ninja gaiden black + Old XBOX = New parts???

[Otraotaku]

i got ninja gaiden black for free at EB games when i returned my DS on a waranty, and when i popped it into my xbox it was fine for 2 days, but after awhile it would start to freeze, im like heh, ive had this problem before. but after awhile it got to the point where it would tell me the disk was damaged every 2mins after startup. i checked around and alot of people have had this problem with newer games. all i can say is... WTF?  and since my Xbox is god knows how many years old, i cant get help from them, even since ive opened it many times.

[pointdablame]

your DVD drive may be on its way out

[DarkBubble]

Microsoft went with three different manufacturers for the DVD drives on the Xbox, Thompson, Samsung, and Phillips.  The Thompson brand DVD drive just flat has trouble with some games, namely Still Life, GTA Vice City, and I believe KOTOR II.  There are more, but I don't know which.  I've seen it said elsewhere that the Thompson is probably the best as far as reading copied media though.

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

To this day, I've never actually looked to see which mine is.  I'm pretty sure that I have a Thompson, as Still Life crashes on me at the same spot every time.  If/when the price drops, I'll probably grab a new one for Live and mod the hell out of my original.

[pointdablame]

There are actually 4 manufacturers for Xbox dvd drives.   Thompson, Samsung, Phillips, and Hitachi.

Thompsons are *usually* the most trouble, and less likely to read copied media.  Some of the newer ones are very good with copied media however, and most can be tweaked to read better than normal.

Phillips are good all around drives, and have decent media recognition. I've never had one personally.

Samsungs are arguably "the best" , specifically one version(I believe is it SDG-605b?  its been a while).  This version will read damn near anything you throw at it.  I have a Sammy in my main Xbox right now and it's awesome.

Hitachi drives seems like good all around drives as well.  i have one in my secondary box and it reads -R DVDs with no problem.  I haven't really tested it much as its a media box, not a gaming one.

I had a Thompson die on me, but it was decent while it lasted.  I personally like the Sammy drives the best though.

[gonzobrian]

You know my xbox has stopped playing almost all new games.  Plays back ups well but not new games.  I though xbox had implemented some new anti theft devices.  You think my drive is just going out?

[pointdablame]

You know my xbox has stopped playing almost all new games.  Plays back ups well but not new games.  I though xbox had implemented some new anti theft devices.  You think my drive is just going out?

yup, its possible.  You can try adjusting the laser or pick up a replacement drive on Xbox-Scene.

[gonzobrian]

Cool I see they are around $37 on ebay. 

[markrvp]

I can confirm this as a DVD Drive going out.  I had the same problem on my XBOX which I bought at midnight on the original XBOX launch.  New games wouldn't play, but old ones would.  I replaced the DVD drive and everything worked.

[Otraotaku]

for the record mine is a phillups, and has completely refused to play ninja gaiden black after the first 3-4 levels. but also my friends 360 wont even boot up the first level. hmm... Xbox repeating the tradition of pissing off gamers with multiple brand drives on a console?

Edit:, btw Samsung drives are going on ebay for around 50$ i couldnt imagine why though... 

[clanggedin]

FYI.. Thompson drives will not read CD-R media, but they will read DVD-R media. I was mdodding an Xbox for an Uncle last weekend and forgot this info. Took me a while to figure out why it wasn't reading the disks.

I had to re-burn Slayers to DVD so I could get things installed.

[custard80]

I had similar problems with my samsung drive glitching and dirty disk errors in project gotham 2 and others. I followed the tutorial here.

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

and it has worked perfectly since. The lens was dirty and no amount of disk cleaners were clearing it.

Give it a go, it might just save you some money.

[gonzobrian]

I can confirm this as a DVD Drive going out.  I had the same problem on my XBOX which I bought at midnight on the original XBOX launch.  New games wouldn't play, but old ones would.  I replaced the DVD drive and everything worked.

Thanks markrvp.  Also got mine when the first came out.  Could not wait to play Halo.  Thats good news my kid keeps getting ticked when we try to rent spong bob or cars and then game will not work.