My Xbox is dying
 

So, I was one of the foolish people who bought their Xboxes the first day they came out. I sat in line for several hours and paid the full $300 + games.

[sarcasm]It's good to know I went to all that trouble.[/sarc]

See, I got one of the boxes with a Thomson drive.
For those of you who know the problems with these drives, all I can say is, "Yeah..."

Brand new games are put in the system and all it spits out is, "The disc is dirty or damaged..etc"

I hear there was a lawsuit filed against microsoft which deals with all the defective Xboxes that were sold around the initial launch. That's nice, but I doubt it will ever help me.

So, I've done some searching and found out that I can take the damn thing apart (the DVD drive too), and replace the faulty laser. These cost about 20 bucks on Ebay ($30 at major online retailers).

It's going to be kind of a pain installing this thing, but I suppose it's worth it. It's either that or buy a whole new drive. The new drives (Samsung..best quality for Xbox) are $100!!!!

That's more than half the cost of the current Xboxes. Screw that. I would just buy a whole new system with all the improvements that have been made in the last few years before I did that.

So, what was the point to this post? I'm not really sure.
Maybe this will inform somebody out there who is having the same problems with their box. This problem is widespread with the Thomson drives, so I wouldn't be surprised if other people on here have the same issues.

Also, this post is to inform those of you who I have been playing Halo 2 with. The reasons listed in my post are why I've been having such difficulty staying in consecutive games. Luckily, Halo 2 seems to run better than almost any other game I own. EA Sports titles are almost worthless.

I bought a new controller to take care of my malfunctioning control issue.
Next up -
The laser.

Re: My Xbox is dying
 

fix it and start playing Halo 2 immediately.

Re: My Xbox is dying
 

XBOXES are invincible dude! Just be glad you don't have a PS2, you would have had to replace it about 8 times by now.

Re: My Xbox is dying
 

[ QUOTE ]
fix it and start playing Halo 2 immediately.

[/ QUOTE ]

lol

I think I'll have it fixed a few hours after the laser arrives. Hopefully that will be in "2-4 business days".

Until then, I can still play Halo 2, but every once in awhile it will screw up on me.

Re: My Xbox is dying
 

[ QUOTE ]
XBOXES are invincible dude! Just be glad you don't have a PS2, you would have had to replace it about 8 times by now.

[/ QUOTE ]

I have a PS2 and Gamecube too.

The difference is, I didn't purchase either when they first came out.
Honestly, I've never had many problems with my PS2. Still, I have heard a lot of stories about screwed up PS2s as well.

I don't use it nearly as much as the Xbox though.

*NOTE*
I've never had a single problem with my Gamecube.
At least Nintendo got that much right.

Re: My Xbox is dying
 

[ QUOTE ]
XBOXES are invincible dude! Just be glad you don't have a PS2, you would have had to replace it about 8 times by now.

[/ QUOTE ]MY PS2 has never ever had problems, nor have the controllers.

My only advice for video game machines is don't put them on the floor, especially not on carpet.

Re: My Xbox is dying
 

That blows. Mine went out about a year ago (different reason). I ended up buying a new one after calling support and asking if they could do anything about it. They made me an offer to fix it really cheap since i threatened to cancel my xbox live subscription. Unfortunately, i'd already cracked the case and voided my warranty.

Re: My Xbox is dying
 

You could mod the X-Box and then put in larger hard drive, better DVD, etc.

Re: My Xbox is dying
 

[ QUOTE ]
You could mod the X-Box and then put in larger hard drive, better DVD, etc.

[/ QUOTE ]

True, but all of that would cost more than a new xbox.
I could easily buy a new Samsung drive for about $100.
But then I might as well buy a whole new system with a Samsung drive for $150.

I'm really not interested in doing much modding to my xbox. I've heard about Xbox Live! cracking down on consoles that have been modified. Some reports even specify that they had turned off the chip before signing on.

That's not good.

I can buy this little part for much cheaper-
http://images.andale.com/f2/107/115/...3_xthomson.jpg

Re: My Xbox is dying
 

*UPDATE* (as if anyone really cared)

I found something that caught my eye when I was browsing ebay for lasers and such.

Fully modified samsung 616Ts with far greater speed than any of the standard xbox drives. Also, it can support all types of media.. CD-R, etc.

The xbox will recognize the drive as a samsung 605 (one of the stock drives for xboxes).

I can get this drive for like $55.
I can only find the actual stock 605s for a much higher price!
So, that makes my new decision pretty easy.

I just decided to say, "Screw the Thomson!"

I'm not going to pay even $20 to get that thing in working order again. I'll risk the extra $40 (~cost + shipping) for the superior drive.

I like knowing that I'll have a lot of extra speed.

Hopefully the drive will arrive by the end of next week.
:crosses fingers: