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9/23/2009 12:59:00 AM
2601
Disc Unreadable [OP UPDATED 10.20.09]
[quote][b]Posted by:[/b] urk
Here's the official word from our publishing partner. Sorry it took so long for us to get this out to you. We know this issue has been a source of frustration. Thanks for being patient.
[quote]We are aware of a very small number of customers reporting that their copy of Halo 3 ODST is causing a "disc read" error, which cannot be corrected by Bungie. Microsoft is fully prepared to address this issue via customer support. If you are receiving this error, please contact Microsoft customer support at 1-800-4MY-XBOX for troubleshooting assistance.[/quote]
If you experience any issues or difficulties via the official support channel, please private message me directly.[/quote]
Along with thousands of other unfortunate people, my Halo ODST disc became unreadable for countless times during a loading screen.
There is nothing wrong with the disc, other than that the new version of DVDs are not very compatible with supposedly "older" 360s.
If this happens to you, try downloading it to your hard drive. This only seem to work for a [b]very slim amount [/b] of owners though, because if it doesn't work, then your console will be unable to read the DVD the second you start it.
Also, there is [b] another slim chance [/b] for it to work: If you can get one of your friends to host a lobby and then launch the game for you, it may just work. However, you will not be able to play the game solo.
If the above doesn't work doesn't work, or if you just want to express your problems, then I suggest you message the user: Test Ninja Alpha, following the format below.
[quote][b]Posted by:[/b] Test Ninja Alpha
Since different people can have slightly different issues, we want to get an idea of the various issues that people are seeing individually. For those of you having problems similar to this, please PM me the following:
1. A brief description of [b][i]your specific[/i][/b] problem and what you've tried to fix it. Please do not recap the thread.
2. Remove your hard drive and play through the same sections of ODST that are failing. Does that make a difference?
3. Put in Halo 3 and play through a the first few campaign missions (on easy, it'll go quick). Do you see the same behavior as in ODST, or does it function perfectly?
[/quote]
If you are not to sure about this problem, then the only sure-fire way to be reimbursed is to return your copy to your game retailer [i]as soon as possible[/i].
When or if Bungie fixes this problem, you could rebuy the game and see if it works.
[b] ****EDIT: 10.2.09**** [/b]
[quote][b]Posted by:[/b] urk
Sorry about the continued delays, dudes (and ladies). We're in touch with Microsoft and they're telling us that you should be calling 1-800-4-MY-XBOX to get tickets up and going.
They're still not 100% locked in on the issue, but they are making progress. But no matter what the problem is, they've assured us the resolution will be handled through their support center.
If you are told by a customer service rep that they will not help you or that you should be going elsewhere for support, please ask them for their Customer Service Request # and report it to me directly via PM.
Again, we know this sucks hard. Hopefully they can zero in on the problem and get you all up and working asap.[/quote]
[b] If you really want to contribute, please perform the above. And if you happen to get on the phone with an "angry" customer support employee, you should ask for their Customer Service Request #, so they feel more obligated to help you, and all of us with this problem.[/b]
[b] ****EDIT: 11.16.09**** [/b]
[quote][b]Posted by:[/b] urk
[quote][b]Posted by:[/b] DEACON01
Incase many of you didn't know, but Halo 3 did have a similar problem with its campaign mode.[/quote]
Since you're in the researchin' mood, you won't find it too difficult to drum up instances of DRE at just about every major title release as well.
And we're not turning a deaf ear (or a blind eye). We understand that it seems that way, but we're frustrated too. We've got an open channel for you to communicate with our test team in the first post and we'd like you to stay in contact with support if you've already opened a trouble ticket. We're still in direct contact with our publisher as well to try to resolve this as quickly as possible, but unfortunately we don't have much to offer at this time, hence the silence.
And yeah, I know that's aggravating for the people who can't play.
[/quote]
[b] ****EDIT: 11.20.09**** [/b]
[quote][b]Posted by:[/b] urk
Here's the official word from our publishing partner. Sorry it took so long for us to get this out to you. We know this issue has been a source of frustration. Thanks for being patient.
[quote]We are aware of a very small number of customers reporting that their copy of Halo 3 ODST is causing a "disc read" error, which cannot be corrected by Bungie. Microsoft is fully prepared to address this issue via customer support. If you are receiving this error, please contact Microsoft customer support at 1-800-4MY-XBOX for troubleshooting assistance.[/quote]
If you experience any issues or difficulties via the official support channel, please private message me directly.[/quote]
[Edited on 10.20.2009 8:07 PM PDT]
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This really is the logical conclusion - hardware defects, no matter how minute, are really the only explanation for the problems you people are experiencing. If the error was linked to one specific revision of the XBox 360 - i.e., certain motherboard, certain DVD-ROM model - then arguably it would be possible to simply produce a patch to fix the issue. But that situation in and of itself seems unlikely, since each revision would need to be compliant to the base 360 spec, and any and all games would be vetted against that spec. While some newer revisions may technically have extra hardware features that could conceivably be exploited, no 360 OS or game would ever be allowed to exploit them. And that certainly does not seem to be the case here - people are reporting errors across pretty much the whole range of released 360 revisions, both old and new. The other alternative, where it is purely a software problem, is also ruled out, since the majority of the ODST-playing population is NOT having problems of any kind. With hardware, individual units are "identical" to other units only within a certain range - production of even the same revision of the same chip produces individual items of varying quality, and the ones kept as 'successful' are simply within a certain quality range. But not with software - the date on each disc is identical. So again, the majority of the ODST-playing population not having any problems rules out a software bug. What does that leave? Unfortunately just that your XBox 360s are defective. They may be fully functional for the majority of games, but something this game does stresses a certain component of your units that is simply not working to spec. There may be a way to get around that issue using software, but I can't imagine Bungie or MS ever wanting to do that, since a) the game works to spec, as shown by it playing properly on the majority of 360s, and b) such a patch could involve an extensive rewrite of one or more core parts of the code, something that is simply not feasible to do (this same error popping up in Halo 3 certainly implies the issue is with a main portion of the Halo 3 engine). That would be doing a whole bunch of work just to ignore the still-present issue with your 360s, one that could pop up again and again if other games were to ever use the 360 spec in the same way and tax that portion of your system. I think repairing your systems is the only realistic solution - both in terms of moving the XBox 360 forward as a platform, and giving you some piece of mind that your system will be able to play future games. I don't mean to underplay this, as the XBox 360 hardware situation in general is utterly ridiculous - the absolute substandard quality that has gone into the XBox 360 hardware from day 1 is a joke. Other current gen systems have problems too, sure - talking about original NES and Game Boys still working is not a valid example, as the electronic components there were so much simpler, and did not have any of the components which are most likely to fail in a modern system (i.e. moving mechanical parts, like optical drives, hard drives, and cooling systems). But the failure rates for other current gen systems are much smaller, and there is a defined line between working and not working. With the XBox 360, there is a gradual slope from your system working perfectly to when it stops working altogether - leaving you with months of fun time in between where you aren't sure if your system is failing or if its just a result of game bugs or something. But given that it's tough to change something like that 4 years into a platform, and we are stuck in the here and now - I think MS is handling this as best they can.
