Orignal Xbox reads DVD's but not Games. What do?

Rookie1Rookie1
in Help Wanted!
Hey everyone,



So I just scored an OG Xbox on a trade, and as expected it is having disc read errors. Oddly, it plays DVD's just fine. I was also able to get Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow to boot up to the title screen, but then it gives me an error from there. It wont load any of the other games I have.  It has the original Thompson TMG600 drive, which I guess is the worst one to have.



So here is what I have done to "fix" the issue thus far -

- Cleaned the laser lens

- Cleaned the entire laser assembly

- Found a tutorial on how to adjust the laser pot. Adjusted it to 1.9k ohms as specified. Did not fix.

- Found another tutorial that said to adjust the pot to 3.7k ohms. Did that, no fix.



Seems like getting a new drive is around $100. I found a new laser for $26. Or I can gamble on an "untested" xbox on ebay for $25 shipped and hope the drive works.



Is there anything else I can do, or may have missed before I start shelling out moneys on this thing?



Thanks in advance.

 

Comments

  • SilverspoonSilverspoon
    Wrong forum. Should be in Help Wanted.
  • darkchylde28darkchylde28
    Are you sure the games that you've got are DVDs? I know with the PS2, at least, games were released on both DVD and CD, and there were lasers to deal with each, making it possible for one to go out and cripple the system as far as being able to read that type of game. It stands to reason that Xbox games would be made the same way, leading to the conclusion that one or the other of the lasers in your Xbox drive has weakened (possibly corrected by tweaking the right potentiometers on the drive to drive more power and restore laser strength). Since your system will play DVD movies, it would make sense that the CD laser is going (usually the one that goes in most dual format systems); games are just data, the same way DVD movies are, so it doesn't make a lot of sense for it to specifically reject *games* but not *movies* if they're the same type of discs.



    It's been a while since I've been into it, but I've also read about some PC drives being compatible replacements for the handful of officially used drives, so if you're not willing to take a chance on another Xbox for a working drive and don't want to go through the trouble of changing out the laser diode, you can always see if you can find some even cheaper CD/DVD drives to experiment with.
  • Boosted52405Boosted52405
    Oh man, this dreaded issue. I literally have a stack of OG Xboxes that have disc read errors or PSU issues. I used to really be into these ones, and when I was in high school or college, purchased a compatible DVD drive for like $75. The trick was that these drives are somehow configured specifically for the Xboxes they are installed on, and the PC drive I bought required some soldering to make it work for Xbox. I purchased that one because apparently it would play burned Xbox games once installed correctly. Unfortunately I ended up destroying the DVD drive due to crappy soldering skills. This is, or at least used to be, a mess to deal with.



    To ask, the $100 new drive - do you know if this is a plug n play option? I'm worried you'd buy it just to find out it isn't a drop in option - but maybe things have changed in the last decade. Curious to know other options myself.
  • Nes FreakNes Freak
    toss it, get another one. there are models with better lasers i think samsung based drives are the best
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