Sam
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Has anybody had any experience of this?
I am considering buying a friend's old 360 60GB but she said the drive only reads things 4 times out of 10 so I'm guessing the laser is knackered.
I did a brief Google search and discovered that you can use a normal PC DVD drive but have to do some l33t hax0r firmware modifications to the new drive.
Is it fairly simply/fail proof or should I just buy a drive that is specifically for the 360?
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N3CRO
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Never looked into using a PC drive but I do know that if you change the drive to a non standard one to your console ie: if it came with a Samsung and you change it to a BenQ then Microshaft can detect it and you get banned.
You can spoof the console into thinking its a standard drive but I think thats detectable now also.
If I was you, I'd find out what make the drive is and buy one the same or buy a RRoD'd console with the same drive. This is what I did after my drive stopped reading discs.
You can get them off eGay for around £25.
[Edited on 15-03-2011 by TheNobleOne]
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Russ
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Brett will fix you up
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N3CRO
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It's unfortunate that it is not this simple. The problem is that ALL 360 drives have a unique firmware identifier that must match what is stored in the firmware of the unit in order to function. Microsofts way of making it harder to fix them yourself.
This guy has a very good point.
[Edited on 15-03-2011 by TheNobleOne]
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Brett
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Yeah, DVD drives are shit to change because you need to change the dvd key, etc. If you've got the right gear tho it's no big deal, software is free after all.
You can get a bit more life out of the failing laser tho, look on youtube on how to 'tweak the pot'. (edit: not sure there is vids on youtube about it actually, but done it several times myself if that's the road you wanted to go down). Can last ages or very little, depends how low you have to make the resistance on the laser for it to read again.
Thing is, you buy this cheap 2nd hand one that's already clearly failing, it'll only end up costing you in the long run. Get a new slim imo, Sam.
How much is she charging out of interest? If it's more than £20-30 then it's not worth it.
[Edited on 15-03-2011 by loafofbrett]
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Sam
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Hmmm...
I saw on eBay you can buy the actual replacement laser units, are they simple to replace or should I just not go there? 
Brett she wants £60 for it, but it comes with 2 wireless controllers and 4 games plus the box/manuals etc. etc. Says she's had it since new and it's never been online (so isn't banned from XBL).
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Brett
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My only issue is, if the laser's going then it can't be too new, so it's anyones guess when the GPU will give up too.
Replacing the laser would be easy enough I suppose. Can't remember how easy it looked to do the ribbons tho, never went that far as it's easier to tweak or replace the entire drive. You'd just need to make sure it was for the right drive manufacturer, but you knew that already.
As for the deal, unbanned should go without saying, banned ones are worthless imo, to me anyway. 4 games, which I'm guessing aren't new will be a few quid at best, depends what they are. If it's current games still with value like Black Ops then maybe. They're only worth it if they're games you'd play, surely?
Wireless controllers are £10ish usually 2nd hand. Official 60GB drive'd set you back £10-20.
The thing is, I used to buy broken xbox's from a fiver upwards on ebay. For something like you've got on offer I'd pay no more than £25. I could only get £60ish for them fully working!
For piece of mind, I'd want the warranty. If you didn't mind an old shape xbox then you could pick up a brand new arcade for a similar price with warranty.
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N3CRO
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Yeah, she may have had it since new but it still could be up to 5 years old.
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Sam
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Oh well, it still works out cheaper than a new Slim with smaller capacity TBH.
I'd also mod the heatsink so the GPU doesn't cry and display that lovely RROD on the box.
I reckon even if I sold it in bits I'd still get back what I'd pay for it plus more.
What sort of warranty did these have new out of interest?
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Brett
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Original white xbox had 3yrs against RROD, otherwise standard 1yr like the new ones.
They still break with the screws and paste changed on the GPU mate. The GPU isn't the be all and end all either. RAM also comes loose, as does HANA chip and the rest. First gen 360's are pretty prone to problems. I'd check what board it has if I was you, as earlier ones like xenons have different heatsinks, etc. and are more prone to failure.
Honestly tho, if you're going down the 'broken road' and replacing the heatsink screws etc, you may as well get one for a tenner on ebay if you're concerned about cost.
[Edited on 16-03-2011 by loafofbrett]
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dan_m1les
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Just buy a new one? so much less hassle?
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N3CRO
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Tbh, I don't think there is any permanant fix for RRoD or at least not from the research I did when trying to fix one of mine.
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Sam
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Is the RAM just slotted in like on PC motherboards or are they soldered on?
She mentioned at the time that it's still got warranty on it, but I honestly don't know how old it is (I suppose I should have asked this!  ).
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Brett
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Soldered on, little things.
Date'll be on the back. Seems strange having warranty yet her not sending it back about the DVD drive, I assume she means it's still within the 3yr RROD one.
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Sam
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Yeah I think so. She said to me if it doesn't sell she'll just make it overheat so MS give her a replacement 
She hasn't got back to me yet about it so maybe she's changed her mind
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Brett
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quote:
Originally posted by Sam
She said to me if it doesn't sell she'll just make it overheat so MS give her a replacement
Not a bad idea actually. Mine came back and said it'd had the motherboard and dvd drive replaced. I assume it's easier for them to just stick in a new drive with the key relative to the board as there was nothing wrong with my DVD drive. Might be worth you buying it after all if you can do that 
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Sam
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Would they not need proof of purchase before doing any warranty repairs?
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Brett
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Not that I recall. It's simply down to manufacture date iirc. They just ask you for the serial off it.
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Sam
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Might chase her up about buying it then in that case!
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Brett
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You never mentioned what games they were? You best get Black ops so I can shoot you Make sure she gives you the headset too, although they're only cheap anyway.
EDIT: Oh, and with regards to the warranty thing, obviously the warranty sticker must be present and not broken too lol. You can check by clipping the faceplate off.
[Edited on 16-03-2011 by loafofbrett]
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Sam
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IIRC she said GTA IV + Ballad of Gay Tony expansion pack (I think), FIFA 10, James Bond Quantum of Solace and Forza 3.
Yes I would quite like to get Black Ops
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Cole
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And if she has registered the xbox inher name then you won't have any warranty
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N3CRO
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quote:
Originally posted by Sam
Would they not need proof of purchase before doing any warranty repairs?
Never asked me for it when I sent it back the first time with a buggered GPU (not RRoD)
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Claire
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My disc drive died about a year ago. I took the xbox apart and took the old drive out, then bought a new one off ebay with the same part number. AFAIK there are slight differences and you need to get the same model, I could be wrong on that though.
All I did was switched the circuit board from my old drive onto the new one. It's a few wires (soldered) and a couple of screws IIRC.
Physically fitting the drive is easy, I would find a youtube video showing how to open the xbox case if you haven't done it before or you may snap clips.
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Ojc
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quote:
Originally posted by Claire
My disc drive died about a year ago. I took the xbox apart and took the old drive out, then bought a new one off ebay with the same part number. AFAIK there are slight differences and you need to get the same model, I could be wrong on that though.
All I did was switched the circuit board from my old drive onto the new one. It's a few wires (soldered) and a couple of screws IIRC.
Physically fitting the drive is easy, I would find a youtube video showing how to open the xbox case if you haven't done it before or you may snap clips.
I like you.
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