General XBox 360 problem Thread: - Page 49

As a new 250gb unit owner I agree, like the HDMI and the install of games on HD and the digital audio. No glitches at all once I got the hang of what games would install etc. If money is short as it is with a lot of people in this economy you just got to do what you can afford.

Hi All,

Total noob to xbox here. I picked up an xbox 360 250 G (holiday pack) last night. I hooked it up and loaded the disc to play the car race game that came with it (at work now and can't remember the name..fun though). When the disc drive started up it made, what I thought, a lot of noise. The box itself also got very warm. Is this normal for xbox 360 or is a trip back to the store in order.

Thanks,

Bry (former Game Cube player)

The new slims get VERY hot and it's normal. The noise however, is not. It does make 'some' noise when you spin up the disc or install a game but once you have it installed you should hear "nothing". It's practically silent. The heat is SUPER hot but again.. that's normal. I'd be worried about any grinding or loud cd drive noise.

I have the new slim version and Riddick won't load, but all other games do, any suggestions?

Wasn't that a xbox 1 game??

it's 360. It has the XBOX original and a new release (escape from butcher bay and the newer one assault on dark athena)
http://www.amazon.com/Chronicles-Rid...sr=1-3-catcorr

Oh yeah.. I played that. Not sure why it's not working for you.. maybe the disc is defective? GREAT game..

Thanks for the reply. The noise is similar to what's made by my computer when copying CDs, so I guess that's OK. It does go awway after the game has loaded. I dropped by the store after work and the guy said exactly what you said about the heat.....normal for this model. Will this heat lead to failure? I know if my laptop heated up like this, I would be very concerned.

Bry

More heat OUT of console = less heat INSIDE console. That's a good thing. Loading games not only makes your Xbox less noisy; it allows it to run a bit cooler, since there is less power drawn in running the disc drive. Always load games, regardless of what version of console you own.

The Slim is too new to make any real claims as to reliability.

Supposedly there is a feature built into the new slims that if it reaches a state where it gets too hot it will notify you via a warning and then shut off. That's a good thing.. and even better, I haven't heard of ANY reports of this happening in the wild yet. That's a good sign to me that they have finally put to rest the number one negative criticism the 360 gets.

Time will tell.

is the 360 slim console supposed to be hotter on the top part of the console compared to the back on the older models ?

I just got my 360 slim and have my older console as well. yeah its much quieter but it gets really hot on the top part of the console. its even more hot than the back of the console of the older model 360 i have. my older model 360 was the one that came with forza and marvel ultimate alliance in late 07

Maybe you should read the last page of the thread before posting a question we just discussed.

Don't know if this helps with heat or not, every game console (PS3 etc) and now my new 260gb unit I have always placed small rubber squares under units (raises unit 1/2 inch) for airflow underneath. The new 360 sits almost flat on surface and I hope it helps a tad. Again I don't have a clue as to whether it helps anything or not, I have been fortunate and have not had any problems with my asst units.

Well that was quick. I made the call to AMEX last Tuesday. I was told to fax them a copy of the store reciept, the billing statement the charge was on (why I have to provide them with one, which I simply downloaded from their website, is beyond me), a copy of the Xbox warranty, and a copy of the repair order with cost. So I spent the week getting that stuff in order.

I was getting ready to fax it all in today when I decided to check online to see if there was a status on the claim or something. Even better, turns out last Wednesday there was a credit on my account for the full purchase price including tax of the 360 when I bought it back in 2007. I called them up to verify that everything was settled and they said yup, it's closed. Don't need to send them any paperwork or anything.

So I'm planning on picking up a 250 GB slim. I understand these are $300, with a variety of bundles available at various retailers with free games and stuff?

jeff

Thanks for the info. WRT loading games on the hard drive. Made this suggestion to the wife and she was concerned that the HD would fill up. It's a 250 G HD, How many games would it take to fill it up to the point where it would not work?

Don't know how many games can be installed but I have 10 and 4 others that I play but won't install I have 192gb left.

Very interesting yesterday I popped Aliens Versus Predator in and when it got to dashboard I waited a minute but the Game details (Y button) did not appear so I just went and played without an install. This morning when doing the same the Y button did appear and I did install. This happen to anybody else with games, just curious.

