So I came home and my Xbox would no longer play games. It just says "open tray". Appears the disc drive is shot, I'm wondering how hard it is to switch the disc drive? I know the keys have to match, so how hard is that to do? Do you have to overwrite the software using some sort of hack or can you switch the key from one drive to the next? Thanks in advance.
Pop the front cover off, on the near bottom left of the disk tray you should be able to find a black fine tooth cog. Get a small screw driver and rotate the cog toward your right until it is full stop. Turn on Xbox and enjoy. Your drive isn't locking. This forces it to lock. Do not do this while Xbox is on, as it will scratch the hell out of any of your disks.
The disc drive will open and shut, it just won't spin or even attempt to read the disc. I see the cog you are talking about but only when the tray is open.
It won't spin because it hasn't locked. Does the tray constantly open and close, or say "closing" when it is closed? If so, it hasn't locked. The tray can be closed, but it won't read the disk unless the disk is locked in the tray. I had to remove the front of the tray, the silver piece slides off, and this gave me access to the cog.
When I turn on the Xbox, it goes to the home screen as usual. I open the disc drive and insert a game, then shut the drive. It will say "reading" for a few seconds, then it will just say "open tray". If a game is already inserted into the drive when I turn the vbox on, it will just say "open tray". It doesn't show the game as even being in the drive.
Yup. You need to rotate that black cog to the right or left, don't remember. Slip the silver Xbox tray off the front. It'll come off by wedging it up. Once off, you can take a small screwdriver, and rotate the cog. What that does is lift the disk into the read position. In the tray and closed is not in the read. Whih is why it doesn't see the disk.
I think mine did something similar only for NBA 2K11 when it was a new disc, but it would work maybe 25% of the time. After a couple weeks, it just fixed itself, I guess.
Same thing happened to me a few years ago (i think i started a thread about on VN). It's the laser lens which is either bad or it needs cleaned. It all depends on how much work you want to put in fixing it or just go buy a cheap refurbished one since this console is about to be old technology in a year.
Also, are you sure you were able to move the cog? Try, with the xbox off, opening the drive just with your screw driver. Then push it closed and then tighten it down. It should turn about a quarter turn more with the drive door closed. If that doesn't work then no idea.
For whatever reason mine does this with Battlefield. I need to open and close the drive a half dozen times before the disc spins. Other games have no issue.
I tried a cleaner, that didn't work either. The laser lights up when I insert a disc, so it would seem that it's good. I've turned that cog as well. I can't make heads or tails of it, really. Trying just about anything.
Something that I find interesting. If I open and close the drive without a disc, I can see the laser light go off and hear the spindle turning. If I insert a disc, the light doesn't blink red and the spindle doesn't turn.
Guess ill just call and ask someone who works on these things. I'm thinking the laser may need to be adjusted somehow. Weird that it would blink and spin without a disc but not with a disc.
My drive finally croaked as well. Truthfully, it would play with a few reboots and ejects, along with a little prying, but it got to be too much of a hassle. Going to use the wife's kinect box until next year.
