the inner casing and fragile component parts. Then you’re ready to clean the Xbox with a soft bristle brush and canned air. Once clean, reassemble the Xbox and enjoy your clean system.
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Don’t Worry Your Console Isn’t Really Dead Yet
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The Xbox 360 is an older-generation console. However, it still has plenty of life in it as a classic gaming machine, a budget streaming box, and as part of family fun. But like any machine, it can break. If your console flashes red LEDs on the front, here’s how to fix it.
This guide specifically refers to the original Xbox 360 model.
My Xbox Is Lit With A Single Red Dot
When i turn my xbox slim on it lights up with a single red dot in the center and the screen is black. Before the red dot appeared, my console would freeze at a constant rate. I would appreciate any enlightenment on this issue.
Keep in mind that the red dot of death is not onlyonly caused by an error in your xbox360 Slim but can also be caused by an error I ur power adapter. If the power adapter light turns red after a few seconds or minutes, then the problem may lie there. If red, replace your power adapter to determine if it gives you the solution to renewed functionality. Otherwise if your warranty is still in good standing, seek out the R MA and return it to Microsoft. If neither of these solutions are an option for you, then click on the you tube link to follow it to a possible xbox360 Slim repair solution. Happy Gaming.
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Removing The Inner Casing And Components
How To Disassemble A Xbox 360
This instructable requires overcoming the fear of playing with the innards of a $350 piece of equipment. The system is built with a sturdy steel chassis and requires Torx T8 and T10 screwdrivers to open.Knowing how to open your Xbox 360 will enable you to add whatever mods you like. I will be writing instructables on changing the LEDs in your ring of light, and adding cold cathode lighting to heating vents. You will also be able to access your DVD Drive and flash it to play backups, fix the Red Ring of Death, or upgrade various equipment in the console.Get ready to delve into Microsoft’s successor to the Xbox, and have some fun in your future projects.*** I am not liable for any damage or injury that occurs from following this instructable. The Xbox 360 is a piece of advanced equipment and can be irreparably damaged. Though the risk of breaking your system is highly unlikely if you follow the steps correctly, please do not complain to me if you brick your console. ***
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How To Disassemble An Xbox 360 Dvd Drive For Cleaning
If you have followed my previous guide on Xbox 360 Disassembly you may also want to know how to disassemble the DVD drive for cleaning which is generally required when the 360 will not read discs.
If need be, look up my previous guide on Xbox 360 Disassembly by selecting my username then browsing my guides.
Here are the tools required. Check out the supplies tab for more details.
Here is a typical Xbox 360 DVD drive already removed from the Xbox chassis
Your Drive may differ slightly from the one shown since Microsoft use different makes and models. Essentially though, they are all the same.
Flip the drive to show its belly and take note of the four screws located near each black plastic post and the warranty void sticker on the side.
Start by cutting along the seam through the warranty void label.
Now unscrew each of the four screws with your crosshead screwdriver.
Set the screws safely aside.
Gently pull the bottom case off the drive, revealing the PCB.
Remove the drawer bezel using the small flathead screwdriver to push down gently on the tabs shown.
Now turn the drive back over and remove the too case, revealing the laser and drawer. NOTE!! Do not touch the laser with ANYTHING!
A closer shot of the laser. I cannot stress how important it is not to touch this.
Locate dust and brush it AWAY from the laser. Do not brush the laser itself.
Turn the drive over again and gently push down as indicated in the photo. The drawer will move slightly.
Xbox 360 Elite Air Ducting

Heat dissipation is critical to the Xbox 360 Elite’s performance. Engineers worked with the first generation 360 consoles to route significant volumes of air around the unit’s ATI Xenos graphics engine and triple-core IBM-designed PowerPC CPU using this ductwork .The heat sink shown here cools the unit’s IBM-designed, IBM-manufactured CPU.
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Cleaning The Disc Drive/laser:
Step 1. The disc drive will be the big gray square on the left side of the console, there are 2 plugs plugged into the back of the drive. These plugs need to be unplugged from the drive before you remove it completely. You can grab the drive on both sides and lift directly up to give you a little room to reach behind the drive and unplug the plugs. Then it should slide right out.
Step 2. Using the small phillips head screwdriver, unscrew the 4 screws in the corners of the drive and SET THEM ASIDE SO YOU DON’T LOSE THEM
Step 3. Slowly but firmly grip the underside of the drive case and lift up, it should pop right off without any difficulty.
Step 4. Turn the drive back over and slide the top of the case off and set it aside.
Step 5. Using a q tip with a little bit of rubbing alcohol gently rub the laser eye to clean it, then flip the q tip over and gently rub the laser eye to dry it.
Step 6. The circular piece in the middle is the thing that spins the discs when they’re in the drive, this can get pretty dusty, using a new q tip with rubbing alcohol clean this off as well.
Then you put it all back together!
Removing The Outer Shell
The first step is to remove the outer plastic shell that conceals the innards of the system. To do this, you must start by removing the face plate. Take a look at the front of the Xbox 360 and insert your thumb into the door that covers the two USB ports on the right of the unit. With your other hand squeezing the upper and lower sides of the face plate, pull out the face plate with your thumb. With not much force, the face plate should pop right off.
After the face plate has been pulled off you will see a silver Microsoft sticker covering a gap remove this. You will also see four small clips locking the top half of the plastic shell to the bottom half. Do not attempt to wedge the clips out at this point.
With some care, gently bend outwards, the right gray ventilation shield on the right side of the unit so that you can see a bit inside. You will notice that the gray side piece attaches to both the bottom and top white chassis. Now look through the holes on top of the unit to locate the areas where the gray side pieces attaches to the white body. What you need to do is take the long but thin metal stick and push down, through the white holes where the clips of the gray side pieces connect. Slowly pull out the gray pieces away from the unit while unlocking the clips and eventually the gray piece will release itself.
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