Xbox 360 Disc Scratching Investigated, Tested

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deathblooms2k1

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[citation][nom]dogma721[/nom]The reason cd's get scratched is because there is no damping, the disc is free to move up and down at an angle, when that angle becomes sufficient it hits the head that is reading the cd rom. hence the perfectly circular pattern.You can actually fix this by using some sticky backed foam. If you take the cd rom drive out and put 3 small pieces and place them as follows: [] [] [] othe "o" is the head that reads the disc. The sticky pads prevent the disc from rocking back so far that it can actually contact the head.So again, warning labels are great, but, if the fix is as simple as this - (this fix will certainly prevent discs from being scratched for incidental bumps, etc.) - then how come microsoft didn't foresee this and in stead of stating - ya, the scratches happen because there is no mechanism in place that keeps the disc from contacting the head, they instead put a warning out that just says categorically "don't ever move the xbox with it on and a disc in it". That seems like a cop out.[/citation]

Thanks for the info I didn't realize the head came that close to the disk. Makes since now though. I assumed they were scratches that looked like some of my friends disk's after he gets done using his game as a coaster for beer.
 

monkeysweat

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There are 2 things I don't get
1) why can i put a cd in my car stereo or walkman, and go down a bumpy street or a jog and not end up with a scratched disk, but if I have a book put down beside the 360, I'll end up with a problem.
2) why the hell doesn't microsoft allow for a disc "trade in" if you have a scratched disc, you pay 5 bucks to get it replaced with the same one,,only costs them 1.00 to make a new one, so they're still making money,,I shouldn't have to pay another 30-70.00 for a new game if I'm not allowed to make a personal copy in order to avoid scratching in the first place
 

tenor77

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I've had several disks scratched and I never moved my original 360. My new one hasn't scratched any of my disks. I checked and a test group think it's due to vibration which makes sense cause the disks that scratched were heavy on the bass (ie Gears)

Don't assume that every problem is user error.
 
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My question is how does putting a book down near your console make it scratch a disk? I dunno about you but I'd have to slam the book down pretty hard to get it to do that. So in all actuality the testing those guys did is completely bogus. The console suffered a jolt of sudden movement and as with most CD or DVD players it has a high chance of scratching the disc. This isn't just a flaw in the 360, it's rampant is several other players that use CD/DVD media. This is why you're instructed not to move them during operation.
 

tenor77

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[citation][nom]caddyshack[/nom]My question is how does putting a book down near your console make it scratch a disk? I dunno about you but I'd have to slam the book down pretty hard to get it to do that. So in all actuality the testing those guys did is completely bogus. The console suffered a jolt of sudden movement and as with most CD or DVD players it has a high chance of scratching the disc. This isn't just a flaw in the 360, it's rampant is several other players that use CD/DVD media. This is why you're instructed not to move them during operation.[/citation]

It isn't bogus because I never moved mine and it scratched it. I do have a decent speaker system with a sub. I'm guessing that provided the vibration.
 

bige420

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My friend actually had this happen to his COD4. He wasnt moving it or anything, he went to start it up and heard this noise. SO he took the game out and there was this deep gouge all around the disk. SO you know what he did, he went to Blockbuster, rented COD4, told them it had a scratch on it and gave them back the scratched copy, keeping the good copy. Problem solved.
 

anamaniac

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I do have disk scratching problems myself.
My issue however is likely my washer and dryer. I live in a trailer, and they can shake the place pretty fierce...
One of my new Star Ocean (awesome game) disks is junk now. :'(
 
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I got the new xbox 360 s for christmas like a week ago with the kinect. I set it up on the floor next to my tv (vertical if it matters) and started playing kinect adventures. Everything was going good for about 2 hours untill I heard a horrible scratching noise so i decided to restart the console, after restarting it said the game disc could not be read wipe it and restart. This didn't work and after ejecting the game I noticed a circular scratch.

Now I'm told that the scratch was caused by the vibration of me jumping while playing kinect adventures! So basically I did everything the manuals said (set it up correctly, did not move console while turned on, stood between 6 and 10 ft away from the console) and after 2 hours of play my game broke.

So basically Microsoft makes a console that can't take basic houshold vibrations and THEN creates a game (Kinect) which tells you to run, hop and jump in front of the console. Am I the only one that thinks this is the stupidest thing I have ever heard.

The worst thing is kinect adventures is not sold seperately so the store says they can't replace it unless I return my entire bundle (Xbox 360 S, Kinect and game) and even if I do this and lose my various save data and profiles etc the chances are playing the Kinects jumping movement games will just cause the same game scratching problem to happen again!

Sorry if I'm ranting but when you spend 300 on a state of the art games console and it breaks after the 2 hours of play it is incredibly annoying.
 

mistyzink

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Ok for all of you guys saying its not possible...I just bought my kids the xbox 360 for christmas. I sat and watched them play the game, the system did not move and it did the ring around the game. I have no clue why or what caused it but xbox is giving me the run around bull shit that they can't replace the games. Its there system that messed it up to begin with. And yes the wii is much better, my dogs caught the cord of the ear piece wripping it right off the entertainment center and guess what???? nothing wrong with any of it..it all still works just fine. Its bull shit that I have lost $200 in games because xbox doesn't replace games unless they are made by microsoft...that most game are third party game. I say piss on the xbox and stick with the wii! What a waste of money!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
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its done it to 3 of my disks now and my x box hasnt moved at all its in the same place now as when i 1st bought it takes the piss really considering on how much the games cost in the 1st place
 
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thank you so much!! i moved my xbox 360 while i was playing dr2(dead raising 2 AKA Dawn of the dead game). it maked to much noise so i lifted it up to my bed. then i couldnt do anything but watch the screen type "Loading". Same happened to my friends littlebrother with his dragonball raging blast 2. he simply moved his xbox 360 higher couz he didnt like the spot or something. then it got scratched. But my cd has a outer ring thats normal. but when i moved it, it had a inner ring. if u understand what i say ill apreciate that!
 

bmac12

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Okay this is horse shit. Literally five minutes ago i popped in black ops sat back to play it and heard a grinding noise, Took out the game and boom a ring around the outside. So I began searching the web looking for help and I see people saying oh you have to move it you have to move it. I GUARANTEE I DID NOT MOVE MY SYSTEM. Every other game i have tried work fine just this one decided to get chewed up. All I can say is. Fuck.
 

bmac12

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Okay this is horse shit. Literally five minutes ago i popped in black ops sat back to play it and heard a grinding noise, Took out the game and boom a ring around the outside. So I began searching the web looking for help and I see people saying oh you have to move it you have to move it. I GUARANTEE I DID NOT MOVE MY SYSTEM. Every other game i have tried work fine just this one decided to get chewed up. All I can say is. Fuck.
 

roydo6

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Well i have my xbox 360 stationed in on my entertainment spot below the tv spot with nothing close to it and not close to the floor and it doesn't but it still scratches :/! I think it may have been the past owners fault because it jams in sometimes so i tried using Can of Air to clean dust or dirt and DVD reader cleaner and still scratches so im going to try to put some rubber or foam pads as the guy stated above so thanks :)!
 

roydo6

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[citation][nom]bmac12[/nom]Okay this is horse shit. Literally five minutes ago i popped in black ops sat back to play it and heard a grinding noise, Took out the game and boom a ring around the outside. So I began searching the web looking for help and I see people saying oh you have to move it you have to move it. I GUARANTEE I DID NOT MOVE MY SYSTEM. Every other game i have tried work fine just this one decided to get chewed up. All I can say is. Fuck.[/citation]
Well if u want to you can easily get the game resurfaced for Way cheaper than buying it all over again! Thats what i did with like 6 games for $20 which was great cause altogether they were pretty expensive just ask someone who works at gamestop thats who i asked. Also told me to use a DVD cleaner and Can of air to clean my system it helps but i plan on installing rubber pads as i said before. Hope this helps you out man!
 
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bullshit MICROSOFT IS A GREEDY, PIECE OF SHIT CORP WHO SCAMS PEOPLE AND GET AWAY WITH IT WELL NO MORE. YOU GUYS REFUND ME ALL MY GAMES THAT HAVE BEEN SCRATCHED OR GET SUED. I HAVE LOTS OF FRIENDS WHO WILL BACK ME UP AND SHOW THEIR DISCS, PERFECT SEMI CIRCLES IT HAS TO BE THE XBOX OR JESUS CHRIST ? GREEDY FUCKS I WANT A GODDAMN REFUND NOW.
 
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BASS WILL SCRATCH DISKS, FACT !!! I've gone through 2 NFSMW + 2 Halo 3 games now just because I forgot to eject the disk when I had the stereo cranked up. Sort it out Microsoft !!!
 
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if only 1% of console do that then why not replace those games that have been torn up by those consoles since it's such a small number, i mean really
 
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About the same problem as most of you guys. xBox sits flat on the floor beside the TV. I don't move it and I don't play loud music or sounds near it so vibration isn't to blame. Lost 3 games because of the scratching. Another problem I also have now is that it refuses to play Forza 4 which is brand new (and without scratches or gouge rings) while other games that haven't been ringed yet play without any problem. Haven't even got to adding it to my HDD yet even after getting the game exchanged back at the store. Anyone else experiencing similar or know what's going on?
 
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