Xbox 360 Support Question

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Fix Me

Gawd
Joined
Mar 20, 2007
Messages
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Does anyone know if Microsoft will fix an Xbox 360 that has been opened? I got the unplayable disc error and was going to try and fix it myself since it's out of warranty so I did open it to take a look. However, after doing more research, I figured it would be best to send it to them so I put it back together and put the silver Microsoft sticker back on it. It was sent off earlier this week and received on Friday. Apparently, it's already on its way back to me and I'm worried that they saw it had been opened and are just sending it back without fixing it even though I paid them. Is that normal that it would be fixed so quickly? Anybody know? I've seen mixed answers with some saying, no they won't fix it and others saying, yes they will. Maybe it depends on the person who inspects it? It shouldn't matter since I'm paying them...
 
If the warranty label has been broken then they wont fix it unless you're very, very lucky. I believe you can still pay them to repair it, though you'd need to check.
 
So it would cost more than the $99 I already paid to have them fix it since I opened it?
 
Oh sorry I missed that bit. Well, if they did send it back to you unfixed you'll be getting your money back anyway.
 
Oh, they'd better give it back. :p So then what do I do with it, if that is the case? Sell it and my games and buy a PS3? :p
 
They will not fix it if it has been opened, or if they know it has been opened. The fix is pretty simple to do yourself though, so nothing to worry about. Just buy a new laser and replace it yourself. There's dozens of tutorials on the intraweb that will walk you through it step by step. Out of curiosity, you said you opened it to have a look yourself, but then decided to send it to them. Why? what did you find that dissuaded you from trying to fix it yourself, after you had already broken the warranty?
 
I thought I needed a whole new drive and I didn't want to mess with flashing my unique code from my old cd-rom to the new one. I was worried that Live might interpret it as a hack and ban my console. If you're sure a new laser will work, I'll just do that. Can I find those on ebay?

And on a side note, what the hell? Why would they not fixed an opened console? As crappy as the hardware seems to be (I've never had a cd-rom fail on me on any console or PC I've ever owned and this seems to be a pretty common issue), I would think most people would be opening them constantly to avoid $90+ repair costs. :confused:
 
Fix Me said:
And on a side note, what the hell? Why would they not fixed an opened console? As crappy as the hardware seems to be (I've never had a cd-rom fail on me on any console or PC I've ever owned and this seems to be a pretty common issue), I would think most people would be opening them constantly to avoid $90+ repair costs. :confused:
Click to expand...

Because most people open them to futz with the firmware, which moves any reliability issues from MS to the user. Far as replacing the laser, describe the problem a little more. Does it happen constantly or is it sporadic? does it happen with all different types of media equally (CD's, DVD's, Games,) or is it more specific to just games?
 
pigpen said:
Because most people open them to futz with the firmware, which moves any reliability issues from MS to the user. Far as replacing the laser, describe the problem a little more. Does it happen constantly or is it sporadic? does it happen with all different types of media equally (CD's, DVD's, Games,) or is it more specific to just games?
Click to expand...
That's a copout (and anti-piracy BS from MS), but I suppose I understand.

It's not sporadic, it happens with every disc I put in the drive, no matter what it is. All of my DVD's and games give me an unplayable disc error.
 
Fix Me said:
It's not sporadic, it happens with every disc I put in the drive, no matter what it is. All of my DVD's and games give me an unplayable disc error.
Click to expand...

Hmmm, then no, it's not guaranteed it is the Laser unit, though it definitely still could be. Is it actually giving an error pop up? Or is it just saying "unplayable disk" where it should be saying the name of the game? Put your ear up to it when you try and load a game. Can you hear it trying to spin up at all, Or does it immediately say "unplayable disk?" If you can hear it trying to spin up, how long does the spin last, and can you hear any beeping noises accompanying it?
 
It's saying unplayable disc where the name of the game should be. As for checking for noises, that will have to wait until it comes back to me. Since they didn't even have it a day, I'm sure they're sending it back since it was opened. I'll probably have it later in the week.
 
Alright, it's back. It sounds like it's trying to sping up, but just can't get going. It's not making grinding noises or anything like that. Does that sound like the laser or would it be something else?
 
Fix Me said:
Alright, it's back. It sounds like it's trying to sping up, but just can't get going. It's not making grinding noises or anything like that. Does that sound like the laser or would it be something else?
Click to expand...

It would be irresponsible of me to give you any specific advise on this problem without actually looking at it. Reason being, i don't want to tell you what i "think" the problem may be and waste your time and money searching, buying, and replacing parts. If you have the money and want to save yourself a lot of trouble and headaches, consider it a dead drive and buy a replacement. Having said that, if you are looking for the cheapest option and want to fix the drive yourself, and don't mind the challenge of troubleshooting, read on.

i have actually had this exact same problem myself. the nice thing for me is that i have two 360's, so i had the parts available to swap in and out until i identified the faulty component. next question about your drive: Is it weird at all about opening? Actually having to press the button multiple times to get it to open, or maybe having it open, but the disk area in the menu still recognizing it as closed? The answer to that can help with the next part.

I don't think it is the laser unit. Reason being, most of the time when the laser unit is damaged, the problem starts and gets gradually worse, not just all of a sudden. Sometimes it would recognize the disk, sometimes it wouldnt'. It would also probably be accompanied by occasional dirty disk errors. Having said that, it's still possible that it is, there's just no definite way to know unless you actually switched it out. Your problem lies somewhere between the logic board and the laser unit. I don't think your laser is moving at all. There's a lot of components involved there. Could be the logic board itself. It could be the drive motor. There's a little plastic piece that is screwed to the laser unit that makes contact with the drive rail. It has two little plastic grooves in the end that gear with the drive rail. They could be worn down. they could have gotten jarred loose and are sitting on top of the rail instead of underneath. There is a tiny spring that provides tension so that those grooves push up into the rail. That spring could have flown off. Going back to my solution for this problem. I was switching the laser unit out because of dirty disk errors and once i fired it back up i was getting your unplayable disk problem. After quite a bit of switching parts in and out, it turned out to be the ribbon cable connecting the laser unit to the logic board. They are very delicate and easily damaged if you aren't careful when disconnecting them. I must have crimped it when i was trying to push it back in. I replaced it and it fired back up no problems. And of course, the laser unit itself may just be completely screwed up, which could also produce this result.

Sorry for the long post. Hope some of it helps.
 
Thanks, that does help! I wish I had two 360's to switch parts out. That would make things much easier. :D Unfortunately, I don't have that option. It appears that if I can find the same model of cd-rom that I currently have and just switch the logic boards with the new drive, that will probably take care of it. Or, I might go through the trouble of buying a different model cd-rom and flash the unique id from the old one to the new one. I think I'd be better off with a different model cd-rom than with the one I'm using now.
 
Yep, the standard "You tampered with your Xbox so we're not touching it" letter and they're going to refund the money I paid them.

It does look like the laser isn't moving or at least not moving much. I took the magnet out from the top of the cd-rom housing so I could place it on top of a disc and watch what the drive was doing. The laser moves a little or at least tries to move, but doesn't move much. If I move the laser back towards the rear of the cd-rom, it is able to move forward to its "home" position, so it doesn't look like the motor or anything is completely shot, right?

And my cd-rom has no trouble with opening or closing. That's the one thing it does really well at this point. :p
 
Well, I just replaced my laser. I ordered a new one a few days ago because I had a good feeling that the laser was the issue. I was able to load up GTA IV, which is a very, very good sign. :D I haven't gotten to fully test it yet, but I have a good feeling that it will work (at least until the new laser dies). :p
 
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