Customize Your Xbox 360 For CHEAP!

I will show you how to make you Xbox 360 look super cool and super affordable!

Steps:

-Cutting Windows Out On Top
-Cutting The DVD Housing For Viewable Disk Spin
-Lighting The Interior With Your Choice Of Color
-Painting The Face Plate, Sides, and DVD Housing

VIDEO OF IT IN ACTION ON VERY LAST STEP

Step 1: Tools & Supplies Needed

Tools Needed:

Torx Screw Drivers (You may be able to get away with just small flat head screw drivers intsead)
Small Phillips & Flat Head Screw Driver Set
Soldering Iron
Solder
Drill & Bits
Dremel w/Cutting Wheel
Hot Glue Gun
Wire Snips
Exacto Knife
Sanding Block (medium grit)
Sand Paper (medium grit)

Supplies Needed:

9 x 7 1/2" x 1/8" Sheet Of Plexiglass
6 LED's Of Your Choice
Black Spray Paint
30 AWG Wire
Masking Tape
Resistor (depends on what led setup you use)

Comments

[Risturbeat]

How about those two holes where the screws have to be bolted in.
Can you just ignore those or would I have to take those into consideration?
I've been measuring a bit and it seems that this modification doesn't have those holes anymore.
Could anybody help me with that?

[epicbobman52]

can i get banned from xbox live for doing this

[dragonsniper]

no

[Tia 23]

Can sum1 plz help me!! Do u no of a place where I can get my b/f's Xbox customized?? I leave in NC. I have been searching for 4 1/2 months now. I'm so tried but I will not give up! My very last step will b to do it myself but he will no it's gone.

[gigglebox8572]

any ideas on how to attach led's to 3 pin connector as im special and have a 3 pin fan? do i juust strip part of the coloured wired as shown and continue like it is said?
any ideas would be much appriciated

[matstermind]

it should be the red wire is power, the black is ground, and the blue is speed sensor

[Aaamazzara]

(removed by author or community request)

[87bhoward]

chill there killer

[Aaamazzara]

lol :D i cant be chill :DDDDDDDDDDDDD

[matbh]

i´m not sure if its a good idea to open ur dvd drive.
the drive can get more dust than normal....

[nkoehler]

will it work for any dvd drive????

[David-Yezbak]

he this will void the warrenty means for the entire process not just removing the hard drive

[stevenn21]

This step is dangerous if your not an electrician and you wire this up wrong you could:
1. brick your console
2. burn your house down
3. electricute yourself
I suggest buying a ready made light unit from ebay called:
"Nexilux Smart LED Storm V2 for XBOX 360 Case Tunning".
It plugs into the disc drive socket on the main board with a splitter so you can plug your drive into the splitter.
Also there are a few useful features instead of just 1 colour thats comes on when you switch your console on and turns off when you turn the console off it has 7 diffrent colours to choose from with 3 diffrent settings on each colour.
You get a remote control with it too.
Also you can turn the lights off so you can game in the dark without led's glaring in your face.

[A+NON+O+MUS]

I would do this in a second but with the red ring of death threat i don't dare. once you open the case you could void the warranty and good by XBOX.

[Wally_Z]

All you are doing is putting LED's in, maybe with a battery inside or something. There is no soldering to the MOBO so getting a RRoD isn't a problem as long as you take proper precautions against static electricity. When you open the case the warranty becomes VOID. There are stickers on the Xbox that when removed, leave a residue letting people know that it was opened.

[martinoheat]

i'd fix the xbox myself rather than send it off - i can fix it within an hour, microsoft takes weeks. plus SOO much satisfaction in fixing it yourself! :)

[johnfernandez360]

I used 12v source near the power suply for my fans. I am also instaling led lights but I don't know where to find another power source. I NEED HELP!

[Wally_Z]

You could solder a wire to the USB output of the Xbox and do it that way, or plug a USB plug into the Xbox and run it into the system to have power.

[the_burrito_master]

you could always put a 9 volt battery in your case get a 9 volt plug thingy from an old alarm clock and glue it to the side and tape it up to prevent any shorts.

[ZeroXL91]

go to lamma, there's more than 1 power source

[3x0du5]

Here are my inspired versions

[sam48415]

Can i just remove the dvd cover instead

[xxni4ni]

wouldn't it be better to use a cold cathode?

[awz123]

http://www.instructables.com/id/Xbox-360-Cold-Cathode-Lighting/

[Valeil]

Just wondering:
How does it look without the LEDs? I'm going to do this project, but I'm not so good at wiring and the likes.

[dsxharo]

anyone know how to get the instructions to do this for free? a website perhaps?

[d1360]

how many led's can i have inside my 360??

