"Unreadable disc" error ONLY after playing DLC

[Stevedave]

Hey guys,

I'm getting a strange error. Any time I play one of the DLC songs, after the final results screen that gives your final score and number of stars along with the song title, once I hit the green button to continue I get the unreadable disc error message and I get booted out to the dashboard.

The disc is pristine and has no scratches. My Xbox has not scratched the disc, as has happened to some. Other games have not had this problem in the past. Downloaded songs in the Guitar Hero games also did not have this problem.

My system is not in an enclosed space, and has not had any trouble with overheating issues or anything of the sort. (At least, so far...)

Any thoughts?

Thanks,
-Brian

[Stevedave]

It's been a few days, so I thought I'd bump this.

Has anyone else had a similar problem or have an idea on how to address this? EA tech support suggested re-downloading all the songs, which I tried doing, and it didn't help.

Thoughts?

Thanks,
-Brian

[Muffster]

Hate to be the bearer of more bad news, but just happened across this on Google news:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/23/AR2007112301910.html

Can you say Halo 3, part two?

[Stevedave]

New information: I can also reproduce this error on ANY song by pausing it during the middle of the song and leaving it on the pause screen for a while. (Any more than, say, 1 - 2 minutes seems to do it.) After pausing for a while, if I then resume the song, I get the "disc unreadable" message.

Any ideas what could be causing this? Does this happen to anyone else??

Thanks,
-Brian

[steape]

From my experience the scratching of disks only happens when you move the 360 and the game is still in it. When I got my last one (#3) it did have a sticker on it stating to remove games / DVDs before moving the console.

As for the DLC making you exit the game after playing a song, this is because the disc quit spinning and wonderful M$ didn't ever think that if the disc quit spinning they should try to make it start spinning before attempting to read the disc again. My first two 360s did this, however my newest one seems to pick up right where I left off.

[HoboJoe]

I get the exact same thing. no clue what it is. Maybe bad dls or something. I think I'm going delete a song and redownload and try it. It seems its only you and me are having this issue. :confused:

[Stevedave]

I get the exact same thing. no clue what it is. Maybe bad dls or something. I think I'm going delete a song and redownload and try it. It seems its only you and me are having this issue. :confused:

I resolved my problem last night by going back to the store and exchanging for a new disc. I had really doubted it was the disc itself, since there weren't any scratches on it -- and my 360 (thankfully) has no history of scratching discs -- but it would appear there was some sort of problem with the disc after all. Maybe a bad replication?

Anyhow, maybe you'd have success with another disc? Try to borrow one from a friend if you can and check it out, or try your disc in another 360 -- if the problem still occurs, it's your disc. Or just swap it out for a new one at the store, if you can.

Good luck.
-Brian

[Vriess]

I have the same problem, it gives the error ONLY after completing moonage daydream on medium, but on hard it plays fine.

That is the only song I have gotten thus far, but if I get any more, I will let you know.

I don't think Gamestop will let me return the game for a new copy, since I bought the bundle, but I can ask.

[jeremiahtmckay84]

After reading that article, and hearing all of your complaints, I'm kinda glad I went with the PS3 version of the game. I haven't had any problem with any song (including DLC) with the game as of yet, and I'm halfway through Hard difficulty after playing through Easy and Medium.

[Vriess]

I have the same problem, it gives the error ONLY after completing moonage daydream on medium, but on hard it plays fine.

That is the only song I have gotten thus far, but if I get any more, I will let you know.

I don't think Gamestop will let me return the game for a new copy, since I bought the bundle, but I can ask.


Okey Dokey my current "Unplayable since it goes unreadable" list is:

Moonage Daydream - Medium Drums
Interstate Love Song - Hard Drums or Hard Guitar
Wonderwall - Hard Drums

sigh, this is really getting irritating, and I can't find anything on EA's site for defective discs.

Or is this a 360 DVD drive problem like I have been reading?

