XBox - Moving it with a disk in it will destroy the disk!

General Questions
#1

My sister was using her boyfriends Xbox to play the Rock Band game she just bought. Put the disk in, turned it on, then moved the Xbox to the floor so the cords would reach. Disk no longer works. Moving the Xbox with a disk in it will scratch the disk and it will not play.

I googled the problem, and it seems to be common. I found a page for a class action law suit against Microsoft for this problem: http://www.wcclaw.com/CM/ClassActions/X-Box-360-Investigation.asp

Has this happened to anyone here? Anyone have any ideas to get the game replaced?

Thanks

#2

The disk does spin at a high rate of speed and is a thermal plastic. Once it gets jarred it can make contact with the tray and melt the cd plastic more than scratch it. I had that happen with a recordable cd.

Game companies used to have a damaged media exchange for a low price. It’s probably not possible any longer, but you can go to the mfg. site and see.

#3

We plugged in Rock Bad 2 for Christmas of 08 and the bass guitar isn’t wireless. My wife was playing bass and moved back a little too far knocking the X-Box askew and making my disc unplayable. I took the disc in to have it polished and fortunately it works again. Now instead of having the X-Box sit on bare wood I have some foam stuff that keeps it from being moved easily.

Under normal operating procedures the X-Box shouldn’t eat disc. You’re not supposed to pick it up while it’s in play though.

#4

It does mention that you should not move the X-Box with a disc inside. Don’t know how much that’ll help in a lawsuit but you can’t miss the warning.

#5

Thanks for the info so far guys.

And there is no warning on the Xbox in question. In my Googling the question of the warning came up, and it was said the warning lable is one that you remove the first time you open the CD tray (or something like that).

#6

I thrashed my COD: MW2 cd pretty badly when I turned it on, then shifted it so I could plug in the ethernet cable. I have one of those CD doctor things, so I cured it, but still…

Sure the manual says not to, but it points to shit design and an overemphasis on cheapness when laptops and everything else that uses CDs (car stereos, discmen, boom boxes, etc…) don’t tear your cds up if you move them a little while they’re running.

Claiming that the blurb in the manual would release them from liability is absurd, when it’s very obvious that even the cheapest consumer items that use CDs ($30 Wal-Mart boomboxes) don’t tear them up when moved.

#7

It’s in the manual. If you use something and don’t follow the instructions you can’t really expect the manufacturer to be responsible can you?

#8

A) It’s not a CD, it’s a DVD.
B) It spins a lot faster than your laptop and a lot faster than a boombox. (Xbox 12x to 16x, laptop 8x, cd player 1x or 2x)
C) It’s not a portable device, and locking mechanisms increase wear and tear on the disc.
D) Don’t move your console. It’s your own fault.

#9

E) It’s an Xbox 360, not an Xbox. An Xbox is the previous generation system, that didn’t have most of the shoddy hardware problems MS seems to have introduced this time around.

(sorry, minor nitpick, it just irrationaly ticks me off when someone calls a 360 an Xbox, rather than a 360 or Xbox 360, kinda like if someone called a Super NES an NES)

#10

Or, it merely shows that the 360 was not designed to be moved when running. Saying that is cheapness or shit design is like saying a Honda Accord is rubbish because it does not drive off road. Despite what some people believe, quality is defined as fit for purpose, not something that is utterly indestructable. Last time I checked, a console is not designed as a mobile device, and if it was, no one would pay for what they would inevitably deem an unneccesary feature.

/Doesn’t own a 360 or Xbox or whatever it is.

#11

As stated several times, the Xbox warns you to not move it while a disc in in the machine… And especially not to change the orientation from standing up to laying flat, as a horrible grinding sound will occur and your disc will be screwed. I doubt any kind of class action suit is going to be successful given the warnings and cautions Microsoft already gave regarding the issue.

But since the damage is done, I’ll recommend a disc-fixing service (assuming it’s still salvageable): http://www.wefixcds.com/index.cfm

#12

Um you think?

#13

Of course they should indeed be sued and have to pay for this. The device is a game machine for children for Pete sake, and even adults are totally unaware it would destroy disks just by moving it. There is plenty of common law about safety and product expectations especially for kids products (and no adult would expect this, let alone kids).

It would be like marketing for childs play something made of thin glass or sharp needles on it for decoration and saying, hey it says be careful on the box, kids. They could easily space the area so the disk would not hit it unless it was dropped or something like that. This is deliberate bad design and they should pay.

Plenty of others have had recalls/replacement just because dumb kids want to eat the small parts (which I do not agree with) or even lick paint off of walls and here is a product that destroys your property just because it is moved a tiny bit?

#14

No, take it from someone who has had 3 RROD 360s in about 3 years and will never buy MS crap again. They are shit design. I’ve also had a launch PS3 that has never given me an issue in that same time and it’s all I use now. 360s are notorious for their failures and quirks due to MS cost cutting. The 360s optical drive doesn’t clamp onto the disc like any sensible console maker should do, akin to a laptop drive. I’ve moved my PS3 on numerous occasions while playing games because I didn’t think it was getting enough ventilation (this generation of consoles are energy hogging heat emitters) without a hitch. I certainly wouldn’t advise it though nor does Sony. Apparently just a bump of a 360 while it’s running is enough to scratch your disc.

Also, to the OP, any game store and some music stores have disc polishers that will fix your DVD no problem.

#15

This sounds like the standard home ladder issue.

Using a ladder is inherently dangerous. You reduce, but cannot eliminate the danger, but what should be common sense when using a ladder. Nevertheless, ladder manufacturers now plaster every ladder they sell with warning labels, safety manuals, etc., to stem the law suits. They still get sued by people who don’t read/follow the directions and safety advice.

Sound the same with the Xbox. Different tool, same problem. You can bring a horse to water …

#16

Heh, we lost exactly the same game in the same way.

We did get a new copy of the Rock Band disk for less than the original purchase price, but this was accomplished by the simple gambit of “buying used.”

#17

That’s why it’s worth paying the extra buck (at least at Game Crazy) to insure your game for life. You break it, they replace it, assuming a polish doesn’t work. There are also online services that will polish discs for less than five bucks.

#18

I think there’s something else going on. I had a RROD, but my console was from the second batch, and it was three years in to its lifetime. MS replaced it for free, and threw in a couple of months of Live for free. I don’t think the 360 is poorly designed nor is it full of cost cutting.

Bumping the box slightly doesn’t damage the discs. It’s mostly when you drop the box or turn it on its side. Disc clamps might work, but those tend to destroy discs as well.

It sounds like you’ve had some issues, but most people haven’t. The disc scratching thing happens to maybe 1% of users, according to most sources.

#19

Another fun way to kill a disc is to hit the eject button without stopping the disc. I destroyed two DVD’s before I realized what was doing it. A friend killed a game of mine that way too. Apparently the disc keeps spinning in the tray when you just hit eject and it puts a nice ring in the middle of the disc.

#20

Calling the X-Box 360 (happy TGB?) a kid’s product makes as much sense as calling a DVD player or a television a kid’s product. Grand Theft Auto IV, Dragon Age, Mass Effect, Left 4 Dead, and Resident Evil 5 are just a few of the games I can think of off hand that are targeted at adults.
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