I've had that happen a handful of times that I remember, not sure why it does.

Just be patient. Some games take longer to show the load option than others.

Yes, somebody else said that and I figured once it loaded and identified the game waiting a good minute after that would be sufficient, evidently not. no big deal that's how you learn the nature of these rascally units.

Most (retail) games are 4-5 GB in size, so somewhere around 50-65 games (not counting DLC, videos, trials/demos, etc.) would need to be on a 250GB hard drive in order for it to be full. Even then, the hdd would work fine, it would just require you to delete a game in order to intall a new one.

Good, interesting pc of info for future reference.

I snagged what appeared to be the last 250 gig with Forza 3 & Alan Wake bundle at the Rockville, MD Best Buy yesterday. Also got the hard drive transfer cable. So 3 years 2 months after I bought my 20 gig Pro model for $350, I've got a brand new machine, 2 games, and $28 to spare. Thank you American Express!

Set up of the new machine has been fairly smooth. The transfer cable worked fine. I had to do some dremel surgery on my toslink cable, it's got a big fat square connector that didn't fit into the Xbox. Also having trouble with the online licenses transfer tool but I figure that'll get worked out soon enough.

jeff

I cant find on the xbox site anymore the list of which original xbox games are compatible with the 360.

I can't either, but here is the list on Wiki..

Continuing with the silly questions...If I hook up to X-Box Live, how much bandwidth is used. I have no intent to play on-line but apparently there are other things that you can do (mea culpa but very new to the x-box world) and I am just curious how much of my limited bandwidth of 25 GB / month would be used. The daughter chews up a lot of it with university lectures and research. Also, I got a coupon for Alan Wake when I bought the X-box. Does this download come bit for bit or is it compressed? Just curious.

Thanks,

Bry

How hard is it to replace a DVD drive in an old 360? I have had one of my back up 360s I was using in the other room. It was for when one of my nephews come over. It is now giving me a disk read error. I have tried blowing the dust out but it didn't help. It is out of warranty so I guess I could open it up. Just wondering if it would be easier just to sell it and get a new slim?

You said you tried blowing the dust out, did you try a dvd cleaner and try using a q-tip dipped in some alcohol to clean the lens? Worked on my pc dvd drive when it wouldn't read.

I haven't done it myself but it shouldn't be that difficult. The most difficult part is probably taking the 360 case off.
Here's a video, you can find more on You Tube:
http://www.bing.com/videos/watch/vid...%20replacement

The drives will cost you around $30. Depending on which model you have, Samsung, Thompson, or Toshiba. You said it's an older 360, now with a broken drive, you probably won't get much if anything if you try to sell it. Just do a search for replacement xbox 360 drives.

Replacing the drive is simple. Getting it to read any games is impossible...if you don't know how to flash the drive. You can't simply replace the drive (even with the same model) and be done with it. You can, however, do a pot-tweak on the laser. All you need is a multimeter ($2 at Harbor Frieght) and a tiny flathead screwdriver, or even your fingernail in a pinch. While I've resurrected other electronics with cleaning the laser lens, I've never seen this work for a 360.

If pot-tweaking doesn't fix it, then just replace the laser. No sense spending $30 on a whole drive when you can get a laser on eBay for $5. Open up the console and pull the drive. Look on the bottom of the laser for the number for Toshiba and Hitachi drives. Should be either H63 or H67. BenQ lasers are all the same. There's also a small chance that the magnet has malfunctioned on the drive spindle. The good news is that any of these issues are incredibly cheap and ridiculously easy to fix.

I ordered a replacement drive off ebay for about $30 Opened up the drive took the board out of the old and put in the new and boom It works fine. However After the money I have spent trying to fix our 3 RROD 360's I would just buy the slim and move on. 2 are still working and one is for parts.
But the replacement of the dvd drive with exchange of the board with the firmware on it was really rather easy, but no one wants to open up a new Disk drive and void the warranty day one.
Several posts down are the directions.
http://www.xbox360forum.com/xbox-for...g-360-CD-Drive

Steve

DVD drive board swapping is easy with Toshiba/Samsung/Hitachi drives.

Very difficult with BenQ/LiteOn if you're not proficient with soldering.