Xbox Noisy After Hotswap Softmod & Unleashx, ...and other questions Options

[KiddChaos]

I successfully soft-modded my xbox using Textbook's tutorial, and it was a success. I can now play backups. But I noticed my Xbox is now much noisier in the "orange" state with UnleashX than with the old default "green" Microsoft dash. I think the fan is now working overtime, even in the idling UnleashX menu state. Is this normal? Is there any way I can get it back to running "cooler/quieter" without restoring? If I have to install a different dash, I don't mind.

Also, I'm waiting on a crossover cable that will delivered next week. In the meantime, is there a way I can transfer files to the Xbox from my computer with a data DVD? One more question: what's a good xbox media player app that can play DVDs and all the other multimedia file formats (mkv, xvid, off, etc) Thanks.

This post has been edited by KiddChaos: May 6 2011, 07:32 PM

[Heimdall]

You can change the fan speed in UnleashX settings. If you want the fan to run slower all the time (even when you are playing games) then you need to create a fan.bin file using a hex editor and put it in E:\NKP11\

XBMC is the media player of choice for the Xbox 1. Google xbmc4Xbox.

This post has been edited by Heimdall: May 6 2011, 07:51 PM

[KiddChaos]

You can change the fan speed in UnleashX settings. If you want the fan to run slower all the time (even when you are playing games) then you need to create a fan.bin file using a hex editor and put it in E:\NKP11\

XBMC is the media player of choice for the Xbox 1. Google xbmc4Xbox.

Thanks for the reply. I did find the fan setting in Unleash X but the lowest it can be set is X1.0 which I assume is the default fan speed setting. I'm puzzled as to why it's still significantly louder than the default microsoft dash, unless it's something else in my softmodded xbox that's making that noise. I just feel it shouldn't be so loud when it's just at the Unleash X dash & minimum load on the gpu.

[Heimdall]

There's a glitch in UnleashX that I've never really bothered to investigate fully, where setting the fan to 1.0x seems to be interpreted as "don't change the current fan speed". Set the fan to 1.5x and you should be fine.

[KiddChaos]

There's a glitch in UnleashX that I've never really bothered to investigate fully, where setting the fan to 1.0x seems to be interpreted as "don't change the current fan speed". Set the fan to 1.5x and you should be fine.

Thank you. I set it to 1.5x & it's MUCH better now. I would have never found out about this bug on my own. It was really driving me crazy, that noisy fan needlessly spinning much faster than it it should be. You've been helpful. Now if I can only fix the problem of the DVD tray eject button needing to be pressed 3 times to open, I'd have a perfect black box...

[Heimdall]

If you plan on running XBMC then there's a setting in XBMC where you can select a target temperature, and the fan speed is adjusted to maintain that temperature. It only works while XBMC is running, but it works well.

As for your DVD eject problem, when you press the button the first time does the DVD tray try to eject, or does it sit and do nothing? If it tries to eject then you need to dismantle the DVD drive and replace / recondition the drive belt, or insert a small cardboard disc on the DVD drive magnet to reduce the effective strength of the magnet - see this post or this one. If it does nothing then it sounds more like an electronic problem, and you need to have a look at the Power/Eject board.

[KiddChaos]

If you plan on running XBMC then there's a setting in XBMC where you can select a target temperature, and the fan speed is adjusted to maintain that temperature. It only works while XBMC is running, but it works well.

As for your DVD eject problem, when you press the button the first time does the DVD tray try to eject, or does it sit and do nothing? If it tries to eject then you need to dismantle the DVD drive and replace / recondition the drive belt, or insert a small cardboard disc on the DVD drive magnet to reduce the effective strength of the magnet - see this post or this one. If it does nothing then it sounds more like an electronic problem, and you need to have a look at the Power/Eject board.

It tries to eject. After pressing the button 3 times, the tray finally ejects. I now know it's the magnet because when I do the temporary fix of leaving a clear plastic DVD from the bottom of a cake box in the tray, it ejects normally. Where exactly is the magnet? My Xbox is rev. 1.6 with the Samsung DVD. I'd like to try your permanent fix with the egg carton "washer" & superglue trick. Your help & this forum have been invaluable to me. Thanks again.

[Heimdall]

The magnet is a small disc around the centre of the spindle that the DVD disc sits on, and it's in the same place on all DVD drives. Just remove the cover from the drive and it's really obvious. Either the egg box trick or reconditioning the eject mechanism drive belt will fix the problem - as will permanently leaving a disc in the tray.

If you go for the thin ring from the egg box then you need to be prepared for a bit of trial and error (5-10 minutes) to get the cardboard the right thickness.

[fallenangle]

Whilst the magnet fix will of course work the problem is still down to the drive belt. It is slipping because it's old, worn or greasy and so can't overcome the (over)strength of the disc clamping magnet. That's where the problem really lies.

So before dismantling the Xbox you should try just replacing the or re-condtioning the drive belt. The belt can be externally removed/refitted quite easily from its drive spindles when the disc tray drawer out.

[KiddChaos]

Whilst the magnet fix will of course work the problem is still down to the drive belt. It is slipping because it's old, worn or greasy and so can't overcome the (over)strength of the disc clamping magnet. That's where the problem really lies.

So before dismantling the Xbox you should try just replacing the or re-condtioning the drive belt. The belt can be externally removed/refitted quite easily from its drive spindles when the disc tray drawer out.

Thanks for all the help. guys. I think I'm going to go with the more permanent solution of just buying a new belt since I understand the reconditioning technique is still a temporary fix. I acquired this old Xbox (used) only recently, or rather it's been sitting in a corner in storage for about 6 years, untouched. I discovered the DVD drive wouldn't read discs - any discs - so I took the DVD covers off & blasted the laser works, mirror & laser cannon on all sides with compressed air. Now it appears to work fine (though 1 audio CD seems to skip Track 2 mid-song to the next track, probably a dirty scratched CD). I was very happy to bring this drive back from the dead. Very satisfying feeling. I've already softmodded it successfully, now want to FTP some apps & alternate dashes to it and install a bigger hard drive soon.

Here's the link to a vendor I found in the other links posted here: http://www.studiosoundelectronics.com/belts.htm#SQ Anyone know off-hand which one fits the Xbox's rev 1.6 Samsung DVD drive? It would save me having to take the extra step to measure it. TIA

This post has been edited by KiddChaos: May 9 2011, 04:26 PM