# A Question Of Gaming



## jayhusky (Oct 12, 2009)

Hey all, 

I've been looking around the internet for an answer to my question and I can't seem to dig up anything definitive.

My problem is this: I recently purchased Halo 3: ODST for the Xbox 360 and after a while the disc became scratched, now due to the price of a new copy of the game in my local shops I can't really get a brand spanking new copy.

Is it entirely possible to use a friends copy of the game and install it to the Hard Drive and then use my copy to make the game load.

Because from what i have gathered is once installed, the game only requires the disc to prevent pirating (effectivly uses the disc to act as a boot disk)


Any Help is welcome.

Thanks

--Jay


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## Sinjo (Oct 12, 2009)

No. The installs need the CD to be there. Take a look at this ( Warning, PDF) http://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&source=web&ct=res&cd=4&ved=0CBQQFjAD&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdownload.microsoft.com%2Fdownload%2Fd%2F1%2F8%2Fd181ee58-de70-4484-936b-0e9161ccd6b2%2Freplacementdisc_orderform_4.pdf&ei=f3fTStrCMoniNfuZtZQD&usg=AFQjCNEgr1lMgI9TaerOpOMGIef02vZNTQ&sig2=fzfxYNufa1EFcEJqbeRDCA


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## Azure (Oct 12, 2009)

You should take better care of your discs.


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## CaptainCool (Oct 12, 2009)

you could take your disc to a video rental shop. usually they have a device to remove a very very thin layer of plastic from the bottom of the disc. that way it will be as good as new again!


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## Sinjo (Oct 12, 2009)

CaptainCool said:


> you could take your disc to a video rental shop. usually they have a device to remove a very very thin layer of plastic from the bottom of the disc. that way it will be as good as new again!


Not if he was stupid enough to tilt his xbox while it's running.


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## ArielMT (Oct 12, 2009)

CaptainCool said:


> you could take your disc to a video rental shop. usually they have a device to remove a very very thin layer of plastic from the bottom of the disc. that way it will be as good as new again!



That depends on how deep the ring etched by the console is.



Sinjo said:


> Not if he was stupid enough to tilt his xbox while it's running.



Uprights can scratch without tilting a degree.


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## Sinjo (Oct 12, 2009)

ArielMT said:


> That depends on how deep the ring etched by the console is.
> 
> 
> 
> Uprights can scratch without tilting a degree.



I didn't say while running it upright, did I?


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## ArielMT (Oct 12, 2009)

Sinjo said:


> I didn't say while running it upright, did I?



I thought we were referring to scratch rings regardless of angle.

The replacement offer program is a nice touch.


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## Sinjo (Oct 12, 2009)

ArielMT said:


> I thought we were referring to scratch rings regardless of angle.
> 
> The replacement offer program is a nice touch.


If you've ever tipped the Box while it was running, you'd know that it makes a horrible scratching noise and the disc comes out like vinyl.


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## Kuraggo (Oct 13, 2009)

I don't see why it should be a problem, as long as you have the game in the tray it should run it from the HDD without problems.


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## Kaamos (Oct 13, 2009)

> Is it entirely possible to use a friends copy of the game and install it to the Hard Drive and then use my copy to make the game load.



Yes, it will work. I had a copy of Oblivion I bought when I first got my 360, it got fucked up and the xbox couldn't read it, so I got new copy. I installed the new disc to my hard drive, then stuck the scratched disc in and it worked fine. 

It just took a second for it to recognize the disc.


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## Runefox (Oct 13, 2009)

IF and only IF your disc still works enough to verify that it's ODST in the drive, then yes, you could get away with that.

Still, though, look into disc repair. There's all sorts of options out there. Hell, I've heard of just using vaseline to seal scratches (though I've never used this method, there seems to be a lot of evidence that it works).


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## jayhusky (Oct 13, 2009)

I've been to my local game shop and asked about methods to fix the scratch, they repaired it for me there and then, cost hardly anything..

Thanks for the all the replies to this though.

