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mattyb · Oct 29, 2011, 05:43 PM

Clean it or do I have to buy a new one? The thing sounds like its going to take off.

KCrosbie · Oct 29, 2011, 09:46 PM

Is the fan possibly going out? They usually make loud noises before doing so.

reader50 · Oct 30, 2011, 12:35 AM

Fan or hard drive. Those are the only moving parts. Pray it's the fan, or you could be rebuying a lot of games.

However, check where the noise is coming from. Xbox yes, but is it coming from the Xbox itself, or from the speaker(s)? Some games have soundtracks based on "rap music" - that could explain everything if you are one of those rare innocents.

sek929 · Oct 30, 2011, 01:19 AM

In my experience (4th Xbox) it's most likely not the hard drive, probably the cooling system dying.

mattyb · Oct 30, 2011, 12:54 PM

Dunno whether its the fans or the disk. Is it worth using a vacuum cleaner or blowing some compressed air into it?

reader50 · Oct 30, 2011, 01:08 PM

Wouldn't hurt to remove the dust, but it won't affect the noise. HD is sealed, and if it's the fan, it will be the bearings. Cleaning won't affect either.

I don't have an Xbox, but can you reach the fan hub(s), or are they covered by the case? If you can reach the hubs (say by opening the case) use the eraser on back of a wooden pencil. With the Xbox running & making noise, press the pencil eraser against a fan hub momentarily, so the fan stops. Does the noise decrease? Repeat test on each fan.

Assuming it's the fans, a touch of oil into the bearings may silence it for awhile. But you'll probably have to order new fan(s). Newegg is a good source.

P · Oct 30, 2011, 01:16 PM

If it is the fan, cleaning can help. If the cooling system is clogged by dust, the fan has to work harder to keep up. Cleaning it will let the fan spin slower, thus reducing the noise a bit. It doesn't solve the problem though.

Depending on the type of fan, oil may be all you need, but getting it where it does some good is not necessarily easy. Some fans have a refueling point under the sticker.

mattyb · Nov 5, 2011, 03:10 PM

2nd hard reboot of the day. Think that I'll get a Slim on Monday.

The Final Dakar · Nov 14, 2011, 11:58 AM

I'm pretty sure the disc drive in my 360 is dying. Most of the time when I turn it on now it acts like there's nothing in the tray. If I open and close it, it usually gets an unrecognized disc error, but if all I do is reseat the disc, it goes through after a slightly longer wait that usual.

sek929 · Nov 14, 2011, 03:01 PM

Ahh the joys of Xbox ownership.

In other news my Gen 1 Refurb original Xbox still runs great, and QUIETLY.

The Final Dakar · Nov 14, 2011, 03:05 PM

The good news is, I came to the realization that if push comes to shove, I can probably just swap my Arcade and Elite units, as I rarely use the disc drive in the bedroom.

mattyb · Nov 15, 2011, 02:16 AM

I'm amazed at the lack of noise from the new slim Xbox that I got. Even without installing MW3 to the hard drive, its still very very quiet. Worth it just for the sound reduction. I could never leave the Xbox Elite plugged in all night, there would be a high pitched noise - sort of like if you were strangling a very very small person. No problem with the new slim.

Dunno if the slims are reliable, but so far I'm very happy.

The Final Dakar · Nov 15, 2011, 07:53 AM

The Slims definitely have to be reliable. The term RROD disappeared overnight when it was released and I haven't heard anything take it's place.

cgc · Nov 27, 2011, 08:12 AM

Does it sound like this?

mattyb · Nov 27, 2011, 10:56 AM

Originally Posted by cgc

Does it sound like this?

No.