[Frederf]

As for the DLC making you exit the game after playing a song, this is because the disc quit spinning and wonderful M$ didn't ever think that if the disc quit spinning they should try to make it start spinning before attempting to read the disc again. My first two 360s did this, however my newest one seems to pick up right where I left off.

Yup mine does this too and this is probably exactly why it does it. The disk spins down during DLC (since the song is on the HDD) and the system sucks at respinning it up seamlessly. Grrr.

[SinepTaf]

I was 53 out of 58 songs done on the endless setlist when My friend had to take a phone call. He was on the phone all of 3 minutes. Un paused it to start Green Grass and High Tides. Got like 3 notes into the Guitar intro and BAM Disk Read Error.

And It happens to me all the time as well when playing DLC. VERY VERY VERY anoying when you beat one of the metallica songs on expert jsut to find out it didn't save because of this stupid error.

[ckovanda]

so is this an error due to the game or due to the xbox? could it be fixed by harmonix? or are all of us with this error going to have to replace our xboxes?

[davidshek]

so is this an error due to the game or due to the xbox? could it be fixed by harmonix? or are all of us with this error going to have to replace our xboxes?

Sounds like it's mostly a problem with your Xbox.

I have a 360 too, and have never had an issue where the drive stopped spinning or wouldn't spin up fast enough after playing any DLC (and I've got most of them).

This doesn't sound like anything that Harmonix could fix.

[IrishRock1987]

i just downloaded all the small things as my first dlc, and i got this error too, thinking that maybe something went wrong with the d/l process, i deleted it and then re-downloaded it, but i still get the same error. i have yet to try replacing the disc, but much like others, my disc is pristine and has no visible defects. my xbox has also never had problems like this before, so i don't believe it would be my console...

[Frederf]

It's likely a combination of software and hardware issues.

On the one hand the Xbox has a problem in the OS asking the impossible (immediate read access) from the spun down optical drive.

On the other hand it's theoretically possible for the software to see the need to read the disk coming and force-spin the optical drive so this wouldn't happen.

[-DeadmaN-]

well I have the game for the PS3
and last I checked the system has a hard drive in it that can be used for space and given the fact that once the disk gets damaged the game is no good

why don't they make the game upload on the hard disk instead of the game being played from the disk it self

that way you only handle the disk once so likelihood of the disk getting damage is lowered considerably and this will result in happier customers

just a little food for thought
:confused:

[Frederf]

Because then nothing would prevent you from transferring your game to HDD and then giving your game disk to a friend to use at the same time. Paying once, playing twice. Of course it could require just a simple spin up at the beginning and disable taking the disk out. This is what PC video games have done for years.

It does come down to HDD space and to a lesser extent heat production. Putting your favorite games on the HDD would work for a PS3 as you can change in any size HDD you like but not so for the Xbox where no one in the world has managed to make a retail hard drive function in the Xbox in lieu of the original 20GB or 120GB one. Size would be really limited, you could only do it for 1 or 2 games max. Having too small a HDD is not something MS wants to draw attention to.

[ASPSAX]

All this talk about the HDD, yet has anyone thought of taking it out and putting it back in? I had major DLC problems until I did that, now it's not nearly as noticeable.

[ckovanda]

taking what out and putting it back in? the hard drive?

[ASPSAX]

Yes. Just make sure you don't put it in wrong (the 360 support site has info about that). If it's wrong you'll get red lights (not the dreaded death lights, but you wont be able to do anything until you put your HDD back in correctly).

[IrishRock1987]

so i finally got mine working! here's what i did!

i realized that my setting for the 360 was set up to go to the menu at start up and not play the disc automatically. I changed it to go straight to the disc instead of the menu, and surely enough! it worked like a charm! it's still a little slow on the telling me what i got, but it works! so ya'll might wanna try this too!

[CSPJAMZ]

I get this error at least 2 times a week! Kinda sucks folks!

[Vriess]

so i finally got mine working! here's what i did!

i realized that my setting for the 360 was set up to go to the menu at start up and not play the disc automatically. I changed it to go straight to the disc instead of the menu, and surely enough! it worked like a charm! it's still a little slow on the telling me what i got, but it works! so ya'll might wanna try this too!

