Fix Original Xbox Disc Read Error
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 25 ส.ค. 2024
- We picked up a used original Xbox and some games from a viewer... disk read error. Let's fix that!
Music:
We Are One by Vexento / vexento
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Thanks guys for putting this together. I must have watched this video 20 times over the past few weeks while trying to address my disc read error(s) on my V1.0 with a Thomson drive. I had 5-6 stubborn games that would not read at all, and some that caused issues during gameplay. Started with the lens/prism cleaning method with alcohol and no positive results. Then attempted the adjustment using the multimeter (this gave me an excuse to buy a new tool that I did not have). This seemed to yield slight improvements, but still had games that would not read. Ultimately, via the link in the comments, I ordered the new internal lens assembly and performed the swap. This solved many of my issues, all games now read and are playable, but sometimes after pausing for several minutes and resuming gameplay, I get a disc read error again. This is definitely an improvement, but I believe the best long-term fix is to swap out the drive entirely with one of the other makes (Samsung, etc). Thanks for the walkthrough, I feel so much more confident opening up my console myself. Liked and subbed!
I'm having the same issue, which link is it?
Thanks for this reply. I'm having disc read errors too after trying this technique. However I just eyballed the multi meter part. I should buy one for these projects.
tip: as an electronics tech, I always had an item with separate compartments to "collect" my screws in. That way, no screws get lost by rolling off onto a carpet, or anything like that.
So true! We are just hacks... we can't even keep our tools in the proper places! Good advice! Thanks.
Pie tin and magnet
This is pre-school/first grade level advice
This is funny. I've taken so many of these apart that I always take the entire DVD drive out. I've never ever ever ever ever ever ever thought about taking the DVD drive top off while it's still in the system. In this case, ingenious.
Blind luck on our part! lol Thanks for the comments!
@@DigitalPowertrip I have a lot of games and the xbox doesn't read any of them except madden 2005 but I'm definitely gonna do this
@@chittybang5652 madden 2005 doesnt play when i press start lol thats why im here
I took mine apart , cleaned off the lense and it works fine . Thanks so much👍
I recently bought a "tested" xbox from ebay that had a disc read error. I followed your video and now it's working. Thank you!
What a strange coincidence that I see a Lion King Ad from Disney right before watching this vid and behold your wearing a Lion King Shirt(The original Disney's The Lion King)
He's part of the ad
Thank you so much but I still might have to buy a new reader
Just finished Lion king before watching this
Its part of the algorithm, not a coincidence. No such thing as councidence. Happy paranoia!! 😊
Nice video. My own xbox has the same problem. Finally found a video in high quality (important for fixing tech) & with someone that made the process look easy. Thanks 👍
My dad made me a save file a month before I was born in the clone wars game and I’ve been wanting to play it. Super exited. Thank you!
Man, if I found that in the save files, I’d cry 😭
I cleaned the laser lens with a Q-tip and isopropyl alcohol after watching this video and it powered up and ran correctly the first time. Didn't need to make any adjustments.
I cringed watching you disassemble, but the one thing you did better than the other videos that I needed and appreciate is you got a good close up while using the multi meter, thank you.
ha! we're definitely not ifixit! lol
@@DigitalPowertrip got any links to those lasers?
@@Ronin7477 I have not looked in a while be we found ours on ebay.
The first release Original Xbox dosen't have a good disc drive. The later models has a Samsung DVD drive which is more reliable than the one you got.
Yup, we've had 3 so far, all have Thompson drives. But, if the potentiometer trick does not work, new $6 dollar lasers from Amazon do the trick.
Digital Powertrip Have a link can't seem to find them
Arron Harrington actually the Samsung models are shitty to sometimes and I've got more broken Samsung disc drives than any other seriously!
Arron Harrington I have a samsung disk drive and I think the laser is giving out , it will only read movies by Samsung lol but anything new it won’t read at all
But the Samsungs are way more finicky. The drive belts on those wear out easily. I’ve never had that problem with a Thomson drive.
Excellent video, at first I thought you were going too far, but setting the pot was perfect
6 case screws - T20, 3 drive screws (NOT 2...0, the third one is under the IDE ribbon cable and holds down the HDD) - T10, 4 HDD to tray screws - T15.
If you remove the HDD FIRST, the DVD comes out a LOT easier! If you are removing the DVD, then don't bother bending the shielding up (it can be sharp on the edges!)...
