I bought my first Xbox somewhere in the it's beginning, It was of course a Thompson drive.. because I've got some serious problems with my Thompson drive latly I'm going to buy myself a new Xbox(tomorrow).. now.. I'd like to buy an Xbox that has the Samsung drive.. but I was wondering.. how do I see if the Xbox has a Samsung drive BESIDES giving the Xbox electricity and opening the drive to put a game in it.?(that would mean I need to unpack the Xbox in the store itself) isn't there some sort of mark combination on the product ID so I can see if it has a Samsung drive yes or no, that would be handy..
Thompson - Philips - Samsung drives, how noticable?
- Thread starter Gamedude
- Start date
seismologist
Banned
My Halo Xbox has a phillips drive. I think most of them do. I've had no problems with it but I havent used it for piracy or anything like that.
I really think the whole Thomson issue is blown way out of proportion. I have two XBoxes--my original one that I use for XBox Live and one I got from my friend to mod. Both are launch machines with Thomson drives. I've had problem zero with either one of them. Granted, this isn't exactly the largest sample set but I've heard of people having problems with Phillips and Samsung drives as well.
I've had two Thompson drives and my experience is not positive.
The first one was in the 1st gen box and it had serious "this disc is dirty" issues after about 6 months, to the point where I couldn't get anything to run. And if I did, it wasn't for long.
So, I sent it in and Microsoft fixed it. I get it back and discovered they put another Thompson in it! It worked great for the first couple months, then the dirty disc message started coming up again. Thankfully it hasn't gotten any worse, but I still get it more than I should. Even get it with brand new, first time played, games once in a while.
The first one was in the 1st gen box and it had serious "this disc is dirty" issues after about 6 months, to the point where I couldn't get anything to run. And if I did, it wasn't for long.
So, I sent it in and Microsoft fixed it. I get it back and discovered they put another Thompson in it! It worked great for the first couple months, then the dirty disc message started coming up again. Thankfully it hasn't gotten any worse, but I still get it more than I should. Even get it with brand new, first time played, games once in a while.
i've had a thompson since launch with no problems...
i have a friend who had one of the other drives, it crapped out and he recently got the halo ed xbox which is now crapping out too (not a thompson).
from my (admittedly limited) experience, the drive doesnt really mean one way or the other if you'll have a poor system
i have a friend who had one of the other drives, it crapped out and he recently got the halo ed xbox which is now crapping out too (not a thompson).
from my (admittedly limited) experience, the drive doesnt really mean one way or the other if you'll have a poor system
dave is ok
aztek is ok
Gamedude: The disc tray is different for each drive, one looks like a dildo, one looks like circumsized penis, and one has two holes. Just ask them to plug it in, and hit eject.
http://llamma.com/xbox/Repairs/xbox_dvd_version_comparison.htm
http://llamma.com/xbox/Repairs/xbox_dvd_version_comparison.htm
DaCocoBrova
Finally bought a new PSP, but then pushed the demon onto someone else. Jesus.
First off, there's no P in Thomson. The drives don't suck.
They play everything except CD-R. The same cannot be said about the Samsung drive which most people say are the best. But they don't read DVD+R, so they're not IMO.
They play everything except CD-R. The same cannot be said about the Samsung drive which most people say are the best. But they don't read DVD+R, so they're not IMO.
Alex Anderson
Member
+2 Thomson drives sucking.
I had a very lightly used XBox with a Thomson drive and it gave me tons of trouble with dual layered games (Top Spin would barely get past the main menu). Not wanting to fuck around with Microsoft's repair monkeys, I just traded the lemon into EB and got a new one, with warranty of course. Luckily it's a Samsung.
My brother also had to get his Thomson replaced.
I had a very lightly used XBox with a Thomson drive and it gave me tons of trouble with dual layered games (Top Spin would barely get past the main menu). Not wanting to fuck around with Microsoft's repair monkeys, I just traded the lemon into EB and got a new one, with warranty of course. Luckily it's a Samsung.
My brother also had to get his Thomson replaced.
siamesedreamer
Banned
I had a launch day Thomson Xbox for over two years. I had the occasional DDE, but nothing really serious until I tried playing SC: Pandorra Tomorrow online. It would drop me from the game everytime. So, I traded it in and got a Samsung Xbox. No problems since.
Just remember that if you want a Samsunge Xbox, then look for a serial number that ends in "06". There's a cut out on the box so you'll be able to check it.
Just remember that if you want a Samsunge Xbox, then look for a serial number that ends in "06". There's a cut out on the box so you'll be able to check it.
I've had trouble with my Xbox with a Thomson drive (some games give me a dirty disc error, the games that did work loaded slowly and was noisy). So I bought a newer xbox from a co-worker for $50. It had a Samsung drive in it (yay). It was much quieter, faster, and is more compatible with different media.
DaCocoBrova
Finally bought a new PSP, but then pushed the demon onto someone else. Jesus.
Anything w/ moving parts is prone to die over time. Within the products expected lifetime shouldn't be the norm however.
Thomsons are decent because they will play almost every burned media, BUT their stability is a BITCH. When Top Spin came out there was a 50/50 chance if the game would play. The FIRST TIME I put the brand new game in, it wouldn't play. That is fucked up. Honestly haven't had THAT many DDE errors with games, maybe once a month or two, but I don't play my xbox often enough for that to be accurate.
But, for dvd movies, it sucks ass. I don't know if it is for all XB or just the Thomson but if you pause a movie, it will NOT unpause, you press play there is a 90% chance it will play for 1 second (the buffer) then freeze and you will hear the drive spinning like a mofo. 2 minutes later it gives you a DDE and there is a 50/50 chance it will play after you restart and not give you another DDE.
I was playing Diehard the other day and I had to sit there for like 15 minutes restarting the xb about 20 times for it finally to play and not give me a DDE.
So if you watch movies on your Thomson, never pause, always stop.
But, for dvd movies, it sucks ass. I don't know if it is for all XB or just the Thomson but if you pause a movie, it will NOT unpause, you press play there is a 90% chance it will play for 1 second (the buffer) then freeze and you will hear the drive spinning like a mofo. 2 minutes later it gives you a DDE and there is a 50/50 chance it will play after you restart and not give you another DDE.
I was playing Diehard the other day and I had to sit there for like 15 minutes restarting the xb about 20 times for it finally to play and not give me a DDE.
So if you watch movies on your Thomson, never pause, always stop.
Gamedude, check this list: http://www.xbox-linux.org/docs/versionsdb.html
If you can find the fabrication date of the Xbox whithout open it you will know what is the drive of the console.
If you can find the fabrication date of the Xbox whithout open it you will know what is the drive of the console.
DaCocoBrova
Finally bought a new PSP, but then pushed the demon onto someone else. Jesus.
The tray has nothing to do with it. These complaints aren't due to the tray not ejecting.
Gamedude said:
Don't worry.. there is a high chance that you'll get a Samsung drive now. I converted 6 of my buddies by showing them my modded Xbox so they all went out and purchased one for me to mod. Out of all 6 of them, 5 got Samsungs and 1 got a Phillips. I mean, what are the odds... most of them bought theirs at different places too.
