Keeping your 360 Slim healthy . .

Community General Discussion
1

I have had several 360 Slims ever since Microsoft released it. (None of them broke when they were owned by me)

From my experience here are some very useful tips for keeping your 360 Slim healthy . .

(1.) Never put it vertical. There really isn’t a need to put it vertical, and never have a disc in a 360 or any system when you are moving it.

(2.) If your room is hot enough to make you sweat, then it is to hot for the 360. (If you keep playing in a hot room, the hard-drive will overheat and the 360 might lock up, data may be corrupted, and the hard-drive might give you problems with your profile).

These problems do go away after the hard-drive cools down, but that can take a couple of hours, and if you really let the hard-drive get hot, you could physically damage it.

(3.) If you are playing Games on Demand games, try to keep your room/area near the 360 cool. Games on Demand games run off of the hard-drive and from my experience (All of my Halo games are Games on Demand) my 360 will overheat pretty quickly if I don’t have my AC on to keep my room cool. (My 360 Slim is in a very open area of my room, so it isn’t in a cramped area).

(4.) I highly recommend installing all disc games that you play the most to your hard-drive, it reduces the stress on the disc drive, and it can improve the overall performance of your games.

(5.) If your hard-drive is overheating and you don’t want to wait for it to cool down on it’s own, you can take out the hard-drive and put it near a fan or near your AC’s vent so it cool’s down even faster, here is how to do this safely . .

First see if the area above the fan is hot (This area is where the hard-drive is) if it is hot and you are having problems with your 360, then you can use (5.) to cool down the hard-drive.

Before you take out the hard-drive, take out any disc that may be in the disc tray, then unplug all cables from the 360, once all of the cables are unplugged, put your 360 horizontally on a flat level surface, turn the 360 so you can easily access the hard-drive, use the pull tab to pull out the hard-drive, place it near your fan/ac and it should cool down with 10 minutes.

Once it is cool put it back into your 360, hook up all of the cables, and your 360 shouldn’t give you a problem. I say shouldn’t because if there is something wrong with your 360 other then it overheating then (5.) won’t solve the problem.

Over heating is the most common problem and it is very easy to fix, if your 360 is having performance problems then over heating may very well be the problem.

If your 360 still gives you problems when it isn’t over heating or after you allow it to cool down, then you may need to send it to Microsoft to have it repaired or replaced if your 360 is still under warranty that is. http://support.xbox.com/en-US/xbox-360/repair/repair-process

If your 360 isn’t under warranty, then you would need to buy a new Xbox 360.

2

This is stated on Xbox’s website, but I suppose I’ll add it to the list.

(6.) It’s best to keep your Xbox off of the floor where dust and dirt can easily collect, thus increasing the risk of damage from overheating.

(7.) Keep the area around your Xbox clear, to increase airflow to minimize the risk of damage from overheating.

3
  1. Why? I like it vertical.
4

> This is stated on Xbox’s website, but I suppose I’ll add it to the list.
>
> (6.) It’s best to keep your Xbox off of the floor where dust and dirt can easily collect, thus increasing the risk of damage from overheating.
>
> (7.) Keep the area around your Xbox clear, to increase airflow to minimize the risk of damage from overheating.

I didn’t put (6.) because I thought it would be obvious =(

(7.) I covered with (3.) but it should have been it’s own number.

I know that this stuff is covered by Xbox support, but the information there is generic in terms of how it is worded.

I wanted to provide information that I have personally learned and what I do with my 360.

5

Oh nice, why wouldn’t one put it on vertical? Nice handy heads up.

6

> 1. Why? I like it vertical.

The disc isn’t fully held in place by the tray, when you put a disc in the tray when the 360 is vertical, you can see how the disc doesn’t stay level on the tray when put a disc in.

When you have the 360 horizontal the disc sits in the tray level . .

The risk of having a problem with the disc tray is much higher when you have the 360 vertical.

If you can put your 360 horizontally, I highly recommend that you put it horizontally, I had a problem with a 360 I had where I did have it vertically, and the disc slid and jammed the disc tray =(

7

> Oh nice, why wouldn’t one put it on vertical? Nice handy heads up.

Why the sarcasm ?

People who put the 360 vertically are being pretty reckless with their 360’s =( I put it as number 1, because it is something that can damage the 360 pretty badly.

Now that I think about it, not only is it bad for the disc and disc tray, putting the 360 vertically also increases the risk of it being knocked over.

Halo 4 is coming out in less then 3 months, I wanted to provide a helpful thread for people who may be having problems with their 360, and to provide helpful things people can do to keep their 360 from having problems.

