Hacking Advice on modding 360 + DVD Drive replacement

Devil May Cry · Oct 9, 2013

EDIT: I really have no intention of playing anything through the drive anyways, I'd prefer to load through USB or HDD if possible. Do I even need to fix this in order to do that?

Okay, update. I decided to try cleaning the whole drive first just to see if I had an easy fix on my hands. Sadly, I don't. However, I noticed that I wasn't getting an error message, just an Open Tray message. I looked this up and realized its pretty common. The suggested fix for this was to perform a tweak to the intensity of the laser (a POT tweak I think it is called?). Should I go along with this method or should I just go with the new laser?

Also, I noticed the magnetic piece that is attached to the inside of the DVD drive casing is somewhat loose. It can be moved around very easy and hangs when upside down. Is this normal?

DinohScene · Oct 9, 2013

POT tweak is just a small "patch" you can do.
It'll burn out the laser sooner then later.

And yes, the magnetic piece should be loose ;]

If you want USB loading, get an Xkey.
It's nearly plug and play and you'll be able to keep XBL ;]

Devil May Cry · Oct 10, 2013

DinohScene said:
POT tweak is just a small "patch" you can do.
It'll burn out the laser sooner then later.

And yes, the magnetic piece should be loose ;]

If you want USB loading, get an Xkey.
It's nearly plug and play and you'll be able to keep XBL ;]

Alright, that clears things up a bit. I was on the fence as to whether I wanted to sell the console or keep it for myself (I don't have a working 360). Since the XKey needs a dump of the OFW, do I need to get my laser working properly? If I remember correctly, since I have a Lite-on drive that I'll probably need a probe as well.

Hehe sorry for all the questions but its just a lot to take in

Sicklyboy · Oct 10, 2013

Nope you don't need the laser working to dump your key (yes you will need a probe/pmt tool) however you do need to find a way to get your computer to read it. Some onboard SATA chipsets work fine, sometimes you can get away with a specific PCI SATA card, but the easiest possible (and expensive...) way is to buy an X360USB Pro v2, it's a USB connectivity kit designed to work with all 360 drives to bypass any issues you may have dumping your key. You can also use it to make 2.5" Western Digital hard drives compatible with the 360 as a primary storage device (up to 320GB).

It's also like $70.

But I have one and freaking love it.

Devil May Cry · Oct 10, 2013

Hmm, this is starting to get costly. I'm honestly not in a position to be spending any crazy amount of money. I think I'll just repair this 360 with a new laser and the e74 one I have on the side and opt to mod one for myself down the line when I'm a bit more stable. That and I just love taking apart stuff ;P Thanks for clarifying my issue Sicklyboy and Dinohscene, you guys are freaking awesome!

I'll keep that USB connectivity kit in mind Sicklyboy, that sounds perfect for any future mods I do down the line. Thanks!

DinohScene · Oct 10, 2013

One note tho, you'll have to hack your 320GB HDD with HDDHackr in order to make it work as a 360 internal drive.

Yeh 360 hacking doesn't come cheap when done right ;p
But if you're a pirate, you can already get the invested money back with 2 newly released first party/big name games.

Devil May Cry · Oct 10, 2013

The whole process seems pretty fun, won't lie! I'll have to come back to it soon. Definitely saving this thread so I don't forget what you guys told me.

DinohScene · Oct 10, 2013

If you're interested in modding, I'd suggest taking up on RGHing ;]
Or if you're set for money, RGH and Dual NAND.
That way you can add a lot of hardware and tinker with it.

Anyway, if you got questions etc about all of it.
Please don't hesitate to ask!

I meself am planning on soldering in some LED's in me Falcon RGH to make it appear to be a XeDK 360 (debug/stress test kit/dev kit whatever you want to call it)
NAND and SMC indicator LEDS, Fan indicator LED, power off indicator led, various other debugging LEDS etc.

Devil May Cry · Oct 10, 2013

I'll keep that in mind! I do have a question regarding the 360 at hand actually. I just booted it up now but this time with the DVD drive cover off. Never dawned on me to do that before. When I tried closing the tray, the laser would activate and move around (yay!, thought it was completely busted) but the spindle would spin very briefly and the disc would become loose afterwards. Now, is this because the magnetic component in the casing is gone or is it an error with the motor? I've seen plenty of youtube videos with people running 360 games with DVD drive casing fully removed, so I'm not quite sure. Thoughts?

Sicklyboy · Oct 10, 2013

Devil May Cry said:
I'll keep that in mind! I do have a question regarding the 360 at hand actually. I just booted it up now but this time with the DVD drive cover off. Never dawned on me to do that before. When I tried closing the tray, the laser would activate and move around (yay!, thought it was completely busted) but the spindle would spin very briefly and the disc would become loose afterwards. Now, is this because the magnetic component in the casing is gone or is it an error with the motor? I've seen plenty of youtube videos with people running 360 games with DVD drive casing fully removed, so I'm not quite sure. Thoughts?

Usually if you want to run a game with the drive cover off you need the magnetic piece on top to keep the disk in place, though it's not really recommended to do in the first place. The motor spinning for a short period is normal, as is the laser moving even if it's dead. The laser assembly itself and the supporting components (worm motor) are fine, so the stuff is going to move around still, it's the laser component itself that's burned out. If you open and close the tray with the cover off with no disk the laser likely won't light up, where it usually would.

Even if it does, it's still not working, so it's probably on its way to being completely burned out.

Devil May Cry · Oct 11, 2013

Sicklyboy said:
Usually if you want to run a game with the drive cover off you need the magnetic piece on top to keep the disk in place, though it's not really recommended to do in the first place. The motor spinning for a short period is normal, as is the laser moving even if it's dead. The laser assembly itself and the supporting components (worm motor) are fine, so the stuff is going to move around still, it's the laser component itself that's burned out. If you open and close the tray with the cover off with no disk the laser likely won't light up, where it usually would.

Even if it does, it's still not working, so it's probably on its way to being completely burned out.

That explains it. Alright, I'll order the replacement laser. If that doesn't fix the issue, then I'll just have to sell it for parts I guess.

DinohScene · Oct 11, 2013

Pretty sure a new laser assembly should fix it ;]
Can't go much wrong with the DVD drive itself

Hacking Advice on modding 360 + DVD Drive replacement

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