As for the cause of the scratch, it was caused by the Xbox running in upright position, no tilting or anything.


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## Sinjo (Oct 13, 2009)

jayhusky said:


> I've been to my local game shop and asked about methods to fix the scratch, they repaired it for me there and then, cost hardly anything..
> 
> Thanks for the all the replies to this though.
> 
> As for the cause of the scratch, it was caused by the Xbox running in upright position, no tilting or anything.


strange, I always had mine upright, never had a scratched disc.


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## Sam (Oct 13, 2009)

Oi, I did that with my old Halo 3 disk. You can install a buddies copy on your HDD and you should be fine. :3




Or you could do what I used to do way back when, just rent it and return it the next day... "I got it this way...." They'll just shrug and toss it. They all do that.


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## SailorYue (Oct 13, 2009)

ive  never seen XBOx didsks, but sinc the 360 canrun dvds im sure therye alot like dvds, so go to a dvd store or walmart and buy something called "Disk DR" its semi pricy but not that expensive, and stick the scratcd disk in it and follow instructions. suposedly it fills in the scratch and polishes it cleanly


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## Sam (Oct 13, 2009)

And if you can't do that, use toothpaste... Clear baby toothpaste. None of that sparkle shit in it. And polish it.


Works every time, trust me.


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## Stratelier (Oct 13, 2009)

jayhusky said:


> Is it entirely possible to use a friends copy of the game and install it to the Hard Drive and then use my copy to make the game load.


Already been covered, but if the game uses your disc as a copy-protection / anti-piracy measure, this usually means you'll need the exact same disc to play it with.  Or re-install (and subsequently play) it from a new disc.


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## Sam (Oct 13, 2009)

Nah, you don't. You can use any disk. The thing that Microsoft will get you by, is when you take your HDD and try to use that game on a entirely different xbox.


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## Runefox (Oct 13, 2009)

SailorYue said:


> ive  never seen XBOx didsks, but sinc the 360 canrun dvds im sure therye alot like dvds


Just so you know, they *are* DVD's.  DVD-9 / Dual Layer.


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## SailorYue (Oct 13, 2009)

well, like isaid i never saw an xbox disk before


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## Sam (Oct 13, 2009)

Runefox said:


> Just so you know, they *are* DVD's.  DVD-9 / Dual Layer.



Does PS3 use Blue ray disks then? Or do they still use DVD's?


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## Sinjo (Oct 13, 2009)

Sam said:


> Does PS3 use Blue ray disks then? Or do they still use DVD's?


Both.



Runefox said:


> Just so you know, they *are* DVD's.  DVD-9 / Dual Layer.


Specifically DVD+R DL 2.4x

They don't use DVD-9


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## Runefox (Oct 13, 2009)

> Does PS3 use Blue ray disks then? Or do they still use DVD's?


The PS3 predominantly uses BD-ROMs, yes. I'm not aware of any particular PS3 game that uses a DVD for its media, but I would imagine there do exist a few, just as there were a few games for the PS2 that were released on CD-ROM. I'd hazard to guess that mostly low-cost, bargain-bin games would mostly account for this sector of the PS3 game market, just as CD-ROM did for the PS2.



Sinjo said:


> Specifically DVD+R DL 2.4x
> 
> They don't use DVD-9


What you just said is a form of writable DVD DL media (which is in essence the recordable version of DVD-9, which is the standard name for a regular, pressed, dual layer DVD disc). The 360 does, in fact, use DVD-9 (and I believe some games may also use DVD-5, the "standard" single-layer DVD format).


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## Sinjo (Oct 13, 2009)

Runefox said:


> The PS3 predominantly uses BD-ROMs, yes. I'm not aware of any particular PS3 game that uses a DVD for its media, but I would imagine there do exist a few, just as there were a few games for the PS2 that were released on CD-ROM. I'd hazard to guess that mostly low-cost, bargain-bin games would mostly account for this sector of the PS3 game market, just as CD-ROM did for the PS2.
> 
> 
> What you just said is a form of writable DVD DL media (which is in essence the recordable version of DVD-9, which is the standard name for a regular, pressed, dual layer DVD disc). The 360 does, in fact, use DVD-9 (and I believe some games may also use DVD-5, the "standard" single-layer DVD format).