I tried this, and it works perfectly now, 0 problems with DLC!!

Thanks a ton man, now I can enjoy my DLC whenever I want.

[EAxMetroJack]

I've gone ahead and made this thread a stickie as it is the longest of the threads on this issue.

We are looking into this issue, so please continue to post with the details of the problems you are having and any solutions you find.

Cheers,
MetroJack

[Swervo]

I get the same problem, though it does not seem to be directly related to any of the specific songs on the DLC. If I leave the game sitting on a DLC song in the song list for too long, or if I have the game paused for more than a couple of minutes, I get this error. As mentioned before, I only get it after I hear the drive go to sleep. It doesn't happen every time the drive goes to sleep, but every time it has happened has been after that. The drive sounds like it tries to wind back up and run again, but then I hear a few clicks and then the error pops up.

Oddly enough, I also had the same problem with DLC for GH3, so I know it's my XBox (it's a launch one, I'm shocked it's lasted this long). The only thing I can think of that Activision did better than Harmonix is that the save routine appears to be already loaded into memory when the song ends, rather than having to go to disc first, so even if I get the bad disc error, it's still saved the game prior to blowing up on me. Everything else, though, goes to Harmonix ;)

[Xer0]

Having the same issue as well, Except, I've had rock band for months now and I've been playing DLC with No problems for months now. But all of a sudden just last night, my DLC will give me the error after i finish the song. My disc is scratchless, but i cleaned it anyway, no fix. Tried taking out hdd and putting back in, didnt work. My xbox is already set to auto read disc instead of going to dashboard on booting. I don't really want to go Buy another disc, it might not even work even if i do. But ive had rock band for such a long time that its not like i can go and exchange it. I hope harmonix comes up with some sort of fix for this. It really sucks because i like a lot of the DLC more than the regular songs and i pretty much have to restart my whole xbox everytime i play One of those songs.

Xer0

[Formica]

So I beat March of the Pigs on Hard Guitar (yay!) and got to the score screen, and when I attempted to continue I got this error. This is the second time I've gotten the error, though I didn't recognize it as an issue until today as I'd browsed this forum earlier today. 6 month old 360 Elite (Zephyr, not Falcon), no other problems, pristine disc (dude, it's Rock Band, I guard it jealously :P). Never had another problem with any other game. I think I'm already set up to auto-load the disc, but I will confirm that setting and see what happens.

UPDATE:

Happened again on The Perfect Drug, Hard Guitar. Went straight into the game from the Dashboard, Solo Career, DLC, selected the song. After I finished the song, I could distinctly hear the DVD drive seeking over and over again until it failed. Just to be extra sure I removed the disc - there is not a scratch on this disc, no fingerprints, nothin'. I also checked - my 360 is set for Disc, not Dashboard or Media Center.

UPDATE 2:

This now happens with every single downloaded song I have. All of them. I have tested:

Band Quickplay
Band World Tour
Solo Quickplay
Solo World Tour

This had happened once EVER before I downloaded the Nine Inch Nails pack. Now it happens every single time, regardless of which DLC I pick. The game is unplayable.

Update 3:

The individual who posted before me - Xer0 - my situation is essentially identical to theirs. Never had the problem before (in fact I am now doubting my memory as to whether the one time really happened or if I'm confusing it with a 10 minute "Communicating with Rock Central" issue where I ended up resetting the 360) and now it happens every time.

Update 4:

When the problem occurs, you can very clearly hear the DVD drive seeking over and over and over again in a kind of "RUNunRUNunRUNunRUNunRUNun". At first it would stop this behavior once you hit A to continue and drop back to the dashboard; now it keeps doing it and stays at a black screen, requiring a hard power off.

[michael_bolton]

I've been getting the exact same problem. I've also had this problem with NHL 07; FIFA 07; NHL 08 (notice a pattern here?), and now Rock Band.

