OG XBox Drive Fix - Thomson Not Opening [ep. 102]

[@pukalo]

Those Thompson drives have a reputation for not being very reliable, but luckily they can be replaced, unlike on the 360 where the DVD drive is married to the motherboard, necessitating a dissection of the drives and a swap of the PCB.

[@d.r.807]

I had an issue with my XBOX version 1.0 disc drive. I replaced the belt and it still only intermittently worked. Whenever it did open, it would make a slight grinding noise. After some fiddling around, I figured out the tray motor was seizing. I replaced it with another motor out of a PC DVD drive of the same era. Put it all back together and it worked perfectly. Just thought I'd include this comment for anyone who is also dealing with disc drive issues.

[@The_SegaHolic]

Awesome you got your XBox fixed!

[@johnlocke4263]

Good to see you uploading again brother.

[@The_SegaHolic]

LOL. I know that ometimes, there is a lull in uploads. 😂

[@koodeus6170]

Phillips dvd drive never failed on me. I have seven ogboxs btw

[@The_SegaHolic]

I have one failed Philips that was in a sealed console. Gamers have their preference, for disc-type reading ability, to reliability.

[@JoseAsellas]

Man another detailed video bro thanks for everything you do for us who wanna do it on are own

[@The_SegaHolic]

Thanks man. Some of this stuff is super easy, and anybody with the skill to turn a screwdriver should be able to do most of this stuff.

[@JoseAsellas]

@@The_SegaHolic you make it look easy for us

[@The_SegaHolic]

@@JoseAsellas I IS EASY. Most have fear of breaking their stuff. I think that's where some make it hard in their minds.

[@JoseAsellas]

@@The_SegaHolic yea thats me there

[@SiliconPower74]

Thomson drives are the worst. My first OG XBOX have one, lens is clean and the tray have no issue but is almost impossible to read a game. My others XBOX have Philips and Samsung and all them work fine.

[@The_SegaHolic]

I have over 50 OG XBoxes. Yes, FIFTY+. I like the Thomsons.

[@v3ck1n]

Awww yeah another Segaholic upload!! And on xbox disc drives too!! I cleaned up several xboxs and the only consistent problem I'm still having is with the disc drive lasers not reading.

[@The_SegaHolic]

Been on an uloading spree for my standards. LOL. BTW, have you checked how much repalcement laser pickups cost?

[@v3ck1n]

Thank you for the reply- I did look at replacement lasers and I watched one video on how to install them, but as it stands cleaning the old laser with isopropyl alcohol seemed to work, for now. Every time I try to start GTA:SA it gives me a dirty disc error but if I turn off the console and try again it usually loads on the second attempt.

[@The_SegaHolic]

Jake Drought 👍try cleaning the laser more, with more alcohol, and let dry.

[@Jason-hc7kt]

I have the same drive with the same problem but I thought my one wasnt working because it looked like a teeth were missing on the while plastic slide but I've just seen this, maybe its supposed to look like that afterall

[@alonsoknet]

I need this same video but with "not reading"

[@alonsoknet]

Already fixed with the potenciometer tricky tweak.

[@seth8629]

I was repairing my Thomson TGM600 drive. Replaced the belt, lubricated the rails and cleaned the laser. Success - and then the drive stopped working completely. No response, no power. Any suggestions?

[@The_SegaHolic]

Did you try another drive? That sucks man. Sorry it died on you.

[@seth8629]

@@The_SegaHolic Not yet - I'll try another drive. Thanks for your reply.

[@The_SegaHolic]

@@seth8629 No probs

[@boubikos]

Good job and Great video! I would like to ask you what grease would you recommend for plastic gears and laser mechanism like PS1, Sega Saturn, Sega Dreamcast etc?

[@The_SegaHolic]

Silicone grease. You can find it at lowes or home depot. Or you can get what I show in this video, Shin-Etsu silicone grease, the same that Japanese arcade parts manufacturers recommend to use on joysticks. It will not eat plastic or rubber and make them brittle.

[@boubikos]

@@The_SegaHolic Nice! Thank you very much for the info!

