'Unreadable Disc' Error! Help!

[SoupDoGG]

So I got the 'Unreadable Disc' Error, and I called up Microsoft, and they want $120 to fix it, and I'm not paying that. (this is on the original white Xbox 360 btw)

So I read some guides and watched some youtube videos, and I'm trying to do it myself. I originally thought that a magnet became unglued, and I'd just have to take it apart, and glue the magnet back on. I take it apart, and the magnet is still in place, so now I'm not really sure what it could be. I don't wanna buy a new Xbox, and I kinda wanna not buy a new drive or anything...

So if anyone can help me, like, evaluate the machine or something like that, and help me figure out what I need to fix, I'd be really grateful. Thanks!

I have it all apart, and the drive opened, so please respond here if you can help me, thanks!

 

[35g700]

You could try buying a new drive thats the same exact make and model of the one in your current drive. If you do that you have to take the original circuit board from the old drive (one that everything plugs into) and put it in the new drive otherwise your xbox 360 will get bricked.

 

[SoupDoGG]

I decided I'm just gonna sell it broken on eBay, how much do you think I can get for it?

 

[Yerfdog]

Tons of hate mail.

 

[C0RR0SIVE]

It isn't hard to fix if you do enough research and ask around, there is a good chance your laser lens has become dusty, you can take 91% medical grade rubbing alcohol and GENTLY rub the lens with a lint free swab, if that don't work, you can change the intensity of the beam via a POT on the laser, if that don't work, buy a new unit exactly like yours, and swap the logic boards on the units and there you go.

Most you will get out of a dead xbox that has RROD is $50, most on a console with a bad disc drive is probably less as a new drive is more expensive than the parts used to fix the RROD.

 

[SoupDoGG]

Tons of hate mail.

lol

And I don't think I really wanna bother doing all that. I'm thinking I'm gonna finally be getting Xbox Live, and It's $80 for a wireless adapter

so $80 + $60 = 140
New Xbox 4GB with Wifi built in (and faster) with another year warranty with no more RRoD=$200

$60 difference, but then I'd have a warranty(speaking of which, is there anyway I can buy a longer warranty? I don't want this one to get messed up too) and the adapter for Xbox Live

Maybe I can get like $20 out of this broken Xbox, then it'd only be a $40 difference, and I get a newer, better machine !

I don't really wanna mess around with it anymore, I already put it back together, I thought that I'd only have to glue a magnet on, but that's not the case anymore, and I don't know how to do alot of that stuff, might as well just get a new machine for Christmas

 

[C0RR0SIVE]

If you don't know, that is understandable, but when/if you get the new unit, just don't set it in an enclosed space, and you will be fine, the cd drive was old, and they do eventually die in all machines. I would personally go for the unit that has the huge hard drive, mostly because Reach wouldn't properly work on the 4gb models, and that could be a sign that a lot up upcoming games are far to much for the lower end units.

 

[SoupDoGG]

Yeah, I actually heard about that and other things on how the 4GB sucks right after I posted that, so I decided that I'm just gonna buy a 250GB, I got like $195, so I worked out a deal with my parents ( I'm too young to have a job you see) that I'll do work for them, like trim our trees outside(which really needs it), and other stuff like that, for money, and hopefully within a month or so I'll get that extra $105 and be able to buy it.

So now I'm wondering:

Can I pay more for a longer warranty? Like maybe GeekSquad will give me one if I buy it at BestBuy? I'm willing to pay more, my xbox had RRoD and now it has this error, I don't wanna spend my money, and come a year and one month, it dies...

Also, how should I go about keeping it in the best position? Just on the flat side(not standing up)? would ontop of my tv be okay? I don't really have anywhere else to put it besides on the ground right infront of my closet door...

And do you think my unreadable disc error could have been caused by just being old, or from being in a upward position ( like this http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2010/06/new-xbox-20100614.jpg ) I recently put it in that position to stop the cords from rubbing the paint of my wall >_<

Any other suggestions/tips on how to keep my xbox in good condition would be great! Thanks alot!

EDIT: Also, how much do you think I can sell the Power supply with the adapter cable for, and also the AV cable, I'll probably sell them as a pack, I'm hoping I can get somewhere around $15-$20 if I'm lucky 175 Watt Power Supply btw

Thanks!

 

[C0RR0SIVE]

If you sell any of it, either sell it locally to someone who wants to attempt the fix, or just post it up on ebay as a dead unit for $50 starting.

The new unit needs to lay flat, do NOT sit ANYTHING ON TOP of it, as it literally sucks in cold air from the side/top of the unit and cools off the processor/gpu, also, I would say it's just from age, the lasers in drives do wear out, and if it's an original unit, the drive really has served most of its life.

But let it sit flat down, on a non-electronic device, and keep all sides clear of heat sources or anything that can keep air from flowing around it, the newer units don't RROD, if they over heat what so ever, they power down and tell you why, the shutdown temp also seems to be a bit lower than the original units, and it also uses less power than older units so it don't get as hot.


Last but not least, there isn't really any way to get an extended warranty, the geek squad warranties are useless for the most part.