Microsoft XBOX Assembly instructions

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WARNING!!! KEEP YOURSELF AND YOUR XBOX SAFE!
First of all if you have not opened your Xbox and you are having problems, think about using
your warranty if it’s still covered. If you open the box it will invalidate your warranty.
CONTENTS
WARNING!!! Keep Yourself and Your Xbox SAFE! page 2
DVD Repair page 3
Determine the manufacturer of your Xbox DVD drive page 4
Determine Version of Xbox page 6
Xbox Power Supply Compatibility page 7
Power Supply Failure page 8
Convert a PSU 1.0/1.1 to a 1.2-1.5 page 9
Xbox Version Detection page 11
Xbox Version Detection – (Step1 Image1) page 13
Cleaning your Xbox DVD drive page 20
Crack open that Xbox page 24
Removing the Xbox Front Panel (AKA bezel/face plate) page 29
Thomson Xbox Laser Installation page 30
Thompson DVD Tray Removal and Realignment page 33
Phillips Xbox DVD Drive Complete Disassembly page 36
Phillips Laser Installation page 42
Samsung DVD Complete Disassembly page 49
Thompson Potentiometer (Pot) Adjustment page 54
Ejecting DVD drive Manually (Emergency Eject) page 57
Explanation of Error Codes page 59
Repairing Traces and Lifted Pads page 76
Original Xbox Controller Repair page 78
Xbox Locks Up / Flashing Red/Orange page 82
1.6 Xbox will not power on page 84
Fan Replacement -- Alternate Power Source for Fan page 85
The Short Xbox Diagnosis Answer List page 86
DVD Drive failure page 87

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Warnings
Read the warning labels on the case and internal components Microsoft puts those there to
indemnify from responsibility because it is in fact dangerous in there. The power supply is
exposed, when it is not plugged in it can still hold a significant amount of power, it can shock
you, if it is plugged in and you touch it, it WILL shock you. Taking proper precautions it can be
perfectly safe. A few things to consider.
Damage to you
High voltage electrical shock hazard, touching almost any part of the power supply while it is
connected will result in a shock. Even a brief shock at just the right moment/voltage etc can result
in messed up heart rhythm and death. Consider wrapping the power cord into a bundle, when the
case is open the cord stays under the lid in a bundle. When the lid is on you can un-bundle the
cord and plug it in. This may sound like an exaggeration but you need to be very responsible with
your actions.
Damage to your Xbox
Electro Static Discharge ESD
Low humidity increases static charge build up (more accurately it decreases the ability for the air
to dissipate charge); movement of one object across another creates a difference in static charge.
You know what clothes you have that create static electricity, don't wear those when working on
electronics. It’s not the static charge that causes damage to electronics; it is the difference in
charge, and specifically the rapid change in charge that damages equipment.
Each ring represents any object, lets think of one of them as you and one of them as your Xbox,
regardless of whether you are positive or negatively charged or both objects are either positive or
both negative, the charge wants to equalize itself when the two objects meet causing a static
spark. You don't need to create a spark to do damage to your precious electronics. Imagine an
aquarium with a divider in the middle, one side is filled half way full and the other is filled
completely full, if the divider were suddenly removed the water would slosh in both directions
until it equalized and again became still. The trick is to see your Xbox is not the aquarium!
The most common method is to ground oneself this guarantees that you are at a lower potential
than the equipment you are working on, any static charge leaves the equipment and enters you.
This can still cause problems so ideally both the equipment you are working on and yourself are
grounded. For safety reasons use an approved static wrist strap, these are designed to "break" if
too many amps go through them.

