Xbox 360 will not read games or dvd's

Wow, so many replies!

The open tray issue is normally linked to the laser itself. You do NOT have to replace the entire drive, as doing so may cause you further problems.

If your 360 is under warranty, send it in to be replaced.

If not, then there are things to try!

Open the console (using the various online tutorials) and remove the DVD-ROM drive. Open the drive and you'll have access to the laser. Get a Q-tip (cotton bud) and moisten one end with some boiled water. Rub gently over the lens of the laser, then use the other end to dry. Try the game again.

If the above doesn't work, purchase another drive assembly, matching what you already have. You could just buy the laser, but there's no point if it's something other than the laser (and you get one with a new drive). If you have a Hitachi drive, make sure you buy a Hitachi. The same with a Toshiba-Samsung. Keep the same drive type. New drives can be purchased from Ebay. For Toshiba Samsung's, either the MS25 or MS28 will be fine as the insides are exact. Hitachi's are likewise: any version will do.

Here's the good part: you don't need to mess with the firmware on your drive, since the problem is mechanical. Carefully remove the DVD logic board from your faulty drive (the circuit board inside the DVD-ROM itself) and get a Sharpie/Marker and tick it/sign it/etc. Something which you can distinguish one from the other. The boards will look the same and you don't want to mix them up!.

Set your board to one side and get your replacement drive. Open it up too and remove the board in the same way. Now put your board in this new drive, carefully replacing the cables (there are guides online for this too). Close the drive and try it.

Because you're keeping the PCB from your drive, your DVD key will match still and you won't have any configuration problems!

Open your 360 up.. Youtube a Tut. Hopefully your Unplayable Disc prob is the one I had. Once you open your 360. Pop Open then Disc Tray Once that is open look a for a magnet. It might be in the middle where it spins the CD. If not look at the top part of your tray it might be on that. because it is a magnet it is attatched to the top. It shouldn't be there. get Super glue, glue it back together.. Glue it where it is suppose to be. in the center where the disc spins, in the slot. You'll see where it is. Once its glued back put everything back together and your 360 should be working brand new. I had this problem a while back and right now I am playing GRAW... waiting for GTA 4 to come out soon but yeah. Everything should be working fine. my email is Tonykins@live.ca if you want to ask any questions ill be free to help. oh btw you need a T-10 Screwdriver to open the 360 so make sure you have those first [=

I replaced the lazer on my DVD drive and it works great now! It took about $30.00 (shipped from ebay) and about 1/2 hour to replace.

Try Pot Calibration. Also for you guys who have replaced DVD Drive and still no joy... Did you transfer the key which paired the drive to your motherboard? If not then that is going to be your problem. For a tutoral on pot calibration check this:

http://dwl.xbox-scene.com/tutorial/XBOX_360_POT_CALIBRATION_V1.0_by_Moda.pdf

Hope this helps someone.

Repair without open your 360!

Take a old hard disk 3,5 inch (the older, the better). Open the hard disk and rip-off the magnets (yes there are two magnets in a hard drive). Put one of the magnets on top of the middle of your dvd-drive. There are enough pictures on the net, so you can see were your dvd is.

Put in a cheap music CD. Listen if its playing. If it play's and make no damage to the disk put in your game! It will play like new. This is a nice solution for the ratteling noise.

Ring of dead; fix without opening.
rip of your front, rip of the gray plastic under the hard drive an the other site. Take a vacuum cleaner and suc out all dust! Some 360 will work like new, don't put it on your fans! They will die.

Greetzzzz

I've just read somewhere that a blogger claims he was told by a Microsoft rep that the 360 wasn't designed to play games when used in a vertical position. Allegedly, after putting the machine horizontally, the problems reading games stopped........

you need to replace the DVD drive!

send it back

wrap it in a towel until you get the RRoD then ship it off to Microsuck for a free fix

I had the same problem: 360 would play music CDs, burned DVDs, and a demo classic XBOX game, but would not play store purchase DVD movies or 360 games.

In my case I had a bad laser assembly. Since my console was well out of warranty I purchased a new laser assembly off eBay, opened the 360, replaced the laser assembly, and now everything is working as expected.

