icanswim70

As far as I’m aware, the major fail points are the laser (diode failure), and your capacitors. A Reddit user has thoroughly documented the replacement process for capacitors in the disc drive, including best places to order from. Being able to replace both fail points should ensure the drives continue to operate smoothly. https://www.reddit.com/r/originalxbox/s/Ui8BX547Ea

And you doubted me. Lol. While I know you’re still not pleased with the read speed and no Blu Ray Ability, seeing as I just solved a problem (with the help of a redditor) I’m hoping you can compromise and be happy only watching DVDs while I have my moment! By the way since a few of you folks are at me about the price point of the laser. There’s a replacement available through AliExpress for $22 CAD. Less than half the cost of the eBay one. https://a.aliexpress.com/_mOPNKy4

The entire point is that there is a solution available if you wanted

As some of you know, I have been working on a suitable replacement laser/diode for the original Xbox laser. While I have narrowed down the suitable drives (Thomson being the one that needs to be left behind) a replacement laser lens has emerged that works beautifully with the Phillips VAD6011/21 Drive. i did not discover this laser, but was made aware of it by a Reddit post. I am not sure of the link rules so I’m only going to link to my Reddit group where I posted about this in its entirety as I was able to complete the testing today! https://www.reddit.com/r/OGXboxDVDDriveRevival/s/bZ4mKqtrsn With the laser in production, it’s a great option for the foreseeable future, ensuring discs can be enjoyed!

… reflowing the solder didn’t work. I’m thinking either the value is wrong (650 nm @ 5mw) of perhaps this diode wasn’t using a red beam… I had a 360 on the workbench needing a laser replacement, and upon looking at the replacement laser it appears to be using the same diode as the OG!!! So my next venture is trying to get a value from potential third party manufacturers that could very well already have the information I need. Az for your question snapper: I use a super cheap soldering iron I bought to restore a pinball machine in 2018. But it does the job. I use a hakko FR 301 desoldering gun as it makes everything SOOOOOOOO much easier. And when you can only use one hand, every gadget helps! It’s Not too difficult, just takes patience and a steady hand.

So today was the day I finally did the swap. Not gunna lie, it took most of the day since I had to pull the laser, disassemble, install, reassemble, and finally test the thing. So 650 nm, 3 terminal diode, did not work, YET. The soldering is a PITA since I have about a millimeter to work with, and even less than that to cause a short. disc didn’t launch, it gave the usual error. I think my soldering may need a redo but it’s at least the first successful attempt from start to finish. Heres the pictures, if you see any problems please please please let me know so I can go back. If you can look past the one terminal that got away from me does the soldering look like it does the job?

Short answer is carefully. took me a few weeks to settle on a value since no one has attempted this before. When I found the suggested value based on what other electronics use, I found one that looks identical to the original. I have my throwaway game in case the value is incorrect. Just need to jump the trace in my picture before giving this a go.

You got it snapper.

So I have the replacement part, and got the terminals desoldered nicely. This particular laser has a ripped trace where the trace bends. I need to jump a wire for the trace with the arrow. That wire is between 2 solder points. When I look closely it appears they go to the same point (second picture). Does anyone know if I bridge the 2 points in picture 1 it will be correct?

Free entertainment ahead of the weekend, thanks Karen! I’m gunna keep on Happy Fixing!

Early gen 360s are easy to source. They have the yellow 12 pin cable already which is why I’m thinking along these lines. Zeroing the eeprom removes the “married to 360 problem” there’s an eeprom reader available now that can read eeprom an and plug into your computers usb port. It’s well documented that ide to Sata adapters work just fine. I can’t keep having this firmware discussion. OG OPTICAL DRIVE FIRMWARE IS AVAILABLE. You don’t need more unless you want the drive to do something funky like read blue rays as snapper wants. Relocating pins makes sense, and I’m wondering if there’s a voltage problem with a drive manufactured today. Otherwise, we have more resources available to fix this problem, not less. if you were to come at me with a modded project I’d be putting my efforts into modding the 360 OS to allow blanket backwards compatibility. For example, when I code a website and have it live for x amount of time, then don’t renew the domain, I don’t build a new website to relaunch my site, I simply register with another domain. The optical drive is the domain and the firmware is the website. Very simple. You may agree, you may not, that’s cool. Moving on. External drives would be of the same concept. Granted they would need to be rigged up with the 12 pin connector, but could be modified to plug into a board fitted with a usb port. Or a USB to controller port adapter… hope that clears up the thought process for you.

On a side note while I’m hunting for a value: if we took a 360 drive, zeroed the eeprom and installed it in an OG that also had a zeroed eeprom, the console should theoretically accept it, correct? It’d need to be flashed with the OG firmware as well… Also external optical drives has been swimming around my brain.

I know you have a bone to pick with the read speeds. I want to solve the no drive can read game problem first. Once we have a solution then we can work on upgrades. I still think a brand new drive should work. But some people don’t want to think outside the box. Replacement 3 pin diodes are available in abundance; I just need the correct nm value so I don’t short anything. Where’s beuller?!

Alright, a couple notable things: - those $&@#ing traces DISINTEGRATE - Specific to mine sacrificial laser, resistance reads 000-100. DOA. - every time I hit the legs with my desoldering gun, I was nervous about too much heat hitting the traces, causing another problem. SO. In order to successfully do this repair, it’s gunna need patience. To get the diode out, the part with the traces needs to be removed completely first. IM DETERMINED. That being said, I’m not 100% sure what resistance the replacement will need to be. Does anyone know? There was no model number as I had prayed

That’s the diode that has likely died, preventing the laser from reading the disc. Interestingly, I was able to clean the “crisp” off the traces going to the diode, meaning the traces are salvageable. But it appears the diode is glued in place… With all this being said, the laser actually looks like a fairly simple concept which I hope translates to easy maintenance. Here’s the picture of the cleaned traces!

