X360 Xbox 360 Xenon/Zephyr kit repair help

[burninrubber0]

So I bought a couple kits from China a while back which turned out to be a Xenon and a Zephyr. Dumped the data first thing but only got around to testing the actual consoles now. Problem is, I don't know the first thing about Xbox 360 repair and Google results aren't always accurate to devkits, so I'm hoping you guys will be able to help out here.

The Xenon starts up fine, goes to the Xbox 360 logo, and then displays error E64. I read online that this could be the disc drive, and that seems to be the case here as it won't open, but I'm not sure what steps to take to get it working or, if it needs to be replaced, how to make sure I get a compatible drive (guessing it has to be the same model with the same firmware, just not sure how to check).


The Zephyr initially had what I think is the RROD and shut off instantly with 3 flashing red rings, but then it seemingly woke up and went all the way to XShell. There's a catch, though - the thing sounds like a jet engine after about a minute, clocks in at 56 dB at 20 inches. I haven't even attempted running games on it due to this. If anyone has an idea of what could be causing the problem (if it isn't just the console dying) I'd love to hear it, was really hoping to use this for debugging.

 

[JustAnyone]

xenon e64 is most likely caused by a faulty HDD cable between sidecar and motherboard, a common issue
zephyr rrod is more mysterious, if you ever get it again try to get secondary error code tutorial here:


to get the exact cause (list of known causes: https://errors.octalsconsoleshop.com/)

 

[burninrubber0]

Alright, I'll shelve the Zephyr for a day or two, maybe the RROD will come back temporarily and I'll be able to snag the error code. Still not sure how it came back to life, is that normal? Because the fan speed's still way up there.

As for the Xenon, I'm guessing sidecar cables aren't just something you can pick up on eBay, so that oughta be interesting. Any thoughts on the DVD drive not opening though?

 

[JustAnyone]

my bad - e64 is caused by a faulty dvd indeed, you most likely can go around this by either completely removing it (might interfere with dvdemu functionality) or by replacing it by another one (any from phat models should work, but not so sure, as i tried this with xna kit only, so might work only with earlier dvds) and running disc recovery, that will pair it to the motherboard
and for zephyr - no idea why it came back to life, best guess is that thermal expansion happened and that was enough to make it run at that moment, next time you catch it RRODing we will find out why

 

[burninrubber0]

Got it, thanks. I'll remove the DVD drive when I have a bit more time and see how things go. If that works, I'll have a look at replacing it. Are there any tutorials around for running disc recovery?

 

[JustAnyone]

don't recall seeing any around, but it is really simple:
obtain a recovery iso file ( 21256.18_Xenon_Recovery.iso from this spreadsheet ); burn it onto a CD disc, put in console tray, and reboot it
if everything goes right, it should boot to recovery screen, then you just want to follow on screen instructions

 

[Edward_2452]

So I bought a couple kits from China a while back which turned out to be a Xenon and a Zephyr. Dumped the data first thing but only got around to testing the actual consoles now. Problem is, I don't know the first thing about Xbox 360 repair and Google results aren't always accurate to devkits, so I'm hoping you guys will be able to help out here.

The Xenon starts up fine, goes to the Xbox 360 logo, and then displays error E64. I read online that this could be the disc drive, and that seems to be the case here as it won't open, but I'm not sure what steps to take to get it working or, if it needs to be replaced, how to make sure I get a compatible drive (guessing it has to be the same model with the same firmware, just not sure how to check).
View attachment 12838

The Zephyr initially had what I think is the RROD and shut off instantly with 3 flashing red rings, but then it seemingly woke up and went all the way to XShell. There's a catch, though - the thing sounds like a jet engine after about a minute, clocks in at 56 dB at 20 inches. I haven't even attempted running games on it due to this. If anyone has an idea of what could be causing the problem (if it isn't just the console dying) I'd love to hear it, was really hoping to use this for debugging.
View attachment 12840View attachment 12841

Hi i had that E64 on one of my xdk silm proto it turn out to be the cable from the dvd drive to the motherboard. I took both cable out and replaced them with some from a faulty retail console i had. It worked after that.



For the white phat xdk i would check if its full of dust and see if both fans are running. I had one that only one fan was working. That soon gave 2 red light tho .

 

[Jordan]

If you're looking to sell them as is I would love to buy them.

 

[burninrubber0]

I rebooted the Zephyr after 24 hours, no change. Ended up running xexmenu to see the temps, I have no idea what it's meant to run at but the CPU seems rather hot. The temps are stable at least, in fact they're decreasing slightly, but it's just idling and hitting this...

As for the Xenon, I'm waiting on one of these lovely things to arrive because I don't trust myself not to break it without it, me being rather hamfisted and all.

About selling, aqua's already lined up to buy one, though which one depends on which one works the worst. If neither of them work then I'll sell both, maybe you could have one Jordan, but I was really hoping to have one working for homebrew development (I'm not a collector).

 

[Edward_2452]

I rebooted the Zephyr after 24 hours, no change. Ended up running xexmenu to see the temps, I have no idea what it's meant to run at but the CPU seems rather hot. The temps are stable at least, in fact they're decreasing slightly, but it's just idling and hitting this...
View attachment 12856
As for the Xenon, I'm waiting on one of these lovely things to arrive because I don't trust myself not to break it without it, me being rather hamfisted and all.

About selling, aqua's already lined up to buy one, though which one depends on which one works the worst. If neither of them work then I'll sell both, maybe you could have one Jordan, but I was really hoping to have one working for homebrew development (I'm not a collector).

Those little tools to open the console work great.

 

[burninrubber0]

So I took the DVD drive out and yep, Xenon's working now. It says a gold membership is needed to play games, so I can't check the temps like with the Zephyr, but the fans aren't spun up past what they should be at so it's probably alright.

Since this one's working, I don't think it's worth touching the Zephyr, just gonna sell it off and make do without HDMI. Seems like it was opened by someone before me anyway, the seal's broken. Hopefully it wasn't the guy who hot glued the sidecars on.

Anyhow, thanks for all the help everyone! Glad to have a working kit.