Thanks for the video, I have a couple of these lying around (because they don't work!), all of them are earlier versions that have the full TSOP bus (makes chip installation MUCH easier!). This might be able to resurrect one or more!
BTW: My Phillips drive was my go-to because it would read disc types that the Thomson wouldn't... but YES it's not working right either...
BTW2: the FIRST thing you do is UNPLUG the XBOX! (ALL cables)
The video was easy to follow. I have taken my XBox apart down to the lens. The lens on my OG is different from yours & I don’t have the pink screw. I cleaned it but still didn’t read a disk.
Did yours have the SOH-DX1 laser? Mine does and it still doesn't work even though everything looks functional.
My Xbox doesn't read platinum hit disks
In any case where the laser lens is getting weaker, I would highly recommend softmodding or modchipping the system so you can then put in a larger hard drive and FTP games over to your system so you can bypass the disc drive altogether.
Every game is available on the internet archive under the "HDD ready" pack
@@realgroovy24 can you recommend a video that shows how to do this?
@@realgroovy24 Yeah? Is there a video or website showing us how to do this?
You need a disc drive to soft mod
@@marsspade556 You can, although it is a workaround. You'll need XboxHDM and build a new hard drive with the softmodding tools on it.
Thanks man. I bought a garage sale Xbox that wasn't reading disks and the resistor thing did the trick. I tried straight cleaning the lens as I was gun shy to rip the unit apart any further than I had to but eventually I kept going until I got the lens off, winged the resistance as I don't have a multimeter and be damned it worked.
Thank you I used this guide to fix the of Xbox Thompson which totally did not read any discs, tweaked the pot to 750ohm , was previously set to approx 1500ohm so decided by half. I used IPA to get rid of the glue with a q-tip however it needed a bit of rubbing maybe 1 minute. Assuming your multimeter is set to KOhm hence why your referring to 0.3, so set to approx 300ohm on yours....
Awesome! Glad it worked out for you and thank you for the added tip!
I read some other comments saying 500 ohm but no less on any drive, but 800 no less on Thompson drives
Didn't work for me. I set it at 3.6 kOhms but the dreaded disc read error still shows up. Now I'm waiting for the new lens reader through the mail, hope it solves this annoying problem.
UPDATE: I received the new lens reader from Amazon and I installed it with no success again. The disc read error persists. Quite frustrated at this point since it's so difficult to even find replacement drives nowadays. My last attempt to repair it will be to replace the entire laser deck with the motors. I ordered it today...will give 1 final update once I install it.
Update: I just replaced the entire laser deck assembly with the motors and the wretched thing still gives me the disc read error. Anyone have suggestions? My final thought for this would be to replace the entire disc drive. Found some NOS drives for about 200 USD each or some refurbished ones for about 100 USD each. Might not even be worth it.
It's easier to get the drive out if you first remove the Hard drive caddy as it sits on top of it.
3 What? he said that it should be set to 3 amps? Volts? i know I'm probably the only one who doesn't know but would much like to know what measurement
kOhms. But I just did my own and started at 1.7 then lowered to 1.2 and it works.
This disc read error really hurt to see it happen to the console I played the most of through my childhood, especially after I replaced the disc drive and it happened again
Did you ever get it working?
Watching that halo 2 load up was satisfying. Good times
T20 bottom, t10 inner, t15 hard drive screws.
@@noahfogarty yeah its pretty stupid but security screws are good so lil lids dont mess with it
Trying to play some rainbow six lockdown... bouta do this, a bit nervous but confident. Thanks anyways, you earned a subscriber
Nice details on whats causing the disk read error. Thanks!
“Well I’ll be a monkey’s uncle” that’s some funny stuff never heard that one before 🤣💀💀
Watch lion king
My son and I tried this and it worked! This is amazing. Thanks.
Clean that GPU heatsink. ;)
Then read disc
Swear to god 90% of the time it just needs a dusting. I just opened my OG V1.2/3 xbox with shitty phillips drive and gave it a nice dusting and it works and looks brand new.
Now to soft mod it
Good point Alan! Always start with the simple stuff!
I would totally agree. However I own 3 and all play games except 1 steel battalion only one plays it the 1 with several trys and ine wont no matter what. Did a disk cleaner still no good. So this seems to me to be the solution to get them all working equally
Relic Gamer So, did this solve your problem with Steel Battalion? I’m having an issue with mine not playing SB also and wondering if this is the fix?
