Broken Xbox

[Superman]

I came across an Xbox with the following issues:

When you turn it on, it asks for the date (the way the Saturn does when the battery is dead)

It gets to the screen where it says Xbox and stops. It doesn't show any error messages on the screen nor the system itself, it just stops there.

There is obviously a problem, but since there are no error messages, I don't really have an idea of what the problem is. Has anyone ran into any issues like these and has an idea of what problems I am looking at?

[dendawg]

Sounds like you have a 1.0 Xbox....AFAIK, 1.0 is the only version that doesn't show error codes. It could be literally anything.

Does your DVD drive tray open/close?
Does your Xbox refuse to play music CDs?
Can you get into any part of the dashboard other than the date/time setup screen?
Are the console buttons displaying anything but green?

Here's a link explaining the light error codes.

http://www.xbox-hq.com/html/xbox-tutorials-163.html

[Superman]

I don't have the system, I saw it at a sale and was thinking about buying it.

To answer your questions:

1. Does your DVD drive tray open/close? The drive opens and closes fine.
2. Does your Xbox refuse to play music CDs? I didn't try any music CDs, so I don't know.
3. Can you get into any part of the dashboard other than the date/time setup screen? I was able to cycle around the dashboard options after the date/time setup. As soon as I put a game disk in it went to the Xbox screen and stayed there.
4. Are the console buttons displaying anything but green? As I mentioned before the system is showing a solid green light.

[SkiDragon]

That sounds to me like a bad DVD drive, which is easy to replace if you have a replacement.

[crazyjackcsa]

And hard to replace if you don't!

[Superman]

I have another Xbox with a hard drive issue, could I use the DVD drive from that? I know that one isn't version 1.0, would that be a problem, or would any Xbox DVD drive work?

[ProgrammingAce]

The DVD drive would be swapable, but there could be a few things wrong with this broken Xbox. It could be a failed mod attempt, the dashboard could be missing files, the bios could be corrupt, etc..

You'd really have to start from the top and work your way down the list.

[Superman]

Talking to the guy, I'm pretty sure it wasn't modded. As far as corruption issues, that could be possible, because I already have one like that and I know they are somewhat common.

I'll probably offer the seller a few dollars for the controllers, hookups etc., then see what is happening with the system.

[JohnnyBlaze]

Xbox DVD drives are notorious for malfunctioning. Especially the Thomson drives. It does freeze when a disc doesn't work. I know because that happened to me while playing "Getting Up". Try replacing the DVD drive first. If it works better after that, then you'll know it was the DVD drive.

For a bad HD, what exactly is wrong with it? If it can still boot up, try softmodding it. FTPing over the C and E folders, and make a new HD with Xbox HD Maker. There are plenty of guides how to do it online. You will need a computer with an EIDE connection(such as a Pentium II or III computer). EIDE drives are relatively cheap. I got one for my friend at Best Buy. It was a 500GB Western Digital(the most compatible on for the Xbox as it supports locking, which the XBOX needs in order to recognize it) and we got it for only $87 bucks, tax included.

I hope this helps.

[ProgrammingAce]

I still think it's pretty unlikely to be the DVD drive. If the drive's laser is fubar, it will still boot fine. If the drive's mainboard is damaged, the system will try to communicate for a few seconds, then dump out to the multi-language error screen.

The only time it should hang on the Xbox logo is if the bios is damaged, or if the dashboard files are there, but corrupt. The Xbox1 is a pretty solid machine that has a pretty good track record of reporting errors.

[JohnnyBlaze]

BTW, I overlooked this before: About the date thing, XBOX does that when it hasn't been plugged in for a few days. I've worked on quite a few XBOX's(for HD replacements and mods) and when it hasn't been plugged in for about a day or so, it asks for the time and date. Every one that I worked on, it does that.

[Pete Rittwage]

If the dash works but it freezes when you try to play a game, then it's probably just the DVD drive. Unfortunately, you'll need another, but they're all compatible so you could swap with another working unit and get it to boot enough to softmod it.

[repairdude99]

you can boot to 1 of the 4 bios copys if you
have the time and the skills and tools

soldering iron fine tip and two 8" long wires
have to be soldered to two test points....
if you want to know where email me
www.all-xboxrepair.com

[ProgrammingAce]

you can boot to 1 of the 4 bios copys if you
have the time and the skills and tools

soldering iron fine tip and two 8" long wires
have to be soldered to two test points....
if you want to know where email me
www.all-xboxrepair.com

Or not, because that doesn't make any sense.

[TheDomesticInstitution]

Or not, because that doesn't make any sense.

I don't know, I'm inclined to believe spamdude99.

[JohnnyBlaze]

If the dash works but it freezes when you try to play a game, then it's probably just the DVD drive. Unfortunately, you'll need another, but they're all compatible so you could swap with another working unit and get it to boot enough to softmod it.

Yeah, just don't get a Thomson drive. They suck!

The best DVD Drive to get is a Samsung.

http://www.xbreporter.com/xboxdvddrivecomparison.php