[angryfacing]

Technically, you can have over 9000 LEDs in your 360 if it is all wired correctly. I would stick with about 6 since it would be pointless to have any more.

[messed_up_child2001]

If you are wiring into the fans power you can only have 5.4V worth of LED's. If you have any more they will dim as the fan speed drops to the lowest speed.
If you want more voltage you can wire into a constant 12V supply. There are many on the board. Reference here to find one <http://dwl.xbox-scene.com/tutorial/Xbox_360-HandC-V1_4.pdf>

[sniper243]

yeah I used an old 12 volt USB fan that went to the bottom of the 360 when the fan broke

[GameGuru]

Where can I find a better power source and how can I keep my resister cool? it gets pretty hot!

[angryfacing]

Get a resistor that doesnt have such a low Ohm amount.

[momsgonnafindme]

if you have your resister in the fan shroud it should keep it cool

[ryanbennett2010]

do u need a resister if ur puting LEDS in

[angryfacing]

Yes, if you do not put a resistor in the LED will blow. Usually a 470 ohm resistor should do the job.

[cody777]

did you paint an elite white or did you put black on a pro

[jesust1993]

what about the metal piece? does it not go back on?

[nathanielg]

It doesent

[matt920]

This case mod is sick. I think it is one of the most cleanest looking window and led mod i have seen.

[gimmexdatxbrain]

godzilla that will mess up the paint. so you wasted hours waiting for it to cure to mess up the finish. with pretty much anything you cut it and then make it look nice with paint. ive been doing stuff like this for a while.

[zeon]

OMG taking off my hard drive voids my warranty ARGH!!! lol

[acornstu]

such as the $5.00 a can krylon fusion from walmart. great stuff

[Valeil]

Yes.

[Stokieash]

i got a flashed xbox, and aint been banned since last year :P

[bigsmitty22]

so do i cut whats inside the case or cut the case once i have removed the inside?

[supaaben]

I bought 12v led strips for cars from this web site http://www.virtualvillage.com/72cm-red-led-flexible-neon-strip-light-for-car-or-van-002510-132.html but when i hook them up into the 12v near the power supply nothing happens. So i hooked them up into the dvd drive power supply. And again nothing! Anybody have any clue why? Also i know they work cuz i hav them hooked up all around my room with my sterio...

[spartan094]

I used a drill bit for this part. Didn't drill, just used it to poke.

[jordanjarrett]

hey do you get band for putting the leds in it? thanks

[RecklessPwner]

lol, no you cannot get "banned" for putting any modification in/on your xbox. They only ban people that use flashed dvd drives. ;-)

[ZeroXL91]

not anymore with the new LT firmware, I'm lovin' Just Cause 2 :P

[momsgonnafindme]

actually if you 12 volt your fans they can find out because the fan plug is not being used

[Speedmite]

Wait, so over xbox live they can tell if you CHANGED YOUR FANS?????

[DYLEGO]

They do ban you for putting in new fans. Kinda stupid, huh, if that's what gets you RROD?

[Speedmite]

And new fans give you RROD?

[dmcer]

What?

[Shut Up Now]

whats a flashed dvd drive?

[momsgonnafindme]

when you flash a dvd drive your taking off the firmware that tells it if its a real xbox game and giving it one that says this can be played

[RecklessPwner]

thats having your dvd drive flashed to play burned xbox 360 games.

[Firebang]

Ah, psh, who does THAT? Not me, heh heh heh.

[cornflaker]

Can you still play on live if you have a flashed dvd drive? like on the original xboxs they could detect if you had a mod chip and. permanently banned your from connecting to live

[ZeroXL91]

not with the new LT firmware.

[ekulmeekul]

You will be able to play for a little while but they will ban you with the next sweep of bans. (they do it in big "waves")

[Numb-Nuts]

I would love to know how you do this! both the flashing of a drive and the burning of the game disk!

[fearmonger12]

I was wondering if it would be possible to use acrylic instead of plexi? Thanks!

[ryguy425425]

Just thought I'd mention that you don't need a 'Dremel' brand dremel. I got mine for $20 CAD with every attachment I need (theres a lot).

[mraz30]

i dunt ave enough for a damsel will a sharp poket nife work the same?

[RedBullking360]

rofl right now omg......

[dakkenly]

Not at all

[ZeroXL91]

+ You forgot to tell people to take it apart. (Some people don't have common sense :) ) NEVER cut it while the lens and all is still together with it.

[frobro]

could i use 24 gauge wire instaed of 30?

[zerosk8ter83]

did you cut on the circle or alittle bit away from it?

[Sean Webster]

how do u paint the power button without painting the middle part?

