While I was visiting family, I was passed a 360 that would no longer start due to an error. Having spent time looking into it, I found that the 360 had failed during an update. Rectifying the problem by finding what version the update was and downloading the file to a usb stick. I was successful in repairing the update and having a working 250gb 360 slim....or so I thought. I tried a disk (Fable 3) and it started up no problem. Then when I took the thing home with plans to sell it, I gave it another go with another game. This time the game would not start. I took it apart to give it a good clean and tried again. Game would not be recognised. Sometimes it would start then just stop reading the disk. I fiddled with it AGAIN and this time it worked. I player Lollipop chainsaw for an hour with no problems. I even used a data dvd with some videos on and that worked fine. I went into overdrive testing the damn thing: Repeatedly turning it off and on, ejecting the drive, swapping the disks, you get the idea. And it was working fine. The I take it in to trade it and being told I would get £60 tade in for something that was given to me, I went on to get a nice stockpile of games. But. when the store went to test it, it was playing up again and not reading the disks. You see, This is why I hate the 360. I have a Atari 600xl with a cassette deck and it still works perfectly to this day, and yet, this system will give you a RROD if you look at it wrong! Now I'm stuck. I know that this 360 is not on the latest firmware. I highly doubt it, but could that be one problem? I'm thinking that the DVD drive is on its way out, and that if I want it fully working, I would need to replace it. I am well aware that this is not a easy road to go down. I'm going to start taking apart the 360 so I can find the model of the drive. Any help would be great.
I have had several cases of dodgy disc drives on 360s. The majority of them that display the behavior you are experiencing has been a worn out worm gear motor. You can get replacements on Ebay for about $5 USD. I'm not going to guarantee anything, but this is by far the cheapest and easiest fix for a disc drive issue. Usually if it is the laser, it will stop reading all together. While you are doing that, you might as well replace the drive belt. You can get a handful of them for a little change. I hope this solves your problem!
