Llama Identifies the Cause of the Xbox 360 Disc Scratching Issue

Xbox-360-Scratch-Disks3_0001

Llama has torn into the Xbox 360 once again, this time to find out exactly what is scratching the discs. Here is what they had to say:

We found that if we added a foam rubber pad on the opposite side of the laser we could prevent the damage that would otherwise occur. Notice the arc near the top of the rubber pad in this photo?That is where the DVD now hits when we quickly tip it from a vertical to horizontal position.

Llama_scratch_fix_120505 001_1207

The pad restricts the upward movement of the disc on one side of the pivot point and in turn restricts the downward movement on the other side of the pivot point.

Llama_scratch_fix_Untitled-1_1207

We did a little digging to see what the lids of old drives look like (the HL360 drive has the rubber pad because we put them there)

Llama_scratch_fix_120505 005_1207

Notice only the Thomson includes the rubber bumpers to protect the disc.

In this shot of the HL 360 lid below we can see the three black pads. The two pads across from each other should be installed about a half inch further out from the ring to optimize performance.

Llama_scratch_fix_120505 007_1207

With the 3 foam rubber pads from the Thomson in place we now are unable to scratch up the disc. I’m so confident I will insert the real quake 4 disc rather than the demo disc as before, view that video [here].

Get the video of the disc after the fix [here].

Similar but softer buzz sound, but not the dramatic buzz saw we had earlier. What do you know, no scratches!

Xbox-360-Scratch-Disks3_0001

Llama has torn into the Xbox 360 once again, this time to find out exactly what is scratching the discs. Here is what they had to say:

We found that if we added a foam rubber pad on the opposite side of the laser we could prevent the damage that would otherwise occur. Notice the arc near the top of the rubber pad in this photo?That is where the DVD now hits when we quickly tip it from a vertical to horizontal position.

Llama_scratch_fix_120505 001_1207

The pad restricts the upward movement of the disc on one side of the pivot point and in turn restricts the downward movement on the other side of the pivot point.

Llama_scratch_fix_Untitled-1_1207

We did a little digging to see what the lids of old drives look like (the HL360 drive has the rubber pad because we put them there)

Llama_scratch_fix_120505 005_1207

Notice only the Thomson includes the rubber bumpers to protect the disc.

In this shot of the HL 360 lid below we can see the three black pads. The two pads across from each other should be installed about a half inch further out from the ring to optimize performance.

Llama_scratch_fix_120505 007_1207

With the 3 foam rubber pads from the Thomson in place we now are unable to scratch up the disc. I’m so confident I will insert the real quake 4 disc rather than the demo disc as before, view that video [here].

Get the video of the disc after the fix [here].

Similar but softer buzz sound, but not the dramatic buzz saw we had earlier. What do you know, no scratches!

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