mjkthirdeye Posted May 23, 2022 Report Share Posted May 23, 2022 (edited) Hey guys, I've got a 1.2 that I spent the weekend revitalizing with all new fresh capacitors and upgrading the RAM to 128mb. Everything went well. I had Xblast reading all 128mb, and everything was working a treat. That is until I went to pull it apart for final disassembly to clean the case and everything up before putting all back together for the last time. I first removed the SATA/IDE adapter from the HDD, leaving the molex connector in place and holding it by the cables and moved the HDD tray out of the way. It was then, that I somehow managed to let the SATA/IDE adapter dangle enough for it to brush the PSU right along side the big 470uF 250v capacitor without realizing it. And in my excited haste, I had not yet disconnected the power cord from the Xbox... As soon as I saw the bright flash and pop that was the SATA adapter getting completely obliterated, my heart immediately sank. The adapter, of course, is thoroughly destroyed. The logic IC and one of the voltage regulators quite literally exploded. At that point, I knew I'd be extremely lucky if it was the only casualty. On the Xbox itself, it blew the T3.15A on the PSU. I had some spare 3 amp glass slow-blow fuses, so I rigged one up until I get the proper cylindrical fuse to replace it later this week. Surprisingly enough, the PSU still works fine, albeit with a slight discolored battle scar on side of the big capacitor... However the motherboard is a different story. It now 3 boot/FRAGs both with or without the X2.3b lite I've had installed for years present. Thinking I had fried it, not feeling too optimistic about fixing it, I harvested the newly installed RAM, and original RAM but subsequently reinstalled the original, after changing my mind on giving up so quickly. Anyway, I've tried all the troubleshooting methods I could with what tools I have at my disposal, which is not much. All the PSU voltages are good. I've swapped PSUs with another, just in case. One observation I made is that the MCPX X3 gets really hot very quickly, so I'm sort of thinking it's shorted and therefore also toast, and that's what's causing it to FRAG. In any case, I figured, maybe I'd share my story for your entertainment, and maybe even see if any of you had any suggestions on what else I might try to test before I go on the hunt for a replacement board and continue scavenging useful parts from this one. Edited May 23, 2022 by mjkthirdeye 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowlsnapper Posted May 23, 2022 Report Share Posted May 23, 2022 Dude, thatˋs heartbreaking. I hate when stuff like this happens. My heart goes out to you. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lina_Inverse_ Posted June 6, 2022 Report Share Posted June 6, 2022 I've got a spare MCPX X3 right here which has been reballed. Could send to you if you have the tools and the skill. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjkthirdeye Posted June 6, 2022 Author Report Share Posted June 6, 2022 Admittedly, I am not well equipped enough in either category to do BGA work just yet. It would be wasted on me. I do really appreciate the offer, though. As much as I would like to have been able to save that board, since it was from my very first Xbox bought back in 2003, I've already given up, robbed the board of useful components, and replaced it. Oh well. Thank you anyway! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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