Oops, here’s another angle.

One step at a time snapper. Walk first, then try to run. ANYWAY. here’s where I’m at -> Let me know if you see anything that looks suspect.

Youre correct in theory. But there’s a lot of doubt surrounding replacing the laser assembly. I feel like it’s easier to pop open a laser, remove the diode, google the model number, and pop in the new one than to engineer a new drive in its entirety. Very little knowledge and effort is needed to replace a diode. I do dozens of them in pinball machines all the time.

As prices of the parts I’m using have soared, I’m now trying to think broader. I just posted about it in my Reddit community, and the gears are turning again. A very brief google revealed most lasers die due to a diode. Why not rip apart the laser, fix the problem and get back to gaming?

Hey Aero, I’m late to the topic, but any chance you have another one for sale in 2023?

Bingo. Someone is already successfully wiring and installing a sata drive into the console. I personally think we’re a couple wires away. There isn’t a need to reinvent the wheel.

Modern DVD drives (e.g. a laptop's) work on a softmodded Xbox. Just found out. ###Context Why do I think this is significant? For a while now, I've been curious on how to **future-proof an Xbox (without hardmod)** if ever the Xbox's original DVD drive stops working. I've tried a [no DVD drive hack](https://www.reddit.com/r/originalxbox/comments/6z5b6k/run_xbox_wo_dvd_drive/) to no avail. Using a modern DVD drive is probably the closest to a solution (for now). There are plenty and people likely have one already. It worked on my Xbox which had [Rocky5's Xbox Softmodding Tool](https://github.com/Rocky5/Xbox-Softmodding-Tool) with Dual-Boot Disabled. No error 12. Probably works on stock Xbox too in which case you can use XboxHDM to install a softmod. ###Materials I used an Internal Slim DVD Drive (detached from my laptop) + [Slimline SATA to SATA adapter](https://www.amazon.ca/StarTech-com-SLSATAADAP6-6-Inch-Slimline-Adapter/dp/B009JXKQ9O/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1507813083&sr=8-1&keywords=slimline+sata+to+sata) + [SATA to IDE adapter](http://www.ebay.ca/itm/PATA-IDE-to-SATA-Converter-Adapter-for-3-5-HDD-DVD-LW-/182304258329?hash=item2a722e3919:g:6usAAOSwTA9X9dIz) (as a Slave). I powered it up using [Molex Y Splitter](http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Universal-4-Pin-IDE-1-to-2-Power-Supply-Y-Splitter-Extension-Cable-20cm/202036593293?_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIM.MBE%26ao%3D2%26asc%3D20170831090034%26meid%3Dbc6d82b955cd4c46bdf019f5b9c4ac27%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D181654798556&_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851) attached to the Xbox's power connector. ###Things To Consider **Boots w/o DVD power cable:** Xbox was able to boot without having to plug the Xbox's DVD power cable to anything. This is interesting because it means the Xbox uses the IDE connector--not the DVD connector--to prevent an error 12. **Boots a burned disc:** It launched HeXEn 2017 on boot. Sidenote, I was able to burn this copy using the same DVD drive + SlimSATA to SATA adapter + USB to SATA/IDE adapter. **Prevent freeze via DVD pin hack:** Anything that interacts with the DVD drive or D partition (e.g. XBMC's features, HeXEn 2017's features) will freeze the Xbox up unless you hack the DVD connector pins. I used this [pinout diagram of the DVD power cable's header](https://www.xbmc4xbox.org.uk/forum/download/file.php?id=58&mode=view) to help me. You can also use the [DVD connector directly on the motherboard.](http://brandonw.net/consoles/xbox/dvd.jpg) I then used jumper wires, resistors, and electrical tape: * Wire (+ 20K Ohm resistor) for Grounding--GND (Pin 12) * Wire (+ 10K Ohm resistor) for Power--5V->3.3V (Pin 10) * Wire to manipulate DVD status--TRAY_IN (Pin 7) * Wire to manipulate DVD status--CD_READY (Pin 6) I soldered the free-end of all four wires together, taped exposed wires, then poked their other ends into their corresponding pinholes in the DVD power cable's header. [More info here](https://www.reddit.com/r/originalxbox/comments/6z5b6k/run_xbox_wo_dvd_drive/dmthmpj/) thanks to /u/KaosEngineeer . You can play around with the two status wires by poking them into the other status pins (SER_DATA, TRAY_OUT, or NEJECT). It's not very useful though and only Pin 6 & 7 prevents the freezing. You can attach more status wires if you want to further experiment. Also, contrary to the first pinout diagram, you don't need to wire the other inactive status pins to ground. ###Cheap Alternative **DVD PCB:** If you don't need to read discs, but just want to bypass the initial DVD check, consider just buying a working DVD PCB (with an IDE or SATA interface). ###TL;DR Xbox DVD drive stopped working? No problem. Just use a spare one from your laptop or PC. *Direct Copy from Reddit User* Thats why I’m persistent

Another idea I saw on Reddit is using an external dvd drive. This seems more complicated though. Perhaps soft modding the console before the swap could allow further compatibility? As long as the finished product can read OG Discs.

Nothing gets done with a closed mind. I’m gunna keep going and posting here, and hop on discord and something will happen. You should know, I seldom get support in what I do. If you haven’t guessed, I literally can swim; I was the number 1 swimmer in North America in my race for over a decade. Every coach doubted me till I broke records and brought home medals. Thanks for the support I still think tweaking a new drive or a 360 drive is the best way. SATA to IDE Conversion and matching wiring on a new drive are the main problems I see. The firmware is already available for download and trial. If it’s not known yet if it works, how can it be disproven?