Disassembling the Internals of the Xbox 360

To continue further, you will need to first remove the DVD drive. Simply hold the drive and lift up. You will notice that the Xbox 360's DVD drive uses a Serial ATA interface which keeps things very tidy compared to the original Xbox. At this point, remove both the power supply cable and Serial ATA cable from the DVD drive and then from the motherboard.


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The fan shroud can now be removed by simply twisting the cover until it pops off. The shroud is held in place by one clamp that attaches to the actual fans. Just be careful at this point not to break the clamp.


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Next, remove the RF unit at the front of the Xbox 360 by removing the small black torx screws using a T6 screwdriver. Then you must remove the plastic cover on the front of the RF unit by unlatching the top and bottom of the plastic cover. Once you have done this, you will reveal the third screw holding the RF unit to the chassis. Remove the last screw and pull out the RF unit. Lastly, remove the power connections for the fans. You can now lift the motherboard out of the metal chassis.


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As a reminder, the Xbox 360 is a delicate equipment and must be treated with care at all times. Ensure that you frequently ground yourself to discharge any build up static which can severely harm your Xbox 360.

Removing the Outer Shell Disassembling the Xbox 360 HDD
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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.

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