I'm sure this is a common problem for most DVD Trays, but my xbox just sometimes never opens. I have to jam something in the spaces to guide it out. Has anyone else had this problem with the Xbox? I bought this second hand, so maybe the unit got dropped or treated badly, not sure. So how would I go about correcting the problem? I haven't opened up the Xbox before, is there anything I should be careful of while doing this? Hope someone can help me, Thanks
open the drive and put electrical tape over the little metal hub (the one that touches top magnet when it is closed)
It may be the drive belt that's worn, find out what model the DVD drive is and you should be able to hunt down a replacement belt. Also, check the sliding platic part that raises/lovers the spindle unit. The grease on it sometimes collects dust which stops it working as it should. You shouldn't have any problems opening it, the xbox is quite easy to take apart.
Ive had to fix quite a few of these over the years, Samsung and hitachi/lg drives are most susceptible ,bobzee is right its the drive belt, but it doesn't always need replacing, disassemble the drive, remove the drive belt, and clean it with a cotton swab/bud that you dipped in "rubbing alcohol or methylated spirits" and clean the band itself to remove grease and dirt, then take another one and clean the actual gears where the belt sits in, this will remove all the grease and dirt buildup and will stop the belt from slipping, you can allso clean the rest of the drive at this time, including the laser (if you know how to do it properly) , remember not to use petroleum based grease though and not to use too much. If the above still fails check for mechanical damage if none replace the drive belt. Ive only ever had to replace one of the belts rest of the time cleaning works like a charm
Did anyone mention that when these rubber belts stay a long time on the same position they tend to "memorize" that position ans keep the form ? So that causes the mechanism to have an extra weight when it need to separate the spindle magnet from the disc, jamming the tray. An good idea to diminish the problem is keep an disc inside of the drive all the time, which helps when ejecting.
just clean the mechanism, relubricate with some grease, petrolleum jely works really good, and replace the belt, is gonna be like brand new
Another alternative (if you want), is to just replace the dvd drive. It's not super hard, and you can find a used xbox for 30$. I'm not sure about firmware or such, but it worked for me fairly well.
Your right,Xbox 1 dvd drives aren't firmware locked to the motherboard , there fully interchangeable and you can even replace one with a pc dvd rom, with some modding(but a pc drive wont read original discs). But it should be looked as a last resort, simply because you can only find used drives these days and it'll give you the same problem after a bit of time.
open it up and grease it good! I heard also that you can put the rubber band in boiling water to contract it again, no idea if that works.
To be fair, I was surprised it worked. My original Xbox's drive was janky (not loading correctly, and such). I remember one instance in GTA: VC, where it loaded the construction building twice, once in the normal spot, and the other in mid-air. I (secretly) swapped out my drive, with my roomie's, since his xbox was just hanging around in a laundry bin. It then worked fine. Anyways, it's just an option, since Xbox's are so cheap nowadays.