[packman37]

could u tell me where you found the power connectors on the motherboard for your LEDs

[10dclarke]

if u take out the motherboard and turn it over where u plug in the power u can see where it was soldered in and find out which one is + and - then wire them up u can use a volt meter to find out which ones to wire up to

[GREG8888]

1. Once you find out what resistor to use wire it in on the positive lead of the LEDs. 2. Attach about 3-6" of 30awg to the other end of the resistor. 3. Solder about 3-6" of 30awg to the negative lead of the LEDs 4.Strip a good amount off of both + and - wires 5. Remove the 4 pin dual fan power connector 6. Look at my illustration on where to install the wires. 7. Replace 4 pin dual fan power connector once wires are installed Now power on you xbox 360 to test you work and if you did everything correctly the LEDs should come to life!

[morgaman]

i got a fairly large problem.... my fans are THREE prong. (oldschool xbox360 i guess?)

is this still possible?

[packman37]

ya, its just a ground wire

[packman37]

but i would recommend against doing this in this manner because if you plan on going on live M$ will be able to see that the draw on your fan is larger than normal and will ban you, there are better (and safer places) to take power, like on the under side of the motherboard just beneath where the ac cable fits into the back of your console, there are even a wide variety of voltages to choose from voiding the need for resistors, look at llama's xbox 360 pages i think they have some guides

[packman37]

thanks Greg much appreciated, im attempting my first ever case mod, iv been trying to decide what i want to put in because iv looked and cold cathode lighting also seems fairly attractive. thanks again

[10dclarke]

I went down to maplins today to look for leds and the sell 5cm strips of smd leds. you get 3 smd leds per 5cm that are all ready just to solder straight to the 12v out put from the xbox with out haveing to use resistor calculator.
And you can get the strips as long as you want the guy said up to 4 meters not the your will ever need that for this project.

So i went in and bourght a 20 cm strip so i got 12 leds on the board and soldered  it to the under side of the board where the power plug is with just two wire + and - and because the leds are on a board i just managed to glue them where i wanted

Here is a link to see what they look like and they come in blue, white, yellow, green and red 

http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=218015

[spartan094]

 I would have gone with green LEDs, then it would match the power button. Or you could switch the power button green LED for blue.

[D3V1LSN3V3RCRY]

I don't see how this voids the warranty, sense the stickers are on the underside of the faceplate and on the back of the console under the casing, and you don't have to remove those to pull off the casing

[sim2lew]

 You do have to take them off, because one of the labels bridges the gap between the top and bottom parts of the faceplate.

[x50xTowel]

what was the size of the LEDs that you used?

[xirishboyn19x]

is there anything you can use to cut the case without buying a dremel as there is no point in paying 25pound+ for something i am only gonna use once lol. also where did you uy the perspex?

[channing1982]

go to a local engraving or sign shop and they can cut your case and w/e else you want with computer precision for less than 20$

[mraz30]

i ave the same problem m8 with the damsel but for the perspex i looked it up and it came up with a green house company it was about £8 it lks alrite

[ZeroXL91]

Well, this is a little late, but I went to a store that I convienently found near me called PEARL, its an arts and crafts store, I got 2 of the 1/8" - 9"x 7 1/2" for 4$ each. That was about 10$ total.

[ricefart]

i robbed some perspex from ma school cuz a do tech and they had some colour stuff going spare ;)

[xbh1h2]

What would happen if one of those LED legs touched the metal casing? Wouldn't it create a short?

[Archive555]

Yes. Which is why you don't let it touch the metal case.

[D3V1LSN3V3RCRY]

If I were to do everything you did, minus the LED's and the DVD drive cut-out, would it still void Microsoft's Xbox-360 warranty?

[azice]

Opening up the case past just the face plate will void it no matter what. It doesn't have to do with the fact of what you have done to it, its the fact that once it is open Microsoft can't know what you have or haven't been messing around with. So your answer is yes.

[alexg69]

then why would microsoft have different faceplates if it voids your warranty

[spoot]

switching out faceplates doesn't void the warranty. like azice said, opening it up past the faceplate voids the warranty.

[ThisIsWhyImScott]

 even if the stickers were on, theyd know you had to take it apart to do this. just looking at it you know. haha

[gwolff]

so a few hours ago i was bored and decided to do this to my perfectlygood xbox elite. I used pink LEDs. It looks sickk. cost only a few buckstoo. My question is if Im drawing current from the fan power, am Idecreasing the fan speed? Now that I voided my warranty I'd hate to haveto go through the process of fixing it

[godzilla194]

Only problem with you painting you should paint it before you do the entire window and everything also you need to sand or it wont look as good Then finish with acrylic.

[i32a45d]

When making the hole for the DVD drive, why not just unscrew the top half and glue a plastic CD holder to the top? Btw nice modding! Also are the plexi-glass windows flush-mounted?

