Xbox 360 Optical Drive

[Xsorovan]

So my XBox 360 "Optical DVD Drive" decided it didn't like my taste in games and decided to stop reading the games I own. (After a loud grinding noise)

After a call to Xbox support I was informed (surprise) that the DVD Optical Drive was bad and that it would cost me 99 bucks to replace it. Needless to say I almost chocked when they said it would cost me almost 100 bucks to replace the DVD Drive. (Knowing what the cost of a DVD drive is on a computer I couldn't help but laugh)

So anyway, I was thinking I would replace the drive myself (Amazon) being as I replace computer parts professionally and frankly as the machine is already out of warranty I feel like I have nothing to loose here.

I was curious if anyone here had taken an XBox 360 apart and/ or replaced the optical drive. And/or has any clue as to what kind of difficulties I could be getting myself into here.

Thoughts?

 

[Akhen]

Super easy to replace there are no screws you just pivot the drive upwards and take off the power and data cable.

 

[PieIsAwesome]

Didn't replace the DVD drive, but fixed it (though mine wasn't as severe your problem sounds). Taking the 360 apart is a cakewalk once you crack open the shell. It wouldn't hurt to have a look inside your DVD drive though, you may have to swap PCBs to avoid flashing the firmware and make things easier.

 

[Xsorovan]

So if I had a Phillips drive in there before and replaced with with a Samsung would I have to do a firmware update on it? Does it matter? Does the box even know the difference?

I found this which I think will help a lot. (Yay Anandtech!)

I guess I need to know if I need to crack the case before ordering a new part or if I can just order a replacement drive without worrying about if I have to flash the firmware in the box. (Which I can imagine can't be very much fun with something like this...)

 

[effowe]

It is harder than you think. You need to hook up the original DVD drive to your PC so that you can get the firmware encryption key that is tied to your 360 console. From there you need to hook up your replacement drive and flash the original firmware so that your console thinks that your drive is legit. Hooking up the drive and reading / flashing it will be different depending on your drive. See here for more info...

http://www.360-hq.com/xbox-tutorials-61.html

That is only an example using a Hitachi drive. A phillips to samsung will be different, so I suggest going to www.xbox-scene.com and checking out the forums for some advice. There are also IRC channels on efnet that may be able to point you in the right direction. Whatever you do, don't go out buying drives before you do all the research.

 

[Xsorovan]

Thanks Effowe. Gold star for that link.

 

[nismotigerwvu]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BeHqNQRl4A0

It wouldn't happen to have sounded like that would it? If so, its an astonishingly easy fix.

 

[Xsorovan]

Originally posted by: nismotigerwvu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BeHqNQRl4A0

It wouldn't happen to have sounded like that would it? If so, its an astonishingly easy fix.

Ummm, wow... yeah that is that sound almost EXACTLY.

How "astonishingly easy" is it to fix? (Reaching for compressed air...)

 

[Scarpozzi]

Originally posted by: Xsorovan
Thanks Effowe. Gold star for that link.

I've actually heard quite a few people have trouble getting the drives to work. If you are going to replace the drive, do some research and be sure to get the best drive out of the ones compatible. There are 3-4 different drives in 360s and one or two are less likely to scratch your games...some weren't designed properly to play discs vertically.

 

[Xsorovan]

Originally posted by: Scarpozzi
I've actually heard quite a few people have trouble getting the drives to work. If you are going to replace the drive, do some research and be sure to get the best drive out of the ones compatible. There are 3-4 different drives in 360s and one or two are less likely to scratch your games...some weren't designed properly to play discs vertically.

Yeah... I was thinking a replacement with a quieter drive, however if it is going to be a pain in the neck to do all the flashing (and honestly I am not sure I have a machine here at home that has a SATA controller in it (laptops and old desktops) I'd have to take it to work and with the chance I might brick the DVD drive I am thinking if Nismotigerwvu can't help me with a "simple fix" for that issue then I might just shell out the 100 bucks to get it replaced.

Oh, and my Xbox has never been vertical... only Horizontal. (And honestly it might not even get 10 hours of playtime a month, which means it died a young death...)

 

[PieIsAwesome]

You could always buy a clone DVD drive and replace the PCB with your old DVD drive's PCB to avoid flashing.

 

[Scarpozzi]

Originally posted by: Xsorovan

Originally posted by: Scarpozzi
I've actually heard quite a few people have trouble getting the drives to work. If you are going to replace the drive, do some research and be sure to get the best drive out of the ones compatible. There are 3-4 different drives in 360s and one or two are less likely to scratch your games...some weren't designed properly to play discs vertically.