It plays all other games I have, but get disc read error when trying to play Steel Battalion.
the phillips drive is actually the good one... be glad u dont have the tompson drive
Stupid question, but, is there some way to determine what drive you have without opening the box? (By serial number or something?)
I’m still having an issue playing “Steel Battalion”.
Borrowed a friend’s copy and got it to load but it won’t play the campaign. If I put the cheat code in I can use free play mode and play individual missions but no campaign!
My copy gives disc read error.
Hey....Thank you
I didn't go full shebang like you, I cleaned the laser with IPA and Q tip.
The game loaded enough for me to load the softmod.
Thank you for you time!
Another thing to see is the white wording Microsoft under the logo. That's also a good sign.
very well put together. just one question, what is your Multimeter actually set at? everything else is perfectly laid out compared to a lot of other videos. Definitely subscribing. thank you.
Resistance (Ω)
The flashing green means you just opened or closed the tray. Orange means theres no video connection I think, and im sure red is worse but I dont remember.
I'm watching this at the time where there are magnetic screwdrivers XD
6:05
We'll gladly take a donation! lol
You would have already figured it out if you went ahead and replaced the lens, but the skipping audio is not because of the cables but the lens itself. They tend to do it as they are on their way out
Nice video man, i already fixed my xbox DVD and it is working perfect, but i have one thing to add. Resistance level depends of which drive you have, and it should not be lower than:
PHILLIPS 6035\21 No less then 500 ohms
PHILLIPS 6011\21 No less then 500 ohms
THOMPSON No less then 800 ohms
Krzysztof Zaborowski can you explain how to fix your disc drive. Mine reads the disc most of the time. But it only plays the audio with a black screen.
Sam Herport old post I know but what you’re describing is the Xbox is stuck in 480p/720p/1080i mode. Using composite after enabling those options will cause the issue you’re describing
Dude thank you so much I am going to repair mine later this week ill reply to my comment to tell how it goes
Did it work?
@@Spike-13not in the way you were expecting
You also should have cleaned and replaced the heat sinks with new. After a long while they get dried out and hard which means it will over heat. Remove clean with acetone then let dry and add new heat sink. Let dry for about 30mins
I picked up an xbox that has some reading problems too, but it's a different brand and looks a little different. It's a Philips drive.
The only thing wrong with my Xbox is that I can continue playing my game, but thats only if I save it because it’s cuts off all the time and says that my disc isn’t reading, I’m pretty sure it has something to do with the same situation as this Xbox you showed us.
For me the message of the disk being scratched or dirty appears in the game and happens on all the disks I’ve tried, would it still be the lasers fault?
what does it mean if an original xbox game doesn't work on the original xbox but works on the xbox 360?
Im pretty sure theres nothing wrong with the rca cable and theres just disc skipping. The laser is not working properly
You saved my ebay Xbox business! Thank you :)
My Xbox only reads scratched up ugly discs I pop a brand new looking one in and boom can't handle it, I tore it down cleaned the lens, put it back together same thing I don't know if I want to tear it down that far and replace it though
Nice work dude, it can actually help fixing original xbox's
will this also fix the problem that the xbox wont reconize an game as an game but as an dvd?
That's a good question. We've not personally seen this issue. It couldn't hurt to try if that is the only thing it will tell you.
Digital Powertrip alright. if i got time il see if i can try your way. thanks!
Vuurvent yep, had that problem, that lens is dying wont read dual layer disc.... and all original xbox discs are dual layer,if the xbox is softmodded or with a modchip the drive might still able to read dvd-r discs, only backup discs, of course in my case the drive still has a hard time reading discs, l prefer install the games directly to the xbox hdd
Ricardo Hualpa i have that problem that my thomson drive wont read original the warriors disc neither it will read the game from hdd. Could by hdd also dead? Everything other is working.
I already did lens cleaning and pot tuning but nothing works. Most other games run fine except the warriors original disc, backup disc and backup from hdd.
What setting do you use for the multimeter?
Resistance
Someone can help me? I have an Xbox built on november 2003 with a philips reader, the disc run, but doesn't read, what can I do? In italy there isn't any spare part for this console, is it possible to fix?
I did replace the original disc drive in my original XBOX about 3 years ago, now I have the same issue again. @ this time I’ll try your advice on the original disc drive. I hope this work .
