The Snow Box Project 1
This is part information, part geekiness and part rant. You may not be able to tell one for another.
I walk in the mornings most days - a simple 15 to 20 minutes to loosen up the bones and such. It was garbage day and I happened to spy what appeared to be an XBox 360 lying in the snow next to the garbage cans from an apartment building down the steet.
Well, hey.
Now, I've messed around with tossed out XBoxes before and tore them apart mostly out of curiosity and because... hey, geek. And some people have tricked them into running Linux. I ended up breaking them even more then when they were tossed.... but at least I tried. Oh, and the two original XBoxes both had bad DVD drives.
After scooting my newly found goodies into the basement I waited a few days for them to dry out. No controllers but it was an Xbox 360 with all the cables (except the main power cord) and 120gig drive. And the face plate was beaten off. And it stank of cigarette smoke. Wiping it down with Clorox wipes helped a little.
A standard computer plug fit. Power on, and it did fully boot up.
And booted the game that was still stuck in it. And would not eject.
Google time.
So, I've got an XBox 360 with a Jasper motherboard and hey... there's a Youtube video on opening stuck DVD drives. A few minutes with a screwdriver and paper clip and out comes Diablo III disk.
Back into the basement with a Microsoft USB keyboard and I have control of the console! It doesn't work with the games but it's a start. I poke around the menus and find about half a dozen user names. And downloaded games. And the attachable hard drive works too. With a ethernet cable I'm on the Internet and .... hey, Microsoft wants to upgrade the box?
Sure. Go for it Bill Gates.
I decide against digging into the user's profiles on the XBox Live section. That's not nice.
However, the DVD drive won't open again. After more Googling and Youtubing I decide that an investment of 20 bucks for a controller and 10 for Torx screwdrivers might be acceptable. Aside it being filthy and beat up it still seems to work.
Since I found this item in the snow I dub this little adventure the Snow Box Project.
Enter rant mode.
The power supply 'brink' was making noise so the first order of business was opening it up and cleaning out the little fan inside. Take off the bottom feet - stab myself with the screwdriver - FIRST BLOOD. Now to get out the Phillips head screwdriver like the Youtube video said... and nope. Torx screws.
Find correct size Torx screwdriver. Immediate strip all 4 screws. I do manage to get one of them out.
Don't think this is accidental. Manufacturers put in weird screws that are easy to put in but hard to take out so you *can't* open them up and fix things easily. You have to *buy new*.
Now, I've deal with these type of screw before and know I can jam a straight head screwdriver in there. And continue to strip the screws. Well, if the screws are that soft they must be easy to DRILL OUT, right?
Wrong.
After several bits make zero progress, I finally find my WD-40 and spray the little bastards. Now I'm going to let that soak overnight. Or a few days. Or after dinner.
-m
I walk in the mornings most days - a simple 15 to 20 minutes to loosen up the bones and such. It was garbage day and I happened to spy what appeared to be an XBox 360 lying in the snow next to the garbage cans from an apartment building down the steet.
Well, hey.
Now, I've messed around with tossed out XBoxes before and tore them apart mostly out of curiosity and because... hey, geek. And some people have tricked them into running Linux. I ended up breaking them even more then when they were tossed.... but at least I tried. Oh, and the two original XBoxes both had bad DVD drives.
After scooting my newly found goodies into the basement I waited a few days for them to dry out. No controllers but it was an Xbox 360 with all the cables (except the main power cord) and 120gig drive. And the face plate was beaten off. And it stank of cigarette smoke. Wiping it down with Clorox wipes helped a little.
A standard computer plug fit. Power on, and it did fully boot up.
And booted the game that was still stuck in it. And would not eject.
Google time.
So, I've got an XBox 360 with a Jasper motherboard and hey... there's a Youtube video on opening stuck DVD drives. A few minutes with a screwdriver and paper clip and out comes Diablo III disk.
Back into the basement with a Microsoft USB keyboard and I have control of the console! It doesn't work with the games but it's a start. I poke around the menus and find about half a dozen user names. And downloaded games. And the attachable hard drive works too. With a ethernet cable I'm on the Internet and .... hey, Microsoft wants to upgrade the box?
Sure. Go for it Bill Gates.
I decide against digging into the user's profiles on the XBox Live section. That's not nice.
However, the DVD drive won't open again. After more Googling and Youtubing I decide that an investment of 20 bucks for a controller and 10 for Torx screwdrivers might be acceptable. Aside it being filthy and beat up it still seems to work.
Since I found this item in the snow I dub this little adventure the Snow Box Project.
Enter rant mode.
The power supply 'brink' was making noise so the first order of business was opening it up and cleaning out the little fan inside. Take off the bottom feet - stab myself with the screwdriver - FIRST BLOOD. Now to get out the Phillips head screwdriver like the Youtube video said... and nope. Torx screws.
Find correct size Torx screwdriver. Immediate strip all 4 screws. I do manage to get one of them out.
Don't think this is accidental. Manufacturers put in weird screws that are easy to put in but hard to take out so you *can't* open them up and fix things easily. You have to *buy new*.
Now, I've deal with these type of screw before and know I can jam a straight head screwdriver in there. And continue to strip the screws. Well, if the screws are that soft they must be easy to DRILL OUT, right?
Wrong.
After several bits make zero progress, I finally find my WD-40 and spray the little bastards. Now I'm going to let that soak overnight. Or a few days. Or after dinner.
-m