If your console is under warranty, call Microsoft and have them repair/replace it. If not, hop on over to eBay, purchase a new laser assembly, replace, and you're good to go.

well take out all of ur xbox wires and reset the console , and leave it for 30 mins the max

Guys. I have been successful in repairing my ring of death 360 by carrying out a mod on the heatsinks. Does require you to be somewhat technically minded. The X clamps that hold the heatsinks in place stress the motherboard so that when it gets hot it warps - causing the ROD. This mod replaces the X clamps with nuts and bolts and this prevents the stress. Like I say I tried it out on one of my 360s (had nothing to loose) and to my surpise it worked. And that was 6 months ago and it still works. Check out the guide at this URL:
http://rbjtech.bulldoghome.com/pages/rbjtech_bulldoghome_com/XClamp.htm

If in doubt then send it off to MS.

As for the "insert DVD in a 360" problem - the laser is shot and so the drive needs replacing. Can source one on ebay but before fitting you need to flash it with the correct serial number else the 360 wont like it. There are guides online that can tell you how to do this.

Hope this helps somone.

hi there i need help i gat a xbox 360 offf e bay to fix i did the x mod kit and it works but now it will only read cds no dvd or games it says to play x box 360 put in a x box 360 cd for both dvd and x box 360 game any help would be great thanks for your time...

The laser is shot. I called MS, and they said they will send me a new box for $120!

im getting a new drive then i will let all you know how it goes so you might not have to send it in.. Mr Clepto

hey guys i sended my 360 for some guys repair it at some kind of depot where they fix those kind of stuff, and they're repairing it at the moment, but they told me it was laser or the optic or something like that, so the point is like they bought it from internet, and they're fixing it at the moment, so it cost me around $110.00, so I would recommend you go to a place like this and pay them for 'em to fix it, or if you don't have that amount of cash, pay them for check your xbox 360 and tell you what's the problem, for you to buy from internet or somewhere else, and then pay them for them to install on you 360. They told me that it'll work so and I read somewhere else or here I don't remember, that, that was what was wrong with it, so I think you could try this.

switch it horizantal

Get in your car and drive to the nearest interstate. Look around for cops and when the coast is clear speed up to, oh around a hundred mph. Roll down the window and toss the P.O.S. out and watch it bust into a million pieces. I'm tellin you that's the most fun I've had on that piece of crap since The Ring Of Death... 

the laser is weak for reading 360 games, mine does the same thing and im just now getting around to fixing it

bust a nut in the cd tray close it. then it will work!k.

replace the dvd drive

I've had the problem since installing a new DVD rom drive, I'm just going to claim on the home insurance! HAHA that'sthe only solution I can comeup with! Good luck toyou all though...

1. Do not set your xbox360 sideways (up and down).
2. Do not plug your xbox 360 into a surge strip

3. Do not put your xbox 360 on a carpet

4. Do not put your xbox 360 in an entertainment system cabinet

5. Do not buy one of those crappy add on fans to put on the side...it will make things worse

6. Do not open your xbox if it is under 3 years old...try to get microsoft to repair ANY AND ALL issues for FREE and if they refuse contact advocate@microsoft.com


Microsoft and Jabil (jabil.com) who are the folks who repair and refurbish the xbox360 units both say the above statements are true. You just need to talk to the right people to get the work done for free

ALSO! DO NOT! Pay for shipping!

Turned 360 upside down in the horizontal position one quick time and this fixed the problem. I can now play the games with the 360 in the normal vertical position.

I Have a quick fix that works for me every time. For as weird as it may sound, this really fixed the open tray issue. When the 360 is first turned on for the day, it's cold, therefore if you just let it sit on your dashboard for 20 minutes without touching or doing anything but just let it sit there on idol for 20 minutes or so. Then open back up the tray, then close it back it will take about 30 seconds to a minute and it should read with no problems whatsoever!!! Another thing that I strongly recommend is to install your game straight to the hard drive, therefore all it has to do is read it long enough to just verify it is the actual game. I'm telling you it will add life to your reader and could save you alot of cash!!! Hope this helped it really worked for me.

I had the same problem, exactly, and I ended up needing the laser drive replaced. Also, cleaning the lens is not good for it. Even if it does work, it will keep getting worse(we tried it with our first one..oops)

I had a 360 that would spin the game up than stop and do nothing, i took it apart, used a q-tip to clean the laser lens and it worked fine after that.