[CoryBoyo]

They don't ban you from live for putting 12v fans in because I shorted a fuse and I cannot draw power from the xbox fan plug, so I wired the fans to a 12v transformer about 5 months ago and I play on xbox live no problem :)'

[darksoldier5501]

Well i wouldnt connect it to the fans power like he did. just go under the 4 prong plug in and match up where the wires are soldered in. its very simple

[keonetics]

why does he say our input is 12v if its only 5v becuz when the fan is on it uses the other 7v and how would you get it under, and also I have a 3 pin fan where do i connect the positive and where do i connect the negative

[darksoldier5501]

5v is the limit on the leds. ok so if u wanna connect the positive and negative to YOUR motherboard go underneath and you see where youplug the xbox in? go underneath that on the flipside of the motherboard and just connect the two with your xbox on to 2 random points, if it dosent work, keep looking. :)

[mbx2814]

Is there a way you can explain in better detail how you did the wiring? I am a little confused how you got it into a power source. When you say through the holes you mean to say the "legs" of the leds are pointing out of the 360? and the wiring from the legs come from the "outside" of the metal and up over the top of the metal casing? (Sry for the n00b questions)

[keonetics]

im wondering the same

[LzrdMan]

How thick a peice of plexiglass did you use? Just don't want mine to be too big.

[keonetics]

believe he said 1/8th of an inch on the 1st step

[slate.JUL]

OK so first of all......this is a sweetness Instructable....two problems though.... first of all I have no idea where to get some plexiglass.....and second where can i find some good LED's my radioshack didn't have what i want...and i wanna just order them online........

[keonetics]

Ok easy questions. First for the plexi glass You can get that at any local hardware store(OSH or Home Depot or Ace Hardware) The LED's you can find for dirt cheap on uniqueleds.com good luck im still trying to figure out how to solder and wire these before i do this

[keonetics]

actually i believe its unique-leds.com

[Dirtykson]

The best website to go for good LED lights (in my opinion) would be www.unique-leds.com/ I find that they have the biggest variety of colors, and the right sizes you need. They also sell the right size LEDS to replace the ones in your controller, and in your main ring. (for cheaper than llamma does!)

[bam4003]

Plexiglass=Lowes or Homedepot

[Gangsta Snug]

whats your XBOX LIVE GAMERTAG

[azice]

Please explain your painting process because it is different with every surface. Do you need to sand it? What kind of primer? What grit of sandpaper?

[packman37]

Ok so for all those who asked, flashing your firmware with the new ixtreme firmwares will NOT get you banned from xbox live and a drive with this firmware will not boot a game that has either modded content or is not properly burnt. Second if you do not want to buy a dremel to do this mod use a utility knife and sandpaper on a flat surface. For those wondering how to rip and burn games youtube does a pretty good job of explaining it with wxripper and img burn just use ABGX to patch your ripped games because dvd mulleter is junk. Oh and remeber you must "own" the originals of the games for this not to be illegal. Another addition, do not follow the instructions in this instructable when it comes to wiring your LEDs or other lights as this will likely damage the fan controller in your xbox, as previously mentioned by others there is a 12 v supply on the underside of the motherboard right where the power supply comes into the console, there are a couple good images of this on llama's forums. Happy modding

[idogis1]

It's still illegal if you own the game. Basically the Digital Millennium Copyright Act states that if digital media has measures to prevent copying it is illegal to do so. However in recent years there has been a huge debate over so called "fare use". Although there is no law ensuring fare use rights they have become such an issue that often a case against an individual making copies for their own personal use are just thrown out.

[packman37]

Oh right ya that probably true in the US, not in Canada tho lol

[MadMechanicMike]

this is fantastic! i want to do this with the addition of a watercooling mod with UV lights and coolant

[Numb-Nuts]

Where do you get this liquid cooling mod and is it A) made for the 360 and B) will it negatively effect the performance?

[fanksta]

thanx 4 all the great ideas i chose to put the glass on the outside with bolts. i didnt like how it sits on the heatsync i thought after awhile it would get ruin and be hard to replace

[Numb-Nuts]

I love what you've done to your system! You've taken a bland and boring system and made it gorgeous! I especially like the disc drive! this is going to be the template for my mod! plus some green LEDs.

[daviphillipps]

Looks sweet. As soon as I finish fixing the heat sinks I will do this. What is the song in this video?

[D3V1LSN3V3RCRY]

the song is What I've Done by Linkin Park

[daviphillipps]

thanks

[chils91]

can you post a list of websites or stores where you bought your leds, resistors, and other supplies?