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DVD REPAIR
If your Xbox is freezing during games or returning the dreaded Dirty Disc Error you have a
DVD drive problem.
If this all sounds like too much work you can always buy a replacement drive.
First off, DO NOT BLOW CANNED AIR INTO THE DRIVE WITHOUT OPENING IT!
This will almost certainly make things worse, you just assure that the dust will be redistributed
evenly inside the drive and this includes a coating on the optics you are trying to clean.
Steps to take in order to resolve Dirty Disk Errors
1. Use a standard CD/DVD Cleaner; they look like a normal CD but with two miniature brushes
on them. This will only clean the lens. Sometimes this is all you need to be up and running.
2. Use this information to figure out what drive you are working with and what must be done to
clean the lens in the next step.
Determine the manufacturer of your Xbox DVD drive – see page 4
3. Clean the lens and mirror manually.
4. Adjust the Potentiometer (pot) on the laser - see page 54
5. Replace the Laser in the DVD drive.
6. If none of the above options revive your drive you can rest assured you have tried it all get a
new drive, they do go dead
You may notice that some of your games play fine while others do not. This is usually because
some games are on DVD media and some are on CD media. CD's are single layer media while
DVD's are multi layer media. This means it is easier to read a CD than it is to read a DVD. The
concept of a DVD is to have several semi transparent layers of data. It is sort of like taking a few
CD's stacking them together into a single disc. To read the 2-4 layers of data you must ignore the
previous layers and pay attention to ones deeper in the disc. Obviously this is a more complex
task and more subject to read errors.
For instance the double disk of Jet Set Radio Future is a CD while Halo is on a DVD. Most often
you will notice the bottom of the media is one of two colors, gold DVD's and Silver CD's. It is not
100% that gold=DVD and silver=CD so if you find this rule of thumb to not be true in every case.
If you know you have a DVD problem because the drive will not open or close, stay opened
or closed or makes grinding and popping noises
The number one quick fix for the DVD drive is to re-align the tray. This is common with CD
players, CD changers as well. Many times just from normal use a gear will skip or something will
jump track, unless all the pieces are in the right place at the time it powers up it will not work. So
by removing the tray, aligning the internal parts to their starting position and reinserting the tray
you can often bring a drive back from the dead - see Tray Alignment Procedure page 33

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Determine the manufacturer of your X-Box DVD drive
Check Xbox DVD version without opening your Xbox.
All DVD drives listed are compatible with all versions of X-Box Console 1.0-1.5
See “how to fix dirty disc errors” for more info.
Hit eject on your X-Box and check out the tray. The Samsungs extra cut-outs are pretty obvious
so that is easy to pick out. If you have a Thompson or Phillips compare the size of the inner
space, the Thompson’s is narrower and this makes the inner ring for small size disc’s look to be
about halfway from the centre space to the outer tray, while the Phillips is narrower. Also look at
the interior empty space, the Phillips tray is somewhat keyhole shaped while the Thompson is a
smooth arch.
Just for further documentation here is a shot of the bottom of the drives. Notice the big hump on
the bottom of the Philips, what the heck is that thing there for? It’s like a little secret
compartment for smuggling or something, totally empty in the interior. My best guess is that it
just leaves extra space under the optics and becomes a little dust pocket to help route dust away
from the lens.

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Updated some time ago, Phillips came out with a new drive that makes use of this hump. The
laser is positioned vertically and the PCB is designed to allow the laser to pass through the board
and make use of this empty area. Apparently, this was the design they intended to initially use
when designing the X-Box DVD drive case and only implemented the changes to the internals
recently.

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DETERMINE VERSION OF X-BOX
There are currently 7 versions of X-Box on the market today (10/24/04). These are referred to as
1.0, 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5 and 1.6
•All original X-Box DVD drives work in all consoles regardless of version
•Only 1.0 versions have or need USB daughterboard’s.
•power supplies are compatible with 1.0-1.1 motherboards
•1.2-1.5 power supplies are compatible with 1.2-1.5 motherboards
•1.6 power supplies are ONLY compatible with 1.6 motherboards (see third photo for
visible differences
•Note: 1.0/1.1 to 1.2-1.5 power supply conversion – see page 9

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XBOX POWER SUPPLY COMPATIBILITY
You can convert a 1.0/1.1 to a 1.2-1.5 by using this diagram
1.0-1.1 Consoles have power supplies with an AT style connector (one row of pins)
1.2-1.5 Consoles have power supplies that have an ATX style connector (two rows of pins)

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POWER SUPPLY FAILURE
Power supply failure, the darn thing just won’t turn on. Usually proceeded by a popping sound
right after attempting to turn on. In addition to the pop there is usually a hot smell and possibly
faint smoke. Check out this link if you want to take a crack at repairing. I find this to be a waste
of time since most often the fuse blew for a reason and if you do not fix the cause it will just blow
again or swap it out. If you do not mind an ugly pile sitting next to the TV you could try to use a
standard AT power supply.
Here is a picture of a Delta Power Supply on top and Mineba on the bottom.
All power supplies I carry are for 1.0-1.1 consoles and are interchangeable. The manufacturer
makes no difference, to keep costs down we do not distinguish between one brand and another
when stocking/shipping. If you order a power supply and install it I suspect you will have a
working X-Box again. Occasionally not, sometimes the lightning may have damaged the mother
board as well. I always feel guilty when telling people what to do I would guess 75-90% of the
time the power supply fixes it but if I answer 100 mails that's like 10-25 people that followed
what I said and it didn't work out. Did everything in the house get fried, only the X-Box or the X-
Box and some other stuff? I think the degree of damage to other appliances may give you some
clues, if the lightning struck the wire between your house and the pole I would say that is the
worst case and everything in the house probably got ruined including the motherboard, if the X-
Box was the only equipment affected I would say that is the best case and replacing the power
supply will probably fix it.

