Xbox drive trouble, games keep freezing, easy to replace?

[Sketcz]

My xbox seems to be freezing up during play, notably on PDO, whenever it tries to access the disc, it starts freezing, and has crashed several times. It keeps saying the disc is dirty or damaged.
Earlier it froze when the game tried to stream dialogue off the disc.
Nearly lost some valuable save data.

It also once hung in the menu, and kept repeating the same 1 second dialogue over and over.
All of this with PDO. The disc is clean though, no scratches.

I was told this is due to older models having a Thomson drive.

Bought it about 15 months ago(?)
Xcutioner chipped

PDO is original JPN version. I do not run bootlegs, but do run homebrew emus from CDRW.


Can the drive be replaced?
I know a local computer technician, who though a little thick headed, could probably get me the needed repacements parts, and could help install it. Im guessing he'd have the needed screwdrivers etc as well.

I live on the mainland, meaning it wouldnt be easy to ship to any mod store like Saurs.
Hoping it would be possible to do a self repair type job, with the help of the techy I know.


So, how easy it? Does my drive need replacing? Is my whole system going bust? Can it be fixed?
Is there another problem? What should I do?

Feel free to flood with me various bits of info, and thanks in advance.

[John Beaulieu]

got www.premodded.co.uk and purchase a samsung drive - expensive at 70 quid but well worth it since your xbox is modded so MS won't change the drive for you

very easy to change - simply a matter of opening a few screws underneath, taking the upper case off and then swapping drives (exactly the same as swapping a pc drive)

[Sketcz]

so with a computer techy by my side it should be a walk over?
cheers for that.
will look into it.



EDIT:
checked the site, I see its a drive modified by them, or does Samsung make special XBOX drives?

Basically, can I order any Samsung DVD drive, or only the one ordered from that site will work?

[The Raeven]

The modded 616t Samsung PC drive can work in an XBox...
...or the special XBox Samsing DVD drive (one that came with an XBox).

What I mean is: Yes, you CAN buy the modded 616t.
Why? Because it IS the best drive you can get. It reads fast and reads all. *thumbs up*

Or you can buy a regular samsing XBox DVD drive. That one isn't picky or anything bust doesn't read all DVD+-R(W) media (dunno exactly what).

One thing is for certain: The Thomson XBox DVD drive sucks.
Get a Samsung, if it's a retail one or the modded PC one - that's up to you!

[quexex]

I had some dodgy issues with my executer chipped machine where ti would skip stutter and eventually crash on PGR this was resolved by turning of IGR (in game reset) in EVOX which apparent'y some game don't like. However I also found that some of the skins for evox cause the xbox to crash as well so it's worth changing back to the basic one (if your using evox). Give it a try it may save u buying a new drive!

Cheers

quexex