I think my CD-ROM drive is to blame. It is really reluctant to play my games. I usually have to open and close the CD-ROM drive a couple of times to get a game to play. Sometimes (actually, about a quarter of the time) when I put a game in, I can hear the disc start to spin (makes a "rreeeeeeEEEEE" noise), then something strange happens. It'll be spinning, then it makes this really loud "CLICK" and the disc stops spinning. This spinning and clicking repeats itself over and over, and while it's doing this my game is locked up. This will continue until [A] it finally stops doing it and my game continues (but usually by then I've gotten a dirty disc error) or [B] it continues relentlessly until I get angry and turn it off.

So, since (for all I know) the CD-ROM drive is the only moving part in there (besides the fan) I'm assuming that this noise is caused by that. So I need to make a decision. Should I send it to Xbox Repair and pay about $150 for repair and warranty, or try and find a new CD-ROM drive and install it myself? Or am I totally wrong about what is causing this error?

i'm guessing it's a thompson, but even if it ain't the drive is long past dead. check around the bst forums, if you can't, then look up ebay, there's always people selling perfect xbox drives. and they're plug and play, all 3 drives work with all 5 versions xbox, so don't worry about what you have, only what you're getting. ;)
try for a samsung (will cost around 80-90$) but that's the price to pay for the best drive out there :tup: i'll read even cdr :D

Okay, thanks. That's what I thought. I did manage to find a place that sells the Samsung drive, but it was $150. Do you know of a place that sells them cheaper (other an eBay, because I'm not the best at winning auctions)?

try http://www.llamma.com/xbox i've dealt with them before and assure you they ARE REALLY GREAT to deal with.

$150 for a samsung drive? My local walmart is stocked with samsung xboxes (just bought 3 myself and all samsungs). If you pay shipping and make it worth my while I'll pick one up (I'll make sure its a sammy) and mail it to you.

Thanks for the offer, smokafatty, but I found a found a Samsung drive on eBay that still had the Buy It Now option on it. Snagged it for $60.

glad you found a sweet deal!!! :D

Heh, thanks. My current broken drive is in fact a Thompson, for the record. I would say my opinion of these is pretty low now, considering this is the third time since I got my Xbox I've had a problem with them. It's been the same error all three times.

kiss 'em goodbye with your new samsung bro :tup:

Sweet.