No, DVD-9 Holds 7.9gb of space. DVD+R DL holds 8.5 . This is what Microsoft uses, I should know, I make back ups of my games.


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## Runefox (Oct 13, 2009)

Sinjo said:


> No, DVD-9 Holds 7.9gb of space. DVD+R DL holds 8.5 . This is what Microsoft uses, I should know, I make back ups of my games.


Check again, dude; DVD-9 = DVD+R DL in capacity. DVD+R DL is *specifically* a recordable format, not a pressed format. You may have confused GB with GiB; Both are 7.9GiB and 8.5GB in capacity.


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## Sinjo (Oct 13, 2009)

Runefox said:


> Check again, dude; DVD-9 = DVD+R DL in capacity. DVD+R DL is *specifically* a recordable format, not a pressed format.


I'm not reading the whole page to find out what you're trying to say. Thought you're telling me the games that I've backed up and have played, aren't going to work on the xbox?


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## Runefox (Oct 13, 2009)

I'm telling you that Microsoft doesn't use DVD+R DL's. I'm telling you that they use DVD-9. And they do. DVD-9 holds 8.5GB, just like DVD+R DL; DVD+R DL is the *consumer, writeable variant of DVD-9*.


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## Sinjo (Oct 13, 2009)

Runefox said:


> I'm telling you that Microsoft doesn't use DVD+R DL's. I'm telling you that they use DVD-9. And they do. DVD-9 holds 8.5GB, just like DVD+R DL; DVD+R DL is the *consumer, writeable variant of DVD-9*.


I see.


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## Sam (Oct 13, 2009)

Lol, don't correct Runefox, he'll crush you into a pulp.


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## Sinjo (Oct 13, 2009)

Sam said:


> Lol, don't correct Runefox, he'll crush you into a pulp.


I'm just finished, He's as stubborn as me.


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## paran0id42 (Oct 14, 2009)

Bumping this since its nearly fresh and I have a similar scenario.  I have  a resident evil 5 disc and I had my 360 sitting upright (Big mistake I know) I left it alone and someone knocked it over on its side and my RE5 has a big ring on it.  I have gotten it buffered 2 times at a Gamecrazy and the ring is slowly dissappearing.  When I put the game into the 360 it progressively gets better.  I now get 3 seconds of a lodaing screen before i get an error message sound but no error message appearing (probably a "The disc is damaged thing").  

I have a buffer in my house, its more of a construction tool and they have a tool that realy acts just like a buffer, and it can target a precise area (it isnt bigger than the inner ring of the disc).  Question is, is this a good idea?  The piece I put onto the drill-like machine is really soft, i tested it on a normal disk that just stores files and stuff on and it progressively gets rid of it.  

After reading this situation, is this a good idea to manually go in and use this tool on the hardly-visible ring on the disc?  Or would one more buffer from gamecrazy(this buff would be the 3rd time if i should) do it?




Thanks for any potential input, please no "Maybe you should take better care of your discs" things, accidents happen.


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## Sinjo (Oct 14, 2009)

paran0id42 said:


> Bumping this since its nearly fresh and I have a similar scenario.  I have  a resident evil 5 disc and I had my 360 sitting upright (Big mistake I know) I left it alone and someone knocked it over on its side and my RE5 has a big ring on it.  I have gotten it buffered 2 times at a Gamecrazy and the ring is slowly dissappearing.  When I put the game into the 360 it progressively gets better.  I now get 3 seconds of a lodaing screen before i get an error message sound but no error message appearing (probably a "The disc is damaged thing").
> 
> I have a buffer in my house, its more of a construction tool and they have a tool that realy acts just like a buffer, and it can target a precise area (it isnt bigger than the inner ring of the disc).  Question is, is this a good idea?  The piece I put onto the drill-like machine is really soft, i tested it on a normal disk that just stores files and stuff on and it progressively gets rid of it.
> 
> ...


yea, don't buff it yourself, the bugger could have something in it that'll make it worse. Best chance is to pay up in the replacement program, cheaper than buying a new one.


