Xbox 360 System Failure: Scratched Discs Can Wreck a Rock Band

The Washington Post - Sunday, November 25, 2007; Page F01 (i.e., front page):

The Washington Post's Mike Musgrove encountered a frustrating technical error when his Xbox 360 scratched the "Rock Bank" game and left it unplayable after only about a day's worth of use - and he blames Microsoft. Musgrove reports a number of technical problems with the Xbox 360 and the class-action lawsuits against Microsoft resulted from those problems. His report focuses on scratched-disc stories, as reported by other Xbox owners, lawyers, Ars Technica, and GameFly.

[360sucks]

nothing new from
$$microsoft$$
(Reply)awww dont be mad
go back and play mass eflops
i mean effect

[Douche]

Umm, don't quite know what you mean. Could you explain? As to the topic, there should be a new headline. "Yet Again, Another Way The 360 Fails" That kinda works, right?

[cr33ping_death]

reported as off topic ice.

[PS3PCFTW]

PLAY BEYOND SH1TTY HARDWARE THAT RUNS ON SH1TTY WINDOWS

[gamesR4fun]

But man this is goin to turn into a total flamewar....

Look dont h8 if your a gamer you should call the console makers on their stuff... Dont care who it is if they make a faulty product they should be held responsible.

Same for games imo Ubisoft owes me a refund or a working patch asap for AC.

[Douchebaggery]

My 1st x360 used to scratch disc all the time.

[InMyOpinion]

My friend had a game that got scratched. He got it replaced for free. Maybe Mike Musgrove should try that as well.

[TheMART]

Meh... Already known and already dealt with.

There are three drives in the 360

Hitachi
Toshiba/Samsung
BenQ (only recently)

Hitachi was most noisy, but had rubber bumpers around the laser.
Toshiba/Samsung was more quiet, but was missing the rubber bumpers. No one knowns why because T/S PC drives have them. T/S produces them, not MS, so I would actually blame them.

MS has taken actions. Both drives are replaced by BenQ drives. Quiet & rubber bumpers. BenQ = Philips. Repairs get back with BenQ. New 360's are BenQ. Done

[Vip3r]

This one obviously wasn't BenQ and hasn't been dealt with it wouldn't have this problem in the first place. Also do Microsoft replace scratched or damages disks after they repair the console?

[Bibto]

I always thought BenQ was Asustek. It's a Taiwanese company, so I don't think it's Philips.

EDIT: Nevermind. I see that BenQ and Philips have a partnership to create DVD drives.

[TheMART]

@ Vip3r

That's what I am saying. Call MS, say your 360 scratch discs, say it's a Toshiba/Samsung and send it in. You'll get a BenQ back.

For the games: only Microsoft games have a replacement program @ MS. Others don't. But hey, Sony also hasn't. Because a game can be scratched on more then one way.

Anyone with a T/S drive could do the calling 'I have a scratching 360' even if they don't experience it yet. And get it back with a BenQ drive. And yes, it's Philips.

[hardcorehippiez]

because i dont want another reason not to buy a 360 again just yet. but this is where i believe blu ray has the advantage . no scratches i have been waiting for this since cd's . if anybody rememembers the transition from vinyl to cd you will remember the promises that was made and how they would be more durable than vinyl was for music and that turned out to be so untrue . anyway im not dissing on the xbox ive had 1 loved it but i refuse to buy another 1 until microsoft sorts the problems out and is proven.i being an avid pc user have been led down the road by microsoft b4 to be promised improvement and fixes to buggy os's only to be dumped on and forgot about so i dont trust them in the slightest.to me the xbox is the only thing they have done right and theyve still messed that up.

[jorellpogi]

My 360 was manufactured November 29, 2005, what do you think was the brand of disk drive? My 360 is almost two years old and never scratched any disks. There are times it can't read some disk but I just reload them until it can read them.

Does the 360 has CMOS battery? Because the date and time always reset to factory defaults when I turn it on.

[Bathyj]

Quick, read it before they report it.

[Snukadaman]

Not one report as I type this...If this was a ps3 story...the wahhh waahhhhs would be immense.

crck you would be more believable about your faulty elite if you had a gamertag...again..its quite easy too add too your bio thus making people who do own xboxes believe your unbelievable story.

[actas123]

I think Microsoft should have done something effective about this hardware failures along time ago. C'mon switch manufacturers, do something... stop being lazy.

[felidae]

nothing new to see here.

just another 3fixme problem.

360's hardware is just sad.

every day i hope not to get the RROD because i already had 2.

good to own a ps3 - no problems with that one ;-)

[crck]

if the ps3 version is decent. I just don't need the headaches. My 2nd 360 an elite doesn't turn off half the time now. The green power light shuts off but the fans and usb ports continued to be powered. I have to turn it on and off again or unplug it from the wall to really shut it off. These systems are just poorly made.

[MaximusPrime_]

3fixme = 360 ahhhh i like that. Still prefer Red rings of death.

[Bathyj]

Yeah when it comes to multiplatform there no question usually which version I get. The differences between most game are miniscule at best despite what Xbox Fud would tell you. The piece of mind of knowing your machine will still be running in 5 years is what sells it for me. If a game is really crap on PS3 I wouldn't get it, but they're usually really crap on both if thats the case and I wouldn't get it anyway.

[Fighter]

This would never have happened if they had blu ray rather than standard DVD.

[JasonPC360PS3Wii]

Now go make somthing up in your PS3 blog, Mr 3rd place bronze medalist with a 2 attach rate <---see that last part that was truth

[Fighter]

Thanks for reading my blog. I hope you get your console back from MS. It's been 2 months and they still didn't repair it? You should sue them.

You asked me to prove it? There have been no major reports of PS3 disc read error but Xbox has so many worldwide. you should read the forums of gaming web sites or if you want some more concrete evidence then you should read the news or watch it on tv.

[The_Engineer]

you are a TOOL, he knows full well that xbox.com forums are LITTERED!!!! with complaints about scratched discs, not to mention that other little problem of the hardware having a meltdown called RROD.....lol

[FPS nut]

Now I know there are fanboys on all sides, I can live with fanboys their funny and entertaining but the hardcore trolls on this site are just downright dumb as rocks. I swear I have read better comments from my nephew, he is only 9 months and just bangs on the keyboard.

"nothing new from
$$microsoft$$
(Reply)awww dont be mad
go back and play mass eflops
i mean effect"

What the hell is this? I think this person is trying to say "Mass Effect is a flop" but that is just the stupidest thing I ever heard. What next the PS3 isn't an HD console? If your going to be a fanboy be a fanboy, don't be what ever the hell you are? Good god at least use some truth, you sound like your bitter about somthing.

Earler I read a comment where the guy looked like he spent to much time watching rap videos and my eyeballs were in severe pain.

[kidrobot]

Is Cool Tho', Kno' Whut? Imma Start Writin' Tha Right Way Cuz Lotta Ppl Complainin' [Its Hard Fo Me Cuz I Really Write Like This When Im On A PC] OK, You're Tellin' The Truth, That Comment Was Wack XD "Mass eFlop" I'm Not An XB Fan, Either A Hater But Mass Effect Looks Cool. LOL, Take Care Man That Was A Good Read. At Least You Didn't Talked Sh!T About Me Like Others LOL

[dfcm2003]

To defend a system that is know for this stuff???? Xbox has some good games, but man that system is just junk..... My friend bought one of these this summer, it lasted 1 week. Took that pos back and got him a PS3.... The System itself is the main reason I cant stand the Xbox, Not the games but the unit......