Xbox360 not reading discs!

[Zrooney]

I have an xbox360 that is fully functioning except the DVD drive.  I got it to the point where the drawer opens and closes, but the system refuses to read even a cd.  I have cleaned the lens with a little bit of rubbing alcohol and a q-tip with no results.  So should I just get a new lens( only $9.00), and if I did would it solve my problem of not being able to read a disc?

[SNAAKE]

the whole drive is probably dead. no point it trying to fix 'open tray' because even if you get it to work, it will break again. get a new drive from ebay. preferably a liteon. of course U need to be able to get teh drive key out from the original drive and flash the new drive with the same key. '

if you can get the exact same type of drive you have now then you can just swap out the PCB thats it.

[Zrooney]

Could you point me to a tutorial on how to flash the new Dvd drive with the original Dvd drives key so it is recognized by the Xbox360?

[SNAAKE]

www.xbox-scene.com
and...google

if its a lite on drive then you have to buy bunch of tools too. or you can have me do the work.


or if it has hdmi port then skip repairing the dvd drive and get it reset-glitched and play whatever from hard drive. you wont even need the dvd drive anymore. thats another solution.

[Zrooney]

Would you by chance know where to get a connectivity kit so I can power on the DVD drive without it being connected to the xbox?

[crashwg]

the whole drive is probably dead. no point it trying to fix 'open tray' because even if you get it to work, it will break again.

What's your source for this information?  I've repaired an "open tray" error with a new laser for $7 shipped off of ebay.  Should I be worried that it too will fail?

[SNAAKE]

personal experience I guess. depends on bad the situation is. I replaced lasers before but my drive probably had mechanical issues too and got open tray again. getting another same type of drive and swapping the pcb is a better option imo. its not even hard. for lite on drives all you have to do is solder 6 wires on huge contacts. those are very easy and no way anyone would screw something up.

[crashwg]

While this thread is mainly regarding laser issues I thought it would be a good place to bring up tray issues.  I've got 2 XBOXes and a 1 360 that wouldn't open when you pressed the button unless you rap on the top of the case.  Problem was a slipping belt.  I got some smaller belts off of ebay for <$3 for like 20 of them or so and cleaned the pulleys and all's well now.  You might be able to fix it by just cleaning your belt and pulleys with rubbing alcohol.

[northerngames]

first thing to do is run it with the lid off and put a locking ring on it and see if the disc even spins or at least take the lid off and spin the cd spindle motor to see if it moves freely or if it is locked or seems a little hard to spin.

if it is spinning the disk fine then see if the laser is moving back and forth as the worm motor gear teeth could be worn or it is like the spindle motor and feels hard to turn.

if there both good then grab a laser as the 3rd step.

you can throw a new laser in there and if the snake motor or spindle motor is shot it still will not read so I check them both before getting into the laser replacements.

when the drive tray dont open as mentioned above it is either a stretched / dry rotted belt or the open/close motor is shot and act's the same as above but usually still moves when broke but really slow when it moves

[Zrooney]

I know this sounds weird, but the reason the drawer would not open when I had the lid on it was the wires were not routed correctly.  And the laser was not firing because I had the ribbon cable in backwards.    But the other Xbox I have EATS my discs, any suggestions on that one?

[northerngames]

original xbox or 360 that is eating the disk?

is it causing a circle scratch on the disk and if so is it toward the center of the disk or more toward the outer part of the disk?

[Zrooney]

It was my xbox360, but I just ordered a whole new drive and low and behold it solved the problem! Now I just need to apply some thermal grease to the cpu and gpu because Microsoft put thermal grease AROUND them, but not on them.  What way would you say is the best way for getting the existing thermal grease off?

[SNAAKE]

see problem solved with ease..

Ive seen it all before. thats why I suggested new drive lol.

[backupguy]

The open tray error can be fixed by taking the rubber band out and sticking it in boiling water for 10 mins. Then take it out, dry it and stick it back in the drive.

Microsoft didnt put thermal grease "around the chips", its just that when you put thermal grease on the chips and then put the heatsink back on the paste is squished out and after a year or so of use it wears away due to heat.