I posted this in the general 360 discussion. I have some problems that my disc tray will not stay shut and I have tried everything...except to take off the 360 casing and investigate the problem myself. Are the 360 cases difficult to remove? Do I need any special tools other than a screwdriver?

The 360 itself is 3 years old so the warranty won't cover it and I am not sending it away for a month only to be charged $100. As mentioned before, I can buy the Arcade version for $199.

I might as well see what I can do to fix the problem.

It's pretty simple, the only tool you need is a Torx T10 screwdriver and maybe a philips. Just pop the faceplate off, pull the grey mesh things off of the ends, you'll snap a few of the clips but they'll go back in and stay in place when you put it back together, then release the clips on the front and pull the top and bottom away from each other until they release.
You'll be left with a metal shell attached to one half of the outer casing, there are probably about 15-20 screws on the metal part but you only need to remove the 3ish inch long ones (4 corners and middle I think, I unscrewed them and if they are short I just put them back in).
Once the screws are out you can take the plastic casing off and you'll be left with the guts of your 360. It goes back together easy as well, just reverse the steps.

There's plenty information if you type in "take apart Xbox 360" in google - even YouTube!

Here's the best link: http://hubpages.com/hub/Take-Apart-An-XBOX-360

You can take the sides off without cracking em, the backside is a bit of a bitch (get a tiny precision flathead).

So, the good news is that I fixed the disc tray, it will now stay shut. Now, the new problem is that I am getting an unreadable disc error. Also, another interesting thing is that when I insert the disc, my 360 will beep twice like a computer and will have a message on the dashboard that says "Unreadable disc error".

I think I am just going to go buy a new Arcade system since my hard drive is fine. I haven't been kept up to date with the newer models and new CPU's. Do the arcade models have the new CPU's that will allow the system to run quieter and cooler?

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

When you go to the store make sure you look to see when it was made. Anything after june 2008 your good to go man

07/07/08 is the new date on it.