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[Aldanga]

Changing the laser is not difficult. It requires a little disassembly, but it's not bad. You should be able to find the appropriate laser online for about $10.

[canyonnehastings]

Hi, there are a few options for you here. Often times this problem can be fixed with a POT or "potentiometer" tweak without having to replace anything at all. There are two POTs on the laser, one for DVDs and one for CDs. You'll will want to tweak the DVD one JUST slightly (so slightly, you might not even think it moved at all). You'll need a multimeter to do this, or you can do it by touch if you're very careful. You can potentially burn out your laser like this, but since you're thinking of replacing it anyway, its worth a try right? I believe you'll want to rotate the dvd pot counter clockwise very slightly until it reads games again. You can refer to the following picture for help, but it will likely be different on your 360, it just depends what laser you have in your DVD drive.

http://web1.console....laser_tweak.jpg

Also see this guide:

http://web1.console....0_by_Moda-1.pdf

Otherwise, if you wanted to just replace it, lasers are between 5 and 15 dollars online, but make sure you order the one for your specific drive! The model number for the drive will be on the top of it when you open your 360.

[sinclairuser]

pot tweaking is at best a way to diagnose worn lasers nothing more
its not a permanent repair if tuning the pot up makes the drive read disks you should then turn it back down to 3 and order a new laser then starting at 3 on the new laser turn up till it reads following the right tut for your drive i have not provided a link as they are easy to find
turning a pot up and leaving will only burn out the laser

[canyonnehastings]

QUOTE(sinclairuser @ Apr 30 2012, 09:56 PM)

pot tweaking is at best a way to diagnose worn lasers nothing more
its not a permanent repair if tuning the pot up makes the drive read disks you should then turn it back down to 3 and order a new laser then starting at 3 on the new laser turn up till it reads following the right tut for your drive i have not provided a link as they are easy to find
turning a pot up and leaving will only burn out the laser

Well I have a jtag that I pot tweaked 2+ years ago and it still works fine today. As a no cost solution, it works well and at least if it doesn't work forever, they know immediately what part they'll need to replace.

Why would they have to turn the pot back down on the old laser if they are replacing the whole laser? That pot adjustment would disappear as soon as they took the laser out of the drive. And the new laser would come with its own pot adjustment.

Also, many lasers come off the assembly line not being tweaked to their full potential. Think of two lasers that were worn the same amount, one was tweaked right when it was manufactured, the other not. And one might still work while the other doesn't because it wasn't tweaked right from the start.

[sinclairuser]

ok hastings your right looking at it you change the laser and cartridge on 360 drives
we never do this it is more costefective for us to change drives(tons of drive stock) what i said before applies when changing the laser diode only but that would be beyond most users anyway!

[canyonnehastings]

QUOTE(sinclairuser @ May 1 2012, 07:54 PM)

ok hastings your right looking at it you change the laser and cartridge on 360 drives
we never do this it is more costefective for us to change drives(tons of drive stock) what i said before applies when changing the laser diode only but that would be beyond most users anyway!

Ahh sorry, I didn't realize you were talking about the diode itself. I figured anyone who replaced a laser would replace the whole thing because theyre fairly cheap and then you don't have to worry about another part of it being faulty instead of the diode.

I understand now