XBox 360 Tips...

Demiurge

When I went to purchase my last game I had a bit of a conversation with the manager of the video game store and he told me some info I wasn't aware of. He said to have your XBox 360 laying flat rather than standing upright. Being in the upright position the machines have the propensity to scratch the hell out of the discs in a circular motion. He showed me some of the discs that it happened to, and it wrecks havoc on the machines as well. Another obvious point was not to move the machine while a disk is either in the drive, or if the machine is running. That I knew, but I thought the other info was good.

Also, try to put something underneath the XBox so that it can get some cool air circulation going underneath the machine. That I knew too, but I figured that I would pass on that information.

polkatese

good deal of info here, Demi. Thanks. Mine is standing up and I will need to make adjustment.

lanion

Demiurge wrote:

Being in the upright position the machines have the propensity to scratch the hell out of the discs in a circular motiQUOTE]

People said the same thing about the PS2, but it never happened to me, so I don't know how true this is. Many people run 360s vertically with no problem, but I guess there is some risk. What is more confirmed is that if you change the orientation of your system (or move it at all) while the disc is spinning, you are asking for damage.

Demiurge

Do whatever you want. Just passing along information as was given to me. I also saw with my own 2 eyes what happens. I don't think he was lying to me!

lanion

Demiurge wrote:

Do whatever you want. Just passing along information as was given to me. I also saw with my own 2 eyes what happens. I don't think he was lying to me!

Its possible you had an intelligent manager, but I once had a EB manager tell me that s-video wouldnt make any difference for Playstation 1 games because it was too low res, so I trust them loosely

Shizelbs

I've used my machine both ways, and no problems so far. I prefer to lay it down on its side. Although, I don't like the fact that the disc and the hard drive are not in the same plane. I would prefer for all my spinning plates and discs to be parallel to the ground.

avelanchefan

I have mine upright and no problems yet. But my system right now has to be upright. I do not think I have the space to turn it sideways/the normal way.

Musophile

I already had to send mine in to MS for service. They promptly sent me a new unit replacing mine but this time it had a big sticker on it saying don't move this unit while it's working. I never moved the unit but it was standing up. The MS service was really good about replacing my unit.

SniperREX

Demiurge wrote:

When I went to purchase my last game I had a bit of a conversation with the manager of the video game store and he told me some info I wasn't aware of. He said to have your XBox 360 laying flat rather than standing upright. Being in the upright position the machines have the propensity to scratch the hell out of the discs in a circular motion. He showed me some of the discs that it happened to, and it wrecks havoc on the machines as well. Another obvious point was not to move the machine while a disk is either in the drive, or if the machine is running. That I knew, but I thought the other info was good.

Also, try to put something underneath the XBox so that it can get some cool air circulation going underneath the machine. That I knew too, but I figured that I would pass on that information.

It's true, but only the first batch of 360 have that problem. They were missing a plastic piece to hold the DVD in place when the console is standing up.

Anyway don't move the console while it's reading .

Demiurge

Anyway don't move the console while it's reading

Yeah, probably the most important point I was trying to make, and also common sense. haha. :cool:

neomagus00

SniperREX wrote:

It's true, but only the first batch of 360 have that problem.

so have they released a gen-2 already?

SniperREX

neomagus00 wrote:

so have they released a gen-2 already?

I'd call it 1.01 .

iworkfortweeter

Its possible you had an intelligent manager, but I once had a EB manager tell me that s-video wouldnt make any difference for Playstation 1 games because it was too low res, so I trust them loosely -lanion


thats hysterical.

DJMoore22

I can attest to this. So far I've had Tiger Woods and Call of Duty get circular scratches on them to the point I can't play them anymore. Mine stands vertically and I've moved it while the system is one. Not sure what to do about though.

Monster Jam

My son's XBOX 360 has only ever sat horizontal and its hardly ever been moved. Just yeasterday I had Microsoft create a repair order for the machine as it has destroyed Guitar Hero II and Guitar Hero III with perfectly circular scratches on the discs.

I'm guessing that the other games he has were not scratched because a) he hasn't played them nearly as much and b) Guitar Hero constantly reads from the disc during play.

I have the extended warranty from BB, but this is one of those cases where I think I would prefer to send it in for repairs (and be without it for a month) than to return it for a new XBOX 360. After all, what gaurantees I'm getting an XBOX 360 without the same problem.

Another issue is now Ive got to replace both Activision games at $20 per disc. That sucks.

fatchowmein

Ah, nuts. I just recently set my 360 upright. Not sure where I'm going to stick it if it has to go horizontal.

Thx for the info.

*)^#$#+++?}|{#@%%^<.?"\!!!

Monster Jam

I was just told by a college-aged gamer coworker (okay, Im a bit older than college aged) who has the 360 that it should sit upright. Based on what I've read from this forum and the articles I've read from the internet, I dont think it matters how the device sits - you either have a XBOX 360 that isn't going to scratch the disc or you don't (and youll be sending it in to Microsost soon enough). I didn't argue this point with him....

In other news, I have a self correction to make regarding Guitar Hero (Activision/Red Octane) - its going to cost $25 per game for replacement, not $20.

BeRad

I have fixed circular scratched discs for friends before. Got them running good as new with a little wet sanding and polishing. Couldn't tell the thing was ever scratched at all, although it certainly doesn't look pretty on the bottom anymore. Usually just thousands of very tiny marks that give it a hazed look. But who cares how it looks if it works right?

SolidSqual

Move the console from upright to horizontal or vice versa while it is running a game . . . this will give you some nice circular scratches unless you have a new drive that prevents the disc from wiggling during the motion.

Have fun. Try it with a Blockbuster rental.

Imperitor

This happened to a friend of mine. Solid is right, standing the 360 up is no big deal, but moving from horizontal to vertical or vice versa while a game is running will ruin the disk. Luckily it happened to my friend right after he bought a new game so he was able to return the game.

jflail2

I had a decent bit of advice from a friend that owns a 360. He actually uses a laptop cooling pad to keep his 360 cool when it is laid down flat. Interesting tidbit, and not an expensive addition if you're worried about heat.

djlogix

There are some easy fixes for the Disc Drive problems. Most notably is the little pads in the tray. I won't link to any sites (as I haven't fully read TOS yet) but if you do enough searching, you'll find all the information you need to fix Disc Drive problems of any kind on the Wii, 360, PS3 and many other systems.

But yeah, I blame Microsoft for not sticking with the Tosh-Samsung drives. Probably the only bonehead move I think or feel they've made in the construction.