How to Tell What Kind of DVD Drive Your XBox 360 Has

When the Xbox 360 first hit store shelves in late 2005, there were actually two different models produced. Early production runs of the Xbox 360 had DVD-drives that had been manufactured by both Toshiba-Samsung and LG-Hitachi. For all practical purposes, they were identical drives, with the same speed rating and the same compatibility features. Later, in early 2006, a new production run was started, this time featuring a DVD-drive made by Phillips & Lite-on Digital Solutions, also called BenQ/Phillips. This drive boasted quieter running and enhanced ability to play damaged DVDs and CDs. In order to find out what disc drive is used in an Xbox 360, just follow these simple steps.

Difficulty:

Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• An Xbox 360

Identifying the Disc Drive

1. Turn on your Xbox.

2. Eject the DVD tray.

3. Examine the DVD tray for its unique design, paying specific attention to the hole in the center of the tray.

4. If the tray design has more than one hole in it - specifically, if the tray has two small pinholes, one on each side of the tray, and a single larger hole on the right side of the center hole - then it is the LG-Hitachi GDR-3120L

5. If the tray has a single hole in the center with perfectly straight edges on the left and right, and a half-circle edge towards the front of the tray, then it is the BenQ/Phillips VAD6038.

6. If the tray has only a single center hole, but the left and right edges are not perfectly straight, then it is the Toshiba-Samsung TS-H943A

References

• Llama.com's 'Xbox 360 Comparison Guide' referencing the different DVD drives

Resources

• Pictures of the three different DVD drives in an Xbox 360