So I scored a free Xbox 360 from a friend. Like all free Xboxes, it was broken. It didn't display the red rings consistently. Sometimes you'd get the rings and a blank screen, sometimes the console would boot up and display the welcome screen, or dashboard, whatever it's called. But it wouldn't load a disc. Hmmmm... I cracked open the console and opened up the DVD drive. As suspected, the motor that's supposed to spin the disk was rather gummed up and wouldn't spin freely. This is a pretty easy fix, as long as you're careful with all the tiny ribbon cables. Just remove the three tiny screws that hold the motor bracket, remove the motor/bracket assembly, then pull the plastic spindle that the disk rides on straight out of the motor. It's a small, powerful permanent magnet motor, and the armature just sits inside, retained by the magnetic pull. Now here's where things got just a little bit interesting. I'm staying in a hotel at the moment, and I have very limited access to useful tools and supplies. The first step was to scrub all the crap off the armature of the motor with a Q-tip soaked in alcohol. Then I swabbed out the hole where the armature goes with more drunken qtips. At this point, I would have loved to put a little dab of WD-40, or maybe some sewing machine oil, but the only store within walking distance doesn't stock any of that stuff. Well, believe it or not, the next best thing is some good ol' lemon pledge. That stuff made my pinewood derby cars zing back when I was a cub scout
Slapped it all back together, and amazingly, it worked. So even if all you have is an unkempt hotel bed for a workbench and no proper tools, there's -always- a way! (I -so- wish I'd taken pictures.)
I doubt anyone on this forum hasn't fixed their own share of RROD, but I figured I'd share this rather unique method.
Anyway, I was crazy excited and thought I'd share how I fixed it, for what it's worth (Ooooohhhhhh, I see what you did there, Harlequin)
