Yesterday, I emailed Microsoft with the problems I’d been having. Today, I got this reply:
Hello Andy,
Thank you for writing Xbox Customer Support!
We have received your email and I understand that you found that your game discs got scratched while they were inside the Xbox 360 console. I deeply apologize for the inconvenience.
Scratches on a game disc can occur for several reasons. However, scratches do not necessarily prevent the disc from working.
If you move or reposition an Xbox 360 console while the console is operating and a disc is in the drive, the disc could become scratched. You may also see a wide, cloudy film in a circle on the underside of the disc.
To provide the best game play experience possible, Xbox 360 games are optimized to spin at 12x speed. This speed enables the game to access information from the disc quickly. If the console is moved while a disc is spinning at 12x, the disc can make contact with the read head. This condition can cause the disc to be scratched.
If you need to reply to this e-mail, please reply ‘with history’ (include any previous e-mail) so we can expedite our service to you.
You may also call Xbox Phone Support at 1-800-4MYXBOX (1-800-469-9269) at your earliest convenience, and we‚Äö?Ñ?¥ll be happy to help you. We are open everyday from 8am to 12mn US Central Time.
To expedite service, please provide Service Request Number 1XXXXXXX when you call.
NOTE: You may now check warranty and repair status for your XBOX console by going online at http://service.xbox.com/ using your Windows Live ID account.
Thank you for visiting Xbox.com. If you should have future questions on Xbox products or services, please be sure to revisit our Web site as we are continually adding information to enhance our service.
Sincerely,
Arnold
Xbox Customer Care
I like the way they completely ignored my email, apart from the point that my 360 was marking discs. I also see that this email was from the US Xbox Support people, even though my account is a UK one, and my email address is obviously UK-based too. This results in some amazing US-isms:
Thank you for writing Xbox Customer Support!
This line made me die a little inside.
We are open everyday from 8am to 12mn US Central Time.
12mn? They mean midnight? Then why not say “12am” like everyone else? Or just say “midnight”? Very odd.
I tried going to http://service.xbox.com/ as suggested too, but my 360 isn’t listed there as a “registered device”, even though I registered my 360 through the dashboard when I got it, and received an email telling me I’d done so too.
Anyway, my reply:
As I pointed out in my original message, these scratches ARE preventing the discs from working, and I have not moved my 360 at all, let alone move it with a disc in the drive or it turned on. The scratches are appearing during normal, careful use of the console.
My 360 is marking my discs, and my games now crash or won’t play at all as a result.
Please advise me to the next course of action.
Thanks,
Andy
Stay tuned for the next exciting installment!
