Broken XBOX, Whats my best bet?

DCFan2004 · Post by **DCFan2004** » Fri Jun 11, 2004 10:33 pm

Well my first XBOX that i got when the system first came out finnally crapped out today

. Its a thompson drive which already makes it suck and have damaged disc or dirty error all the time, but now it doenst read any discs. Does this sound like a laser pot problem? On xbox-scene.com i found some repair guides but what makes more sense, do it myself or send it into microsoft and have em deal with it? I know this isn't a XBOX forum or anything but i thought some of you guys might be able to help me out.

Agent21KGB · Post by **Agent21KGB** » Fri Jun 11, 2004 11:09 pm

Well from what i heard MS charges a shit load. Esentially all your are doing is turning 2 screws to up the power of the dvd rom drive it takes time and patience but it is easy to do.

egdinger · Post by **egdinger** » Fri Jun 11, 2004 11:11 pm

It costs around $100 to send to ms, I would say try adjusting the laser and if that doesn't work go to llamma.com and buy a new xbox drive.

Clarkbar · Post by **Clarkbar** » Fri Jun 11, 2004 11:31 pm

or mod it and swap the drive???

egdinger · Post by **egdinger** » Sat Jun 12, 2004 12:07 am

You don't have to mod it to swap the cd drives, only the hard drives. I saw at llamma there selling only lasers now so you could swap the laser, I know you'd still have a thompson but the best drive (samsung) are expensive.

Clarkbar · Post by **Clarkbar** » Sat Jun 12, 2004 12:20 am

I stand corrected....

DCFan2004 · Post by **DCFan2004** » Sat Jun 12, 2004 9:54 am

yeah i think im gonna try to adjust it myself, MS does charge a lot to fix it its $99 plus S/H so if i really screw it up i'll just buy new pieces for it or a new one altogether. I just want to make sure though, this problem might be solved by adjusting the laser pot?

Alexvrb · Post by **Alexvrb** » Sat Jun 12, 2004 12:57 pm

http://www.llamma.com/xbox/Repairs/xbox_dvd_repair.htm

As was already said, they sell new drives as a last resort. But there are several other steps you can take before you have to do that.

hearld500 · Post by **hearld500** » Sat Jun 12, 2004 1:53 pm

Just swap the drive, they're cheap.

Or just get a new one for $149.

egdinger · Post by **egdinger** » Sat Jun 12, 2004 5:56 pm

It would most likely be a laser problem thats what goes wrong most often in the thompson's I think, and if the drive is allready duff you can't hurt it more. Clarkbar I just abot where you might be coming from about having to mod the xbox to swap dvd drives, you can put a pc one in there it just won't read originals, and you need a mod chip to do that.

Clarkbar · Post by **Clarkbar** » Sat Jun 12, 2004 8:40 pm

thats what I was getting at. he pc drive instead of official xbox drive.

Post by **pixel** » Sat Jun 12, 2004 8:57 pm

they go cheap on eBay (DVD drives)

rmbell · Post by **rmbell** » Sun Jun 13, 2004 6:22 pm

try cleaning the lens, before adjusting pots.

DCFan2004 · Post by **DCFan2004** » Sun Jun 13, 2004 7:18 pm

yea i already tried that, the laser cleaner i have is supposed to automatically bring u to the music section of the system and you're supposed to play the first ten seconds of the track and it should be clean. problem is the laser doesnt even read the disc.

Alexvrb · Post by **Alexvrb** » Sun Jun 13, 2004 7:25 pm

If the laser can't even read CDs, and its a Thompson, just try adjusting the pot. You've got nothing to lose. Just follow the guide, I think the screw needs to be turned the opposite direction of the DC pot to increase power. They said not to go below 800 though I think, if you have a multimeter. The laser would probably burn out relatively quick, but in the meantime it could even damage discs!

DCFan2004 · Post by **DCFan2004** » Sun Jun 13, 2004 7:28 pm

yeah i found a couple of guides on how to adjust the pot. one on http://www.xbox-scene.com and one on http://www.llamma.com so maybe in the next few days ill attempt to fix it. its not that big a deal to me cause its my bros xbox, and i have one of the halo edition ones, but i thought id try to help him fix it before he buys a new one.

rmbell · Post by **rmbell** » Mon Jun 14, 2004 4:33 pm

try using an air duster, give it a good blast of air, then take a Q-Tip with some rubbing alcohol on it, and rub the lens down. then try that, if all else fails, adjust the pots.

riva16 · Post by **riva16** » Mon Jun 14, 2004 9:29 pm

Your best bet is to just sell it to me for $10...

I can get a broken XBox for $15 like I got a broken PS2 for... I just pulled the motherboard, and swapped it with the broken one... BOOM! PS2 back up and running... My goal is to buy 2 broken X Box' (same model mind you), and hope i can swap till one works... For $30, i could have an X Box... $30 more, I could have a controller and a game... sweet...

DCFan2004 · Post by **DCFan2004** » Mon Jun 14, 2004 9:50 pm

the guy who runs llamma.com buys broken ones for 50 bux a piece so if anytrhing id sell it to him first. however, my intentions are to repair ir and most likely mod it just because its already half broken so what do i have to loose.

SuperMegatron · Post by **SuperMegatron** » Tue Jun 15, 2004 11:58 pm

I got a old xbox drive I am willing to trade or something let me know if you want it