All I called them and they said it was my xbox, even though i was playing games the day before! They resused to admit it was the new dash and said it's £60 to get fixed. I'm waiting till enough people have call them for them to realise there's a real problem. I you've not called do so and get a reference. th enough calls they will have to admit the problem.. wont they?? lol

thanks for all the help. my xbox 360 is now working. not sure what i did i think it was losing the screws that helped.i took it apart again to check the magnet and it was in the right place. took the cover off the dvd drive and ran it open it made alot of noise cause the top of the dvd cover holds the disk in place so i repleaced it and the games read so i put all the screws back in the drive and main consol half turn looser and has been working great since thanks for all the input.

My dvd drive kept opening and closing. Useless. I brought a new one for $35+shipping.
I then got the
To Play This Disc, Put It In An Xbox 360 Console message. I then took my old card out of the old drive and put it into the new drive and now everything works great! Phew!!!

its simple use a dvd lens cleaner and it works like new

you need to bang on it softly

CALL 1-800-4MY-XBOX

You can replace the laser/drive or if your advanced in the electronics field, you can adjust the potentiometers UP 10 percent. You will need the tools to open your console, the drive, a small flathead screwdriver to adjust the pots, and a multimeter so you can test the pots.

Send it back to Microsoft for repairs, keep in mind your resonsible for the cost because you attempted to fix the unit yourself. It's easier to call and have them replace the unit free of charge and free shipping.

So I have a PS3, I walked into my room, started it up and realized something strange.
It played my game perfectly!
No skips, no "disc is unreadable," no laser problems; I DIDN'T EVEN HAVE TO SWITCH MY DVD DRIVE!
:O

Since I got my first 360, I've had problems. My first console I had to send back for a freezing issue, which turned into just a black screen showing up, that's it. Then my second 360 began having the same problem that is being discussed here- the title screen would load and everything, but when I'd put the game disc in, nothing. It couldn't read it. It would just stay on "Open Tray". Some words of advice: if you haven't already, put your 360 on its side. Play with it horizontal. Both the problems I've had with my 360 are due to overheating problems. The bottom of the 360 is vented, it has holes, my machines have probably just needed to breathe more. I put my 360 horizontal and I've had no problems since. I firmly believe the 360 was meant to played on its side, for many reasons, and I don't know why Microsoft advertises and displays it vertical. I seriously think it causes problems with the machine in some instances. 

One of the great things about in-game money and virtual economies is that they never went through this whole economic meltdown. So take that to all of those people who think the real world is better then computer games!
harie
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GAMES WILL NOT PLAY IN CONSOLE

First is there a ring on the disk. If there is than the xbox-360 will not read it. If there is no ring than it's damaged but can be fixed. Take it to a machine that will buffer it. That means it will fill and repair the dents and it should work. Take it to Blockbuster and they will or Family video. Last thing is if there is a ring around it it can't be fixed at all. You welcome.

if the product is under a year old and you have prove of purchase you can take it back to the store you brought it from and they will have to repair it refund it or replace it hope this helps sam.

Either you need a firmware update on you xbox 360 which can be obtained by connecting to xbox live and downloading it when automatically prompted, or the dvd drive unit is failing. DO NOT clean the lens with alcohol and qtips as this will only blur the laser lens! Even if you put water in with that alcohol, it won't save your 360!

it just may work who knows until you try it thanks

I just had this problem today.  After banging on it, blowing all the dust out of it, putting it on its side, it still wouldn't work.  I didn't want to open it because I don't know where my slotted tool opening thingy is.  So this is what I did: (Really stupid, but it worked)  I heated up the top and side under the hard drive with a hair dryer for about 90 seconds.  Some dust also came out so maybe it was on the laser.  I don't know and I really don't care since it solved my problem.  BTW when the XBOX doesn't work my 15 year old is very whiny and likes to drive me crazy till I fix it.

Hope this goofy trick works for you!!!!

Found the problem...

After many different methods suggested on here, such as banging on the top of the box, unplugging with tray open, cleaning the lens by hand, and many more with no success.