[momsgonnafindme]

ace for plexi
ebay for leds
i recomend this guy from hongkong
shipping took a week and a half
http://stores.ebay.com/hktaiyuen-LED-store
radioshack 500 resistor pack

[momsgonnafindme]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WpLtqeksuo

if anyone needs help comment me or send me a email
[e-mail]

[forgot131313]

what do you do when you have a 3 pin dual fan power connector the black - is connected with the blue one and red and brown are by themselves

[momsgonnafindme]

red and black or brown and black

[bam4003]

I would simply just use one of the few 12v supplies. (this will also be more solid light) there are many 12v points of interest there is one right in front of the power connector inside the xbox360. Best bet is to whip out you Multimeter and excavate a power source!

[voic3z]

i was wondering the same thing

[momsgonnafindme]

i dissagree with this led setup its better to soldier the wires where the power brick plugs into the mobo on the underside it requires a little more work but the leds will have a cleaner power supply

[d1360]

does the hole got to be 9"x7 1/2"?????

[momsgonnafindme]

the hole can be what ever _{that measurement is the recomended plexi size because it fits the entire inside cover nicely}

[dmcer]

The point is to take what he has done and either copy it because you like it, or take it in another direction.

[xirishboyn19x]

does the perspex go underneth or right in the hole meaning it needs to be esactly the same size?

[momsgonnafindme]

when i did mine i put it underneath

[josh.wingo]

you means when you disassemble it you will void the warranty, sense you have to take a the stickers off to open it.

[Chadbling]

Hello i attempted the same mod, also got the idea from charli murphy. but,
i think the part where i had the most trouble was the painting of the center xbox 360 label in the middle. i tried covering it with blue tape and cutting it out with with exacto, which i did, but ending result was not coo, later i just ended up painting it by hand very meticulously with a toothpick, actually seemed a little easier than masking such fine areas. could you provide a more detailed explanation of how you were able to mask this area? did u just make it on photoshop then print it out and cut out the paper, then tape that on, and paint it? cuz that was my next idea, but if so, i guess you would have to stick the little O part on there too ay? =D

here is a link to my box i made
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORhZInZxThc

[KevinEdgar]

Only thing that voids warranty is removing the 2 silver Microsoft stickers.

[sm7078]

no way

[mraz30]

i am only 12 and i only have £40 is there any thing else i could use to cut out the window to put in the glass? thanx

[therki]

hi m trin this leds arnt workin as i wanted!!!placed 6 leds but five glow!!!5 r of same typ leds bright white which spread light and one is also white but it dsnt spread light. its bit longer thn othr five leds! i dint get thiz whole setup u made!!i used 3 resistors n 6 leds!!!of which five glow: nd one glow much briter n othr four dimmer! how to make thm brighter?

[tank110]

what resistor did you use because i dont understand how to use the calculator

[bam4003]

when you buy the resistor and LED, the information is printed on the package. All you need to do is plug in the information and what you want like 4 or 5 LEDs in a series.

[bam4003]

Before you ask a question like "whats a flashed DVD drive" Please do some research, google/yahoo it please. Good write up though. A+

[23]

I really want to do a mod for my 360 but I'm worried about gettin banned. Will this likely get people banned from xbox live? Cheers

[skwurul]

You get banned from Live if you mod your console to play pirated games, or so you can cheat online. This mod is purely aesthetic; that is, it's just to make the 360 look more badass, so it's fine.

[michaelbak]

I't won't ban you from Xbox Live but kiss your warranty goodbye!

[23]

Cheers, I dont care about the warranty, I can fix the RROD myself.

[DYLEGO]

You say cheers alot.

[qballcat]

cheers :P

[gmrtg_Mr_Crayola]

i modded my 360 and case mods don't ban you

[cornflaker]

What about flashing your dvd drive? I would probably do both at the same time if i did.

[humongo_spork]

yes, flashing the dvd drive will get you banned. It's kinda obvious

[cornflaker]

I know that you would definitely get banned if they knew but how can they tell?

[humongo_spork]

There is an authorization code that is removed when the iso is copied

[cornflaker]

Ahh, so do they ban your console, or just not let you play that game online? I'm guessing they would ban the console...

[nemesis436]

The only mod that can get you banned is flashing the firmware, and the only reason people who have flashed their box's get banned is because the disc they are using hasn't been written correctly, the security sectors are often written wrong, you need to use an auto book-keeping drive to burn the discs and use a program like abgx to verify the written data before using it on xbox live.

[cornflaker]

Awesome thanks for the info

[Huray4Insanity]

thats f**king awesome

[Da_Fudge]

Awesome!!!

[S0LDIER.]

Im guessing if i do this to my 360 it will mean I wont be able to get it fixed or take it back to Microsoft if it breaks etc? Brilliant How-to though!

[pilotpack]

S0LDIER, Your are correct, because this mod violates almost all of Microsoft's return or repair policies. But, if you know what you are doing you can have a nice looking Xbox 360 when it is all said and done.

