Hello everybody!

So, I got a christmas present, an xbox. After a few hours of playing, I just had to open it, and see what can be done with it. Got interested in modding, and found this wonderful place, xbox-scene. I got my box modded with ndure+unleashx, and everything was fine, until it stopped working, giving error 7. It worked with the original disk, and I was really confused (as I was FINALLY putting the case back together). Eventually I tracked down the problem to the hdd-power cable, it gives just ~10,4V on the 12V line, and 4,something on the 5V line. After I replaced the power into the hdd with power from an external hdd enclosure, everything worked like a charm again!

But now the problem is that I can't put the lid on the box anymore, it is just a tangle of cables on the floor, and doesn't look too nice (and with children in the house, it is not too safe either). Ugly projects suck. Is this something someone else has encountered, and most importantly, can it be repaired? I have a good soldering iron and some soldering skills, so if it can be repaired, I think I can do it. The problem is I have almost no skills in figuring out what might be broken. I'd like to avoid to replace the PSU, as it is an old box, and investing in it doesn't thrill, so ideas are accepted with gratitude.

Best regards
Elmo

It could be the Variable resistance or the Capacitors

Thank you! Turning the pot did indeed help. It was quite odd, as just pushing down on the pot did change the voltage. It might be that the pot is oxidized, as on one of my amplifiers, and that's why it stopped working? All the caps were good, so there might be some time left for gaming on the box. Does anyone know what the potentiometer is? It was a bit tricky to find a voltage that works, so I'd rather not turn it anymore to measure the resistance .

Now the xbox is back together, and I installed some fans too.

I'd like to thank also everyone here who helps us, who could never understand how to mod without someone making a tut!

Best regards
Elmo

a potentiomiter "aka" pot. is a variable resister.. it limits the power that passes through by resisting it making it work harder and then when it comes out the other end its a lower voltage.
A potentiomiter can be adjusted to offer more or less resistance as you deem fit. where as a standard resister will only allow the predefined voltage through provided that the input voltage was as expected..

i would still be more inclined to belive that a cap has died rather than the pot adjusted its self.
Capasators dont always show signs of damage when they die. They are afterall just fancy batteries.

Hm. That is probably quite true, that it still might be the caps. I wonder if there is a nice way to find out (by measuring) if the caps are dying? Or are they such nasty buggers that you can't tell if they are good or not?

I was more curious about the specs of the pot, instead of what a pot is . So I could replace it. But I'll see, the darn box works now, and that is the most important thing, and I'll start replacing parts (or the psu, old xboxes are to the common man just a curiosity, not a wonderful piece of electronics that you can poke and rummage in for cheap) when it starts dying the next time.

Thanks for the help. I'll try to get some interest in gaming, instead of just trying to figure out what I could mod on the thing next .

Best regards
-Elmo