I'm new to Xbox and have only recently got my head around the Dashboard. *facepalm*

Anyway I'm getting skyrim soon (after getting it for PS3 and having my system lockup 12 times in 3 days) for the xbox and I was wondering what this installation thing means for xbox games?

Running off the disk vs Installation.

On PS3 you download and install game data and then I guess run off the disk? Is that the same with Xbox running off disk, or is there no install required?

And when you install to the HDD, is this the entire game? How many GB's is that? Or is this simply installing game data?

Thank you

With Xbox you can run it off the DVD or choose to install the whole game on your Xbox similar to a PC and it uses the CD to boot up and varify you own it basically. PS3 has a mandatory install for most games with the exception of a couple launch titles since Blu-Ray access slower then DVD so if you ran it just straight off the blu-ray load times would be horrendous. With the 360 while its not required it does improve loadtimes and some games (RAGE for example) will install HD Textures compared to just running it off the DVD. I have always installed my games on my 360 if the game allows it. I have noticed some dont mainly older ones though. New ones almost always have the option.

So how does it work when you run off a disk and not install it? Does it take like an hour to load then?

Load times will be longer...but not as much as you would think.. (ie a small increase).
Most noticeably though, the X-Box dvd drive is (even with the slim) really noisy..., that (noise reduction) combined with the fact that "installed" games seem to run more stable...are the biggest advantages..

I have noticed that noise too (250GB slim). I assume the system would have less chance of overheating because its not spinning the drive?

Sorry for all the questions.

if your slim is really noisey, lay it on its side rather then upright, if it is on its side, take a thin piece of cardboard, and place it under the back right hand leg, helped mine get reallllly quiet when it was on a glass shelf.

I run off the disk, running off the disk vs. hard drive and load speed.... its barely noticable really, its not that much of a difference. The main difference is what your putting wear and tear on, the hard drive, or the dvd drive.

I beg to differ on the stability issues depending on playing on Disk or Hard Drive. I've been playing the game sense day one and running it off the disk, I have well over 600 hours into it by now I'm sure (i'd have to add up all my characters). and have only had Minor bugs, a couple lockups (most likely due to extended hours of play) and no real problems in the game that couldn't be resolved except "blood on the ice" for my first character, and doing the daedric quest for the spell shield on another (i was to kill a guy who was already dead inside dwarven ruins). I doubt that if i ran the game off the hard drive that these two little problems would of never of occured, as blood on the ice is glitched anyhow (being addressed in 1.4) and the other quest was most likely a random fluke that could happen to either case (hard drive or dvd drive). My slim is also a first gen slim.

Installing to the hard drive installs the whole game to the drive however your still required to insert the game disk into the tray when playing, and the xbox will still spin up the drive occationally to ensure that the disk is still in the drive while you play. you can't remove the disk while playing either, it must remain in the drive. full install of the game is aprox. 5gb of space.

also... if your slim is laying on its side, rather then standing upright, it will be less prone to overheating do to how the heat is dispersed inside.

Thank you so much (though now I am a bit torn XD)

I do play my Xbox laying flat, however it still gets VERY hot after a few hours. I think maybe a small external computer fan would help.
I think I will run off the disk and see how that goes first. Maybe the noise/heat will get to me.

Thanks again everyone do appreciate the help.

If you find your Xbox gets hot, I would consider installing it. If you play it from the DVD, the drive will continually spin and generate heat. Installing it will cause the DVD to stop spinning during play, and help to keep the heat down.

honestly, there's no reason to not install the game. I do for every game I play over prolonged periods of time, the noise of the dvd drive is unbearable and it will also slightly reduce the amount of heat your box produces (mine doesn't get very hot, it's the jasper model).

I've read from a lot of different sources that installing Skyrim and playing off the hard drive caused a lot of texture problems i.e. basically the graphics looked a lot worse vs. playing off the disc. Does anyone know if this was ever fixed?

If you play your xbox for more than a 1-2 hour stretch daily, you will want to install the game to hard drive to prolong the use of your unit. Running off the disc produces greater wear and tear from the disc constantly spinning, and from heat. By running off the hard drive, your prolonging the life of the unit, and it makes the gameplay a little quicker from my own testing. It does not download the entire disc onto the drive. It only copies about 90-95% of the material on the disc since the main load protocols cannot be copied to the hard drive due to security protocols established by Microsoft. I have 2 xbox that I do testing with for things like this. I have one of the first ones that had issues with fans and heat and the red ring, and another from 2 years ago. I have run with them perfectly doing these things. Also, keep the airflow going in the room where you xbox is located, with a fan, or if its breezy outside, open a window. Don't smoke around the xbox it just allows the ash into the vents which can increase heat issues.

I find it helps Skyrim alot on the 360. Some may say otherwise but it's worth it. Only 3.3 GB to install, reduces load times/entering places times.

Just gotta be careful in how you approach it, when installed the game will start up and spin the disc to get what it needs off of it basically. So in this time (main menu) DONT press start and just let the disc keep spinning until it stops. Then press start and enjoy. (Wait times usually like 2, maybe 2 and a half mins. til the disc stops)