I think it's obvious that there is some problem with the way that the Xbox 360 switches from running off content stored on the hard drive to running off content from the DVD drive. However, I've only ever had this problem with software that EA has developed. I've noticed that if I unplug the hard drive from the unit and play the other games (NHL/FIFA), I never have a problem.

I just wish I knew who to go after to solve this. If I talk to Microsoft, they tell me to call EA; and when I talk to EA, they tell me to call Microsoft. Has anyone else had any success getting support from either company?

[vij_b]

I am having an issue with rockband where if I leave the game idle for a while, I get the disc read error.

Before I had the issue where everytime I played with the guitar, i would get the disc read error. But switching the xbox 360 setup to boot to dashboard instead of disc fixed that. now its the idle issue thats bothering me.

[Formica]

I am having an issue with rockband where if I leave the game idle for a while, I get the disc read error.

Before I had the issue where everytime I played with the guitar, i would get the disc read error. But switching the xbox 360 setup to boot to dashboard instead of disc fixed that. now its the idle issue thats bothering me.

I am getting the same thing now, and I have not altered my boot ("disc or dashboard or media center") settings. The drive starts to do it's repeated seeking thing, and then it gives a disc read error, after I leave it idle for a while. It now looks like the bug is:

After downloading the most recent DLC, Rock Band cannot spin the DVD back up to speed from a stopped state without causing some kind of seek error with the DVD drive. This occurs when the game loads DLC (it stops the DVD and loads from the hard drive), or when it stops the DVD during idle periods (such as at the main menu, where it happened to me). I would speculate that it might have something to do with the firmware version of the drive, and that's why it's not happening to everyone. That's just a guess though.

[ArsncLacd]

I have been having the same problems that others have posted about having. I haven't paid enough attention to see whether it only happens after DLC songs or not, but lately the error has been occurring more and more, it seems. Could be from an increasing number of DLC songs and, thus, increased likelihood of playing them and increased likelihood of the error occurring, if that is indeed what triggers it. There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to it, as far as I can tell, but that theory seems to make sense.

I do know that, as others have posted, the disc drive audibly slows and clicks when the "Disc is unreadable" error is about to occur. The on-screen activity doesn't change while this happens, but it doesn't freeze. Sometimes when this occurs, the game "recovers" and goes on as normal. Other times, it'll bring up the error message and the game will need to be restarted.

At this point, I'm thoroughly convinced that there's a problem beyond the consumer's control, as we all are. What I want now is definitive information on what's going to be done about it. My 360 is not even 3 months old and I have not experienced problems of any kind until this. Whether it's Microsoft or EA or the combined efforts of both that will fix this problem, a solution needs to be found quickly. Many people, like myself, have sunk well over $200 into this game with DLC included, and we deserve a serious look at this apparently epidemical problem.

[notoriousgop89]

This problem is getting quite frustrating, especially when you are playing in BWT and your data gets erased, or you're having a party and the game stops. It only happens with DLC and not all of the time. As others have said, the disc stops spinning and clicks, then a few seconds later the error comes up. I don't know if its the game, or if the disc stops spinning while data is being pulled from the drive and can't speed up fast enough, but either way it is very annoying. Can we please get some sort of respose from EA on this, as microsoft directs us to you, even if it may be being caused by their drive. Thanks.

[maynardtron]

My friend and I play the world tour every week and both of us now have discs that claim to be unreadable. His became scratched, so we started using mine, and now mine is supposedly scratched :mad:

This is ridiculous, I've never seen anything like it. Get on the ball EA!

[Penguin1257]

I just started getting this error tonight as well. I tried to clean the disc and set the 360 to auto start to the disc, but it is still giving me errors. I've perused the thread here, but I'm guessing there's no surefire fix as of right now.

[solo013]

Just a word of warning... Setting your systems to where they stand instead of laying flat will throw the lasers out of alignment. This will cause the discs to be scratched even if its not visible at first.

You should NEVER set any disc playing system vertically period.

Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo know this yet they still market their consoles to be stood vertically.

