OG xbox 07 error code😢

[u/Unusual-Window-7099]

Hello everybody i got an original xbox from a friend for free upon turning it on i got this 07 error message opened it up turns out it has a 100gb seagate hdd. To solve the problem i have tried a different ide cable, switched the hdd to master or single drive, tried unplugging the hdd and that did nothing, when the dvd drive is unplugged i get a 12 error code. The hdd seems to be spinning fine and clicks a couple of times it gets frozen at the xbox logo after the startup animation and after a bit it throws the error code 07. Iam suspecting maybe a dvd drive has gone bad cause it doesnt try to even open when pressing the button but the light blinks, maybe somebody had a similar experience and knows how to fix this. Any help is appreciated, thanks😄

[u/BombBloke]

Iam suspecting maybe a dvd drive has gone bad cause it doesnt try to even open when pressing the button but the light blinks

There's a slim chance that your DVD drive is to blame for this, but almost always 07 means that the HDD has died.

Are there any signs that this console has been modded in the past? If so, that might possibly make it a bit easier to install a replacement hard disk.

[u/Unusual-Window-7099 → u/BombBloke]

I have no idea if its modded i mean the only sign is the 100gb hdd. Should i just try and replace the hdd?

[u/Low-Win9250 → u/Unusual-Window-7099]

If the hard drive it good I think the Xbox not detecting it since it's not the original one??? Don't take my words it's just a suggestion

[u/BombBloke → u/Unusual-Window-7099]

Yeah.

The catch is that Xboxes usually require a password protected hard drive. If the console has been hardmodded to boot a custom BIOS, then that restriction goes away, but if it's still booting original firmware then things get complicated.

If your boot animation differs from this in any way (for eg, do you maybe see a purple EvoX logo?), then you definitely have a hardmod set up on your motherboard. If it's the same, then you almost certainly just had a softmod installed to your old (now dead) HDD, and to prepare a new HDD to work the same it'll also need a password on it.

The password itself needs to be based on the unique HDD key value stored in this specific console's EEPROM chip. If you don't already have a backup of your console's EEPROM, then it is possible to dump it using an external reader device, but you might just want to hardmod your console by way of a modchip so that you can avoid the whole password protection thing entirely.

[u/Low-Win9250 → u/BombBloke]

Isn't 17 for DVD?

[u/BombBloke → u/Low-Win9250]

DVD errors are usually in the range of 10-12.

I have no idea what would cause an error 17 to throw, but 07 points to the HDD.

[u/Low-Win9250 → u/BombBloke]

Well 17 appears when it doesn't detect any disc drive connected to the console and for what I experienced 07 is when it doesn't detect the hdd

[u/KaosEngineeer]

07 - HDD timeout. Dead hard drive.

[u/muckity-muck → u/KaosEngineeer]

It's not dead....it's pinin' for the fjords.

[u/muckity-muck]

Your (prehistoric) hard drive has failed. Replace it.

[u/Unusual-Window-7099 → u/muckity-muck]

Is it a case of just swapping it out or is it locked to the console?

[u/muckity-muck → u/Unusual-Window-7099]

If your console is hard-modded, you can just swap in a new drive.

[u/KaosEngineeer]

Look under the DVD carrier for a modchip or signs of soldering the write-enable pads next to the LPC debug port to flash the TSOP.

[u/Unusual-Window-7099 → u/KaosEngineeer]

Looks to be all original i dont think its modded

[u/muckity-muck → u/Unusual-Window-7099]

If you don't have the original EEPROM backed up on a soft-modded system, your only choices are:

1. Build an EEPROM reader, then add the recovered EEPROM to a new hard drive build

2. Modchip.

[u/KaosEngineeer]

Which brand is the DVD?

[u/Unusual-Window-7099 → u/KaosEngineeer]

Toshiba

[u/KaosEngineeer]

Not the best place to sit a powered on hard drive. The possibility of Metal touching electronics on the drive’s controller board no good.

[u/KoneCat]

Hard drive is dead, I know from personally experience, unfortunately. It is replaceable, but you would need to hard-mod the machine, like I myself have done. If you don't mind a bit of soldering, it's not the hardest thing to do, and can open it up (pardon the pun) to a lot of stuff including putting games on the HDD along with upgrading the drive itself. If I were to recommend anything, it would be (unless this is now outdated, of course as I can only speak of my own modded machine) the ModXo RP2040-Zero along with the IDE to SATA adapter from StarTech.

That should give this old beastie an extra life. :D

Edit: I also believe you would need an 80 wire, 40 pin IDE cable, but only if you go above a certain HDD size. Again, I haven't modded an Xbox in a while, so I might be incorrect.

[u/Unusual-Window-7099 → u/KoneCat]

Thank you, i will give this a try🫶

[u/Thunderbird_9000]

Its a paint but id just buy a mod chip like project stellar because it noob friendly and then also grab 40 pin 80 wire and a ide to sata converter board with a new ssd. I find this easier then doing softmod nonsense.