XBOX "blue" screen of death
 

So I turn on my XBOX tonight to play a little NCAA 2005 and the fucker boots up the "blue" screen of death. Error code 12 and tells me to call Microsoft. I searched online for what error code 12 is, and it says "12 - kernel - DVD parameters (PIO/DMA)" I have no clue what that means or if this is the only problem. So if someone does please let me know. What pisses me off more is, I can't even take the game out!!! Anyways, I have 3 options and I need your help to decide. 1 - Ditch the piece of shit and buy a new one (I'd rather not fork up the dough or loose all my files). 2 - Call Microsoft and get raped up the ass by repair fees. And 3 - Assuming it is just the drive that is shot, go on eBay, buy a new drive, and repair it myself. So if anyone has been through this pain of your XBOX dying and can help me out your assistance would be greatly appreciated.

Call Microsoft. I think the number is 1-800-4MY-XBOX (you should check to be certain), I've never even heard of a BSOD with the Xbox. You can't just buy any DVD-ROM drive and install it into your Xbox either, you should check http://www.xbox-scene.com/ for information about them (and various errors), you can also check their forums because many people there sell replacement parts and/or offer repair services.

Or if all else fails, contact this guy. :p

http://www.tfproject.org/tfp/showthread.php?t=69564

Shit dude,

Blue screen of death on an XBOX??? First I've ever heard of it.


And you can't eject the disc? Wow. I'd probably try and fix it. I've seen people so some crazy mods with an xbox. Haven't tried to do any on mine but it looked kind of easy.

Good luck on a solution. Sorry I can't be more help.

Oh yeah, there is a little hole near the actual DVD tray, you can bend a paper clip straight and push it in to manually eject the tray.

Wow...and to think all those pre-XBox-release jokers should now be considered prophets.

I'm sure you've heard it before, but, "That's Microsoft for ya!"

The all too famous blue screen of death... who would've thought!

Well leave it to Microsoft to do just that...

It is a "blue" screen of death. It is actually black with green writing instead of the traditional blue and silver. But it is the same thing, the damn thing locks up and there is no way to avoid it. www.xbox-scene.com talks all about the error messages you can get.

And Omega, I have looked everywhere for that hole, I can not find it, I will look again in the morning but I think I will have to take it apart to get the CD back. And I will call Microsoft in the morning just to get an estimate. Thanks all for your help, any more advice would be greatly appreciated!

Ctrl + Alt + Delete :P

hahaha, I wish I had someway to override that screen...

I called Microsoft and they are charging me 79 dollars plus shipping to repair it. So I figured I'd just pay it since I will probably get a new XBOX out of it. Thanks all for your help!

you really should take a video of it first, then post it on the internet

then send it in.

Hey dude, I dunno if you've shipped it out already or not, but it might be worth checking this out. Basically it says this error message means the unit is having problems communicating with the DVD drive. Some things you can try are, opening your box and reseating the IDE cable that connects the drive to the mother board. You might even want to try replacing the cable. If that doesn't work, it means your DVD drive might be shot, which you're going to pay about $65 to replace. I'd say if you're still under warrenty, and you've already tried playing with the cable, then send it back to Microsoft. That way, if it's something worse than a shot drive, they'll be able to fix it.

If you look closely a little to the right of the #2 above the second controller port, you can see the little manual DVD eject hole.

punx-

If you haven't sent it back yet, and can open the case without making it obvious (voiding warranty), you can check the IDE cable. It sounds as if either:

a) The power cable is loose or the DVD drive is dead, or

b) The IDE cable came slightly out of it's socket.


The PIO/DMA error simply means the BIOS cannot talk to the DVD drive. It could be more serious, but more serious problems would generally prevent the Xbox from turning on. I don't want you to unnessecarily void your warranty, but on the flip side, it might save you $80. *shrug*

Heh, and Church, thanks for the plug... glad to see people noticed the thread. This type of thing is another reason I'm taking "broken" Xboxen... to help people from really HAVING broken Xboxen when I can find a fix for a common problem. The things are basically PCs... and I've done PC repair for YEARS... :o)

Here's a new drive on Ebay for $35. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...tem=8132620015 I bought one from these guys a few weeks back. It shipped the same day and arrived in two days. Nice guys to deal with.

So funny story, I went to go take a picture for you guys to see, and the thing turns on. I don't know why or how. So now the question is do I beg Microsoft to take the charge off my credit card or do I just send it in. The thing has successfully started up twice but I haven't had any time to fool with it. I have this feeling the second I cancel my repair, it will just break again.

I wouldn't get that DVD drive from eBay someone linked to. Its the piece of shit Thompson DVD drive that the first generation Xboxes have, and tend to die out pretty easily.

The Thompson is what I have on this model, so I know not to repeat that mistake again...

The Thompson isn't really as bad as people claim. It's the philips drives that are terrible - and unfortunately that's what I have in my xbox.

My first xbox was a "release day" model and had the thompson drive in it. It lasted for 2 years before it started going bad. I think a combination of chain smoking while playing and that my wife considers dusting the house a chore that's beneath her as factors in it going bad. My son bought an xbox a year later and he got the good samsung drive in his. When I bought the 2nd xbox to replace my bad one it ended up having a thompson drive in it too. Just remember that the drives are not interchangable so if you go out and buy a samsung drive it may not work in your xbox. Best solution is to just buy the same make of drive and put it in. I think it took me 10 minutes to take the xbox apart, replace the drive and put it all back together. You will need torx drivers to take it apart tho.