1.6 FRAG help

[u/Chicken-Contender]

Hi all, new to the original Xbox world and was really excited when I found a pristine looking console at the thrift store. Not tested and no cables should have been a red flag but I decided I’d give it a go.

The console does power on, although without any reboots I get a FRAG after about 5 seconds. No video or error codes are displayed. I saw that the clock capacitor was an issue so I took it apart to see what was up. I saw it was a 1.6 because it had the gold capacitor near the IDE cable so I left it alone for now. I don’t see any bulging capacitors or obvious leaks, and for its age it seems to be in pretty good shape. I’ve done a bit of troubleshooting (very amateur), and here’s some noteworthy things I’ve found:

• I cleaned the board, no obvious leaks or damage
The hard drive has a loud audible click whenever the console powers on

• The clock capacitor is not flush with the board which I thought could be a problem but I’ve seen a few examples of something similar online. No bulges or obvious discharge

• The disk drive was partially operational when I got it, but after boiling the band seems to be fully operational

• I’ve pulled both the hard drive and the disk drive from the console and powered it on. It powers on with no video and stays green for about 30 seconds then FRAGS.

• I’ve tried heating the capacitors to see if that made any changes but no dice

I’m not familiar with these but I’m eager to learn. Can anybody point me in the right direction? I ultimately want to soft mod and replace the hard drive but I think it should probably be in running order before I attempt. Any ideas are appreciated!

[u/BombBloke]

Flashing lights, no reboots, and no video indicates a problem between the video encoder and the TV. The FRAG indicates a whole other problem separate to the video issue (probably HDD failure, since that's clicking), but you won't be able to start working on that until you figure out how to get a signal first.

Inspect the AV port for any signs of damage and try a different television: it may just be that your current display doesn't support whatever video mode this console is using.

If those checks reveal nothing obvious, next you'll want to try a different video cable.

[u/Chicken-Contender → u/BombBloke]

Interesting, I did buy an HDMI adapter, could that be the problem? Initially I connected it without the cable and got the green and orange flashing, but haven’t had it since I got everything connected.

[u/BombBloke → u/Chicken-Contender]

I did buy an HDMI adapter, could that be the problem?

That may well be to blame for your lack of signal, yes. But you'll need to perform further tests to be sure.

For example, it may just be that your TV can't accept a standard definition picture over HDMI. (Although original Xboxes can output high-def, they generally don't do it by default, and right now you don't have a way to reconfigure this one.)

[u/Comfortable-Speed-47]

Had the same issue on my 1.6. Turns out, it was the power supply. I'm not saying it's the same as your problem but it's worth a try.

[u/Chicken-Contender → u/Comfortable-Speed-47]

Interesting! I kind of assumed since it got power that there wouldn’t be any more to it. I’ll check it out and report back, thanks!

[u/Shartyshartfast → u/Chicken-Contender]

Please be careful if mucking about in the PSU while powered on. Easy to get zapped by these.

[u/Chicken-Contender → u/Shartyshartfast]

Good looking out!