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[mojobo1]

Hey. I'm working on a xbox for my friend, so let me explain the situation.
It's stock, original hdd never modded.

When powered on (Everything connected) the green power light comes on for 2-3 seconds (as does the fan), then it turns off. After being powered off (no lights, no fan sounds, etc.) for 3 seconds, it comes on for 2-3 seconds again. Basically it does this three times, and on the third time the fan stays on, and the power light stays on but starts flashing from green to red.

When I unplug the IDE ribbon (Correct me if I'm calling it the wrong thing.. It's the big grey ribbon cord that goes from the xbox to the HDD and the CD drive) from the HDD, the power light stays a solid green and the HDD starts making a normal fanlike noise (With the IDE plugged in it makes no noise at all).


Also, my friend mentioned the CD player won't open (He has been removing the case to manually place CDs in the drive), so I unplugged the IDE cable from the CD drive and it opens just fine.


I'm not an expert on electronics or xboxs, so any advice would be great. Thanks!


If the IDE ribbon isn't the problem, how would I go about checking the HDD?



Edit: I just looked at the connection on the xbox for the IDE ribbon, and there appears to be a missing pin. Or is it supposed to be like that?
It's the row closest to the side of the xbox, and the 11th pin from the back of the xbox. 10th pin from the front.

This post has been edited by mojobo1: Aug 1 2010, 04:46 AM

[obcd]

The missing pin is a way to ensure that the plug doesn't fit if it has the wrong orientation. (Some connectors simply don't have a hole at that position.)

Try another ide cable from an old pc. It will be longer, but with the case open, this shouldn't be a problem.

Connect an old pc harddisk to the unit. It should boot into a green multilanguage error screen.

These simple tests will help you to find the defective item.

regards.

[mojobo1]

Thanks for the reply! Good to know the missing pin is normal.

I did both of your suggestions, adding the new IDE cable stopped the flashing power light and it seemed to be running fine. However I'm not getting any picture/sound on my TV.. I have another working modded xbox with which these video/audio cables work fine on.

I tried a new HDD too, but that didn't fix the video/audio problem.

Do you think the audio/video port on the xbox is just messed up? I visually inspected it for any signs, and it looks clean. How would I go about testing that? Would a ohmmeter work (if so, how)?

Thank-you for the help, it's much appreciated (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

This post has been edited by mojobo1: Yesterday, 02:16 AM

[obcd]

What color is your eject button showing?

If you boot the xbox with the AV pack disconnected, what color is it showing than?

regards.

[mojobo1]

It stays green all the time, including during boot with the AV pack disconnected.

This post has been edited by mojobo1: Yesterday, 09:08 AM

[mojobo1]

Sorry for the double post, but I guess there is a cutoff limit for editing?

I just double checked it (starting without the AV pack connected) and it does flash from green to orange.

[obcd]

Have you tried to connect the audio to something else besides your tv? (Like the line in of a pc) Some tv sets
cut the audio and video when they can't decode the video signal properly. This can happen when the standard is set to ntsc or pal, and the tvset is expecting something else. It's also possible that there is an issue on your mobo with the video encoder chip. I am not aware of any known issues with that chip, so it can become a difficult repair. Sometimes a second hand xbox on ebay is a solution you should consider. Not everything is reparable. I hate writing this, but the truth can be hard...

regards.

[mojobo1]

Just tried connecting it to my computer, didn't work.

I've been afraid this would happen! Oh well. I guess it will be a good parts box, maybe I'll even buy it from my friend.

Thanks for all the help. It made things much easier