How to determine if Xbox 360's DVD drive has mismatching DVD key?

How to determine if Xbox 360's DVD drive has mismatching DVD key? - White and Black Optical Drive

My Xbox 360's DVD drive has broken, so few days ago I ordered a new one.

When it arrived I started checking if it can read game DVDs properly. As it turned out, it cannot. I assumed drive which I ordered is broken too.

I was going to refund when today in the last moment I found this thread: How do I replace an XBox 360 DVD drive if the original drive is broken?

where someone answered that each Xbox motherboard and each DVD drive have specific DVD key, and they have to match. I had no clue about that.

He also mentioned that DVD keys can be repetitive, so if I get the same key from newly bought drive, it will work.

At this point I have no idea if my games cannot be read because of mismatching DVD key or just DVD drive damage. How can I tell if DVD keys are matching?






Pictures about "How to determine if Xbox 360's DVD drive has mismatching DVD key?"

How to determine if Xbox 360's DVD drive has mismatching DVD key? - Sporty male dancer doing handstand dance movement
How to determine if Xbox 360's DVD drive has mismatching DVD key? - Person Wearing White Shirt Holding Vinyl Albums
How to determine if Xbox 360's DVD drive has mismatching DVD key? - Energetic Asian man dancing street dance on sidewalk



How do I know what DVD drive is in my Xbox 360?

The Xbox 360 is designed so that the DVD drive works only with the particular game console it is installed in. Replacing a defective DVD drive with a replacement DVD drive does not work, since the replacement has a different DVD drive key, which the game console won't accept.

Can you swap Xbox 360 DVD drives?

Make sure the DVD region matches the region of your Xbox 360 console. Look for the region code on the disc or DVD packaging. For example, if you bought your Xbox 360 console in the United States, Canada, or a U.S. territory, the console plays Region 1 DVD discs, or discs coded for all regions.



How to identify your xbox 360




Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Images: Sergei Starostin, Allan Mas, Poranimm Athithawatthee, Allan Mas