[S0LDIER.]

Don't tempt me lol... things go wrong when I do this kind of stuff.. Looks very well done though, I might do this with an old 360 case then put my other 360 parts inside, if something goes wrong, I can always switch the guts back to the original case, could this be possible?

[DYLEGO]

Yes, but both warranties would be void. IF you really want to do this, you could orevent the RROD with some fans.

[Dr.Paj]

The red rings are always looming in the horizon waiting to strike any and all unsuspecting Xbox 360s.

[extremelogs]

Yea, you could totally do that if you needed to. You can even buy new 360 cases from places like XCM and llamma.com. You can get really awesome looking ones too. Like the chrome or Black Knight cases from XCM, those are bitchen. If you wanted, you could send your case to llamma and have them cut any design you want for you.

[Darkshot]

could you do this with a PS2??

[Derin]

not the slim ps2,but the thick ps2 with hardrives

• correction:hard drives

[Darkshot]

yeah i have that kind, thx

[Derin]

np

[garrett10]

could you do this with a psp 2000?

[Sandisk1duo]

just get a clear case

[Derin]

No,I don't think so.

[zjharva]

he means shell, a replacement for the plastic outside. There are some on deal extreme i think.

[conner.jew]

what if i have a benq drive?????????????????

[ekulmeekul]

Doesn't matter, i don't think. anyway so what if its a little different, Everything can be solved if common sense is used and you have a little bit of experience with a dremel. (get some scrap metal/plastic and practice on it)

[caseyweed]

Awesome. Though I have no warranty. But I still get it fixed for free for $20 dollars.

[Hougashucka]

if u pay 20 $ then its not free

[caseyweed]

Though, I still get games for 5 dollars. That seems okay.

[mariomurder]

how do u get games for 5 dollars?

[cornflaker]

Burnt, he must have a flashed dvd drive

[welshy136]

Just a word of warning to everyone thinking of putting lights in the case if you draw to much power you could get banned from XBL.

[panzerkiller]

my xbox will read dvd but wont play games do you know why

[tbird45039]

i wonder if the xbox has enough juice to run some cold cathodes. they give a much more even glow effect

[freakboy100101]

yeah but if the fan does not have the power there is a great 12 volt source on the board that i have one of my fans hoked up to google 12 volt xbox 360 mod and u should find it

[josh89]

Thanks for this man, it helped alot! Great instrucions. Ill leave a pic when i am completely finished of my new modded 360.

[brandon borick]

umm noob her can i use xbox live with out a hdd

[mcntim95]

NO!
GET A HARD DRIVE IT'S WORTH IT.
GET A BIG ONE TOO BECAUSE THE UPCOMING XBOX EXPERIENCE UPDATE WILL LET YOU LOAD ALL YOUR GAMES ONTO THE HARDDRIVE FOR FASTER LOAD TIMES AND QUIETER GAME PLAY, AND YOU WILL BE ABLE TO PLAY LOADS OF COMMUNITY GAMES. FULL GAMES.

[clark]

where did you hear/read that?

[Zealous]

http://majornelson.com/
It's on Major Nelson's blog

Zealous

[Flybikes]

I have finished this mod for my xbox 360 but I have a HUGE problem.When hooking up the LED "tube" the power from the fan was not enough so I started touching the wires to different spots on the motherboard WHILE IT WAS ON and I touched a little tower and it sparked and now I have RROD. DOES ANY ONE IF ITS POSIBLE TO FIX THAT?

[mcntim95]

[sigh] n00bz...

[spookee]

Sounds like the "little tower" was one of the capacitors. I'm not an electronics expert, but if that's the case, your RROD is pretty permanent.

[Derin]

He can replace the cap if that solves the problem.

[martinoheat]

2 years later, doubt this will be read, but anyway: i was heatgunning my xbox to sort the e74 error and i overheated a few of the capacitors - they exploded. I bought a few capacitors off ebay with the same capacitance and same/higher max voltage, replaced the popped capacitors and everything now works fine :) -you CAN replace the capacitors successfully :)

[ijustwannaknow]

Good song choice...one of my favorites...HEIL GOLF!

[string227]

Well i had my xbox since 2006. I never had a RROD (expect for the 4 red rings, only because the a/v cable was not plugged in). My warranty is voided as i tried to flash it, but i couldint get around to flashing it because I did not have any sata connectors. But i will try this idea.

[Retman]

Very Wicked. But since you have no warranty now, what will you do when you get the 3 Red Rings? you cant get Microsoft to fix it for you. You then will have a useless, sweet looking 360 which you cant play with.

