Well so far, I must say I'm really enjoying my 360! I feel a great new breath of fresh air since I got it. =D

I do have a few questions regarding my system though...

First of all, the disk drive wiggles the slightes bit when it's moving, but I'm told this is normal. Is that correct? Second, when I put in Fable 2 to play, the system (obviously) got louder since it's reading the disk. One thing that worries me about it though, is the system makes a slight grinding noise when it's playing the game. Is this normal? I'm kind of worried about playing any more games until I find an absolute answer to this, because I don't want any scratched disks!

One last thing, I won't be getting my HDD until Monday, so for now I have to live off of an SD card. I downloaded the LIVE updates, made a save file for Fable 2, and I downloaded an arcade game. It's all stored on my memory card. Once I get my HDD, will it be a simple and easy switch to get all that info onto the HDD from the memory card?

The faster I get these questions answered (especially the grinding noise), the better. Thanks guys! =D

Ahh, well i dont know about the rest but my buddy's 360 made that werid noise every once and awhile, needless to say the disc became swiss cheese.

The 360 is an unusually loud console, especially the disc drive.
Yes the grinding noise is normal, mine does the same thing.
Just don't turn the system from horizontal to vertical, or vice versa when the system is on.
Once you get a HDD, you can install the games to disc, which will solve your grinding problems.

oh and if you are ever in doubt, you should send unwarranted messages to people using the word "lambasting", this will make you feel superior to others on an internet forum!

transfering saves should be pretty straight forward, I would imagine.
good luck in the future with your Microsoft console.

well my disc drive doesnt make that horrid sound unless if the disc is dirty/scratchy. I tried it once, and i will never do it agian.

your 360 is fine nothing to worry about.

Have FUN!!

Well my friend FINALLY signed on aim, and he told me to put a DVD in the drive and test it. The drive is running very smoothly, so he said that the drive just makes more noise because it's working overtime to run Fable 2. Sounds legit enough to me. =D

The disc drive spins at the same speed, all the time, in every single 360 game (excluding installed games of course were it's not running at all).  It will spin slower playing a movie (DVD), but every game it sounds the same.

HD gaming baby!!!

now you have so many awesome games to get.

But the noise I described is normal, correct? It would have made a grinding noise and scratched my DVD as well, right? So since it didn't, I'm fine?

The disc drive is loud as hell. Well, my old Zephyr box's wasn't, but my Falcon's is. HDD install FTW.

Honestly, I have no way of knowing since I can't hear it.  My 360 (dec 06) is very loud when a game disc is spinning - so that much is "normal" (though I expect newer units to be quieter, I don't have one so I don't really know how much quieter they are).