Xbox360 Scratching DVD's

bardcom

I've had an xbox360 for a couple of months. Today while playing GOW the xbox360 complained that the disk was dirty or scratched and to clean the disk. When I examined the disk, there was a circle of scratches on the surface.

Like the one here:
http://www.joystiq.com/2005/12/07/ring-of-disc-death-xbox-360-annoyance-008/

To be clear, the xbox360 wasn't moved from Vertical to Horizontal or kicked or bumped while the game disk was in the machine - although it's a carpet on top of a wooden floor and it's possible that people were walking across the floor while the game was playing.

Has anyone else experienced this? Did anyone ring Microsoft and get any satisfaction (replacement disk?). Is it common or rare?

I'll probably bring it back to the shop I bought the disk and try to get a replacements....

bardcom

Reading around, turns out it's a well known problem:
http://www.llamma.com/xbox360/news/Xbox-360-Game-Disc-Scratched.htm

Anyone else have this problem? Any joy with Microsoft or returning the disks to the place they were bought?

AceCard Jones

I have read in a few places that Micro$oft are not offering replacement discs.
According to them the machine was thoroughly tested and the only way scratches can occur is through user error.....my arse.:rolleyes:

bardcom

AceCard Jones wrote:

I have read in a few places that Micro$oft are not offering replacement discs.
According to them the machine was thoroughly tested and the only way scratches can occur is through user error.....my arse.:rolleyes:

If it damages disks, there's no way it is fit for usage. I still can't find any warnings from Microsoft that this is even possible! Pretty negligent. Wikipedia article here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xbox_360_technical_problems indicates that a class action suit might be brought.

I didn't move the console from Vertical to Horizontal while the console was turned on, but other sites on d'internet state that Microsoft are using this as a get out clause cos it says the following in the manual.

"To avoid jamming the disc drive and damaging discs or the console:
- Remove discs before moving the console or tilting it between the horizontal and vertical positions"

Now, my understanding is that this advice relates solely to jamming the disc drive. I read this as saying that don't do the following in order to avoid jamming the disc drive and as a result of the jamming ending up with damaged discs or a console. (Had they said *or* between "drive" and "damaging" instead of *and*, then the advice would be different and would cover damaging discs without jamming the drive...)

Anyway....thought I'd warn others. I had not heard of it before it happened to me - hopefully others can learn of the sensitivity of the xbox360 before it damages any of their discs.

mcgovern

bardcom wrote:

I still can't find any warnings from Microsoft that this is even possible!

I

bardcom wrote:

cos it says the following in the manual.

"To avoid jamming the disc drive and damaging discs or the console:
- Remove discs before moving the console or tilting it between the horizontal and vertical positions"

Seems like it is covered to me?
It damaged one of my disks too, but only when my brother knocked against it while it was on.

bardcom

mcgovern wrote:

Seems like it is covered to me?

Depends on how you interpret the manual, like I pointed out in the previous post. I don't believe it is covered - that is, a situation of a damaged disk that doesn't involve a jammed DVD drive.

mcgovern wrote:

It damaged one of my disks too, but only when my brother knocked against it while it was on.

And do you accept that this is OK?
In my case, nobody banged against it, or knocked it, or touched it. The best I can guess (guess mind, I still don't know) is that vibrations from somebody running across the floor caused it to happen - it's a carpetted room with wooden floor underneath. It doesn't affect the other gaming consoles though, so I still don't know.

My opinion, is that it's a design flaw and that Microsoft should really take responsibility, and make sure that purchasers are adequately warned. Especially if you check out the link I posted earlier and you see how easy it seems to fix the flaw....

mcgovern

Its not something I'm overly happy with, but since I've moved it lying horizontal I haven't had the same problem again.
Its just something I guess most of us have gotten use to, as I haven't heard much reports of it since the first few months after launch.

drumm23

Got a Gears of War & 360 pack for Xmas.
My GoW disc is scratched to sh1t and gives errors every now and then of being unreadable. I've never touched the console while playing and it sits on a very expensive audio seperates shelf stand that isolates my far more expensive audio seperates without any difficulty.

I'll be bringing it back to Smyths for an exchange ASAP.

edit: just watched the vids of the xbox scratching discs, my scratches are far less distinct and spread all over the disc, weird.

Gonzo

my gears of war is scratched to bits too and constantly gives read errors yet ive never touched the disc and the console has never been accidendly moved or touched with playin a game.

Myksyk

Yeah ... bought console plus 5 games just b4 xmas. Only played PES6 really. Never moved the console. No kids playing it. DVD just sat in the console over the time and I played it a maybe 15 times in the period. Suddenly got 'unreadable' messages. Disc looked scratched to me. Brought it back to gamestop and they replaced it no problem. Not happening with other games but then again haven't had the time to play a lot.

Frankiestylee

This happened to me recently with Oblivion. The xbox is sitting on a shelf behind glass doors... there's no way anyone touched it during play. About two days into it the game stalled and said the disc couldn't be read. It keeps happening at differant points in the game, but I just go back to an old save and continue on. So... it's irritating, but life goes on. If I wasn't able to play the game, oh, oh oh, Microsoft would nay be in the good books, but as it is it's just a minor inconvenience

Snake Plisken

MY brother bought his 360 bundle last month from Xtravision in Nutgrove, on Monday I wanted to play GOW with him online, he put it in and the drive started making stange noise and it scratched the GOW DVD to bits, no games are able to be read by the 360 now! To make matters worse he went back to xtravision and they would not replace it as it was the 29th day after he purchased it Which is bullsh&t in my books!

