How to Disassemble and Fix an Xbox 360 Laser Drive

My daughter was having problems with her Xbox 360 and it just so happened to be off warranty. The local repair dealer was backlogged with other work and would not be able to schedule it for 3 or 4 weeks. Being a good dad and desirous of keeping my baby girl happy, I decided I would take a look at it myself and see if I could fix the problem. She had not abused the unit so it was my guess that it needed cleaning. I was able, after much trial and error to remove the case and access some internal components which I cleaned. Re assembled it and it worked. I was the hero of the day. It is my guess that a few of you out there could benefit from my experience so I am going to try to describe what I did.

First off, I had help. I found a video on YouTube that was a great deal of help to me; Xbox 360 Repair: Opening the Console . When you view the video, it appears to be more difficult than it actually is. Be patient with yourself, and be careful and you will get it done. Understand that when your open the case you void your Xbox warranty, therefore I do not recommend this to anyone who's Xbox 360 is still under warranty. If your warranty has lapsed, you don't really have too much to lose.

You will need a jeweler's flat head screwdriver, a Philips head screwdriver, and a Torx star head screwdriver, size T10. First off, disconnect the power cord from the electrical socket and remove it from the unit. Also discharge any static electricity from your body. Static electricity wreaks havoc on computer electrical components. Next remove the hard drive from the rear of the Xbox 360 and the memory card. Hold the on - off power button for a few seconds to drain any left over current that may be dormant in the power supply unit.

First to remove the face plate you must grasp the top and bottom of the face plate, one side at a time, either the left or the right, and slowly pull towards you while squeezing pressure on the top and bottom. Once you have removed one side of the face plate, do the same thing to the other side.

To remove the mesh screen on the top and bottom sides of the unit, using the jeweler's flat head screwdriver, depress the tabs that are visible on the sides of the case, through the ventilation holes. As you press one of the tabs a portion of the mesh will give way slightly. There are 3 tabs per side so a total of 6 for each mesh screen.

The case shell can be removed by pressing in the tabs on the rear of the case with the jeweler's flathead screwdriver. These tabs are located about midway (near the center) of the case. As you press each tab you will hear a popping sound when the tabs release. As each tab releases pry the section that has been released apart. It is best to start on one end and progress tab by tab towards the opposite end. When all tabs have been released you should be able to remove one half of the case shell from the metal cpu unit.

To access the internal components of the cpu unit you must remove the 6 Torx head screw from the bottom of the cpu unit. Once the Torx head screws are remove the other portion of the case shell will be removable. Turn the XBox 360 cpu unit upside down and using the Torx star head screwdriver remove the 6 screws. Remove the remaining half of the shell case. You now have access to the internal components of the Xbox 360.

Cleaning the laser drive was what I thought was necessary to get the unit back operational and that was the portion of the internal unit of the Xbox 360 I wanted to access. The laser drive enclosure is the large square component you will see once you have totally remove the outer case shell. Remove the two connectors that attach the drive to the cpu mother board. You will need to lift the laser drive enclosure slightly from its base to access the plugs. Next remove the 4 corner screws from the enclosure so you can completely remove the enclosure from the cpu unit.

To remove the laser drive mechanism from its enclosure, turn the enclosure over and slide the top of the case off to remove it. Once removed, you should have access to the laser drive optics and drive's spin table. Use a cotton tip swab and regular rubbing alcohol to clean the optics and to remove the dust and grime from the laser disc spin table. Allow these items time to dry thoroughly. When dry, reassemble the unit and test it out. If all goes well, you will have your unit back operational.

Be sure to keep all your screws and component parts in an easy to access place while you are disassembling the unit, you do not want to loose any thing. It took me 2 ½ hours to complete this project mostly because I thought I was damaging things and was hesitant to venture further. The Xbox 360's case is not user friendly but it is pretty sturdy. I did not damage anything. I did look good in my daughters' eyes though and that made the time well spent.

Resource: Personal Experience