8

> I have had several 360 Slims ever since Microsoft released it. (None of them broke when they were owned by me)
>
> From my experience here are some very useful tips for keeping your 360 Slim healthy . .
>
> (1.) Never put it vertical. There really isn’t a need to put it vertical, and never have a disc in a 360 or any system when you are moving it.
>
> (2.) If your room is hot enough to make you sweat, then it is to hot for the 360. (If you keep playing in a hot room, the hard-drive will overheat and the 360 might lock up, data may be corrupted, and the hard-drive might give you problems with your profile).
>
> These problems do go away after the hard-drive cools down, but that can take a couple of hours, and if you really let the hard-drive get hot, you could physically damage it.
>
> (3.) If you are playing Games on Demand games, try to keep your room/area near the 360 cool. Games on Demand games run off of the hard-drive and from my experience (All of my Halo games are Games on Demand) my 360 will overheat pretty quickly if I don’t have my AC on to keep my room cool. (My 360 Slim is in a very open area of my room, so it isn’t in a cramped area).
>
> (4.) I highly recommend installing all disc games that you play the most to your hard-drive, it reduces the stress on the disc drive, and it can improve the overall performance of your games.
>
> (5.) <mark>If your hard-drive is overheating and you don’t want to wait for it to cool down on it’s own, you can take out the hard-drive and put it near a fan or near your AC’s vent so it cool’s down even faster, here is how to do this safely . .</mark>
>
> First see if the area above the fan is hot (This area is where the hard-drive is) if it is hot and you are having problems with your 360, then you can use (5.) to cool down the hard-drive.
>
> Before you take out the hard-drive, take out any disc that may be in the disc tray, then unplug all cables from the 360, once all of the cables are unplugged, put your 360 horizontally on a flat level surface, turn the 360 so you can easily access the hard-drive, use the pull tab to pull out the hard-drive, place it near your fan/ac and it should cool down with 10 minutes.
>
> Once it is cool put it back into your 360, hook up all of the cables, and your 360 shouldn’t give you a problem. I say shouldn’t because if there is something wrong with your 360 other then it overheating then (5.) won’t solve the problem.
>
> Over heating is the most common problem and it is very easy to fix, if your 360 is having performance problems then over heating may very well be the problem.
>
> If your 360 still gives you problems when it isn’t over heating or after you allow it to cool down, then you may need to send it to Microsoft to have it repaired or replaced if your 360 is still under warranty that is. http://support.xbox.com/en-US/xbox-360/repair/repair-process
>
> If your 360 isn’t under warranty, then you would need to buy a new Xbox 360.

Or you can just put it in the freezer ;p

9

I recently moved my xbox into a much cooler room, and it is now running a lot better. In the other room, it could reach 80-85 degrees, so needless to say, my xbox had troubles.

10

To keep my Xbox healthy, I like to take it for a walk every afternoon!

11

> To keep my Xbox healthy, I like to take it for a walk every afternoon!

I remind mine to eat its vegetables at dinnertime!

12

> > To keep my Xbox healthy, I like to take it for a walk every afternoon!
>
> I remind mine to eat its vegetables at dinnertime!

During the school year, I make sure it’s in bed at 10pm, that way it can get a full night’s sleep and be refreshed in the morning.

13

> (1.) Never put it vertical. There really isn’t a need to put it vertical, and never have a disc in a 360 or any system when you are moving it.

I bought my 360 back in December of 2008, and I’ve never had a problem with it. I’ve used it both horizontally and vertically for extended periods of time without any sign of distress, underperformance, or excess heat build-up. The machine is made to operate in either position (otherwise it wouldn’t have slide pads on one of the horizontal sides and the fan located on the right side). The only issue is if you physically move it while there’s a disc spinning in the disc tray, the Xbox will likely scratch the hell out of the disc to the point where it’s inoperable.

However, this is with the original and second generation Xbox 360, where it’s meant to be laid flat. When it’s laid vertically, it’s actually pointing the fan towards the ground, leaving the HDD on top. The new Slims are the complete opposite, where they’re intended to function vertically over horizontally. When the Slim is vertical, it leaves the fan on the top side and the HDD on the bottom, allowing for easier cooling, and (in the ideal scenario) more open surface area exposed to the room temperature air.

However, the whole moving-the-360-will-ruin-the-game-disc problem is still apparent in all of the 360 models. :frowning:

14

Awesome, doesn’t matter for me though, i still have my Xbox 360 from 2005!! Still functions like normal.

15

> Or you can just put it in the freezer ;p

The 360 Slim is very good, but it isn’t perfect . .

It has no real way of getting air into and then out of the system.

One fan pushing air onto the motherboard isn’t a perfect concept, there isn’t anything moving the hot air out of the machine.

And the hard-drive doesn’t have a way to draw the hot air off of it. If you have a 360 Slim and play for 2 hours, and then turn off the 360, take out any disc that maybe in the disc tray, unplug all the cables, and then take out the hard-drive you will see that it is warm if not hot to the touch.

16

> > > To keep my Xbox healthy, I like to take it for a walk every afternoon!
> >
> > I remind mine to eat its vegetables at dinnertime!
>
> During the school year, I make sure it’s in bed at 10pm, that way it can get a full night’s sleep and be refreshed in the morning.

Oh, man, I lol’d.

Speaking of which, I bet my Xbox is standing vertical again. It just doesn’t learn!

17

> To keep my Xbox healthy, I like to take it for a walk every afternoon!

Why do you always post a sarcastic reply in a lot of my threads Lycan ?

I don’t know what I said to make you compelled to do so.

18

> > To keep my Xbox healthy, I like to take it for a walk every afternoon!
>
> Why do you always post a sarcastic reply in a lot of my threads Lycan ?
>
> I don’t know what I said to make you compelled to do so.

I don’t know why you think you’re special. I do that in all threads I post in.

19

> > > To keep my Xbox healthy, I like to take it for a walk every afternoon!
> >
> > Why do you always post a sarcastic reply in a lot of my threads Lycan ?
> >
> > I don’t know what I said to make you compelled to do so.
>
> I don’t know why you think you’re special. I do that in all threads I post in.

I don’t think I’m special . .

I didn’t know that you do it in every thread you post in.

Do you think this thread is useful or not ?

20

> > To keep my Xbox healthy, I like to take it for a walk every afternoon!
>
> Why do you always post a sarcastic reply in a lot of my threads Lycan ?
>
> I don’t know what I said to make you compelled to do so.

He’s Lycan. That’s what he does.