Fix for an intermittent XBox 360 DVD drive problem

May 17, 2022 2:23 PM

A good buddy has an XBox 360 and it sometimes has trouble reading the game discs. It labors and struggles and eventually gets it right after several minutes. Any way to fix this?
posted by storybored to Computers & Internet (2 answers total)

Presumably they've dusted the lens and checked the discs to make sure they're clean and relatively free of scratches?

360s were really cheap last time I looked - especially when sold with missing leads and/or no controllers. If cleaning the lens doesn't do the trick, then it might be easiest to just buy another one.
posted by pipeski at 2:48 PM on May 17, 2022

Agreed - I futzed with my 360 for months trying to get the drive to cooperate, but ended up getting a new one at a thrift shop for 30 bucks.

If moving from an original 360 to another original, the data transfer is as easy as snapping the drive out. If moving to or from a "slim" model, it's best to back up the Xbox to a USB hard drive and restore the new Xbox from that drive. They sell an Xbox transfer cable for the first-gen design, but any suitably-sized USB drive will do just fine.
posted by Nekosoft at 6:26 PM on May 17, 2022 [1 favorite]