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CONVERT A PSU 1.0/1.1 TO A 1.2-1.5
Use v1.0/v1.1 PSU for v1.2/1.3 console (v0.1)
For those of you that have a blown & irreparable v1.2/1.3 X-Box power supply unit, you can now
use a v1.0/v1.1 Xbox power supply unit to replace it. Lik-Sang offer a replacement v1.0/v1.1
(variable input) power supply.
What you will need:
Connector from v1.2/1.3 power supply or Connector from ATX 20 pin PC power supply.
Soldering iron & solder
Heat shrink or electrical tape
v1.0/v1.1 Xbox power supply
The v1.0/1.1 PSU connector has got 12 wires connecting to the motherboard.
The v1.2/1.3 PSU connector has got 15 wires (extra wire colors are: 1 x Black/1 x Orange/1 x
Red) connecting to the motherboard.
We want to connect the 1.2/1.3 PSU connector to the 1.0/1.1 PSU by connecting the following:
Pin assignment of the connecting Xbox V1.0/V1.1 PSU to v1.2/1.3 PSU:
V1.0/1.1 V1.2/1.3
PIN 1 CONNECTS TO PIN 11
PIN 2 CONNECTS TO PIN 1
PIN 3 CONNECTS TO PIN 2
PIN 4 CONNECTS TO PIN 3 & PIN 13
PIN 5 CONNECTS TO PIN 7 & PIN 18
PIN 6 CONNECTS TO PIN 15
PIN 7 CONNECTS TO PIN 5
PIN 8 CONNECTS TO PIN 9
PIN 9 CONNECTS TO PIN 14
PIN 10 CONNECTS TO PIN 16 & PIN 19
PIN 11 CONNECTS TO PIN 20
PIN 12 CONNECTS TO PIN 10
Pin configurations are as follows:
This is looking from above at the CONNECTOR at the end of the PSU not from above the
connector on the motherboard - have a look at your PSU connector and it will be as clear as day.
The colors shown are the original PSU colors, and the other 3 colors on the v1.0 are the only 3
different colours that the generic PSU supplied by Lik-Sang uses. The 'X' indicates pins that are
not required for the version 1.2/1.3.

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Join each wire, soldering each one, and insulate with heat shrink or insulation tape.
Plug it in and go!

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XBOX VERSION DETECTION
IMPORTANT: Make sure you always start this guide with step 1
STEP 1
Check which brand of Video Chip you have (v1.0/v1.1/v1.2v/1.3 - v1.4/v1.5 - v1.6)
LOCATION of Video Chip on motherboard (same on all versions)
The video chip is located in the red square area
Now check what brand of video chip you have (click picture that matches your Xbox)
IMAGE1: 'Conexant' written on your video chip

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IMAGE2: 'Focus' written on your video chip
IMAGE3: 'xcalibur' + Xbox-logo on your video chip
Select which picture matches with your Xbox:
Your Xbox is like on image 1: see page 13
Your Xbox is like on image 2: see page 15
Your Xbox is like on image 3: see page 16

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Xbox Version Detection - (Step1 Image1)
Check if there's a FAN on the GPU (v1.0 - v1.1/v1.2/v1.3/v1.4/v1.5/v1.6)
LOCATION of the GPU on the motherboard (same on all versions)
The GPU is located in the red area
Now check if you have a FAN on the GPU (click picture that matches your Xbox)
PICTURE1: There's a fan on the GPU

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PICTURE2: There's no fan on the GPU
Select which picture matches with your Xbox:
Your Xbox is like on image 1: You have an Xbox v 1.0
Your Xbox is like on image 2: see page 17

