All,
This is my first time post, but I've spent a few hours reading through the forum, and I think that you folks may just be handy and generous enough to help me out. About a year ago, I very foolishly decided to take the "trial by fire" route to learning how to solder on an xbox, and fried it. It was a good friend's xbox, and he is still yet to replace it. Now that I'm a bit handier and have some success under my belt with the soldering iron, I'd like to go back and try to fix his xbox and surprise him by mailing it to him. The photos of my soldering work are rather gruesome, so if you have a weak stomach for slaughtered xboxes, please read no further. On to the basic information:
We have a version 1.4 xbox, attempting to install a 2.3b lite. We originally attempted to do a wire install. I practically lit the motherboard on fire with the iron, but eventually managed to connect all the wires to the LPC and the d0 point. Attached are photos of the wreckage. In particular, we were very rough with the d0 point, especially in "prepping" it.
Of course, we FRAG'ed. Even when disabling the chip, it still FRAG's. We then did some reading, discovered the pin header install, and went for that. The d0 point is currently soldered on the underside of the board (picture attached.) We never bothered to actually solder the pin header, figuring that sufficient contact would be made without it. I'm presuming that we were wrong, but I'm going to hold off on finally soldering the pin header on until you folks tell me to, in the event that it is in the way of necessary repairs.
Here are my questions for you all:
1. I am anticipating that I will have to repair at least one trace. In particular, the contact third from the bottom left on the LPC looks like a bomb exploded nearby. I am guessing there is something wrong with the d0 point because disabling the chip does not restore the xbox to working condition, but upon inspecting my photographs it seems like it may not be the trace and may instead be solder splash. What do you all think needs to be done to salvage this wreckage, and do you think I have a chance?
2. I'm having trouble finding a definitive tutorial on how to repair traces. There's one from Bleu on these forums that seems to be the best, but I'm confused. It seems to me that it would actually be easier to just solder wire from one end of a trace to another, if less elegant. What is the easiest, no nonsense way to do this?
3. Since our work a year ago, I've gained a basic clue on how to use a multimeter. If I just test the resistance between two points on these traces, could I confirm if they're working or not? Additionally, do I need to solder the pin header before testing the voltage on the LPC pins?
I deeply appreciate the help, especially since my own foolishness got me to where I am. My friend got this as a Christmas present from his fiancee, and I feel terrible for immediately destroying it. They've since had a baby and are nowhere near having the cash to buy a new xbox. I know, cry me a river, but I thought you should know that your assistance serves a greater good.
I did my best to get sharp pictures of areas of interest, but if you'd like to see anything else, please let me know and I'll take a snapshot right away.
Thanks again,
Rog
This is my first time post, but I've spent a few hours reading through the forum, and I think that you folks may just be handy and generous enough to help me out. About a year ago, I very foolishly decided to take the "trial by fire" route to learning how to solder on an xbox, and fried it. It was a good friend's xbox, and he is still yet to replace it. Now that I'm a bit handier and have some success under my belt with the soldering iron, I'd like to go back and try to fix his xbox and surprise him by mailing it to him. The photos of my soldering work are rather gruesome, so if you have a weak stomach for slaughtered xboxes, please read no further. On to the basic information:
We have a version 1.4 xbox, attempting to install a 2.3b lite. We originally attempted to do a wire install. I practically lit the motherboard on fire with the iron, but eventually managed to connect all the wires to the LPC and the d0 point. Attached are photos of the wreckage. In particular, we were very rough with the d0 point, especially in "prepping" it.
Of course, we FRAG'ed. Even when disabling the chip, it still FRAG's. We then did some reading, discovered the pin header install, and went for that. The d0 point is currently soldered on the underside of the board (picture attached.) We never bothered to actually solder the pin header, figuring that sufficient contact would be made without it. I'm presuming that we were wrong, but I'm going to hold off on finally soldering the pin header on until you folks tell me to, in the event that it is in the way of necessary repairs.
Here are my questions for you all:
1. I am anticipating that I will have to repair at least one trace. In particular, the contact third from the bottom left on the LPC looks like a bomb exploded nearby. I am guessing there is something wrong with the d0 point because disabling the chip does not restore the xbox to working condition, but upon inspecting my photographs it seems like it may not be the trace and may instead be solder splash. What do you all think needs to be done to salvage this wreckage, and do you think I have a chance?
2. I'm having trouble finding a definitive tutorial on how to repair traces. There's one from Bleu on these forums that seems to be the best, but I'm confused. It seems to me that it would actually be easier to just solder wire from one end of a trace to another, if less elegant. What is the easiest, no nonsense way to do this?
3. Since our work a year ago, I've gained a basic clue on how to use a multimeter. If I just test the resistance between two points on these traces, could I confirm if they're working or not? Additionally, do I need to solder the pin header before testing the voltage on the LPC pins?
I deeply appreciate the help, especially since my own foolishness got me to where I am. My friend got this as a Christmas present from his fiancee, and I feel terrible for immediately destroying it. They've since had a baby and are nowhere near having the cash to buy a new xbox. I know, cry me a river, but I thought you should know that your assistance serves a greater good.
I did my best to get sharp pictures of areas of interest, but if you'd like to see anything else, please let me know and I'll take a snapshot right away.
Thanks again,
Rog