XBox 360: Clean the laser and drive
In this practical tip, we explain how to clean the laser and the drive of your XBox 360. If your game console no longer recognizes CDs and DVDs, you probably need to clean the laser in the drive so that the media can be read again.
Clean the XBox 360 laser with a cleaning CD
Sometimes it helps to open your XBox 360's drive and blow into the opening. Often there is simply dust on the lens, which is usually removed. If DVDs are still not being read, do the following:
- If your device is still under warranty, you should only use a cleaning CD and never open the device.
- You can get such cleaning CDs from Amazon for about 9 euros.
- Place the cleaning CD in the drive of your XBox 360.
- If necessary, start the CD in the menu if the cleaning process does not start automatically.
- As soon as cleaning is complete, the drive opens again automatically and you can remove the CD.
- If your drive still does not read DVDs, it is best to make use of your guarantee.
- Request the guarantee from the following website.
XBox 360 - Clean the laser with cotton swabs
If you are no longer within the warranty period and the cleaning CD is unsuccessful, you can try cleaning the laser with distilled water and cotton swabs.
- First of all: To get to the lens of your drive, you have to completely disassemble the XBox 360. This process is not easy and definitely not recommended for beginners. Parts of the XBox 360 can break quite easily. If you still have a guarantee on your gaming console, you should definitely refrain from this step.
- Also pull the power plug of the XBox 360 out of the socket before opening the console.
- Then clean the drive's laser with a cotton swab and distilled water.
- Soak the cotton swab with water and use it to gently clean the surface of the lens. Finally, wipe the lens dry with a non-soaked cotton swab.
If your XBox 360 is no longer working, we will help you here.