I finally found a video where the guy suggested cleaning the motor bearing. I opened up my xbox and took of the cover to my drive. I plugged it back it to see what the disc was doing. When I restarted the system and placed the disc in it did not spin at all. It seems the motor or atleast the spindle was not spinning. I went ahead and removed the motor, cleared out the old grease, re lubricated the motor and put it back together.

Success...I would suggest trying this next time or just replacing the hard drive for 30 bucks...

my was full of dust i cleaned it a bit and it works fine now

Try this link . . . www.microsoft.com/Xbox360Console

To find your best solution.

7

Call 1-800-4myxbox they have excellent customer service. IF the machine is still under warranty they will arrange to have it fixed. If the machine is NOT under warranty they can still fix it but you will be responsible for shipping and repair costs. Most times it is cheaper to purchase a new base unit for 199.99 and then just move your hard drive over to the new unit.

Sometimes it not that the lazer is shot, just dirty. Simply open up the dvd drive and clean it, various youtube videos shop you how to open it, to clean it just wipe the area around the little LED looking light , if it works ur fixed at no cost, if it doesnt then it needs replacing.

My XBOX-360 is not reading games disc at all, I've tryed many times with different games but no luck. Is my drive faulty, can you please help.

Thanks

I know this is gonna sound stupid but i was haveing the same problem open tray everytime u put the disc in and well i put my finger inside and pushed the back of the tray and it all of a sudden started working i guess its just worth a try

i can only play cd's and dvd's but not games do u know how to fix that

2 red light flashing?

I have no solution. My Xbox is 20 days old and it refuses to read any discs, and if it does it only lasts a few minutes. Circuit City refuses to exchange it since I opened it. Not sure how your supposed to discover problems without opening. This sucks!

My disc drive keeps opening, what do I do.

hi.... im not a idiot BUT i did make the stupid mistake of not markin my old drive when i bought a new drive....this is the story .... the drive wouldnt work so i bought a new one and replaced it ....this didnt work so i switched the boards on the drives to see if this would help after i noticed a break on the connector slot for the lead which runs from the back of the drive to the xbox. it will now spin the disc but the laser wont reset to the right place which leads me to believ its the eye but not knowin which is my original drive i cant say for sure i am reluctent....i think thats spelt wrong....to buy a new laser as i dont know if there is anythin i can do to correct this for instance flashing the drive if anyone coulkd let me know the following id be a VERY VERY happy bunny... i need to know if me havin a diffenert board to the original laser would be a problem if flashing the drive will reset the laser or if theres anything else i can do to achieve that. ive looked about abit id say and i cant find anyone else who has this problem and has gone through the same process to fix it..... the two drives were identical but like i said the replacment drive didn't work SO do i need to flash the drive to make the new or old board work with the new or old laser and other components or will flashing the drive reset the laser. please can some very nice person take a moment of their time to educate me futher and drop me a email as i dont come on here. Thanks JorJ i am on xbox live because that still works which im happy for all ive been able to do is play downloaded demos which im very thankfull for but i need more!! add me to msn or xbox live if you think you can tell me ANYTHIG that may help JorJ_aka_antelope@hotmail.com gamer tag is JorJ antelope thanks for reading and more so if you bothered to answer back

Greetings to all having problems with your xbox 360,,, I had this same problem but as of now it is fixed. if your game is under warranty then send it in its a bad laser. but if it's not under warranty you are going to have to open it up. There are plenty of instructions out there on how to open the xbox 360. you tubes a good place. Next see what kind of dvd drive you have,, samsung etc. go on ebay and buy a replacement drive... 35 or 40 bucks. and replace it its easy a monkey could do it,, but there is one key factor here and this where I went wrong at first you must grab the key drive from the old dvd drive and replace it on the new one . its on the very top, its green and looks like a mini motherboard. that has to go with your new dvd drive or it wont work. hope this helps

the towel trick is just retarded like a few of the other suggestions in this forum try the x-clamp mod and the "penny-fix" then clean out your 360 with air, just use a dry q-tip to clean your lens cause nine times out of ten it is just dust, also the pots calibration is another great one to try, swapping out the circuit boards in the dvd-roms is also genius thank you to who ever posted that one

Place ur X-box upside down horizontal and that makes it read more clearly and that should fix it.

towel trick won't fix this one!

try another game disc

just try a different game

send it back

replace the dvd drive!