XBOX 360 Circular Scratching?

[simpspin]

A buddy of mine picked up a 360 back in June before the price drop and HDMI models were released and the system and it's been leaving circular scratches on his games. They're tiny scratches that you almsot have to look for, but they're making the games unplayable.

We know we're not moving/bumping the system, on or off, with the disc inside and we even tested a music CD after the games, and it still made a scratch. So, has anyone else experienced this and tried to send the unit back to Microsoft for repairs and if so, how much was it?

[Rishi]

Should still be in warranty, no? Call MS and ask them. They should replace the drive for free.

[Johnny Park]

Microsoft's answer for this, if I recall correctly, is "Go to hell!" They got sued over it in Europe, I don't remember what if any the outcome was, but they tried to blame people for it, and not their drives.

[awechet]

Originally Posted by simpspin

A buddy of mine picked up a 360 back in June before the price drop and HDMI models were released and the system and it's been leaving circular scratches on his games. They're tiny scratches that you almsot have to look for, but they're making the games unplayable.

We know we're not moving/bumping the system, on or off, with the disc inside and we even tested a music CD after the games, and it still made a scratch. So, has anyone else experienced this and tried to send the unit back to Microsoft for repairs and if so, how much was it?

I just got my repair from this they didn't charge me. I bought my system over a year ago but they did extend my warranty because earlier i had RROD.

[ArcArsenal]

I have this same scratching issue.

My unit is out of warranty but I will call them tonight to see what I can do.

I will let you guys know.

[forsho01]

is your system laid down flat or standing up. i've heard of people having this problem with their system standing up, but not laid down flat. just a theory.

[ArcArsenal]

I have it laying flat.

I taked to this guy at EB and he said that sometimes if you have it near a stereo system if will case the disc to bum or something and it would cause the lens to scratch the disc.

I made sure with the latest game I got that I did not turn the stereo on, or even turn the TV on that loud. Still scratched.

This in conjunction with my freezing games will lead to a call to xbox tonight.

4th xbox 360...here I come.

[forsho01]

that sucks man. do you have the microsoft warranty? if so, after a while don't they just give you one if you have a lemon?

if you are buying a new one, buy it from best buy and get their replacement warranty. you just go to the store and replace the unit in store. better to do it this way than deal with microsoft's warranty and wait time.

[acwkdw]

My kids (who are actually very careful with their games) have had the problem of circular scratches as well. It's a real pisser when you buy them a great game for Christmas and it stops working after two weeks. I have had our console replaced by xbox twice, plus guitar replaced for rock band, and also the drums set had to be replaced, and now the peddle to the drums set broke. What a pain!!! It seems I will not get a whole lot of help from Microsoft. (although I can send them an email or call) I am wondering if their are any things I can do to the scratched discs. There is a game place by my house that has a "scratch remover machine." Does that work for the circular scratches? My kids have resorted to renting games from Block Buster, at least that way, I am not throwing $60 down the drain. Maybe having Blockbuster join in a class action suit would be helpful. They are obviously losing money too. There have been plenty of times I have rented games from them that did not work, and when I looked at the disc, it had circular scratches.

[jakebonz]

Originally Posted by acwkdw

I am wondering if their are any things I can do to the scratched discs. There is a game place by my house that has a "scratch remover machine." Does that work for the circular scratches?

I don't see why something like a Disc Dr. wouldn't work. What they actually are doing is removing a very thin layer of the coating on the bottom of the disc, which in theory would remove the scratch.

I don't think anyone has brough this up, but the circular scratching is often caused by either moving or bumping a 360 while the disc is spinning.

[kfelon]

I used a disc doctor one time and never again will I use one of those. It looked like sand paper was rubbed all over the bottom of the dvd. If you need your discs resurfaced you would be better off going to a Block Buster Video that has a resurfacing machine and paying them the $1-$2 they want and have it done by an expensive professional machine that will leave the disc looking like its new. If the disc has deep scratches then its likely no resurfacer will be able to repair the disc.

[MrPink077]

Originally Posted by forsho01

is your system laid down flat or standing up. i've heard of people having this problem with their system standing up, but not laid down flat. just a theory.

Going to have to put this one up as a Rumor. I have always had my 360s (3 different ones - All still working - ELITE "launch", Halo 3 Limited Edition Console and "2006 launch system" <== sold to my buddy when I bought the ELITE) standing up (along with 2 more from my brother's 360s - No We Don't Live Together) and have never experienced this. My friends also use theirs laying down (3 other people) and never experienced these circular scatches on the discs.

When one of my buddy's first bought his 360 he moved it from Veritcal to Horizontal while playing (game was paused but disc was still spinning) Gears of War. As soon as the system was turned off, he was unable to boot the game again due to - you guessed it - Circular Scratches. Luckily for him he took the game back to Target and just got a replacement.

I haven't heard of this being a problem for people who do not move their system, but I would suspect some type of mis-allignment defect (inside the 360) or slight vibrations/or uneven console could cause this too.

Hope you get it fixed!

[bujee1]

Originally Posted by kfelon

I used a disc doctor one time and never again will I use one of those. It looked like sand paper was rubbed all over the bottom of the dvd. If you need your discs resurfaced you would be better off going to a Block Buster Video that has a resurfacing machine and paying them the $1-$2 they want and have it done by an expensive professional machine that will leave the disc looking like its new. If the disc has deep scratches then its likely no resurfacer will be able to repair the disc.

Yes the disc looks "sanded" after you use the disc DR, but it is usable again.
I don't care what it looks like so long as it plays.

[upgrayedd]

You might want to see a dermatologist about that circular scratching . If you have the available memory (like with the Elite) I find dowloading the disc to your hard drive greatly reduces motion and is alot quieter. I have noticed on some games that they load a lot faster too!

[JAC35]

I didn't find copying the disc to the hdd made any difference at all. Seemed to completely ignore the fact that it was there at all. Even if it was launched from the hdd copy. I will have to try this again and see. I was hoping it would use the hdd copy and just read the disc on boot up for copy protection purposes, but my initial tests didn't seem to yield the results you have.

Also, I have seen circular scratches on a disk once. My wife's son ended up with them on his COD4 disc in my 360 Elite. We brought his disc back they replaced it, and it hasn't happened since. The boy didn't confess to doing anything so I have no idea how it ended up that way.