The original Xbox was released in 2001, way over 20 years ago at the time of writing this post. The console is built like a tank, but as any old piece of electronic, it has some weaknesses. Except for failing DVD-drive and old IDE hard drives, many of the early Xboxes suffer from old capacitors. If left untouched, these capacitors may start to leak and potentially destroy your unit. So make sure to look inside your console asap if you have not done so already. If you have a version 1.6, this might not be an issue, but earlier versions of the Xbox has a clock capacitor that is unfamous for leaking. You can determine the version of your unit by looking at the sticker below. This is not a 100% accurate identification method, but if your unit is manufactured after 2004/04, then it is probably safe(r).
Xbox: Disassembly
Disassembling the original Xbox is rather straight forward: remove the four rubber feet under the console, and remove the six torx-screws.
Inside the unit, you will need to remove the DVD-drive and hard disk drive to access the motherboard, and capacitors.
Xbox: Bad capacitors
Now let’s take a look inside the unit. My Xbox has a modchip in it: X2 Duo. Judging by the software in the dashboard, it was a while ago this mod was performed. When I worked on the unit, the white wire got knocked loose from the tiny solder point at the motherboard, but I managed to solder it back under the microscope.
Now, let’s take a look at the capacitors. The two images below show a) the mess under the clock capacitor (I removed it), and b) bulging capacitors near the GPU / CPU. These three are all 3300uf / 6.3V. Time for a re-cap! I removed the motherboard from the case by disattaching all the cables and screws. Then I added some flux on the solder joints of the old capacitors, and used my desoldering gun to remove them. It went smooth. Then I cleaned the mess under the clock capacitor with some vinegar and isopropanol alcohol.
Xbox: Recap
I order some capacitors from a Swedish electronics firm. The new caps were a bit taller than the old ones, so I had to shift the middle one a little bit to not touch the heat sink handle. The new clock capacitor is a super capacitor (1F) but it is not quite the same form factor as the original Xbox capacitor. So I had to improvise a little bit. Not the prettiest solution, but it works.
Then, I assembled the unit again, and tested it. It works perfectly, and hopefully it will give me many more years of gaming!