Leaving CD/DVD in Disk Drive Damaging, Fact or Myth?

Factual Questions
1

I have heard plenty of times to take the disk out of a cd/dvd drive or game console when not in use. the reason was always along the lines that it places wear and tear and would eventually cause premature failure. how true is this? i always thought is was a bs myself. anyone know the real story with facts not just hearsay?

2

How can the disc get damaged if the unit is powered off?

I’ve left CDs in my car stereo for weeks and they play just fine every time.

3

If the CD/DVD drive is turned off then the disc isn’t moving and couldn’t possibly be damaging the disk… on the other hand, if you have a DVD player that you don’t turn on but just pause it then the disc could get a bit damaged since it could be spinning or at least get hot.
Taking CD’s and DVD’s out of their drives too often would lead to scratches and maybe some dust getting on them which is definitely damaging to them… this can be minimized by putting them in the drive and taking them out carefully and putting them in a case though some people just leave the discs lying around…
When a CD/DVD is in a drive I don’t think it is touching anything, even when it is spinning - except the middle part of the CD/DVD where there is no data anyway.

4

edit:
on the other hand, if you have a DVD player that you don’t turn off but just pause it then the disc could get a bit damaged since it could be spinning or at least get hot.

5

http://www.pcworld.com/howto/article/0,aid,113716,00.asp
from Ten Tips for Durable DVDs:

(see article for more detail) If you keep the disc in a drive or console those things don’t even apply… except for 6 if you kept the machine turned on…

Taking a CD/DVD out of a drive and reinserting later would cause dust particles that are floating around the room to get in…

BTW, you didn’t specify if the wear and tear, failure, and damage, etc, concerns the disc or the drive - I guess it could affect both. Though I think that if you’re going to turn off the drive and later use the same disc again it is better to just keep the disc in the drive.

6

sorry for the confusion i guess i did not make it clear enough. i meant the cd/dvd drive itself not the media. :smack:

7

FWIW you should take the disc out of an X-box before storing the box. Not because you might damage the disc, but rather if you turn the box over while picking it up, the disc will fall out of the dirive and jam the drive door. Ask me how I know this. :smack: