I have a Xerox XRC-8X paper shredder that has stopped working as designed. The shreding wheel goes for a short time, about quarter of a page, then stops. I reverse, go forward four times till the page has been shredded.
Anyone have any ideas on what's causing this, and a way to fix, or should I just trash it?

Frank Griffin, May 2006

Buy a new shredder. It's really not worth the hassle of trying to deal with this problem, when it can be solved with, like, fifty dollars.

Don't be cheap, September 2010

I have the same unit and it does not work properly. I found that the safety interlocks on the plastic container do not lock in properly and I have to press the side of the container to get the motor to engage.

Derrick, July 2006

I suspect some of the teeth on the nylon cog driven by the motor have stripped. The motor turns the gears until you hit the worn portion, then the motor continues to run but there is no drive to the feeder/cutter blades.
I also have this problem. I understand that Xerox will not supply a replacement cog. The only solution may be to elongate the mounting holes of the motor, allowing the drive from the motor to engage more tightly on the cog - but this would be a fair bit of hassle.

Jeff Wall, June 2006