Xbox One
Optical Drive Problems

March 5, 2023

When I first began to work on Xbox One systems I faced a number of optical drive issues which caused me to flail around a little while trying to resolve them.  I decided to consolidate here a few things that I now check through when faced with a system that has problems with the optical drive in hopes that I can refer to it in the future when I forget all of this stuff, and also that it might help someone else in the future.

Meme of a scene from the IT Crowd TV show where the character Rory is speaking on the phone asking 'Is it definitely plugged in?'

If the drive seems completely dead or if it powers up and accepts a disc but the disc is not recognized, the first thing to check is that both the SATA data cable, and the power cable are properly connected at the back of the drive and the board.  Save yourself a lot of pain and just check.  No really, look now.

Ok so the SATA and power cables are connected but it's not working.  We need to dive a little deeper.  Start by removing the drive and taking out the four screws in the bottom corners to remove the bottom plate so that you can look at the innards.

With the bottom off, are all of the flex cables connected, clasps closed, no physical damage visible?  Motor leads soldered correctly to the logic board, red to R, black to B?  Easy visual checks that could save you a world of pain.

Underside of an Xbox One optical drive which has been extracted from the console. There are labels on various components.
Close up of the flat flex ribbon which connects the logic board to the laser assembly on an Xbox One optical drive.
Close up of the motor controller flat flex ribbon which connects the logic board to other components on the Xbox One optical drive.
Flat flex ribbon connecting the front sensors of the Xbox One optical drive.
Close up of a logic board from an Xbox One optical drive, focusing on two solder points, one with a black wire, the other with a red wire.

If everything looks OK it's time to remove the drive unit from the case which will allow you to see the top to examine the loading mechanism.  I'm more electronics inclined so when I start to see a bunch of gears and arms that seem to move all at once I find it difficult to follow what seems 'right' vs wrong.  Here are a couple of key areas that you can check to see that the loading mechanism is well fitted.

The top side of an Xbox One optical drive with the metal shielding removed, showing six labelled points A through F
Point A from the index diagram showing part of the loading mechanism for an Xbox One optical drive.

A. The tip of the metal lever should ride UNDER the black plastic as shown in this picture.  Sometimes the metal will slip out and ride on top of the black piece, which causes issues.

Point B from the index diagram showing two black plastic gears which form part of the loading assembly for the Xbox One optical drive.

B. Make sure that the black plastic teeth are well meshed, and that neither side is lifted and riding above the other.

Area C from the index diagram showing a metal arm and plastic swivel which are part of the loading system for the Xbox One optical drive.

C. Check the opposite side of the metal lever from A. to ensure that it is not riding on or under the white plastic shown to the far right.

Black plastic 'knife blade' assembly which forms Part D from the previous index image. Part of the loading mechanism for the Xbox One optical drive.

D. Confirm that the black plastic 'knife blade' piece is not riding above or below the plastic shown at the top.  Make sure that you can move it downwards towards the hub spindle.

White plastic slider just below the hub of the Xbox One optical drive which forms Part E from the index diagram.

E. Look to see that the white plastic piece below the hub spindle is properly positioned.  The black plastic tab from the spindle holder should ride on top of the plastic.  Ensure the metal tab is properly positioned in the slot on the white slider.

White plastic gears which form point F from the previous index diagram of the Xbox One optical drive.

F. Confirm that the gear and sliding pieces in the bottom right corner are properly meshed.  If you look closely there are two arrows on the gear.  The first tooth of each of the respective white plastic sliders should align with this arrow when the assembly is in the neutral position.

If all of those things look good, check out the gears on the side of the drive to ensure that they are all meshed and also that the two belts are in place and tight.

Xbox One optical drive gear assembly showing a number of gears connected by belts.
A side shot of one of the previously mentioned belts.
Toothed belt which is part of the Xbox One loading assembly.

Next, check that the rubber load roller is in place and clean and the it turns with front gears.

If everything so far has checked out, it's time to remove the laser deck assembly.  Carefully unlatch all of the flex ribbons, and there are three screws holding the laser deck in place.

Optical drive sled from an Xbox One console.

Check the laser lens for debris and if necessary very gently clean the lens with some 99% IPA and a swab using no pressure with the swab.

The last thing to examine before reassembly  are all of the flex cables.  Look for cuts and punctures which may be impacting the operation of the drive.  Magnification can be helpful here as thin cuts and breaks in the traces can be difficult to see.  Breaks in the cable can be frustrating to find as the movement of the laser on the slide can sometimes mean that the breaks are intermittent.  Replacements can be purchased online inexpensively, and this has happened to be enough times now that I always keep a couple on hand.

Close up of a flat flex cable from an Xbox One optical drive showing two depressions or puncture marks in the ribbon.

Once you have completed all of these checks, reassemble the drive and test it out.  I like to leave the drive out of the drive shell, insulate under it with a plastic sheet, and connect the drive into an open console.  This allows me to see the loading mechanism working, and also observe how the disc is spinning.  Here is a slowed down video of the loading process from a working drive that you may find helpful to compare against.