There have been numerous reports of Xbox 360 units scratching disks. What leaves many to believe that the unit itself is scratching the disk is that the damage is perfectly round rings visible to the naked eye. Obviously careless handling of the disk would not create circular scratches. I know for a fact that my 360 has scratched my Battlefield 2: Modern Combat disk.

Hardware.info was asked by the Dutch television program Kass to investigate the issue and has published its findings. It appears that the lens in the Toshiba-Samsung drives can in certain circumstances scratch the disk. Interestingly enough the consumer version of the drive, the SH-D162, has a small protective cushion around the lens to prevent it from ever touching the disk.

You can tell which drive you have by the shape of the DVD tray. Would something like this be considered defective? Knowing how spotty MS support can be should I even bother trying? Would it be safer and possibly cheaper in the long run to just go ahead and buy a new system with the newer, quieter drive?

I'd probably fight with M$ over it. But it's definitely quicker to just buy a new one.

d'oh, I have one of those Toshiba-Samsung drives...those things are seriously loud, it's quite annoying. Haven't had any scratched disc issues though...

My Xbox 360 totally toasted my Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Collector's Edition DVD. Keeping it flat, instead of standing up, solves the problem.