18 replies to this topic

[LyteEdge]

This is something that has been happening to me for about a month now. I'm not sure of the name of the chip, but part of it sticks out of the front of the system right under controller port #1. It has three switches and some of the wires are visible underneath them. I've always been worried that the exposed chip might lead to some problems, and seems to have.

I bring my Xbox around with me to several places; usually during the week, it goes from my house, to work, to friends' houses, and back again. I've been using an Xbox carry case, and I think it's not safe enough for the chip, so I'm going to get rid of it.

The problem that I've been having is that after the system gets moved (after a car ride, not after you just pick it up or something), and you try to turn it on, the system just turns on and off over and over or I get the red light. This is ONLY when the chip is turned on, not off, so I know it can't be my Xbox. However, if I press the chip in a little bit or move the wires a little, it then turns on without a problem. Tonight though, I was playing some games for an hour or so, and then when I went to reset, the system cut off and started acting up again, so it seems to be getting worse. It's working fine now, but I would like to know if anyone thinks something might be loose inside the system...I'm kind of afraid to open it up as I didn't mod the system myself.

Lee

[Prican25]

sounds like the D0 point but not really sure. from your description it sounds like you got an x2 mod

[LyteEdge]

Thanks, Prican. I think it is an X2 mod; "executor" sounds familiar.

The chip seems to be dead now...looks like I got a good two hours of play time out of KOF 2003. But my manager at work wants to sell his modded Xbox off, so I'm probably going to just buy his off him.

Lee

[LyteEdge]

Okay, something HAS to be loose for sure. I just (calmly, I'm not letting this get to me!) slapped the top of the XBox, and the chip turned on again. O_o

Lee

[shadowjin]

hmmm....sounds like a D0 problem...it probably came partially loose....damn newbies soldering these days...haw...of course, there are many problems caused to electronics by the least likely of substances....dirt, dust, plastic shards....you name it.

all the other points are pretty clean and it would take a monkey to mess them up. D0 tho is tricky to non-professional solderers. As for people like me and the electronics elite, we get it every time

-jin

[Vermillion]

I've gotten that same problem during installs and it stems from a bad d0 connection. If it's soldered on, you might see if someone can solder to the back d0 as it has a much larger pad than on the top of the motherboard. Make sure you know which version of the Xbox you have, because the back d0 is different for the older ones (1.0-1.1) vs. the new ones (1.2-1.5). I use back d0 for every install I do now and it's much easier to do and it gives you a much more solid connection.

[LyteEdge]

Someone on Xbox-Scene is telling me that it doesn't sound like the d0 at all, but rather the LPC connection is loose. Does that have to be soldered also?

Lee

[Prican25]

yes

[LyteEdge]

Okay, does this sound like it makes any sense about the problem I'm having?

I opened up the Xbox, and right away, I see that the chip (or part of the chip?) is attached onto the left side of the metal casing, right next to the DVD ROM drive. The entire left metal side looks like it's been bent out; it's not making a straight line like the other sides of the metal casing box are. So I simply pushed the side in, and the system booted right up. If I pushed in too much, it wouldn't boot up, but making it straight again seems to have it working every time. I'm afraid to bend the metal with my hands, so I just took some very strong packing tape and taped it, and now it's working. ; I'm about to put the cover back on, throw the system in a bag, walk around with it, and hook it up again and see if the tape keeps everything in place. If this isn't the solution, I will most likely be buying another modded system; I've got a fully-modded Neo Geo I'd like to sell that would cover the cost of it anyway.

EDIT: I think it HAS to be related to the metal side of the Xbox. I took the tape off as it was making the chip get pushed in a little too tightly against the DVD drive after the cover was on, and just bent in the metal walls a little. Walked around with it, did a few small jumps, etc. Plugged it in, same problem. Just pressed in the side a tiny bit and it turned on again without ny era. I think I'm going to have to keep playing around with it, but I am convinced nothing has come undone and needs to be resoldered.

Lee

Edited by LyteEdge, 19 February 2004 - 07:29 PM.

[Prican25]

hmm it might be a bad gnd (ground) cuz the mod is meant to be stuck on the side where the dvd-rom is at. also check the connector where you attach the wire harness

[LyteEdge]

I figured out the problem! Turns out that it was indeed related to where the mod chip was placed. Something must have hit the system hard enough when I had it in my trunk to make the metal side of the frame with the chip attached get "bent" inwards. Whenever it would touch the DVD drive, some sort of short must have happened, causing the chip to keep turning on and off. I finally caught this by removing the Xbox shell and turning the system on with the metal side bent a little back out, and it worked perfectly. Reattaching the shell caused it to do the same problem. So I bent back the side even more and put the shell back on, and it's working great. I may sand down the inside plastic from the Xbox outer casing though; I think the grooves on the inside were part of the problem causing it to press into the DVD drive more than it should be. But I'll most likely be buying that extra modded XBox my manager has; just seems like too good of a deal to pass up.


Lee