[A+NON+O+MUS]

i called Microsoft and asked if i do mod it and it does break can they still fix it.(with me paying them). they said that they will not touch it! once it is tampered with. you have to take it to a local shop or something like that. really sucks because this would be cool to do.

[grigoramb]

Not really. If you don't have the warranty, then Microsoft will fix it for you, it will just cost you $140.

[Retman]

No they won't. A+NON+O+MUS Sent me a email saying Microsoft will not touch your console if you have modded it in any kind of way This is the email i got off him: i called Microsoft and asked if i do mod it and it does break can they still fix it.(with me paying them). they said that they will not touch it! once it is tampered with. you have to take it to a local shop or something like that.

[master7chief]

Hey, that is the coolest customization I have seen. What would it cost for me to mail you my 360 and have you customize it for me?-since you know what you are doing and have all the proper tools. I would greatly appreciate it. Also, I noticed you took away a +and- fan connector where you plugged the LEDs into. Are you running on one fan or did you have to power both fans with one connector? Thank you for any information any one can provide me with.

[chainfire95]

nice

[illusionistpro]

how did you paint the power button with out blocking the clear power icon portion?

[gmrtg_Mr_Crayola]

how can I change the colour of the ring of lights on the front? do i have to buy whole new LEDs? And to make the LED fans glow brighter can i remove that scoop that leads off of them that i see you have on?

[messed_up_child2001]

I would recommend using this for better details on disassembly <http://www.xbox-accessories.com/instructions/disassemble360.html> just use a screw driver instead of the tool it shows.
Only one problem with your instructable. What if i want to power more LED's? say... about 30 of them. You can't do this from the fans power because it does not keep a constant 12V current running. Instead you can wire it into the power for the DVD drive with some soldering skill. My friend (slate.JUL) and I found this instructable very helpful. We will be posting a video of ours shortly.

[thefunktopus]

isn't this dangerous as the laser is exsposed if no disk is in there. I'm so happy, i'm getting a 360 tomorow!!

[quincy85wrestler]

I should just send you my 360 and have you do it for me. I'd totally mess mine up!

[Dvldogg05]

Do you know of any videos with this? would make doing it a lot easier.

[bobthehobo22]

What watt resistor did u use because mine seems to be overheating pretty badly.... I'm using a 1/2 watt 47 ohm resistor.

[pilotpack]

I'm not quite sure on what one I used but to find out which one is best for you, please use the calculator that I mentioned in the wiring of the LEDs page. I say this because I don't know which one to tell you to use since I don't know what color, or how many you used. Hope this helps!, Pilotpack

[bobthehobo22]

Oh ok well i used these resistors:
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2062313&cp=&sr=1&origkw=47+ohm+resistor&kw=47+ohm+resistor&parentPage=search
and I have these LEDs:
http://abctronics.com/Specification%203mm%20LED%20-%20BLUE%20html.htm
Haha well I've been experimenting lately with the LEDs and it seems to be happening to a lot of the resistors I use... That they get extremely hot(as in being able to melt tape) And i used 8 of the LEDs in a parallel

[Havok S14]

Thats cool but screw the niffty lights and stuff, HOW did you paint your button?!?! Did you just take it off and had to glue it back on? and the Power symbol piece looks like it will just break if I even dare take it off. Please let me know I'm honestly most interested in that lol.

[pilotpack]

Havok S14, Hey Just ended up painting the whole button black and then while the paint was still tacky, I scrapped it off of the glowing part with and exact-o knife. Pilotpack

[EnigmaMax]

I dunno, it seems to risky to rip apart a beautiful piece of machinary...

[Jran Sakarra]

I would like to see more case mods on here down the road. Great Job!

[dogfighter 45]

Then if you wanted to be completely insane you could throw a cheap liquid cooling system in there and never have a problem with overheating again (no more red ring) unless of course your software decides to screw you over.

[Jake Turner]

Very nice, man. You mind if I link to this in my RRoD instructable?

[chefbrian]

that just looks sweet!, i wish i had a 360 so i could do that!

[Dr.Paj]

Instead of LEDs there is always the possibility of cathodes, they are cheap and have 360 degrees of light. I would have picked red to taunt the red ring of death. Then again, blue is brighter. Also for the spinning disk you need some sort of strobe for a better effect, in my opinion. You could probably use a white LED that blinks rapidly or get a strobe in the Xbox somehow.

[danimal5152]

ok im trying to put lights in my xbox 360 and im not sure if i wired it right, I havent received my leds yet so i cant test it. but i dont want to ruin my xbox. i just want to make sure if this will work. here is pic of what i have so far........ i used the calculator you provided and this was the guru suggestion is this going to work?

