Anyone ever replace a cd-drive on an xbox???
 

Low and behold, as soon as the news of the x-box 360 hitting the shelves in November, my current x-box crapped out.

It has one of the dreaded Thomson drives and up until a week ago, it ran like a dream. I did a little googling and found out that the drive is probably the problem and you can replace them.

So, the question is...has anybody done this before?

I have no problems opening up the x-box. I helped modify a friend's console (new hard-drive and mod-chip), so, no worries there. The worry is about the replacement part.

I can buy a replacement laser for about $20, but I'm reluctant to open up the actual CD-Drive to replace it. New fully encased drives (that I just plug in) are $50 + S&H from a branded site or $20 + S&H from a guy on Ebay whose selling a buttload of them shipped (his ad says) straight from Thomson.

So, like I said, has anyone done this before or should I just buy a new x-box and eat the extra cash it's going to cost?

I'd say buy a new drive from a wholesale place like newegg and install it. Buying a brand new XB isn't worth losing all your memory and paying the extra $150 (or however much it is now).

Can you put just any old drive in it?

I realize it has to be able to read DVDs, but will any generic drive do?

It has to be a special drive, the power connector is totally crazy.
My XBOX crapped out on me, but the drive is still good (it's a Samsung), see if you can find out if they are plug-compatible and I would probably be willing to part with it for shipping.

All the original drives are interchangeable with each other from what I've read, even considering the odd power connector.

I'll crack open the case sometime this weekend and see what's what.

Are you sure you'd be willing to part with it for shipping? I mean, the Samsung's are going for over $100 on the internet (new & used from what I've seen). I'm sure you'd be able to make a bit of money if you were to sell it to someone else.

Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the offer, but I don't like to keep people from making a bit of extra cash when they can.

PM me if you're still willing and we can hash out some details.

I swapped out my DVD drive when it crapped out and it was really easy. I just looked at a walkthrough on the internet and it took me like 20 minutes. The only problem is that you may have problems with the mounts. The current drive has a plastic mount clipped onto it, and I broke the mount while trying to take it off. Since the mount was broken, the new drive kinda sits in there a little crooked. Still works fine but I couldn't latch the top of the XBox completely on.

I can't remember where I bought the drive, but I got it online and it was like $80. Most were $100 but I searched for a while to find that one. You have to make sure the plug is XBox compatible, which means that someone had to have changed the cables on the drive, meaning it is more expensive than buying a regular DVD drive.

Yea I've done this several times before, though i've always used the original Thompson model that is used in x-box. This website sells every stock x-box part, as well as a bunch of upgrades:
http://www.llamma.com/xbox/Repairs/repairs.htm

Go to 'Parts in Stock' then go to 'Major XBox Parts' and scroll down a bit. They sell original Thompson DVD drives for 49 dollars a pop.

It is pretty easy to swap them. About the hardest thing is getting the x-box lid back on if you leave the metal heatshield on. That thing is a bitch...it gets hung up on EVERYTHING. I found it impossible to put the lid back on without taking the heat shield off. My X-box has been without the heat shield for over a year now and has had no problems, so it's not a big deal.

It is possible to upgrade your DVD drive with a better model, but if I remember correctly, you need to either do somethign to your hard drive to get the correct drivers onto it, or you need a modchip. This is a website I used to visit frequently when I was into modding my x-box (all I did was cosmetic and electrical mods), and they have a ton of tutorials for everything from installing a modchip to changing the color of the power LEDs. They have a bunch for updating your DVD drive if you want to: http://www.xbox-scene.com/

Thanks all very much.

Yesterday afternoon, I just broke down and ordered a new Thomson. It's an identical match to the one that's broken, so, I figure it'll be a cinch to replace. The site was trying to sell off like 80 of the Thomson drives, I managed to pick one up for $20 + S&H (brand new and unopened according the site...here's hoping), I imagine it'll be in by the weekend.

Maybe with a little luck, all my x-box problems will be gone in a few days.
*crosses fingers

call microsoft and bitch like hell. If you bitch enough you will probably get them to fix it for you. maybe you pay shipping but you could get it fixed for free.

just tell em that its not your fault they used shistey parts in your xbox

doubt they'd fix it since he's violated the waranty (by opening the case)

Yeah, the case has been violated, so I seriously doubt they'd fix it even if I could convince them to do it.

For those interested...

I got the part on Monday, replaced it in about 10 minutes and it's working fan-friggen-tastically.

6 bolts to remove the top of the case, three smaller ones to release the DVD drive and a little finagaling to pull the drive out. Man, the inside was filthy. It took a while to get the top of the case back on and I almost forgot the little decorative (X-Box logo) piece that fits on the end of the DVD, but it all turned out well.

Thanks for the information, fellows.