Scratches on disc

[phelixnyc]

A friend of mine called me up today and explained to me that noticed quite a number of his games (back ups) have circular scratches on them. He believes and I believe it is caused by the lens of the drive. Is there a way to fix this? Or should he purchase a new drive? He currently has a Hitachi drive I cant remember the model number. His 360 was purchased a few months after launch. It is currently flashed with ixtreme 1.41. I have the drives firmware saved to my pc.

[sadalius]

This is a problem thats been around for a while now. But the fix is here:
http://secure.llamma.com/catalog/produc ... cts_id=865" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[phelixnyc]

I talked to my friend about purchasing those. Thanx

[sadalius]

If you have an old dead cdrom or dvdrom drive, take the cover off it and look under the lid, it may have some that you could salvage and re-use in the problem drive. Some had them, some didn't. But its worth a look to see

[NeoRio]

I have installed the Llamma's scratch pads on both of my 360s (as soon as I bought them). I had 2 other 360s before my current 2...and my kids scratched several expensive original games by unintentionally teeter-tottering or knocking the console over while a DVD was in the drive. I was able to take the scratched original DVDs to Hollywood Video and have them resurfaced for under $2 each...and they're good as new (but you can only do this twice...they tell me). The only down side to installing the Llamma's scratch pads is that you have to peel off the warranty sticker to open the DVD drive and there is no way to get it back on...so you void the warranty. But once those pads are in there...you won't be able to scratch any anymore discs no matter how much you move the console around!

Regards

[parminder]

i thought the circular scratches were caused due to the whole xbox 360 vibrating while spiining the disk. this problem was seen in the newly made xbox's but i havent seen those problems in new consoles.

[NeoRio]

I'm pretty sure the scratches are only caused when the console is moved (even slightly) while a disc is inside. Never heard that the vibrating the machine might do (which must be minimal) would cause the circular scratch.

[Sesshomaru]

Honestly, you are better off making a new backup of the scratched backup/original disc than voiding your warranty for some anti-scratch pads imo. I only really notice the issue after tons of game play on a couple discs. If the game is too scratched to read in the 360, make a copy of it and throw the old backup out to be on the up and up with the DMCA. The 360 DVD-ROM is a lot more picky than a PC DVD-ROM drive, it is unlikely a PC DVD-ROM will be affected unless the game is scratched or badly damaged. You can make a backup of a backup with a standard DL burner, no special equipment or software is required.

[NeoRio]

You're probably right. After I did the pads on my 2nd 360 (and spending $12 to do it...while voiding the warranty on the drive) I concluded that would be the last one I'd do that to. I think my future 360s will not have the scratch pads...unless they are in public areas (and standing up) where they run a big risk of getting knocked over.

[Sesshomaru]

Yeah no big deal or anything, most stores still don't check the warranty sticker. That is more likely to be an issue if you are sending it back to MS, which with a voided sticker you likely won't be doing any way. The in store warranties at Wal-Mart are still the way to go. Cletus won't check the sticker, and you will get a new 360. Life is good.

[NeoRio]

I didn't buy any of my 360s at Wal-Mart or Target. I got them off of Craig's List for $250 each...both sealed and brand new. So I wouldn't be able to return them to a store. But I got pretty good at taking the MS warranty sticker off of them...and I can get it looking like brand new (with the stock fan back in, warranty sticker on, etc)...except for the little paper sticker on the DVD drive case.

[Digital Menace]

actually the benq drive is pretty good at ripping games too, i've done some badly scratched games with only like 2 fails.

can't really complain, also i agree i don't think the drive will scratch ur discs unless it's moved while playing probably, even my backups look flawless.