Xbox 360 Disc Scratching Investigated, Tested
Source: Tom's Guide US | Keywords: xbox, 360, disc, scratch, defect | Themes: Digital Entertainment
The Xbox 360’s hardware failures are a widely publicized fact, but few know that it’s more than just the Red Ring of Death.
While the dreaded Red Ring of Death is the hardware fault most common to Xbox 360 consoles--and one that Microsoft now warranties against for three years--it’s not the only problem plaguing gamers.
Some gamers report that the Xbox 360 seemingly and inexplicably scratches game discs despite following Microsoft’s directions for correct console usage. Stuck on every new Xbox 360 console over the drive tray is a label instructing gamers to not tilt or move the console while it is in operation.
Informal testing has shown that the Xbox 360 DVD drive does indeed scratch discs when moved while it is reading a disc--particularly if the console is moved between vertical and horizontal orientations. But victims of disc scratching insist that their consoles were stationary and untouched when their Xbox 360s chewed up game discs. [Who moves their consoles around during gameplay anyway?--Ed.]
BBC Watchdog has been following the story of several families who claim to have fallen victim to scratched discs, and finally decided to set up testing of its own to see if it can help verify the defect.
The BBC program took two Xbox 360 consoles, one brand new and another that had already caused a scratch, and placed them both on level, stable surfaces in a sealed space. The testers also set vases of water on top of each unit to indicate any movements (it also works to detect an incoming T-Rex). Watchdog researchers then played solidly for six hours a day for three days, but after three days, the team hadn't had a single scratch.
The testers decided that most Xbox 360s aren’t played in the “perfect” conditions described above, and then set forth to use “special testing equipment” to replicate the vibrations that a console might experience inside a home.
The report details that the first test simulated walking, which didn’t result in any scratched discs. Then the vibrations were turned up to simulate someone putting a book down on the table near the Xbox 360. The newer console passed the second test, but the older console caused a scratch similar to those experienced by the previous owner.
The BBC contacted Microsoft for comments on the findings, but Microsoft held its stance that there is no such problem with the Xbox 360s.
“Microsoft reaffirms its longstanding position that it's not been able to ascertain any defect in the Xbox 360 console that causes concentric gouges (that is, 'scratching') on discs when a console is in a stationary position,” the company said. “Indeed, despite extensive testing and examination under static operating conditions, Microsoft has never been able to reproduce the concentric gouge that causes disc readability problems or find any such defect in consoles returned by consumers for examination. It's only with the movement of a console that such 'disc scratching' may occur.”
In December 2008, unsealed declarations from Microsoft employees alleged that the company knew about the hardware flaw before the console even launched in 2005. Microsoft quickly responded, saying that less than 1 percent of the total Xbox 360 user base has complained about disc scratching issues.
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old news?
Is it news at all?
I imagine, people throwing books to the xbox 360 to prove that the console can scratch a disc.
I see a new accessory in the works: the Xbox 360 inertial dampener. Prevent those terrible disk scratches! Now in 17 different "kewl" patterns and colors.
Best news EVER on Toms.....*rolls eyes*
Considering I lost several hundred dollars worth of games, i'd say this is perfectly relevent.
How do you loose several hundred dollars of games? If the damn thing keeps eating your disks, I'd imagine after the first 2 or three I'd give up on the boxand buy a new one or just say screw it all together!!!
Great, Microsoft has a disclaimer that says don't move the console while its on and there is a disc inside. Supercool. The fact still remains that the cd rom drive in the thing is a piece of garbage.
This doesn't happen on my Wii. I can tilt it, move it around etc. and not have any problems. Not to say that there aren't limits with that, but, you can move the thing without scratching your disc.
Sure, if i was single and it was conveniant to put my xbox into some sort of entertainment center where it would be off the floor and not likely to get bumped. But, unfortunately, if you have a family with small kids, the tv your wife lets you plug your xbox into doesn't really have any provisions for a protected enclosure for your xbox and hey, lets be honest, everybody forgets - or thinks - hey, i can plug this accessory in with it on, i'll just be careful, then next thing you know - whoops - there goes 60 bucks.
Its a video game. It should have some tolerance to "real world" conditions. Dogs, kids, etc. Not saying you should be able to drop kick it and shake it, but, there should be some forgiveness.