Yeah... I was thinking a replacement with a quieter drive, however if it is going to be a pain in the neck to do all the flashing (and honestly I am not sure I have a machine here at home that has a SATA controller in it (laptops and old desktops) I'd have to take it to work and with the chance I might brick the DVD drive I am thinking if Nismotigerwvu can't help me with a "simple fix" for that issue then I might just shell out the 100 bucks to get it replaced.

Oh, and my Xbox has never been vertical... only Horizontal. (And honestly it might not even get 10 hours of playtime a month, which means it died a young death...)

I hear ya on the quieter drive, but I don't know if you'll have any luck. I just bought my 360 last year and it's still pretty loud. $100 to fix it isn't bad considering the drives themselves cost $44+shipping most places. The worst part is giving up your system for 2-3 weeks until Microsoft can get it back to you.

 

[dsity]

Since your changing drives and messing with the firmware....wouldn't Microsoft ban these consoles from xbox live. They ban consoles who are modded to play backups.

 

[Xsorovan]

Originally posted by: dsity
Since your changing drives and messing with the firmware....wouldn't Microsoft ban these consoles from xbox live. They ban consoles who are modded to play backups.

Hmmm, that is a thought... but I think the point of those is modified firmware from the original. In this case I would be using XBox hardware with XBox firmware, not moded firmware.

I am starting to think it might be worth the cost... (Although being able to say I "did it myself" has a very high appeal...)

 

[Xsorovan]

Originally posted by: Scarpozzi
I hear ya on the quieter drive, but I don't know if you'll have any luck. I just bought my 360 last year and it's still pretty loud. $100 to fix it isn't bad considering the drives themselves cost $44+shipping most places. The worst part is giving up your system for 2-3 weeks until Microsoft can get it back to you.

It's mainly the time... I figure my time is worth a lot, and all that, so I don't figure I would save a lot of money per se, it's the 2 to 3 weeks at MS that I'm not too keen on.

But they extend the Warranty another year when they do an install as well... might be worth it if something else is going to die...

 

[mugs]

Your Xbox 360 isn't (entirely) out of warranty. There isn't a single Xbox 360 that has no remaining warranty (at least in the United States). There is a 3 year warranty covering the RRoD, and the system hasn't been out for 3 years. Granted, you may only have 5 months left - but there is always the possibility that MS could extend it again if they haven't completely fixed the issue by then.

 

[nismotigerwvu]

Ok, here we go

http://www.anandtech.com/syste...howdoc.aspx?i=2610&p=2

Use that guide to crack open your 360 (assuming you have no warranty left there is nothing to void) and remove your optical drive. Remove the case from the optical drive (just a few screws, nothing too difficult). While you are in there, check to see if the magnet on the base of the center ring (what holds the disc in place) is in place. If it isn't (and more than likely stuck to the top of the metal shell of the drive) then oddly enough you are in luck. All you have to do is super glue that bad boy back into place, giving it time to dry and put it all back together. No replacement drives, no firmware flashes, none of that ugly stuff. Had this happen on my personal box and one of my friend's machine's (which interestingly enough happened right as we flashed the drive so the 360 was already opened). If you need anymore details (I'm going by memory on this and it was at least a year and a half ago) PM me.

 

[Xsorovan]

Interesting... seems like a project for the weekend.

Thanks for the notice on this!

 

[Codewiz]

Originally posted by: PieIsAwesome
You could always buy a clone DVD drive and replace the PCB with your old DVD drive's PCB to avoid flashing.

That is exactly what I did. Super easy. No flashing. Just swap out the PCB boards.

 

[Lash444]

More than likely its just the laser going bad. Let me guess, it keeps saying open tray...works for some things, but not all games. Or, at least it use to work like that until it went bad?

$20 for a new laser. There is a desolder point on it, remove that and put it in. Worked like a charm on mine.

 

[Xsorovan]

Originally posted by: Lash444
More than likely its just the laser going bad. Let me guess, it keeps saying open tray...works for some things, but not all games. Or, at least it use to work like that until it went bad?

$20 for a new laser. There is a desolder point on it, remove that and put it in. Worked like a charm on mine.

Yeah... sadly enough when lasers go bad they don't make loud grinding/crunching noises. (Or at least the lasers I have owned...)