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XBOX VERSION DETECTION - (STEP1 IMAGE2)
LPC power/ground (v1.4 - v1.5)
There's no visual method to distinguish a v1.5 from a v1.4. Xbox v1.5 has power and ground
disconnected from LPC.
So you will have to measure if pin 2 (ground) on the LPC-bus is connected to the ground plane (a
screw, for example) or not
Use a multimeter to check if pin2 (red point on images) is connected with ground (screw plate for
example). If you prefer you can also measure 3.3v (LPC pin 9) (Xbox must be ON) ... it's dead on
a v1.5.
*NOTE* don’t just assume you have a v1.5 because you have a new Xbox. There are very
few v1.5 Xboxes (we don't have exact data about this - but probably only produced on a few
production lines in August 2003 (as test run, production fault ... we don't know). As far as
we know MS produced the v1.4 again on all lines after that. Do the test above to make sure
which version you have. You most probably have a v1.4!
Your LPC 3.3v/ground is connected: You have an Xbox v 1.4
Your LPC 3.3v/ground is disconnected: You have an Xbox v 1.5

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XBOX VERSION DETECTION - (STEP1 IMAGE3)
RAM Model/Brand (v1.6 - v1.6b)
LOCATION of one of the RAM chips
The RAM chip is in the red area
Now check which brand of RAM chips your Xbox has below
PICTURE1: RAM made by Samsung (Samsung written on chip)
PICTURE2: RAM made by Hynix (Hynix written on chip)
Select which picture matches with your Xbox:
Your Xbox is like on picture 1: You have an Xbox v 1.6
Your Xbox is like on picture 2: You have an Xbox v 1.6b

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Xbox Version Detection - (Step 2 Image2)
Power connector (v1.0/v1.1 - v1.2/v1.3/v1.4/v1.5/v1.6)
LOCATION of the power connector on the motherboard (same on all versions)
The power connector is in the red area
Now check how many rows of pins your power connector has
PICTURE1: 1 row of pins
PICTURE2: 2 rows of pins
Select which picture matches with your Xbox:
Your Xbox is like on image 1: You have an Xbox v 1.1
Your Xbox is like on image 2: see page 18

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XBOX VERSION DETECTION - SERIAL NUMBERS (V1.2 - V1.3)
There's no perfect method to see the difference between a v1.2 and v1.3.
We do know that all PAL Special Edition translucent green Xbox consoles (this is NOT the same
as the NTSC Special Edition Halo Xbox) are still v1.2.
If you have a normal black Xbox, try the serial# check in STEP3 on http://www.xbox-
linux.org/wiki/Xbox_Versions_HOWTO to see if you have a v1.2 or v1.3
You have a v1.2 serial or PAL translucent green Xbox (not the NTSC SE Halo):
You have an Xbox v 1.2
You have a v1.3 serial: You have an Xbox v 1.3

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XBOX VERSION DETECTION - V1.0
=> You have a Xbox v 1.0 <=
XBOX VERSION DETECTION - V1.1
=> You have a Xbox v 1.1 <=
XBOX VERSION DETECTION - V1.2
=> You have a Xbox v 1.2 <=
XBOX VERSION DETECTION - V1.3
=> You have a Xbox v 1.3 <=
XBOX VERSION DETECTION - V1.4
=> You have a Xbox v 1.4 <=
XBOX VERSION DETECTION - V1.5
=> You have a Xbox v 1.5 <=
XBOX VERSION DETECTION - V1.6
=> You have a Xbox v 1.6 <=
XBOX VERSION DETECTION - V1.6b
=> You have a Xbox v 1.6b <=

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CLEANING YOUR XBOX DVD DRIVE
If you are getting constant dirty disk errors, what do you have to loose, give this a try. The
majority of the drives are not really dirty cleaning it will not fix the problem; they are
getting out of adjustment or just getting weak. Try not to get your hopes up, too much
sometimes you will be improving a DVD from constant errors to less frequent glitching and
pausing during movies and games. But I guess that is better than nothing.
See disassembly procedure for details on how to get at your Xbox DVD drive!
Necessary tools:
Torx Number #10 screwdriver
Philips Number #1 screwdriver
Q-Tips
Lens Cleaner
Compressed air
Helpful tools:
Magnetized Philips Number #1 screwdriver or screw grabber
Some words of advice before we begin. Leave the small ribbon cables that connect components
within the drive alone. If you feel you must disconnect and reconnect a few while you are in
there, note that there is a brown wedge in each of the sockets that needs to be pulled out gently to
allow the ribbon to be released.
There are four screws that need to be removed. Two in the rear