[cleee]

Same problem here. Only happens to me if I've played a downloaded song. The longer the song, the better the chance of it happening.

I know it's going to happen because of that clicking noise you hear just before the error.

[BigMak]

You can add me to the list as well

[Penguin1257]

Well I tried turning my Xbox horizontally with no luck. Same failure to spin up the DVD. I do hear a slight clicking noise like it's trying to spin up, though. All of my other games seem to work fine. Then again, I don't own any other DLC. Is there anybody actively working on this at either Microsoft or Harmonix/EA? It seems there are quite a few people with this particular problem.

Would you suggest calling Microsoft to get a new console?

[WhiteHot]

Would you suggest calling Microsoft to get a new console?

Microsoft will only replace if its a RROD error. Otherwise it'll cost money.
Saying it won't spin my disc to play DLC will probably go in one ear of a rep, and out the other ear of another. In my opinion, as this hasn't happened to me (yet), raise a HUGE stink. And I mean HUGE. Blog everywhere tell everyone. The only way to get anything done is to raise a fuss, like the broken instruments. It's sad, it might feel underhanded, but it's true!

[Bogiewon]

The first time a I play a DLC song after I boot up my xbox, I get the dirty disc message. It kicks me back out to the dashboard. I go back into the game and I can play fine; however, EVERY time the first DLC I play does this to me, without fail.

[rekson]

Just came across this thread as I was googling for an answer. I've owned the game for less than 3 weeks weeks, and I've been having the same problem and thought it might have been my xbox at first, but then I remembered that up until I started downloading songs I've never had any problem.

Now my game gives me an error half the time that I reach the song menu and on the rare occasion that it doesn't, it ALWAYS inevitably crashes when I finish a song and it loads up the song list for the second time. Hope theres a fix for this soon.

As for a temporary fix, if I delete the songs from my hard drive, do you think it will stop reading the error?

[WhiteHot]

As a form of narrowing down the possiblities and what combinations cause what...It'd good if the people with this problem answer a few questions that they're going to want to know:
NOTE: These questions have been refined and a question added as of March 6
1) What kind of xbox drive (http://www.llamma.com/xbox360/Xbox_360_DVD_Drive_Comparison.htm) do you have?

2) Do you have any other games that have dlc streamed from it like this game?

3) Does switching startup from dashboard to disc help you?

4) Do you have a 'zephyr' or 'falcon' 360. This can be done by looking at your 360's power bar; 175 watts is a falcon model, 203 is a zephyr model. Also state if you console is an elite, non-elite, halo, etc.

5) Is the inside ring of your Rock Band disc cracked in one or more places? [Look closely!]

I suggest these questions be entered in the first post and answered for each person with this problem, and these aren't hard to answer and could be valuable.
But do feel free to add things not mentioned, like when this began (right after the NIN pack...has been getting worse since launch...etc) Also try playing the game with the hard drive removed, and if available, with just a 64/256 memory card in it. If it works, great, try downloading a song to it and try again. If it works, post it. If you did that and it didn't work, post that too.

For mine:
1) BenQ
2) The only other EA game I have (2K8 and its roster update) works fine, and all rock band DLC that I have are all fine, but then I've heard people say this happened after the NIN pack, which I don't have/won't get)
3) Set to disc boot
4) Zephyr 203W brick (arcade console with HDD added later)
5) No, but one time I opened the drive and it came out still spinning. Isolated occurance though.

[Penguin1257]

This might be a better link for the model of DVD drive...
http://www.llamma.com/xbox360/Xbox_360_DVD_Drive_Comparison.htm

1) Hitachi
2)No other DLC.
3)Switching directly to disc boot has not worked.
4) Zephyr model... 203W brick. Non-elite.

[Frederf]

1. Samsung
2. GHIII Boss Battle Pack?
3. Boots from disk always
4. 203W non-elite

[WhiteHot]

Figure I'd post this aswell, it may not help or be the problem of your scratched discs but I happened upon this article by LLamma showing how a 360 scratches a disc. More info and the product in this (http://llamma.com/xbox360/repair/Refurbishing-the-HL-Xbox-360-DVD-Drive.htm) article courtesy of LLamma.