[pilotpack]

What you have looks like it should do just fine but if you want to be a little bit more on the safe side, the calculator suggested using 68ohm 1/8th watt resistors if your leds use a maximum of 3.6 and if they use only 3.2 the calculator suggested 120ohm 1/8th watt resistors. Considering you are close enough, i would say don't worry about it because you are only a few ohms off either way. Hope this helps! AND FOR ALL YOU IDIOTS THAT SAY ONLY USING ONE RESISTOR WON'T WORK, CLICK ON THE TEXT ABOVE THE CALCULATOR THAT SAYS PARALLEL AND YOU WILL FIND OUT IT WORKS JUST FINE!!!!!!

[vitozilla]

i would with out a doubt do this but i am on my 4th 360 in 6 months. one more time and im gonna make them send me an elite or something. ive gotten free game the last 3 times. i got viva pinata, pgr3, kameo, and now all i need is the xbox live pack. they need to fix this sh*t.

[extremelogs]

Dude, just get the X-Clamp fix from www.llama.com, and make sure you have ventilation for your 360, and it should be fine. And dont get an Intercooler from Nyko. Just dont.

[TheMadScientist]

uhh, no you need to fix this "sh*t" stop playing gears of war full party games with a hotbox room full of people and two computers running. heat is bad. the pcb used to make the 360 is bad. get over it and adapt. oh, and adding liquid cooling to this instructable would be kinda nice too. overclocking your 360 ftw.

[TheMadScientist]

but seriously, i've gotten the "red eye of doom" about 4 times in my 1 1/2 years of owning a 360, and every time, you SHOULD know, that red = bad, and you shouldn't leave it running. I can just see these idiots going "durr, whatzez red lightz mean?" of frigging course its bad, shut the damn thing down, let it cool off, and start it back up. really, its foolproof. unless you never get up from your xbox, thats different

[nitrox027]

there's an easier way to wire the leds with less wire wire 8 in series is breaks down to 3 v a led which it good for blue, white, red, and uv/purple leds

[jamessharpshooter]

dude its agonna smke on the inside and maybe make a fire, you need 7 more resistors. one before every led. just saying. but either from that it looks good.i'd do it but i'd have one window not two. good job

[maker12]

yes but the led,S may tun into SED,S (SMOKE EMITTING DIDODE) iF not wired right!

[pilotpack]

Jamessharpshooter, You are both right and wrong but for this certain application you are wrong. This is because we wired the leds in parallel instead of in a series. In a series, you are correct about needing 7 more resistors but in a parallel you are mistaken. Do you understand what I am saying? It sounds kind of confusing! Hope This Helps!

[SimoMies]

In fact, sharpshooter's rite. In this application IF there was need for resistors (no need, actually voltage is quite right) you would need 7 of them, one for each led.

[maker12]

dum que, can the laser shine out?! ThAT WOULD BE COOL!!!!

[GorillazMiko]

this is the coolest xbox 360 i have ever seen!

[tomonto]

very very nice, but i could only afford an xbox 350

[_soapy_]

lol. :-)

[burnoutxd]

nice mod! but i like my warranty to much to risk it

[Vertigo666]

Dude you shoulda put in green led's to match the original x box colors

[pilotpack]

Well when you customize your xbox 360 with green LED's, post a pick of how it looks but I like blue a hole lot better and I am even going to replace the front green ring of light with a blue ring of light when my 0603 LED's come in and the same thing goes for my controllers. The main reason I did blue is because it matches my computer!

[Crash2108]

That case is a premod.

[pilotpack]

Yes, my computer case is store bought if that is what you are talking about buy my Xbox 360 case is all custom.

[Vertigo666]

Nice. No I actually don't own a 360. I got PS2+3.

[pilotpack]

I'm not a big fan on the playstation consoles but I do own a ps2 myself and I a ps3 is just out of the question! Too much $$$

[garrettmikesmith]

xbox has way better games too. for those who say the ps3 is way more powerful and has better graphics, i dont really care because i have a 34" tube tv. but yeah once i get over my "this is my new 360, if it's not broken dont fix it" stage i will seriously consider doing this, awesome instructable

[FrenchCrawler]

Excellent job. The plexiglass is nice, but would look even nicer with some designs etched into it. Another idea would be to install extra small fans (3 or so) inside the casing to prevent any overheating problems from ever happening (instead of having the bulky cooler attachment). You could install different colored LED's into/onto the fans and have them make their own design patterns as they spin (or attach small mirrored surfaces onto the blades to deflect the other LED's light out of the case). Just a few ideas for future projects :)

[pilotpack]

I have now included my video of it on the very last page. Thanks for all the compliments!

[Weissensteinburg]

I don't normally like DIY xbox mods, but this looks really good.

[joejoerowley]

I like it. Very Nice.!

[!Andrew_Modder!]

cool! but i dont goda 360 :-(