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Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Disassemble an Xbox 360

 Welcome to my first tutorial! Today I will be showing you guys how to open an Xbox 360. Once it's open you'll be able to flash custom firmware to play backups, fix errors, perform case mods, and so much more!

Microsoft decided to go with a "screwless" assembly on their console, so it's a little tricky to open. I happen to have a spare RRoD console (that I will be fixing in another tutorial) to demonstrate the process of cracking one of these open.





I went to the dollar store and bought a set of precision screwdrivers for (you guessed it) one dollar. The one we're interested in is the 3/64" slotted (flat head) screwdriver. I'm sure a smaller or slightly larger one will work fine, but I like this one.

 First thing you'll want to do is remove the faceplate, this can be done by grabbing the usb opening and pulling away. Be careful with the little door covering the USB ports - they break easily!

Now you'll want to remove the plastic covers on the top and bottom of the Xbox. Use the small screwdriver I mentioned earlier to poke into the little holes near them. There are 3 tabs on each side of each grill (12 total).

As you're poking them, you'll want to be pulling the grill away from the Xbox.



Now that those are off, turn your Xbox around so you're looking at the back. You're going to want to use that same screwdriver to poke more tabs on the back while gently pulling it apart with you're other hand.

It won't seem like they're coming apart until they're all disconnected.

 Now focus your attention to the front. There are 4 clips holding the front of the case together. This is where you will be pulling the Microsoft warranty sticker off (if it isn't already).

Once they're all released, you can pull the bottom off. The one I have has already been taken apart so there are no screws. You will need a small Torx screwdriver to fully disassemble the Xbox (T-9 is the smallest one needed). If your Xbox has no screws, the top will be able to come off if you move the eject button.
Once you have your big screws taken out (there are a lot of them on the underside). You should have the bare bones of the Xbox. If you are wanting to flash the Xbox with a custom firmware, this is where you stop!

Moving on, you'll want to pull the power and SATA cords from the back of the DVD drive. These are pretty sturdy, so don't worry too much about ruining them.


Remove the DVD drive.


You can now take the power and SATA cables from the motherboard, as well as the big white plastic fan shroud. Remove the screws from the front of the power button's board and pull it away.

Remove the fan by first unplugging it's power source, then pulling the metal piece above it away, and finally pulling it towards the front of the Xbox.




The motherboard should now be able to be lifted from the metal housing. Hold onto the CPU heatsink (the larger one) and pull it away from the housing.




Turing the motherboard upside down will reveal 2 X shaped clamps holding the heat sinks to the board.

Using a large slotted screwdriver to remove these. What I like to do is insert it right where the x-clamps hang onto the screws and rotate it towards the middle of the X (in this case, counter clockwise).

Once the clamps are off, the heat will be free from the board! You're done!


Be sure to check back soon as I explain the Red Ring of Death, secondary error codes, and attempt to fix this Xbox 360!

66 comments:

  1. thanks for the picture tutorial!

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  2. Very well done, I will save this in case I ever need it!

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  3. Huhu, nice tuto, I needed this! Thanks!

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  4. its great to see people like you out here, good job!

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  5. Thanks for the nice comment. But this is an AMAZING tutorial. I hope to see more like this.

    My 360 is dead, but no RRoD. It will play a game for like ten minutes, then the screen spazzes out and freezes. Its the same deal with disc based and XBLA games. Hopefully I can fix that somehow too

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  6. Kamatacci -

    You will most likely get a RRoD in the near future. Those are classic textbook signs of one. My RRoD fix tutorial will help you out!

    Unless you're under warranty... if you are, just get it replaced :D

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  7. great first post man, Very useful

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  8. i fixed my rrod without removing the x clamps...also i have video of it i can post if you'd like
    follow ;) and check out my music reviews thanks

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  9. Probably wont try this unless my xbox dies after my warranty runs out.

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  10. this is a helpful tutorial. fucking bookmarking this for when i get an Xbox 360

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  11. Great tutorial very detailed and good pictures!

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  12. Cool can't wait for your RRoD tutorial!

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  13. Good tutorial! Unfortunately I don't have an xbox!

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  14. Goot tut bro, really helping me out.

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  15. Very, very good tutorial man. Look forward to your next entries. :)

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  16. Nice dude, seriously love this sort of shit, just finished modding my PSP and im looking to do my wII next

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  17. Amazing tut, now I can play with my bros Xbox ;]
    For sure I will follow you for more.

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  18. Thanks for the tutorial - pretty in depth and nice pictures.

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  19. Looking forward to this blog! I have a 360 and will follow along, I've always wanted to mod it.

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  20. My friend was telling me about this today, ill be sure to share it with him.

    Thanks for the post!

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  21. Wow, always wanted to see inside the beast. Followed!

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  22. thanks for the follow.

    And great post dude!

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  23. Good disassemble guide! I like it very much when there is pictures as well as an expl.

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  24. is good to have those guides, i hope that never happens to me

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  25. haha wanted to do this for a long time, following

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  26. I'm going to scare my little bro by doing the first few steps whenever he makes me mad.

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  27. I never knew it looked so much like a regular computer on the inside!

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  28. I always check out options to improve my consoles, opening them and give them some "tweaks", as the native hardware is never good enough. Good guide :)

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  29. Very in-depth tutorial. I don't have an Xbox but still...

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  30. Woah! opening an XBOX!
    I'd have to tell my roommate about this! :-)

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  31. I been needing this information thanks

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  32. Does this work with the slim?

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  33. Thanks, very good tutorial :).

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  34. Ed -

    The slim is a whole new beast, I have yet to pull one apart :P

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  35. Awesome tutorial dude, I'll give it a try! Wish me luck :P

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  36. good tutorial.
    bigger pictures would've been nice though.

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  37. this is how i got my 2nd xbox for £20!

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  38. i hope you can build it together again...

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  39. wow, it looks like you know a lot!
    you know, im a ps3 user, and i was thinking to buy a xbox360, to this guy on ebay, but he says its an 20 gb falcon xbox. its that bad or good? im really a noob in this!

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  40. Tomas -

    The 360 motherboards went through various redesigns to help prevent the RRoD. The Falcon was the 3rd version and is one of the better boards to have. The only thing better is a Jasper board!

    As for 20gb, they are easily upgradable (and quite cheap to do so too).

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  41. good stuff, i always like learning stuff like this. even though i dont have an xbox360, it's still good info to know for future reference.

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  42. Pretty awesome. looking forward to other tuts

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  43. Good stuff, man. Def looking forward to more since I just got my 360 back lol

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  44. Nice work man, and a good tut! Keep the good work.

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  45. Usefull tutorial! I just may try to open my xbox 360 too :p

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  46. Thanks for the information!
    i'll keep that in mind :D

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  47. Would have loved to find this a couple months ago, at least it will be good reference for the future :)

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  48. you're pretty skillful keep up the good work =D

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  49. bookmarking this geez, ive been looking for a way to get the damn thing open. Maybe thinking of hardmodding mine.

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  50. I have the same screwdrivers xD. It is easy to disassemble the Xbox 360, but little bit harder to assemble it back.

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  51. I'm loving this! I've been so paranoid that my 360 is getting ready to RROD. I'll be bookmarking this as a precautionary measure lol.

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  52. Nice tutorial, man. Thank you. Fav'd!

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  53. Now to convince my girlfriend to 'dismantle' her xbox 360 :)

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  54. This is a really interesting article. I'm really excited to see what other tutorials you have. I'll have to try this one!

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  55. Got any tips on how to open the hard drive case?

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  56. Nice guide, very straight forward! I appreciated the step-by-step pictures!

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