[michael_bolton]

1) Samsung (mistakenly thought it was Hitachi previously)
2) Crashes on FIFA 07; NHL 07; NHL 08. All games have updated rosters that are downloaded and stored on the HD; games work fine with HD detached.
3) Crashes on all boot settings
4) Zephyr

I also just got off the phone with Xbox Tech support. They suggested that I try each of the following:

i) Clear the cache;
ii) Create a new gamer profile, and play the game using this new profile

They told me if this doesn't work, I can send the entire console (including HD) in for repair. In Canada, Microsoft does not actually repair the console, they simply send you a brand new one. Since I'm out of warranty, this will cost $110 CAD ($99 USD). They also told me that I would not lose the DLC I have purchased, and would be able to download it again once I received the new console.

[Penguin1257]

1) Hitachi
2) Crashes on FIFA 07; NHL 07; NHL 08. All games have updated rosters that are downloaded and stored on the HD; games work fine with HD detached.
3) Crashes on all boot settings
4) Zephyr

I also just got off the phone with Xbox Tech support. They suggested that I try each of the following:

i) Clear the cache;
ii) Create a new gamer profile, and play the game using this new profile

They told me if this doesn't work, I can send the entire console (including HD) in for repair. In Canada, Microsoft does not actually repair the console, they simply send you a brand new one. Since I'm out of warranty, this will cost $110 CAD ($99 USD). They also told me that I would not lose the DLC I have purchased, and would be able to download it again once I received the new console.

That's lame. It seems like it should be able to be fixed via software.

[Frederf]

Looks like a $99 service trip is in my Xbox's future. I really don't trust MS not to hand me back an Xbox with a completely different serial number and thrust me right into the bad situation of not having all my DLC work. I've heard horror stories.

[Formica]

4) Finally, if you have a 'zephyr' or 'falcon' 360 (and if its an elite or halo model aswell?). This can be done by looking at your 360's power bar; 175 watts is a falcon model, 203 is a zephyr model.

It's definitely a good idea to try and determine hardware versions, but this isn't entirely accurate. Zephyr refers specifically to the 90nm CPU and GPU on a board with built-in HDMI. This was first released into the wild with the original 360 Elite, and a few months later started turning up in the Pro and Arcade SKUs. Since then the Falcon board has replaced Zephyr in all models AFAIK, and the 203-175 PSU comparison is accurate.

So, there's three main hardware revs of the board:

Pre-Zephyr: No built-in HDMI, 90mn CPU, 203W PSU. Found in: pre-August 2007, all SKUs Except the Elite
Zephyr: Built-in HDMI, 90nm CPU, extra large heatsink, 203W PSU. Found in: Elite, Halo 3 Edition, Core and Pro after August 2007
Falcon: Built-in HDMI, 65nm CPU, 175W PSU. Found in: all SKUs after late 2007

I think that's accurate.


They also told me that I would not lose the DLC I have purchased, and would be able to download it again once I received the new console.
BE VERY WARY OF THIS STATEMENT. You may have to fight with Microsoft customer service to get your downloadable content back without paying for it. Many people who have experienced RRoD (and KEPT their hard drive) and sent in their consoles find that their DLC only works when they are logged into XBL because the DRM is associated with the unique system ID of their old console. They used to hand out replacement points so you could redownload the content, but they have stopped doing this unless you complain for a really long time. There's supposed to be a new "relicensing" process, but it may be a myth and there's no ETA on its availability. I don't know if they would even give you your content back at all since you'd be sending them your hard drive.

[WhiteHot]

It's definitely a good idea to try and determine hardware versions, but this isn't entirely accurate.

Generally speaking, so the average person can just answer and compare theirs to others. You are correct though.