[@The_SegaHolic]

@@boubikos 👍

[@BocaRetroGames]

That shinobi song is just great

[@The_SegaHolic]

I underestimated how good Shinobi music would be for fixing vids. 😁

[@BocaRetroGames]

The SegaHolic definitely! The Sfx also fitted perfectly

[@The_SegaHolic]

@@BocaRetroGames Thanks, I try! 😅

[@thedylanshow1]

Great editing!! T Thanks for the video!

[@Narcotic_Senderismo]

Hello, what size of rubber did you use?

[@The_SegaHolic]

I forgot which one I bought, but it doesn't have to be a perfect fit. In fact, it's better if it's smaller.

[@tekgeekster]

Hey, do the belts need to be a certain size? I replaced mine and it won't open. I wonder if it's too tight. I used xbox 360 belts which work fine in other dvd drives.

[@The_SegaHolic]

Stretch it out manually if it's too tight. I thried researching the proper sizes for them, but came up with nothing. Should work.

[@tibikeresztes8207]

I have twoof these drives with the same problem of not opening, i have done all you have shown in this video but still no good. It is able to shut the tray if i start the xbox with the tray open but it will not open again...

[@The_SegaHolic]

You just gonna need to buy the correct belts. Most times, a tighter,/smaller belt will work.

[@tibikeresztes8207]

@@The_SegaHolic Thanks for the reply, i'm going to try this realignment method first in this link, if that don't work i'll buy new bands: web.archive.org/web/20140403093606/www.llamma.com/xbox/Repairs/thompson_dvd_tray.htm

[@The_SegaHolic]

@@tibikeresztes8207 Believe me, I'm pretty stubborn. But you may want to get it out of your system too. I just ended up using some really small ones I had for my 360. Amazing they didn't snap. It worked.

[@tibikeresztes8207]

@@The_SegaHolic I'll give that a go too, i know both my drives aren't dead yet and it will only be a simple fix in the end.

[@The_SegaHolic]

@@tibikeresztes8207 yeah, impossible to find direct replacements for the belts. Just give them a good stretch if they are super small. Makes u think about manual disc insertion like the PS3 Super Slim and how much more convenient they are in the end.

[@G-zeus_M]

Ohhhh yeahhh the super shinobi

[@The_SegaHolic]

U asked, I deliver. 😁

[@G-zeus_M]

The SegaHolic mission accomplished with honours! There hasn’t been much love for streets of rage 3 music on any channel I know, can you grace us with some next time?

[@The_SegaHolic]

@@G-zeus_M LOL. We'll see. 🤣😜

[@user-xj2fj9nn3x]

What makes you like the Thompson drives over the Samsung ones? I remember reading a forum post ages ago talking about how the Samsung drives were better. Both of my xboxes have Thompson drives and have dead lasers so I just assumed it was true. would love to hear your take on it. Also, really liking the frequent uploads. I know it must be hard to upload so often but it always makes my day when I see an upload from you, your guides have helped me fix so many of my consoles. keep working at it bro and nice save with the Xbox.

[@The_SegaHolic]

That's supposed to be the consensus, as the Samsung has better disc-type reading abilities. I have over 25 XBoxes, and none of them have been Thomsons. I just find the Thomson easier to tear down and fix. I also have found that of all the tray opening issues, all of them except for this one have been Samsjngs. Some agree and some strongly disagree when I post my opinion on Reddit. It's like Ford vs Chevy.

[@user-xj2fj9nn3x]

wow, they’re that rare? I guess I’m pretty lucky lol. Must not be worth too much since they’re broken now. Interesting as both of my Thompson’s have had issues where the tray opens. Both had the same problem, where the magnet on the top of the case that holds the spindle up was too strong. I remember having to put tape over the magnet or hit the top of the Xbox to get it to open, which is probably why they don’t work anymore…

[@The_SegaHolic]

@@user-xj2fj9nn3x LOL, I meant none of the Thomson drives have dead lasers. Out of all of dead lasers, two are Samsung, and one Philips.

