written by owen on 2025-Feb-01.

After about 2 months of tinkering around with the Xbox 360 E here is my setup;

Accounts

I have 2 accounts; 1 offline and 1 on xbox live that I set up first on the xbox website then signed in via the xbox360. Do not try to sign up from the xbox itself. I play all my single player games on the offline account. I have no interest in xbox live and I do not pay for it. the xbox live account is needed because it is the only way to get updates for any new game disks. When ever I start a new game I log in with the live account with Ethernet connected and it usually prompts for an update. After the update I restart and auto boot disk and offline profile.

Auto booting to disk

The thing to note about auto-booting is that the time is not set even if you have the Ethernet plugged in. The time not being correct will be an issue when dealing with your save files being out of order. Some games load the save file which has the newest date. This means that sometimes if you have more than one save it will chose the wrong one simply because the time is more recent because that play session was longer than your current. Of course this will only affects you if you unplug your console after every use (which I do). I have settled on leaving the Ethernet cable plugged it, no WiFi then auto booting to the dashboard to resolve this time issue.

Power brick

I bought a new OEM power supply (175w) + adapter to replace the thirdparty version that came with the console. It resolved the spontaneous shutdown issues I was having with the console. Getting a new original power supply that says "microsoft" on the label is not easy or cheap.

Games

I only buy the best and cheapest games which I have the most interest. Get the newer games made after 2011. There are some bad games on the console, Dark Souls 1 comes to mind, so dont go in thinking that every game is worth your time. However at the same time Dark Souls 2 is awesome so your level of tolerance may depend on how much you like the a particular game genre.

Ensure that you do your research on a game before buying it, because a game might be expensive and still suck or cheap and awesome. Some games are expensive because they are rare not necessarily because they are good. And some games are cheap because they are bad and but sold a lot of copies. Perfect example is Halo 4 which is cheap because it sold alot of copies but is boring. Based on current prices $10 USD is cheap, $20 is average, $30 and above is an expensive game.

Storage

Make sure you get the internal harddrive - 250gb is good enough. I install all my games. It takes about 20 minutes to install a game so make sure you play the game BEFORE you install it (just in case the game sucks). You can always delete games you do not play often to save space. Installing games cuts the console noise output by half - the disk drive buzzes constantly if you play the game from disk. You could use a external usb stick but I personally hate having things stick out from the console which potentially could break off or damage a port.

Secondly I think the harddrive always shows first in the "pick a storage location" list, always, no way to reorder the list - so using the harddrive is the most UI efficient place to store saves. Get the internal harddrive with the console, its required for some games like GTA5 (says on the box). External USB SSD/Sticks can be used for other games and work well based on tests I saw on youtube.

I am investing in a mini-usb flash drive which should resolve the sticking out problem and speed up loading for installed games. Game saves will still be stored on the hard drive because of the previously mention pick list issue.

Avoiding the red ring of death

When ever I play the Xbox I take it out of the tv stand so that it gets maximum air flow - because my tv stand is pretty enclosed with only a small hole in the back. I placed it vertically onto of the stand, not on the carpet where dust will get to it faster. Keeping it vertical saves space. Hopefully it doesn't get knocked over. I always unplug the power brick but this is optional. The power brick has a bright orange light which I find annoying. I do not plan to dismantle my console anytime soon but eventually it will have to be done - possibly by someone else.

Conclusion

As long as you are playing offline single player games, you will find that the 360 is a competent retro console. Once you find the games you want, just pop them in and play without worrying about updates, internet speed or whether you account is still up-to-date. Some games are expensive but if you are only interested in a few games then you might no mind spending the money on something you are going to enjoy.

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