USEFUL XBOX 360 tips. Please Read Tip #1 It is important that you don't leave your console on for more than 6 hours. Doing this can result in a 'burnt' image on your television set. Be sure to set your Xbox to shut off after 6 hours (this can be done through the Xbox Dashboard). Tip #2 Your Xbox can store music files by ripping music from a CD. The Xbox 360 can read regular CD's as well as CD-R and CD-RW formatted disks. Tip #3 Playing music in a game can make the volume of sound effects seem low. You can lower the sound of the music player through the Xbox media player (hit the speaker icon in the Guide). Tip #4 Are people bothering you online, but you are playing a game with a couple of friends? You can set your online status to 'Away', 'Busy' or even 'Appear Offline'. These will mask your online status so that your buddies won't bother you. To do this, click the Guide-button and click 'Personal Options'. In there, you can change your 'Online Appearance'. Tip #5 If your using a wireless controller, don't forget to keep it's batteries charged, ready for elongated periods of play. No one likes it when your controller dies before the final boss! If you don't want to worry about keeping good batteries in your controller, you should purchase a Play and Charge Kit. Submitted by: JPOGDNA Tip #6 The HDD on top of your Xbox 360 can be removed, so you can put in another one or take it with you places (say to your friends house). Just click the button towards the front of the HDD, pull, and viola! To place it back in, slide in the back end first, and bring down into it's place until you hear a small click. Be careful, you don't want to press too hard. Submitted by Xathaec Tip #7 The Xbox Live Marketplace is your one-stop shop on Xbox Live. Download game content, demos, trailers, arcade titles, card/ board games, themes, and gamer pictures. You can access it via the Xbox Dashboard, in the Xbox Live blade. Note: You must be connected to the internet to download content! Submitted by ShadowFury Tip #8 Tired of your gamertag? Want to change it to something new and exciting? Now you can, but it will cost you. On the Xbox 360 dashboard, hit your profile and go to "Edit Gamer Profile". From there, hit "Gamertag". From there, you can continue on to change your gamertag to something new. Be warned however, that doing so will cost 800 Microsoft Points. Tip #9 You don't have to be friends with someone to send them a message. Now, you can send a message to anyone just by putting in the Gamertag who you want to send a message to. You can send messages via the Guide button, or through the dashboard. Tip #10 A Microsoft Point (MP) is the currency used with the Xbox Live Marketplace. You can purchase MPs in 500, 1000, 2000 or 5000 denominations. $1 (USD) is worth 80 MPs. The typical gamertile download is 20 MPs, or $.25. Themes are around 150 MPs, or about $1.85. Tip #11 Charge your controller when your not playing - keep your Play & Charge cable plugged in before you shut off your Xbox 360. Doing this, will continue to charge your controller while your console is powered off! Tip #12 Wireless is love. The Wireless controller is capable of a range up to 30 feet. With that kind of ability, you can easily get up, controller in hand get a snack, and never lose contact with friends as they continue their battle online. Or, you could play the game "Pass the Controller" without tangling the lines. (But don't pass too hard, this could be lethal) Tip #13 You can set your Xbox 360 to Busy or Away when watching a movie, or you just want to temporarily stop nofication pop-ups. You can also stop notifications by changing your personal settings. Tip #14 When you leave your play-and-charge kit connected to your controller, and turn the Xbox 360 off, the system goes into a stand-by mode where low power is used, and fans stay on until your controller is finished recharging. When that happens, your Xbox 360 turns off the fans, but maintains the low-power mode. So really, your Xbox 360 is never off if you have your play-and-charge kit in. Tip #15 When in a game you can open the guide and choose music you've ripped to the Hard Disk or even stream from a Media Center PC or a PC with Media Connect. Doing so will mute the music in the game and allow you to listien to your own music. Do you have the IR Remote? If so you can use the next/previous remote buttons to jump tracks.