My Xbox is set up up differently that heat shield on the bottom of the disc set up has a motherboard connect to it and the disc reader...always my luck to have something different then a good video explaing it
My games don't have a message it just sits on home screen.
I know this is a year late. But does the drive even spin up? Because the drive belt could be shot.
Me too. No error messages just spins like its trying to read it but nothing happens. No error screen or anything.
What setting does the multimeter need to be set at?
Im wondering the same thing.
I wonder who’s idea was it to make the disc reader like this
Wish I knew what the settings on the meter was as I have the system all aprt but not really used to using these meters much. Guess it wouldn’t hurt to mention AC,DC Ohms ETC >
Sorry, this has been asked a ton of times in the comments... Resistance is measured in ohms. Hope this helps.
I have an original that reads every game besides ncaa football 06 fine. It pops up and says that the disc may be dirty or damaged. The disc is fine and works yet won’t play on the console. Any fixes with having to fix the laser?
same here
@@7xtylin I figured out what it is. It’s the console that has an issue. Either the disk reader has gone bad or the hardrive.
@@calebwheeler5781 i don’t have a hard drive on it yet so it must be the disc reader. Thank you 🙏
For some reason, I have a completel different disc drive. The voltage adjustment screw isn't there and the assembly itself is different. My xbox is from 2001
Yeah in the were several different drives used during the lifespan of the Xbox... here is a link that helps you identify which one you have: www.reddit.com/r/originalxbox/wiki/dvdrom
I just ordered a cleaning disc on amazon and it worked fine
PaxMax Gaming that worked?
I must say I am extremely pissed. This just happened with a console I recently bought and it's happened with literally EVERY model I've owned. The original Xbox is one of the worst systems I've ever dealt with. Great library of games, but an awful console. My old ps2 slim (which I bought when it was already used) has outlasted all of them.
My disc drives manages to read and play the games but eventually shits the bed when it has to load new level.
the OG Xbox has like three or four revisions for the disk drive. I have a slightly newer model with a samsung drive with the same problem so I'm gonna see if this has a similar structure and hopefully this works.
Would this be the same concept if my Xbox don’t even read it?
Hey there if I remove the clock capacitor will my xbox run without one?
Yes and it’s recommended if you already know why. Or You can also replace with a better quality cap
Thank you this helped my fix big chungas my very very first OG xbox :D
Glad we could help!
I was playing max payne and it beat the final boss and was about to watch the second final cutscene and it gave me a can’t read disc errors 4 times
I am getting that I cleaned the disk in my JFJ its got to be the lazer what else can go wrong with it there is nkt alot to it unless the pcb is dying
I was so bummed cause I thought I was gonna have to do this but just opened the disc tryna with the button wiped the lens with a QTip and she is working ❤ playing lotr now lets go
So after I'm done taking out the ribbon cable of the old laser I can put the new laser in?
I know this isn't a new video by any means (but its still relevant, and top on google), but adjusting the potentiometer will only be a temporary solution, as you will kill the laser diode off over time.
I'm having an issue with one of my games. MVP baseball05. The Xbox reads it fine and the game loads up fine to the main menu and into each game mode menu. However, when I go to actually play a game, whether it be exhibition, dynasty or owner mode, it, more often than not, will freeze as it's loading and will tell me there's something wrong with the disc. However the disc has no scratches and looks virtually brand new.
I want to do this so bad but I’m afraid I will screw this all up and can’t get this piece back in place 🤦🏾♂️
Same. I feel like I'll just make it un playable
Sorry, I’m dumb. If the goal was to increase the “juice” to the laser, and a lower number is less resistance, i.e. higher “flow”, how did tuning it from a reading of .002 to .003 help the issue? Didn’t you effectively crank it down?
3:51 mine doesn’t look like that it has to black bulb looking things
Me to dude
Quick question when i put my disc in nothing happens at all , like it doesn't show that error message or anything so im wondering if i should even do all this!
Great video thank you! Do you have any videos on how to make a Duke controller to work again? Also, how do like to plug in that Xbox into that monitor? Thanks!
We've yet to get our hands on "The Duke". As far as the monitor, we just used a cheap Amazon HDMI converter.
@DigitalPowertrip gotcha thanks! Will try your cleaning fix when the kids and wife go to bed lol
@@thedylanshow1 we got ours from Ebay, but that was years ago now and I didn't see a Phillips Xbox drive there the last time I checked... but, it may be worth a look now.
kinda strange how the xbox optical drive only has a red diode. Most cd/dvd drives have a red and infered laser diode
Hey Austin, any tricks if the drive just won't power up? I got my Thomson drive running with some cleaning and lubing and then it just died. I have no idea why.