Zephyr: Built-in HDMI, 90nm CPU, extra large heatsink, 203W PSU. Found in: Elite, Halo 3 Edition, Core and Pro after August 2007
Falcon: Built-in HDMI, 65nm CPU, 175W PSU. Found in: all SKUs after late 2007


While that is all true, it is very cumbersome to the average person with this problem to open their 360 to check the CPU or their heatsink; the built in HDMI is a common denominator; and with the difference in time release between the two is between the eighth month and an undetermined time before the end of the year...basically unless you have access to this kind of info; read the powerbar :D

[Formica]

While that is all true, it is very cumbersome to the average person with this problem to open their 360 to check the CPU or their heatsink; the built in HDMI is a common denominator; and with the difference in time release between the two is between the eighth month and an undetermined time before the end of the year...basically unless you have access to this kind of info; read the powerbar :D
I wasn't talkin' smack at all, I assure you :) I think the most important point is the difference between pre-Zephyr and post, and as you point out, HDMI is a convenient and uncumbersome denominator to cite. I probably should have just pointed that out instead of going all fanboy about it :P

So now that we've done all this work for EA QA... :P

[RX King]

This just started happening to me tonight, right after I downloaded several songs for the first time -- however, Rock Band can't get past the "MTV" startup logo. It gives me the DRE and kicks me back to the dashboard. I've tried several other games, and they work fine.

My disc is NOT scratched at all, and it worked just fine before the DLC. I'd really like to get some input on this, seeing as I've spent a lot of money on this game, only to have problem after problem.

Geez.

[TH3Hammer]

I'm having this issue with my brand new elite. I don't have any issues with GH3 DLC, or Oblivion expansions or any other game downloads. This problem is unique to Rock Band for me... and very, very, very frustrating,

[WhiteHot]

*cough* answer the questions on page 5 and help the community by possibly providing info to any EA/HMX rep reading this thread as they stickied it 'cause they know it's a problem *cough*

[plopsi]

I also started to get this problem after the DLC. I got my first five DLC for RB a couple weeks ago. I downloaded the following songs:

El Scorcho
Dirty Little Secret
Fortunate Son
All the Small Things
Move Along

Shortly after I finished playing some of those songs, I would get the unreadable disc error. A couple days after, I went on a vacation for a week. When I got back and tried to start RB up, it wouldn't even start the game at all. Inserting the disc while on the Dashboard or starting 360 with the disc in would give me a unreadable error regardless. I noticed that somebody had suggested to switch the system system to boot directly to game and I did so, but to no avail. 2 guitars, 1 drumpad, and a kick pedal later, I wasn't too keen on sending my disc in for another replacement.

I waited out for a day, and just half an hour ago, I went down to start up the game, and where I thought it was going to give me the error again, it didn't! The game booted up fine and I played for about an hour.

I didn't try restarting to see what kind of results I would get cause I was too lazy and wanted to make this post. Hopefully it won't happen again. I've had a few hardware troubles already. I really don't want a software or bug issue now to deal with.

[Formica]

And now, I answer the questions!

1) What kind of xbox drive do you have? Hitachi.

2) Do you have any other games that have dlc streamed from it like this game? I do not have any other EA titles; I do have GH3 with some DLC for it. It has not exhibited any symptoms like this.

3) If the switch of turning the 360 on from dashboard direct to disc worked, say that specifically along with the drive type. This had no effect.

4) Finally, if you have a 'zephyr' or 'falcon' 360 (and if its an elite or halo model aswell?). This can be done by looking at your 360's power bar; 175 watts is a falcon model, 203 is a zephyr model. I have a Zephyr 360 Elite.

5) Is the inside ring of your Rock Band disc cracked in one or more places? [Look closely!] Yes, it's cracked in two places, with one crack radiating out into the data part of the disc.

[TH3Hammer]

1) What kind of xbox drive do you have? Hitachi.

2) Do you have any other games that have dlc streamed from it like this game? I have quite a bit of DLC from GH3, GH2, Oblivion, Rainbow Six Vegas, GRAW/GRAW 2 and others. This is a problem only with Rock Band for me.

3) If the switch of turning the 360 on from dashboard direct to disc worked, say that specifically along with the drive type. This had no effect.

