How to Take Apart an Xbox 360

Disclaimer: I am not responsible for any damages to you’re 360 that are a result of following the steps of this guide bla bla bla. I have personally done this multiple times without incident, but regardless, you are liable for anything bad that happens when you mess around with your electronics .

Tools you will need:

• 1 Torx T10 screwdriver

So, let’s get down to it. This is actually much simpler than it may at first seem, depending upon how deep into the disassembly you want to go. If at any point you feel like you are forcing anything, you probably are, so stop. Wouldn’t want to break this expensive piece of hardware, now would we? If a clip or two snap off though, it’s not the end of the world, as everything will still fit back together as long as the majority of the clips are still in tact.

First Step: Remove the faceplate and Hard Drive. These should be pretty easy, and you have probably done both before, but just in case, here’s how it’s done. For the Hard Drive, simply press the button and pull the hard drive straight up. For the face plate, stick your fingernail in between the console and faceplate on the bottom of the faceplate and pull out.

Next, remove the top and bottom retention plates. Using a small allen wrench, small nail, etc., poke where you see clips throught the mesh at the bottom and top of the console. There are 6 clips per plate, 3 on each side of the console for each plate. It is easiest to do one at a time on each side, then popping out the opposite clip, and pulling that section up.

With these removed, we now take apart the shell. There are 4 latches on the front, where the faceplate used to be. Pull the part that is on top up while pushing the other part down, and work from left to right with the console on it’s side. Once you have the four latches undone, pull them decently apart to ensure they won’t close up on you while you undo the back part of the shell. Spin the console around 180 degrees (not the full 360 ), and you will see 6-7 horizontal slits underneath input and output ports. using the tool you released the retention plate clips with, pop this by pushing the tool into the hole and pushing down. Once again, work from left to right, and then lift the top of the plastic shell off the console.

You will now see a large metal cage with a myriad of screws facing you. Using your Torx T10 screwdriver, unscrew and remove the screws at the four corners, and the screw in between the corner screws on the two longer sides. You can now take off the bottom of the plastic shell, exposing the console’s innards.

From here, do what you please. You can remove the DVD Drive by unplugging the SATA connection and simply lifting it out. You can remove the fan by lifting out the plastic airflow shroud and popping it out with a flathead screwdriver. You can even remove the heatsinks if you were, say, re-applying thermal paste to ensure a better cooled system. In any case, reassembly is very simple; it’s just a matter of doing the steps in reverse, but instead of pulling and popping clips and latches, pushing them together.

Happy 360 modding!