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## jayhusky (Oct 15, 2009)

paran0id42 said:


> Bumping this since its nearly fresh and I have a similar scenario.....



Would be wise to get the store to do it for you, that way if they bugger it up its there fault not yours.. however yeh a replacement disk would be a good option to take it the 3rd buffer doesn't help.


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## Stratelier (Oct 16, 2009)

Sam said:


> Nah, you don't. You can use any disk. The thing that Microsoft will get you by, is when you take your HDD and try to use that game on a entirely different xbox.


So it's tied to the _system_ and not the disc, then.  That's fair enough.


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## Vaelarsa (Oct 16, 2009)

Sinjo said:


> Not if he was stupid enough to tilt his xbox while it's running.


360s are pieces of shit. They're known to scratch discs because of shoddy craftsmanship and the lasers being installed too low in the system. Microsoft even had a lawsuit going against it for that, but I don't know what ever became of that lawsuit.

What my fiance does to "fix scratched disks" is to just rent a copy of the exact same game from a rental place that doesn't use security stickers and shit, and just switch the rental with the scratched one.


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## Sam (Oct 16, 2009)

You all must get some shitty ass Xbox's. Mine have never scratched my disks unless I knocked it over like a fucking idiot. ( and that only happened once >.>; ). 

My only bad experiences with xbox is with errors - not the RROD, but E74 - 72 - 71. That and my wireless cut out. But that's two years of good gaming... I played it pretty much every day too, so for it to die, I can't say I wasn't expecting it.


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## Runefox (Oct 16, 2009)

Yeah, I know this was a big issue with earlier units, but I didn't think it was still happening - Mine has never scratched a disc, red-ringed, or given any sort of error (except one time when the power went out for like 0.5 seconds - It red-ringed then until I unplugged it and plugged it back in, then all was fine). I've even left it running for pretty much days at a time.


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## Sinjo (Oct 16, 2009)

Runefox said:


> Yeah, I know this was a big issue with earlier units, but I didn't think it was still happening - Mine has never scratched a disc, red-ringed, or given any sort of error (except one time when the power went out for like 0.5 seconds - It red-ringed then until I unplugged it and plugged it back in, then all was fine). I've even left it running for pretty much days at a time.


I had my original one, I waiting in line for back in November when it first came out. It only red ringed half a year ago on a really hot summer day.


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## CryoScales (Oct 17, 2009)

Kaamos said:


> Yes, it will work. I had a copy of Oblivion I bought when I first got my 360, it got fucked up and the xbox couldn't read it, so I got new copy. I installed the new disc to my hard drive, then stuck the scratched disc in and it worked fine.



I think that situation was fate begging you to destroy Oblivion, instead of pursuing trying to keep playing it.


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## Vaelarsa (Oct 17, 2009)

But the question is, does the OP have an old 360, or the newer "elite" or whatever the hell it's called?

I heard it was fixed in elite version (But figures they won't replace the crappy disk-scratching version for free. No. _"Pay us to pay for OUR mistake."_ Greedy dickholes. Way to pull a Jesskitt.), but that's just that... the elite version. 

My fiance's also got like 5 o 8 RRODs.
Keeps having to send it back to the company to get fixed.


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## Shark_the_raptor (Oct 17, 2009)

The thing about the 360 is you have to baby the thing.  You do that and it should last for however long you plan to keep it.

I've had mine for at least two years.  It's loud as fuck, but it works fine.


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## Vaelarsa (Oct 17, 2009)

His is never touched, except to push the button to put in / take out a disk.
But it still dies.
Over... and over... and over.

Maybe he just has shitty luck with electronics. (His computers seem to die, too.)


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