In this thread I am going to share my experience with a scratched game disc for educational purposes.
So let's say you have a Xbox 360 game what you paid a full price of $60 for and you managed to put scratches on the disc so it doesn't play anymore. What to do now? Are you suddenly out of $60?
Well, luckily, there are a few options, but first let's make sure the scratch is on the right side. It should be on the plastic side where you can see it. That is the protecting coat and it is possible to buff the disc (works with music CDs too) back to life if the scratch isn't too deep. If you scratched the label side (what is actually hard to see) you most likely damaged the data already and you are out of luck.
So options:
1. Using toothpaste or brass cleaner you can actually smooth the smaller scratches so the computer/consol can read the disc again. Go to Youtube type in fixing a scratched disc and you will see instructional videos how to do it.
2. There are actually online services that do this for you (some local stores too) and for only $5 or so you can send the game to them and hope for the best. Google for such websites...
3. The maker of tha game is willing to exchange the bad disc for a new one although the fee is a bit hefty. For Modern Warfare 2, Activision charges $20 for Xbox 360. But if you look at a $60 loss, you might don't mind to spend an additional $15-20 (depends on the consol/pc type), to save it. Some companies might exchange it in 90 days or less for free from purchase, if you have the receipt to prove it.
..and the easiest way to get it work again, and this is what I eventually did:
4. Get the same game from a friend (or if you don't have one you can rent it from Blockbuster for $8) and install it to the HD and you can play from it using the still scratched disc. Since it is only used for checking copyrights, chances are that the consol will read and recognize the game and play it flowlessly from the HD.
This trick did it for me, although I tried the toothpaste method first. First I did manage to make the disc more readable, but eventually I think I overdid it and I had a circular deep scratch anyway, what is hard to smoothen out...
So let's say you have a Xbox 360 game what you paid a full price of $60 for and you managed to put scratches on the disc so it doesn't play anymore. What to do now? Are you suddenly out of $60?
Well, luckily, there are a few options, but first let's make sure the scratch is on the right side. It should be on the plastic side where you can see it. That is the protecting coat and it is possible to buff the disc (works with music CDs too) back to life if the scratch isn't too deep. If you scratched the label side (what is actually hard to see) you most likely damaged the data already and you are out of luck.
So options:
1. Using toothpaste or brass cleaner you can actually smooth the smaller scratches so the computer/consol can read the disc again. Go to Youtube type in fixing a scratched disc and you will see instructional videos how to do it.
2. There are actually online services that do this for you (some local stores too) and for only $5 or so you can send the game to them and hope for the best. Google for such websites...
3. The maker of tha game is willing to exchange the bad disc for a new one although the fee is a bit hefty. For Modern Warfare 2, Activision charges $20 for Xbox 360. But if you look at a $60 loss, you might don't mind to spend an additional $15-20 (depends on the consol/pc type), to save it. Some companies might exchange it in 90 days or less for free from purchase, if you have the receipt to prove it.
..and the easiest way to get it work again, and this is what I eventually did:
4. Get the same game from a friend (or if you don't have one you can rent it from Blockbuster for $8) and install it to the HD and you can play from it using the still scratched disc. Since it is only used for checking copyrights, chances are that the consol will read and recognize the game and play it flowlessly from the HD.
This trick did it for me, although I tried the toothpaste method first. First I did manage to make the disc more readable, but eventually I think I overdid it and I had a circular deep scratch anyway, what is hard to smoothen out...
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