Inside Microsoft's Xbox 360
by Anand Lal Shimpi, Kristopher Kubicki & Tuan Nguyen on November 16, 2005 5:09 AM EST- Posted in
- Systems
Disassembling the Xbox 360 HDD unit
The Xbox 360's HDD unit only currently comes if you purchase the $399 Xbox 360 system. For those who purchase the core system, no hard drive is included. However, if you are interested in finding out just exactly what Microsoft has offered in terms of storage, the following are instructions on how to disassemble the Xbox 360's HDD module.
Start off by first removing the HDD unit from the Xbox 360 main console and lay it flat with the connector side facing upwards. You will see 3 screws. The 4th screw is located underneath the silver "Microsoft" sticker -- removing this sticker instantly voids your HDD unit's warranty.
Once you have removed all 4 screws, lift up the plastic cover while being careful that it is latched onto the button-release end of the unit. You'll want to be careful as not to pop the spring loaded button and lose the tiny spring.
Once open, you will see the 2.5" Serial ATA notebook hard drive encased in a metal shell. Lift off the cover of the protective shell by first removing the four black screws holding it down. To proceed further you will need to have a thin knife. The metal casing is attached to the plastic shell by a very strong adhesive, and to remove the actual hard drive from the housing, you must first pry off the plastic shell from the metallic HD casing. Simply insert a thin knife and slowly "saw" away at the adhesive. Shortly after you will be left with the following:
Once this is done, you can simply remove the attached Serial ATA data cable from the HD and slide out the drive.
Microsoft previously used a regular 3.5 inch desktop drive in the old Xbox but this time has chosen a smaller unit that is separate from the main console. We're quite certain that this move allows them to offer upgrades for those who want to add more storage capacity to their systems as upgrades become available. Currently, the HDD that ships with the Xbox 360 Premium package is a 20GB drive running at 5400RPM. The drive is manufactured by Samsung although it isn't listed on their website as it is an OEM drive for the Xbox 360. The drive itself uses a standard Serial ATA connector (both data cable and power cable) so attaching other drives or the Xbox 360 drive to a computer for data transfer is very possible.
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apriest - Wednesday, November 16, 2005 - link
HD gaming, but no DVI or HDMI?!! Shame, shame Microsoft...Coherence - Wednesday, November 16, 2005 - link
Agreed. I was very surprised to see that DVI/HDMI was left out of the first production run. My HDTV has all its component video inputs used up already, so it would have been nice to plug the 360 into one of the spare HDMI ports. I hate using switchboxes, but that's what I'll have to do with the component inputs now.glennpratt - Wednesday, November 16, 2005 - link
Does you HDTV have VGA? Thier is a VGA out.apriest - Thursday, November 17, 2005 - link
VGA (analog) isn't nearly the quality of DVI (digital), though it would be better than component.JarredWalton - Wednesday, November 16, 2005 - link
My Toshiba HDTV has an HDMI port (no DVI, but a DVI to HDMI cable works). However, it also has two component inputs, and that's far more common than DVI, HDMI, or VGA inputs on HDTVs.cruzer - Wednesday, November 16, 2005 - link
Very slick design, looking forward to getting one!!cruzer - Wednesday, November 16, 2005 - link
On page 5, "two dice on the chip", should that be 'dies' instead of 'dice'?cruzer - Wednesday, November 16, 2005 - link
Nevermind, dice is correct.apriest - Wednesday, November 16, 2005 - link
I was wondering that myself until I looked it up!bldckstark - Wednesday, November 16, 2005 - link
Two dies as in tooling dies, are not referred to as dice. Dies is the correct word. The same applies to computer mouses. The plural for computer mouse is not computer mice, but computer mouses. Mice is a group of more than one animal, not more than one tool. I have thousands of dies here at work, and have worked around millions of dies, never once has anyone even suggested the use of the word dice for them.From dictionary.com -->
die2 pl. dies or dice (ds)
1. pl. dies - A device used for cutting out, forming, or stamping material, especially:
1. An engraved metal piece used for impressing a design onto a softer metal, as in coining money.
2. One of several component pieces that are fitted into a diestock to cut threads on screws or bolts.
3. A part on a machine that punches shaped holes in, cuts, or forms sheet metal, cardboard, or other stock.
4. A metal block containing small conical holes through which plastic, metal, or other ductile material is extruded or drawn.
2. pl. dies Architecture. The dado of a pedestal, especially when cube-shaped.
3. pl. dice
1. A small cube marked on each side with from one to six dots, usually used in pairs in gambling and in various other games.
2. dice (used with a sing. verb) A game of chance using dice.
tr.v. died, die·ing, dies
To cut, form, or stamp with or as if with a die.
I don't care if AT gets it right or not as long as I can understand what they mean, but if we are going to discuss it, let's make sure we are correct.