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[evill_e]

Hey guys, new poster here.. Let me get right into it then.

My box has a Hitachi drive, and like many other of those, I ran into the magnet problem. Cracked the box open and epoxied the magnet back into place. Now for some reason, whenever I  try to play games, it sounds like there's a chainsaw inside my box.. Resulting in slower load times, and certain backup games not even loading at all.

I figure the best way to solve this problem (or the only way I know, actually) would be to just replace the drive with a new OEM Drive purchased off eBay. So, the questions are:

-Is there a better option than just buying a new DVD Drive off eBay? I was pretty thorough in looking at the drive and the inside to make sure everything was in place and it was, I'm thinking this is my only option.

-I've read that upon buying a new drive, it needs to be flashed to work correctly with the corresponding motherboard. Is there a walkthrough on how to do this anywhere? Or can someone tell me the steps to take to do it properly?

Thanks for your help ahead of time, guys.

[RDC]

If you really used epoxy to secure the magnet back in place then it's probably not in there correctly. just a couple drops of super glue is all ya really need and that doesn't add to the height the magnet sits, which is what sounds like is wrong with your drive. Sounds like ya have too much glue under the magnet so it's not in the Spindle deep enough, so the top half is hitting it too soon and it's not clamping down on the disc properly, hence the nasty sound ya hear.

If you used a good bit of glue to secure it odds are it's sitting up too high now and that's the problem, so ya have a couple of options.

1. Try and get the magnet back out of the motor and secure it properly and make sure it's in the spindle like it should be. If this isn't possible or it's damaged in the process you're left with the other options.

2. Just get a new Spindle motor, you can pick them up in the 360 B/S/T as well as eBay I'm sure.

3. Get a new drive that's the same make as yours, doesn't have the be the exact same version, and then either swap the motors or logic boards. You don't have to mess with any FW or key issues this way either.


The only time you have to mess with the key/FW is if you're installing a different drive make/model or there is something wrong with the actual logic board in your old drive, failed modchip install, bad flash or some other issue that's specifically on that board making swapping it to a new chassis pointless since the problem would just go with it. Your drive just seems to have an issue with the magnet still and I wouldn't say a whole new drive is needed at this point.

This post has been edited by RDC: Oct 24 2007, 05:42 PM

[evill_e]

Thanks for the help RDC. I'm going to look into getting a new spindle motor, though will it be hard to replace the old one? Is there a walkthrough somewhere that will tell me the proper way of replacing it, or is it easy enough to figure out?

Also, do I have to get a spindle motor from the same exact drive that I'm currently using? Or can I use a samsung spindle in my hitachi drive? Thanks again.

This post has been edited by evill_e: Oct 26 2007, 09:15 PM

[RDC]

You need a Spindle motor from another 360 Hitachi drive.

It's easy enough to do, the flex cable just unplugs from the board, be careful with it though when reinstalling it, and there are only 3 screws that hold the motor place. The thing ya need to watch though is the 2 outside of those 3 screws are also what adjust the tilt/pitch of the disc, so ya need to mark the heads of them so ya get them back close enough to where they were or ya may have issues with the thing reading the latter half of dics.

You'll need either a 1.5mm Allen (Hex) wrench or a Torx T6/T7 to get the screws out. Alternately a small enough flathead screwdriver can be used, though I don't recommend that, but it'll work if need be.

Mark one with a 'Y' and the other with and 'V' or whatever works best for ya, but do each one differently so ya know where that screw goes, and mark it all the way thru the head of the screw an onto the motor bracket some, so ya can tell which goes where as well as have that 'point of reference' to get back to. Best way to get it back as close to the default setting is after ya mark them snug them up the rest of the way, paying close attention to how many 1/4, 1/2 or full turns it goes past the markings until they are snug, then remove them, when ya put them back in place all ya have to do is snug them back down, then back them off the number of 1/4 turns or however far it was until you're back at the original position, where if all was done right it'll be lined up with your markings ya made. The center screw (number 3) doesn't have to be adjusted at all, it just comes out, then gets put back in place like any other screw. Slide the laser assembly back a little bit, just give it a gentle push, and then out the motor comes.

The 2 outside screws (number 1 and 2) also have springs under them that are under the motor bracket, so be careful to not loose them when ya take the motor out. Have the drive upside down when ya take the screws out and motor loose so they don't go who knows where on ya.

The Logic board is removed in this pic, but ya don't have to take it out on yours to replace the motor, ya can if ya want to, but it doesn't need to be.

(IMG:http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f320/RDCXBG/360%20Hitachi/HitachiMotorQuickTut.jpg)


This doesn't apply to your drive, but is for anyone with a Samsung drive that's replacing the motor. It doesn't have any tilt/pitch mess to deal with, that's done elsewhere, and it's motor just gets removed and replaced and has 3 Phillips head screws that hold it in place.