[@5976575]

@@The_SegaHolic Hi I have another kind of issue with DVD drive in ogx. My tray is going in and out like crazy. It is not regular behavior. When tray is crazy pushing eject/close button does nothing. But when drive is not crazy button works, sometimes drive does not move and button does not work anyway. It is 1.4 revision of console if I remember correctly. When I was younger I was not able to repair anything in that time, therefore I bought some weird Chinese set. Among a couple of wires there was some sort of PCB which was designed to make PC DVD drive compatible with ogx. It ended up in storage, now I can't find ogx neither this crazy mod. I remember that physical modification of original components was required what was not option for me back then. Today we've got access to CNC machining, 3D printing, laser cutting, even to affordable PCB production. Second thing - I never saw lubrication of Dremcast's laser assembly in any episode of SH. Is it behind that any reason or just footage was cut in that way? I heard that factory process used some oil which evaporated very quickly (something like WD-40), therefore even new Dreamcasts were noisy. Can't tell is it or not urban legend, but... Lubrication can not hurt... Well with small exceptions like lens itself ;) Last thing - the NEWS - Japanese "junk" 3DSes now are cheap. Maybe not cheap like water, but reasonably cheap. I bid 3 small ones 10USD each plus 7USD shipping each. I also bid one LL XL for 15USD plus 7USD shipping. And you know what? I got them all, just like pokemons (by the way I am not a fan of pokemons by any means). So if you are interested - give a try, carefully. I bought all in complete state (at first glance) - no broken hinges, no broken LCDs, but the shells saw better days. Easy grab - if you wish to have it. PS: bugs & spiders rests in peace due the lack of the paper on the stickers, which were made from vinyl or something like that ;) It was only dry and noisy kaka right before death ;)

[@The_SegaHolic]

@@5976575 On the OGXBox drive going crazy, did you check to see if the traces are corroded like in the previous video? And I thought the Dresamcast laser pickup was always noisy? Really doesn't bother me. But usually, white silicone grease is used, but you don't usually see it in the DC drives. I might have to check out those 3DS, but I hardly play video games anymore. I just like looking at and fixing the hardware. LOL. Hopefully, I'll find a roached out console and gross people out. LOL.

[@mullinsjm1]

The laser burned out of the only Thomson drive xbox I owned back in the day. Not long after the warranty ended sadly.

[@The_SegaHolic]

How many hours did you have on it? Do you feel it died prematurely? Most laser issues I found that the lens was just dirty.

[@mullinsjm1]

Man I dont even remember. I bought it not too long after launch. Lol I did play it a lot though. Those were good days!

[@The_SegaHolic]

@@mullinsjm1 Yeah, lasers are a consumable part, meaning they have a certain 'use life.' But also with plenty of use, comes issues where things get dirty- and the laser lens is susceptible to filth. It's just unfortunate that we, automatically think part failure. Even just a few years ago, I would have thought if it can't read the disc, it would be a dead laser. But the main thing is that you enjoyed the system when it was working, and that it gave you more than enough of play hours doing so. 👍 For me, I waited until they announced they was discontinuing the XBox till I bought one. Even though I had bough some XBox games at their release. 🤷‍♂️

[@mullinsjm1]

@@The_SegaHolic yep I wasnt as savvy in repairing consoles then as I am now, so that was my thinking at the time. One of these days I'd like to find a project xbox and fix it up. My wife says I already have too many consoles as it is! Lol

[@Bilalfanboy]

I have THOMSON DRIVE he is fine and faster than samswng and phillips BECAUSE SAMSWNG AND PILLIPS are gets tired quickly

[@ronaldhenson3379]

Thomson is the worst they always give the dirty or damaged disc error the reliable drives is the philips samsung and Hitachi

[@josephnealescratchcards]

3rd

[@The_SegaHolic]

🤪

[@BocaRetroGames]

First

[@The_SegaHolic]

👍⬆️

[@MarcosComentarista-jn2yp]

Thomson sucks! Worst drive in games!

[@bizzles44]

I have this drive. I did everything and now the tray will open and close and stay open. What am I doing wrong?