Death and Ressurection of an XBox

So last night I was in the mood to play some Halo2 on Old Man Mafia clan night. I know as radical and unbelieving as it sounds I actually WANTED to play Halo2 and not COD2 last night (several members of my clans jaws have just hit their keyboards :) ) ;; ;; So I switch over my network and 5.1 cables from my 360 to my newly skinned Xbox hit the power button walk away for a minute to get a frosty adult beverage and come back to the XBox main menu....strange because I swore my Halo2 disc was in there. ;; No problem pop open the tray...oh it is in there?! ;; Close tray wait for Halo2 to load...nothing still at main menu. ;; Repeat about 10 times..doesnt sound like the disc is spinning up. ;; WTF...I baby this thing its sat on a shelf 99% of its life! ;; A ;; mild panic sets in....I purchased my Xbox in Feb 2004, any implied or stated warranty is long gone. ;; This is the same situation many of us are in with original XBoxs: warranty long gone and a nice little game collection amassed that either isnt backwards compatible or if it is has major issues (Halo2). ;; So its at this point where you start considering options: 1. replace with new or used Xbox 2. send for repairs to MS 3. be adventerous and try to repair it yourself ;;! ;; In case you havent noticed lately (like me) you can no longer purchase a new Xbox at any of the major chain stores online or instore unless its left over stock. ;; ;; ;; Refurbished/used system are about $100 at Eb/Gamestop, not really an appealing option for a console I play a few times monthly. ;; I called MS support and they informed me that its $80 for repairs, and the repaired system only comes with a 90day warranty. ;; Not a good option either, although replacing from EB/Gamestop is looking more appealing because I know I can get an instore or extended warranty. ;; Not satisfied with either option 1 or 2 I start googling "xbox DVD drive issues". ;; I found a really good sight that has some nice step by step tutorials on trouble shooting XBox issues and sell replacement parts, ;; llammas (yes- they also do sell mod chips and do modding , but they are one of the few vendors that sell replacement parts). ;; ;; The first thing I noticed was that a replacement drive is $60 and that they are very easy to install. ;; I knew the issue was the DVD drive because I could hear it try to spin the disk, but it wouldnt. ;; So this is the point where there is no turning back...go and buy a new system or remove the stickers, crack that case open and void my system from resale or MS repair....Being a bit computer savvy I decided to take the road less traveled...I opened the case!  Now one warning here this really does eliminate your console from resale on eBay, to EB/Gamestop and kicks in the really high priced service plan from MS.

Once open it looks just like any old computer and I quickly had the DVD drive out and disassembled. ;; No obvious defects ie; dust loose parts. ;; So I reassemble the DVD drive with the top cover off, plug in the system and start tinkering. ;; Everything appears to be working except for that initial spin to get it going up to speed. ;; Start tinkering with the drive wheel while its trying to spin up. ;; After about 5 min its starting to do half spins, I just keep slowly rotating the wheel in the proper direction while popping a disc in and out to see if it spins. ;; A few moments later it sputters then starts whipping that baby around at full speed...ITS ALIVE!!! ;; Anxiously watch TV screen to see if its actually reading and VIOLA!! I am greated by that all to familar guitar wail that signals Halo2 is loading. ;; I have a warm fuzzy feeling and briefly shed a tear of joy as my XBox ressurects itself from the dead. ;; Everything works perfectly, I honestly have no idea what the issue was. ;; Im not sure if the spin motor just got stuck or the last time I took it to a LAN it got bumped and knocked something off kilter. ;; either way as long as it works and I can continue to play some of XBox games when I get nostalgia I dont care. ;; Id forgotten how cool Crimson Skies is!