Original Xbox with Failed Motherboard

[shatterstar69]

Hey all!

My original Xbox stopped working a few months ago.  I took it to a place that can do repairs on older systems and they told me it was not cost effective
for them to fix it because of a failed motherboard.  I am not a very tech savvy person, so I am wondering how hard would it be to order a new motherboard and
replace it myself?  My Xbox was modded and had over 100+games on it so I am reluctant to sell it for parts but unless I can do the repair myself maybe I should?

Thanks!

[blacha970]

Original Xbox motherboards typically fail due to trace corrosion  from  leaking clock capacitors Etc . Trace corrosion is fixable but is going to require a lot of precise soldering  to fix . If the xbox was modded with a tsop or chip (not a soft mod ) you can always swap the hdd into another tsop xbox and flash the eprom without losing data I believe. Original Xbox motherboards and HDD's were always paired together with a key so it's not going to be as simple as just swapping out the motherboard for an easy fix, I always recommend backing up your hard drive through FTP in case of situations like this.

[shadowzero]

Good advice.  I didn't know the hardware was also tethered together on the XBOX.  I knew that was done on the 360 with their DVD drives where those couldn't be swapped out either.

[dagazconcept]

I would assume no one is making new boards for original Xbox's these days, but I found that local Goodwill's or thrift stores area often sell original xbox units anywhere from $5 to $20.  Yes, you risk buying a unit with equal problems, but I've been pleasantly surprised with the success of going this route...I believe I've picked up 3 units in the past 2 years from my local Goodwill store, and each time, the boards look great inside...only one of them had a leaky capacitor, and it was replaced immediately.   If you have to get a replacement board, I personally recommend this.

[retromangia]

Honestly, it's always best to get a second opinion, or 3rd for that matter. The first tech you brought it to didn't want to take the time to fix it, because it wasn't cost effective for him.  Go to someone else who actually gives a shit about their customers, and I'm sure you'll get a better answer. 

[ffxik]

I would agree that a second opinion is great.  It may be something the first missed.  Such as something in the power section rather than the actual motherboard.
 
Generally speaking though and as somebody who fixes older consoles.  If we say it's not cost effective, we mean it's not cost effective.  It's not about "not giving a shit" it's about how much are YOU willing to pay to fix it.  Personal experience when working with older consoles, "not much" is always the answer.  They expect it to be quick and cheap, and a mobo repair on a OG Xbox is neither.

@shatterstar69
You have 2 options at this point really.
1.  Take it and see if they can pin point the cause of the problem.  This will likely cost some money. 
1a It's fixable.  Ask yourself if you're comfortable spending that kind of money.
1b It's not.  End of the line.

2. Forgo that and just get a working unit.  This is by far the cheapest way.

If your unit was not modded and not backed up there isn't much you are going to be able to do.  Pretty much everything on that drive is inaccessible.  I'm sorry.

[oldgamerz]

vary soon after I purchased my own original Xbox from Disc Replay. for $60 USD I got it looked at as soon as I found out that the motherboards could be destroyed by the leaky capacitor. Sure enough when I got it looked at by a technician yes mine did, so I took it to a PC and Laptop repair shop payed maybe $120USD to get both my Original Xbox fixed and my Xbox360 looked at.

They took out one or two leaky capacitor. out of my original Xbox and cleaned my Xbox360, for about $120, but these guys are vary good. If I didn't get my Xbox360 also looked at it probably would have only cost me $60 USD (just to get my OG Xbox repaired) so I'm guessing I spent $120 alone just buying an original Xbox and getting that repaired also.

I spent about $120 USD on getting my new used Original Xbox console AND getting it repaired so far.

Sometimes My Xbox is getting lagging between when I turn it on (pressing the power button) and it turning on so I hope to God I don't need to get that fixed

I won't buy anymore used units if I can help it, only refurbished units, Only if My OG Xbox can no longer be fixed. and I know my Xbox360 can play some of my OG Xbox games but not all of them will play.