I’ve a problem with mine, it loads up the games but it won’t let me play it it’ll tell me the game failed to load or it tells me my game is dirty or damaged. For halo 2 it loads up to the menu telling me to press start and the title will be missing sometimes, most the letters will be missing like if it was lagging
Now it's time to clean my cousin's Xbox.... Speaking of which, I wonder where he put it....
Thanks a lot dude.I can finnally play some mortal kombat armegeddon
Glad it helped you!
Thank you! I was actually able to use one of those CD lens cleaner discs and it worked fine (at least for one game after)
Damn - I wonder if t his is what is up with mine. Will have to try sometime soon
I have Crimson Skies basically looks new and it will load past the company name then black screen. None of the other games do that
That could be a bad sector on the disc. Not much you can do there...
Had to set mine to 1.6 and boom. Marvel vs. Capcom 2. Make sure to set your meters to 20,000
Congrats! Glad it worked for you!!!
Can you tell me how did u set your meter
Yes! This comment right here. I set it to 3.7 and it still failed. 1.6 and it booted right up!
@@DigitalPowertrip 2021 here. Did the fix end up being a long term fix or did you have to replace the laser?
@@Ojthemighty we haven’t played it much... but ours still works. Hope I didn’t just jinx it 😁
Do you have the amazon link to the laser replacement?
Can't find it on amazon now, but here is a link to ebay www.ebay.com/itm/Original-New-Toshiba-Laser-Lens-TOP60-TOP-60-Xbox-DVD-Drive-Optical-Pickup-CD-/120968702571?epid=1424614480&hash=item1c2a4bea6b:m:mttuVvg7zEiKAFOC7-CJiWQ
Thanks!
How about a sub for the help?
Digital Powertrip done!
Thanks!
I have this problem with my xbox I hope this will work for mine and if I half to what or how would I get that part and what would it cost any details would help also I'm in CANADA so their would be some difference????
You deserve more subs you can have mine.
Thanks a lot! We appreciate it!
Thanks I have the same Xbox so I can follow the exact thing you did
Which Laser Reader Did You order? Specifically
As a Lion King fan...that has to be the greatest shirt I've ever seen😅 great video as well haha,I get carried away🍻🍺
Scarface The World is Yours (2006) crashes and has stuttering issues sometimes and weird glitches happen (it didnt have these problems when i played it on an Xbox 360 using BC, also the disc is in good shape) Could the laser be dying or dirty?
Could be both! How does it react on other games? It may be that the disc is just not great in terms of readability and the 360 has a better laser.
I know this video has been up for several yeas, but I have a question, if you still monitor the comments. I have an OG xbox, and on boot, the box sits at the xbox logo for several minuets, then gives a error 16. (HDD timeout I think). Anyway, when I put in another dvd, unit it will boot. Bad DVD I guess, but I am not sure what is wrong with it. Have you ever seen this before?
Just unearthed my old Xbox. Doesn’t have a disc read error pop up but after trying multiple games it simply sits on the Xbox home screen. Would this same fix apply?
excellent job, but my xbox disc has a scratches and having an error!
What do I do if the screws on my console are crushed so they wont turn? :(
I subbed because you played halo2 😆 best game ever
Was great! I hope they don't screw up the new Halo Infinite on the series x!
I know this is 4 years old but where do i order the part from
Same I'm currently wondering right now too
anywhere i can get a replacement dvd drive?
You can find some on Ebay... but we have had the best luck just grabbing old Xboxes and using them to part out for the ones we are working on. I've gotten them as cheap as 10 bucks.
Julian Rodriguez if the console is modde youcan actually put a cd or dvd drive to play backups in order to play original discs you would need an specific samsung model, alter the firmware and reverse the spinning of the drive....xbox drives spins the opposite way
I have two of them if you pay Shipping I can send you one.
Digital Powertrip I bought a xbox console from eBay I test it turns on by itself doesn't wanna work with games and movies
Jason Larson I'm interested in one
Where do I buy a replacement laser for cheap?
Got ours from EBay
Our original Xbox is reading all games as an audio CD, any suggestions
i have 4 or 5 original xboxs that all have this problem.. i am gonna see if i can figure this out on 1 of them