Xbox 360 Support FAQ

Have support questions about your Xbox 360™ video game and entertainment system? We address the top concerns right here.

Q: I'm interested in listening to music and viewing pictures from my PC. How do I do that?

A: Go to www.xbox.com/pcsetup and download the setup files for Microsoft Windows Media Connect. Once you've installed and configured Windows Media Connect, make sure your computer is networked with your Xbox 360 console.

If you need help, see our Introduction to Home Networking.

Once you're connected, fire up your Xbox 360 console and head to the Media area of the Xbox® Dashboard. Select Music or Pictures, then choose Computer. Your Xbox 360 console will automatically find and connect to your PC on your home network.

Q: Why can't I play certain songs from my iPod when I connect it to Xbox 360?

A: One or both of two issues may interfere with your iPod listening. First, Xbox 360 cannot currently play copy-protected audio files purchased from the iTunes store.

Second, the Xbox 360 console needs a free codec (an audio processing file) from Xbox Live Marketplace before it can play audio files encoded with AAC, the default format for the iTunes application. So if you encoded any music from your CD collection in AAC, you'll need to join Xbox Live (either with a paid Gold membership or a free Silver one) and update your console before you can play it. Xbox 360 will play your MP3 audio files just fine, however, right out of the box.

For more information, see Use an Apple iPod with Xbox 360.

Q: My 20-GB Xbox 360 Hard Drive is brand new and has only 13 GB available. What's taking up all that space and how can I free up room?

A: The Xbox 360 Hard Drive comes preloaded with bonus content from Xbox and our industry partners. To see all removable items, go to the System area of the Xbox Dashboard and choose Memory. Removeable items may include themes, music, videos, gamer profiles, game saves, downloaded games, and demos.

Q: I inadvertently deleted Hexic HD from my Xbox 360 Hard Drive. Can I download it again?

A: Currently, Hexic HD is not available for download from Xbox Live Marketplace.

Q: Where do I find gamer pictures? Can I can view all the pics in a picture pack before buying it?

A: To see the gamer pictures included on the Xbox 360 Hard Drive, press the Xbox Guide button, select your gamer profile, then select Edit Gamer Profile, Gamer Picture, Change Gamer Picture. Use the left stick (LS) to navigate through the pictures.

Xbox Live members can find and download new gamer pictures by selecting Download Gamer Pictures from the Edit Gamer Picture screen. Alternately, go to the Xbox Live area of the Xbox Dashboard and select Xbox Live Marketplace, Themes and Gamer Pictures.

To view all gamer pictures, see the Gamer Pictures link under each heading along the left side of our Personalize Your Game! page.

Q: How do I apply the themes included on the Xbox 360 Hard Drive to my console's Xbox Dashboard?

A: To view your choices, press the Xbox Guide button, select Personal Settings, and choose Themes. Simply select one to apply it, or select Customize to mix different themes for, say, Dashboard Trim and Guide Background. Press the Xbox Guide button or B to return to the Xbox Dashboard.

To download additional themes from Xbox Live Marketplace, go to the Xbox Live area of the Xbox Dashboard and select Xbox Live Marketplace, Themes and Gamer Pictures.

Q: Where is the Xbox 360 console's optical digital-audio output? Where do I connect it?

A: You'll find a Toslink digital-audio terminal on the Xbox 360 Component HD AV Cable, not on the Xbox 360 console itself. On the back of the cable's multi-pin connector—right where the cable connects to the console—you'll see a small, square port for an optical digital-audio cable (not included). Once you've connected your cable to a compatible speaker system or audio/video surround receiver, you can select Dolby Digital surround sound as your default sound option.

To configure your console for Dolby Digital output:

1. Turn on your Xbox 360 console with no disc in the tray.
2. In the System area of the Xbox Dashboard, select Console Settings, Audio, Digital Output.
3. Select Dolby Digital 5.1.

Q: How can I change the screen positions for my wireless controllers?

A: To reset the screen configuration for an Xbox 360 Wireless Controller:

1. Turn off your Xbox 360 console and any connected Xbox 360 wireless controllers.
   
   (To turn off your wireless controller, power down the system and wait for the lights around the controller's Xbox Guide button to disappear.)
2. Manually turn on your Xbox 360—don't use your controller's Xbox Guide button.
3. Press the connect button on the front of your console. This is the small button just to the right of (or below, if your console is on its side) the port for Memory Unit B. The lights around the console's power button will flash as the console searches for a wireless controller.
4. Press and hold the Xbox Guide button to turn on the wireless controller that you want to assign to slot one.
5. Once the controller is on and the lights are still circling the power button on the console, press your controller's connect button, located just to the right of the charge port.
   
   When the lights on your controller stop spinning, the wireless controller is configured to slot one and the upper-left quadrant light will glow.
6. Select the controller you want in slot two and repeat steps 4 and 5. You can configure up to four wireless controllers.

Q: My friend is a member of Xbox Live and wants to play on my Xbox 360 system. How can he do this?

A: If he's also using Xbox 360 at home, signing him on to your console is a quick, two-step process:

1. Your friend will need to transfer his gamer profile from his Xbox 360 console to yours using an Xbox 360 Memory Unit. He can use the memory unit to transfer the profile directly to your hard drive, or he can simply read the profile from the memory unit, saving the task of moving the profile back to the memory unit when it's time to go home.
2. Using a second controller, press the Xbox Guide button and select the gamer profile you wish to sign in. Now your friend can sign into Xbox Live and access all the same game and system options that you can.

If your friend is a member of Xbox Live but doesn't have an Xbox 360 system, he can still play with you by creating a gamer profile as described in Create Profile: Migrate Account.

Q: When my friend visits, can't he just download his Xbox 360 gamer profile from Xbox Live to my console?

A: Technically, yes. But we urge him—and you, when you roam—not to do this. Unlike your gamertag on the original Xbox system, your gamer profile can exist only in one place at one time, so downloading (or "recovering") your profile to a friend's system will invalidate the version of your profile that's still on your Xbox 360 hard drive, endangering any offline achievements and game saves since your last visit to Xbox Live.

Q: My brother has an Xbox 360 console in his room and I have one in my room and we're on the same home network—why can't we play on Xbox Live at the same time?

A: To simultaneously connect multiple consoles to Xbox Live you need a separate Xbox Live membership and gamer profile for each Xbox 360 or original Xbox console.

You can, however, use an Xbox 360 Memory Unit to move one profile between two consoles if you want to play first in your room and later in your brother's.

Q: Do memory units offer any preloaded content?

A: Xbox 360 Memory Units come with no preloaded, consumer-facing content.

For More Info

Learn how to Enjoy Your Movies, Music, Videos, and Pictures with Xbox 360.

Get help migrating your Xbox Live membership to Xbox 360 at Migration Central.

Building a home network? Read our Introduction to Xbox Live Connection Methods.

Find more answers—read about Xbox Live Account Management with Xbox 360.