Xbox 360 Disassembly for DVD drive removal

The first step to disassembling your Xbox 360 is to take off the Hard Drive by pressing the button and lifting it off the system.

Following that, set the system upside down and place your thumb in the memory slot holes and your fingers along the base of the system.  You then pull the faceplate off with slow steady force.  The piece should snap off without any problems. 

Next, you will remove the Microsoft Seal and void your warranty.

Following the removal of the seal you will now need to place your system on its side and look closely at the holes on each side of the system.  Certain whole are “filled in” and these filled holes keep the top and bottom pieces connected to the system.

Now, to remove the pieces you will need a small pointed object such as a very thin torque screw or a small screwdriver.  You will now need to locate the plastic tabs within the wholes and push them in with your pointed object.  Each piece has three tabs per side totaling 6 tabs for each piece.  On the piece that holds the Harddrive, it can be easier to get the two tabs by going inside and pulling them out. (shown below) To remove the last top grey piece, you will need to remove the rubber pad covering the hole.  Also, use a spare screwdriver or other object to hold up the popped tabs  The process if fairly quick, but stay patient.

Next, after the pieces have been removed, look closely and you will see small notches on the left and right sides of the system.  Once again, you will need a very narrow pointed object or screw driver to successfully complete this step.   Now, starting on the side closest to the power input, push the screwdriver into the narrow space until you hear a click sound.  After you have heard the click we suggest using another screwdriver or small object to keep the top and bottom of the system apart.  After you have completed the clicks on the left side, (this may take a few tries)  start on the other side and repeat the process.  

Now that you have successfully finished this step, you should now easily be able to separate the bottom portion of the system.  Keep this part separated and you can easily remove the 4 snap hooks on the other side of the system. After removing all the hooks you can lift away the cover of your system and begin the unscrewing process.

Now, using your size 8 torque screwdriver unscrew all the silver larger screws to be able to remove the cover.  Next, flip over the system and remove the DVD arm and remove the top cover.  Following this, disconnect the SATA connection and Power for the DVD to lift it out of the case. 

You have now successfully removed your DVD drive from your Xbox and can now continue your disassembly or make the changes you need to to your DVD drive. 

Reassembly is easy, just follow the steps in reverse.