Considering I lost several hundred dollars worth of games, i'd say this is perfectly relevent.
You must be a total dueche! How do you scratch your discs while their in your system. It's simple, don't move the system while it's got a DVD running at 12X and their won't be any problems. I've been through 4 360's (2 red rings, one was stolen, currently using Elite) and have only encountered one scratched disc because my ex's little bro moved the system will playing COD2. Did a shop and swap at Costco (because they'll replace for any reson) and moved on with my life.
I have had my 360 for a while now and none of my games have any scratches at all. Then again I'm the type of person who takes the game out and puts it back in it's proper case when putting a new game in. I also have the console sitting horizontally. I don't understand though, even if I had it sitting vertically how are the scratches made? The tray doesn't seem to have anything jagged on it that could cause scratches. Do these people with these problems have dirt or something on the tray? I just can't figure out how a flat more or less frictionless tray can cause scratching.
My only complaint with the 360 is that it's loud. Then again it's no more loud than my PC with cheap Rom and stock coolers.
Considering I lost several hundred dollars worth of games, i'd say this is perfectly relevent.
I'd say you are an idiot then. Scratch one game because you didn't explicitly read directions shame on Microsoft. Scratch a second disk shame on you. Scratch more than four discs (to achieve "several hundred dollars") you are a downright moron. I do believe you fall in the last category.
I bought the 360 the day it launched at midnight and have exactly zero scratched disks. I use what some call "common sense" and don't move a machine that is spinning a disk at a rapid rate. I use the same "common sense" to turn my car off when I fill up the gas tank.
I have had one game get scratched it was Perfect Dark Zero because my friend wanted to see how the 360 looked upright... so dont move your 360...
Oh man, I have a launch 360 and I play Gears of War I every night for a couple of hours and have been doing so since the game came out. It has no scratches and my console sits upright. I don't know why so many other people are having these issues. I guess I would be pissed too though if it happened to me. I also don't use my 360 like a fuckin gaming laptop either so maybe that helps???
my friend has a game that always gets scratched and i dont know why.. it's on a carpit sideways.. This makes me so depressed
"..it also works to detect an incoming T-Rex"
LOL, I had a laugh right there..
@all negative ppl - yak yak yak.. the news here was that BBC actually tested this, not that the 360 scratches the disc. I critisize Tom's alot aswell, but come on..
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:
[]
[] []
o
the "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.
Toms has been bashing the 360 a lot lately for known errors and now this. C'mon I want to try this with other consoles and se how well they do. Lets also try moving the disc around in PCs and see if they scratch discs. I have never scratched a disc and I am guessing it's because I don't move my console around while the driving is spinning several thousand RPMs.
Stop complaining.You love the system right? live with defects and just enjoy you're beloved console. while micro$oft laugh at the us
I'd say you are an idiot then. Scratch one game because you didn't explicitly read directions shame on Microsoft. Scratch a second disk shame on you. Scratch more than four discs (to achieve "several hundred dollars") you are a downright moron. I do believe you fall in the last category. I bought the 360 the day it launched at midnight and have exactly zero scratched disks. I use what some call "common sense" and don't move a machine that is spinning a disk at a rapid rate. I use the same "common sense" to turn my car off when I fill up the gas tank.
Mate, I think the words you're looking for are "good sense" coz it sure as s**t ain't common.
Mate, I think the words you're looking for are "good sense" coz it sure as s**t ain't common.
i agree with tayb
it seems common sense enough to me. i'm sure every one remeber the original cd walkman ... thing was terrible it would skip any tiem you actually tried to jog with it. following this learned memory that dates back to the 80's one could quite commonly use common sense and assume you shoudl never move ANY kind of disc playing device around as the best case senario is your tgame would skip causign the machine to lock up and require a restart (since game data deosn't just stream off the disc like a music cd).
but then again teh world is full of idiots ,. its why mirrors are packed in boxes that say "do not lay flat",it's why paint buckets ahve alabel that says "this side up" , and why Mcdonald's coffee cups have to say " warning this sh-- is hot" because for some reason ther are a lot of morons out the that defy nature and seem to have no mental capacity when it comes to retaining common sense knowledge. these people are usually refered to as stupid, dumb, ignorant , moronic , or retarded.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
i say take away all warning labels and just darwinisum. Let the strongest person survive.
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.
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.