Maybe this is your solution. I had the same issue with no discs playing and after getting off the phone with Microsoft telling me it was a $100 repair, I decided that I could at least try to clean the lense just for the sake of exhausting all possibilities.
Well- I cleaned the lens off using a Q-tip I attached to the end of a slender rod (long enough to go a little back) and since then my Xbox has been working like new again. I didn't even have to open the system. All I had to do was take out the disc tray to be able to see down into the drive to see the lens.
First, remove the plastic disc tray (Don't force it outright, but you will have to apply some pressure to get it to come out. ) Remove the tray completely so you can see down into the drive. The lens is fairly easy to pin point. Now using some sort of long tool attach a Q-tip dabbed with alcohol to the end of your reaching device and roll the end of the Q-tip over the lens. Be gentle, because you don't want to rattle it too much, but you do want to be thorough so your lens gets clean. After that, put the tray back in (you have to feel it out a bit, but it will seat back into it's home with a little patience.)
After that... Try a game!
For me it went from giving me an "Unplayable Disc" message every time to working perfectly now :-)
Has everyone forgotten that sometimes disc lens just get dirty?
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