On the Xbox 360, you can install games to the hard drive to make them not only perform a little faster, but also keep some wear and tear off of your console since the disc drive doesn’t have to do nearly as much work. It can also help keep your Xbox a little cooler than normal.
** Note – Copying a game to your hard drive does not get rid of the need to have the disc in the tray while you play, so it’s pointless to try to use this to copy games from your friends, etc.
This guide applies to the latest graphical interface. Also, you’ll want to make sure you have plenty of space on your hard drive, since most games are 4 to 5 gigabytes in size.
To install games to the hard drive, go to the home screen with the game in the tray that you want to install.
With the game hi-lighted on the Home screen, you’ll see the Game Details option at the bottom by pressing the X button.
On the Overview tab of the Game Details screen, you’ll see the Install option which will copy the disc to your Xbox 360 hard drive.
Selecting Install will begin to copy the game to your hard drive. You can’t do anything else on the Xbox while it’s doing this, so just let it run. It will typically take around ten minutes to complete for most games.
You’ll know it was successful if the Install option turns into the Delete option on the Game Details screen.
Now just play your game like you normally would, and your Xbox 360 will always read from the hard drive. Note that you still need the game in the tray in order to play it.