Snake

Helix

what way do people who have had games scratched have their 360s, and what dvd drives do you have?

mines vertical and theres no so much as a mark on any of my games

dlane99

my xbox scratched my disks,
never moved it while it was on.
took it back and got a new one.
now this one freezes frequently.
go m$.

kensutz

AceCard Jones wrote:

I have read in a few places that Micro$oft are not offering replacement discs.
According to them the machine was thoroughly tested and the only way scratches can occur is through user error.....my arse.:rolleyes:

That's rich coming from someone who said they have absolutely no interest in the 360. Of course there is going to be some flaws and the number of complaints could be due to faulty discs from the distributors and not the console itself.

bardcom

Well, the good news is that Game replaced the scratched disk without raising an eyebrow. Nice one.

From reading the various sources on the internet, this is a summary:

It happens a lot, more frequently if your machine is vertical than horizontal. It mostly happens if it is "disturbed" while playing a game - a knock or bump, moving from vertical to horizontal, or even vibrations from a loud sound system (or in my case from a wooden floor is was sitting on, I think). Some people recommend that you do not even keep your DVD in the xbox360 while switching it on or off...

So the advice is to keep your xbox horizontal and free from the possibility of being bumped or knocked, and free from heavy vibrations.

Riesen_Meal

Learned this the hard way with an old COD2 disc, wouldnt replace it either, ended up going through 3 xboxes since, not a bother since I keep it horizontal....

None of my discs are scratching now.....

bardcom wrote:

So the advice is to keep your xbox horizontal and free from the possibility of being bumped or knocked, and free from heavy vibrations.

jcoote

got my xbox back from microsoft yesterday and bought saints row,,

it scrathed the **** out it but is playing pgr3 and gow spot on also dvds are spot on.

went back to game in liffey valley with this story and your man reckons microsoft are liable.

is the xbox fecked again the same day i got it back 'fixed' ????

also the xbox is on a permenant fixture lying horizontal and i was 5 feet away when this happened

Myksyk

jcoote wrote:

went back to game in liffey valley with this story and your man reckons microsoft are liable.

This keeps coming up. You did no business with microsoft. You did business with Liffey Valley Man. He is liable and needs to sort you out asap (this may mean sending it back but your contract is with him and I would deal directly with him).

AceCard Jones

kensutz wrote:

That's rich coming from someone who said they have absolutely no interest in the 360. Of course there is going to be some flaws and the number of complaints could be due to faulty discs from the distributors and not the console itself.

What's rich?Am I missing something?:rolleyes:
Am I not allowed to read news on something just because I don't want or like it??That's news to me....

And on your comment about faulty discs......
I think you need to read this thread again, look how many people are having this problem, and read some of the detailed articles online giving details on how it happens.There are plates of metal on either side of the lazer, which when the console is moved slightly, destroy your discs, and there are people here saying they didn't even have to move it and it happened.

And faulty discs?Yes I can understand discs being faulty and just simply not working, but to justify your comment in this case, there would have to be secretly embedded little Gremlins in the disc that come out during play and scratch them to bits!!Discs do not scratch themselves.;)

jcoote

Myksyk wrote:

This keeps coming up. You did no business with microsoft. You did business with Liffey Valley Man. He is liable and needs to sort you out asap (this may mean sending it back but your contract is with him and I would deal directly with him).

so your man was saying the only thing that could have scrattched the disc was the xbox.

where do i stand there (i'm goin back up tomorrow and i just wanna have my facts straight)

do i say to him 'well i bought this game from u and even if my xbox scratched it my contract is with you'

would he not just say well its the xbox thats the problem not the game??

bardcom

jcoote wrote:

so your man was saying the only thing that could have scrattched the disc was the xbox.

where do i stand there (i'm goin back up tomorrow and i just wanna have my facts straight)

do i say to him 'well i bought this game from u and even if my xbox scratched it my contract is with you'

would he not just say well its the xbox thats the problem not the game??

Or what about if you bought your console in one shop, and the game in another - as frequently happens.

Do you go back to the place where you bought the game? Hardly...the game had no fault.

So, do you go back to the place where you bought the console? While they might replace a damaged console, what happens when all the consoles have the same "feature/fault"? Will they accept liability for the game that was damaged? Don't think so.

That leaves the manufacturer - Microsoft. So they must be liable. And surely you have a contract with Microsoft - for example they provide support, and they're who you send the Xbox off to when there is a fault.

So I don't buy the "you don't have a contract with Microsoft" line of reasoning.

PixelTrawler

My 360 scratched my r6: vegas disc and my GOW disc. Again it was lying flat and not knocked...

Seems crazy this can even happen seeing as people have been jogging with cd walkmans for 15 years without scratching discs, so its not like a drive is brand new tech...

Dave

I did this to my friends GRAW disk a few months before I got my own xbox. It was scratched to **** and was unreadable with a few radial scratch. In fairness I bumped his xbox while the disk was in. But anyway, all you have to do is buy some brasso or other metal polisher. Apply to the disk and rub vigourously with a cloth radially not tangentially to the scratch. You have to do this 3 or 4 times, but it works a treat. The metal polisher also acts as a plastic polisher, you won't damage your disk. Guaranteed.

RAIN

Just Took out Rb6 vegas and low and behold a big dirty round scratch .Read on the official forum that if you call microsoft they will deny that the xbox CAN scratch discs ..Pissed off ! my ps2 did the same thing when i had it !!! The lens cant be actually touching off the disc can it ?Or is it the heat ?

thefinalstage

RAIN wrote:

Just Took out Rb6 vegas and low and behold a big dirty round scratch .Read on the official forum that if you call microsoft they will deny that the xbox CAN scratch discs ..Pissed off ! my ps2 did the same thing when i had it !!! The lens cant be actually touching off the disc can it ?Or is it the heat ?

Well the disc is constantly spinning and the only thing that could make a round scratch on the disc would be the laser.