Whats wrong with my XBOX?

Well, I fired up the ol XBOX for the first time in about 2 months. Everything seemed OK. Then after a few online matches of SFAC I seemed not to be able to load a match up online. If I eject the game and put it back in it will work for a match or 2. Same thing with halo2 and chaos. I keep getting this noise, sounds like the laser eye. Reminds me of the sounds i get from my turbo duo when u insert a cd and press run. A kind of techy scrachy noise.

If some can explain to me whats up, and what I need to get to fix this I would appreciate it. I really think my laser eye is going out. This seems to be a older XBOX. It came with a oldstyle controller.

Get yourself a new Samsung replacement drive for it, and you'll probably be fine. I think you can get them off of ebay.

When my older launch system took a dump (stopped loading dics/Disc Read Error) I opted to sell it after getting no real help at another site to repair it..
(A thread I can't seem to locate)
I wanted to fix it because it has so many game saves on it..a ton..

I put it on Ebay for $50.00 and got a quick bid..I was just going to buy a new one..
....I then came here found a topic and a member showed me an Ebay link to get a new drive.(Sweet!!)
(Another thread I can't seem to locate)
I cancelled the Xbox auction quick,bought a new drive and the system is back up and running.

Anyway the Thomson drive was cheap..It cost me like $30.00 to get this Xbox running...I play this system everyday.
Once in a blue the drive gives me a problem because they suck but it's still working..
If this drive takes a dump I'll buy another..
I took my old drive and sold it on ebay(listed broken) for $10.00
Did an Ebay search XBOX Thomson and found several..



Why does my Xbox sound like a cappuccino machine
http://www.neo-geo.com/forums/showthread.php?t=112474&highlight=Xbox+Disc+Read+Error
http://www.neo-geo.com/forums/showthread.php?t=92103&highlight=Xbox+Disc+Read+Error




If you can get a Samsung replacement drive as galfordo said,get that instead.
My question is..are they a direct plug in to a system with a Thomson..?

Thomson Drive

You probably have an old Thomson drive, they are prone to going bad, sometimes over a couple of weeks or a couple of years... I suggest getting a Samsung or Philips drive from ebay, the Philips will be cheaper and has a "good" track record, but will only sometimes recognize CD-R and the DVD-/+R media. The Samsung has a "Great!" track record and will recognize and play virtually all media types but will probably be double the Philips price. You could of course roll the dice and go with a replacement Thomson drive, and while the rumor is that they are now better, I still see a good portion of Thomson drives fail over the other 2 makes.

Let me know if you have any questions.... the other options are of course that you send it to me and I can fix it for you, but it'll be cheaper (and quicker) to do it yourself. If you need any pointers, let me know.... I've fixed many an Xbox.


Mikey

chris1 said:

If you can get a Samsung replacement drive as galfordo said,get that instead.
My question is..are they a direct plug in to a system with a Thomson..?

Click to expand...

Umm, i think you are asking if there are different cords etc between the Thomson and Samsung drives??? If so, the answer is no, as long as you get a Samsung drive that is either the native "made for xbox" drive, or a modded upgraded Samsung drive that has been converted.

Out of the 2, I strongly suggest getting the Samsung drive made specifically for the xbox, that way you don't need to cut away any of the plastic pillars inside you machine to get it to fit. If you are looking for a Samsung drive on ebay, be careful, there are some sellers out there that use very "grey" language, and its easy to misinterpret what they are saying.

Mikey

seeing as the xbox is a Pentium 3 700mhz with a GeForce 3 gfx card and 64mb DDR ram its a computer all integrated into one mother board.

do the DVD/CD drives connect to the board via IDE ATA cables like computers do or does it use some kind of specially made cables?

lachlan said:

seeing as the xbox is a Pentium 3 700mhz with a GeForce 3 gfx card and 64mb DDR ram its a computer all integrated into one mother board.

do the DVD/CD drives connect to the board via IDE ATA cables like computers do or does it use some kind of specially made cables?

Click to expand...

Both the HD and DVD drive connect to the mobo via a regular IDE cable... nothing fancy, the only thing that makes the hook ups unique is the power into the DVD drive, its a smaller connector, not sure on the connector name, but it's different.... The HD hooks up the same way any other regular IDE HD does to a PC. Only one IDE controller unfortunately.

FYI, do not try to put a regular DVD drive in the xbox.... first it won't read the discs, and if by chance you do get it to read the discs, but you have to Y cable off of the power hooked into the HD, it will cause problems for the power supply.

Mikey

Is the drive somethig I could replace myself?

I am guess i just pull the old one out and slide the new one in.

If i replace my drive will I still be able to play on xbox live?

Can someone point me to a good auction for a drive?

mykockle said:

Umm, i think you are asking if there are different cords etc between the Thomson and Samsung drives??? If so, the answer is no, as long as you get a Samsung drive that is either the native "made for xbox" drive, or a modded upgraded Samsung drive that has been converted.

Out of the 2, I strongly suggest getting the Samsung drive made specifically for the xbox, that way you don't need to cut away any of the plastic pillars inside you machine to get it to fit. If you are looking for a Samsung drive on ebay, be careful, there are some sellers out there that use very "grey" language, and its easy to misinterpret what they are saying.

Mikey

Click to expand...

Thank You..

greedostick said:

If i replace my drive will I still be able to play on xbox live?

Can someone point me to a good auction for a drive?

Click to expand...

If you replace just the CD drive you will be able to play on xbox live..(As what you need to do..)

All my settings were still there/saves etc after just changing the CD drive.


............
I have to see if I can locate the sellers auctions as he was Great to deal with..

greedostick said:

Is the drive somethig I could replace myself?

I am guess i just pull the old one out and slide the new one in.

Click to expand...

Well, I think it's a little tougher than just a slide, but I had a friend who changed out his drive with no problems, and he's no video game hacker type. You shouldn't have any problems.

I did mine myself...(It's easy).The saddest thing was seeing the Xbox sitting there with no drive in it as I took it out as soon as I ordered a new Thompson drive..

I was using my newer Xbox to play games but It doesn't have much game saves on it like my old one..(most that can't transfer via memory card)

Fixing my old Xbox was a must..
There are six Hex type bolts on the bottom of the Xbox..4 under the rubber feet and two under the stickers near the center..
It's either 2 or 4 of them inside to remove the drive..

I have/had this tool set to do the job..Everything about it helped..Getting to the hex bolts inside and putting them back in.
3.8m 4.5mm security bit set NES SNES SEGA tool kit set Item number: 8202551245




...........................................................................

This is the Ebay seller I got my "Thomson" from..
aliuy

PM..

The Hex Bit says T-20 on it....I think you can buy this in a hardware store...or online.

I guess that's Tork bit 20

(Over Xbox)

Torx

You will also need a smaller torx bit for a couple of small screws inside.... Torx 15 or 10 should work.

It's easy to switch it out yourself....

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=20385&item=8202664054&rd=1 http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=20385&item=8202660007&rd=1
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=20385&item=8200732057&rd=1

If these end before you get to them, just search ebay for "xbox dvd drive". There are a ton of them.

http://dwl.xbox-scene.com/~xbox/xbox-scene/tutorials/xenium-s-adaptor.pdf

right click & save as to download, the file is only 800 kb. Just use the disassembling xbox part of the tut and your in business. Good luck .