I’ve got a collection of faulty original Xbox consoles here, most of them version 1.6 machines, and I’ve been having a go at getting a few of them working again. One even arrived with its casing smashed in the post. The joys of buying broken hardware!

Two of the machines had DVD drive problems. One was showing error 12, while another had a Samsung SDG-605 drive that didn’t want to eject properly. Sometimes the tray would open after giving the console a tap, but that’s hardly an ideal way to operate a DVD drive.

After a bit of searching and experimenting, I turned my attention to the magnetic clamp above the spindle. The magnet holds the disc in place while it’s spinning, but on this particular drive it appeared to be gripping a little too enthusiastically and interfering with the tray opening.

My solution? A round 25%-off sticker! I placed it inside the clamp assembly to act as a very thin spacer, reducing the magnetic grip just enough for the mechanism to release properly. Not exactly an expensive replacement part, is it?

There was still the other faulty drive to deal with. I swapped over the circuit board from the drive with the eject problem to the one that had been showing error 12, and that combination worked. Between the two faulty drives, I’d managed to get one functioning drive together. I’ll take that as a result!

This was an SDG-605 F revision, as fitted to one of the Xbox 1.6 machines I had here. On another machine I’d still be checking the usual suspects, including the drive belt, dust and anything catching in the rails. This time, though, it was the magnet holding on a bit too enthusiastically. Not exactly a repair I expected to finish with a discount sticker!

Sometimes all it takes is a sticker and a few spare parts. I wonder whether I’ve got any 50%-off stickers lying around?

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