4) Finally, if you have a 'zephyr' or 'falcon' 360 (and if its an elite or halo model aswell?). This can be done by looking at your 360's power bar; 175 watts is a falcon model, 203 is a zephyr model. I have a Falcon 360 Elite.

[WhiteHot]

While it may seem these questions are very arbitrary, rest assured they are helping someone. I just took a quick look at the answers on this and the last page, and since I don't have any time right now I can't make any inferences but;

Out of the six people's answers I tallied (it was six right? heh) I found out the following:

Only one person with a toshiba/samsung has this problem; nobody with a BenQ has this problem (I have one, I'm fine), and five people have problems with the Hitachi/LG drive.
Compounding this, I found that only one person who responded has a falcon, the other five are zephyrs. There hasn't really been a common link between DLC or not, however michael_boltons Zephyr Hitachi doesn't read any EA games with DLC anymore (?), and of everyone who replied switching their disc to auto boot didn't help them.

In conclusion (you lazy readers read here!)
The highest rate of failure seems to be a Zephyr / Hitachi-LG combination, and this seems to be the most solid piece of evidence yet. 83% of people who answered had this combination (rough math, it's morning, if you want to challenge that by all means do). Whether it's elite or not is hit and miss.

[TH3Hammer]

My previous console (non-elite zephyr with a Samsung drive) had no issues. Problems started with the Hitachi elite I just bought when my old console died.

I think we could simplify it down to just the Hitachi drive as being the possible root cause.

[WhiteHot]

I think we could simplify it down to just the Hitachi drive as being the possible root cause.

Any HMX/EA Rep read that?

[RX King]

1) What kind of XBOX drive do you have? Hitachi GDR-3120L

2) Do you have any other games that have DLC streamed from it like this game? No

3) Did turning the 360 settings from dashboard boot to disc boot work? No

4) Do you have a 'Zephyr' or 'Falcon' 360? Zephyr

[michael_bolton]

1) Samsung (mistakenly thought it was Hitachi previously)
2) Crashes on FIFA 07; NHL 07; NHL 08. All games have updated rosters that are downloaded and stored on the HD; games work fine with HD detached.
3) Crashes on all boot settings
4) Zephyr



Ok, so I just realized that my Xbox is a Pre Zephyr model. I had thought (from reading this thread) that there were only two types; Zephyr or Falcon. Sorry to mess with the data we're trying to gather here.


I also just got off the phone with Xbox Tech support. They suggested that I try each of the following:

i) Clear the cache;
ii) Create a new gamer profile, and play the game using this new profile



Just an update on this, but I have tried clearing my cache and playing the game for a few hours. For the most part, I played original game songs, but played some of my DLC intermittently. It might just be a string of good luck, but so far I haven't received a disc read error. I'll try it on a few of my other problematic games and report back later.

[WhiteHot]

Ok, so I just realized that my Xbox is a Pre Zephyr model. I had thought (from reading this thread) that there were only two types; Zephyr or Falcon. Sorry to mess with the data we're trying to gather here.

I think this might then be the cause of all your EA games not working?:( If I'm not mistaken nobody else has at least those hockey and soccer games so this is a unique incident I guess.




might just be a string of good luck, but so far I haven't received a disc read error. I'll try it on a few of my other problematic games and report back later.

Good luck

By the way I also read a blog or whatever about how you shouldn't have consoles (like the 360, wii, and I guess ps3) stand vertical and when they do the laser is 90* to the floor and apparently not ideal and sometimes misaligns the laser and then accordingly can't read the second layer of the disc of which means it doesn't work! :)
Just throwing it out there. Personally my Wii and 360 both are horizontal.

[Mister_Herriman]

1) Hitachi
2) No
3) Both ways
4) Pre-Zephyr

I myself am now on my 3rd rock band disc and this has now been borked as well. It goes down the same way every single time. I buy a disc, and play it for about a month with no problems whatsoever. Soon enough though, a single small crack appears on the inner, clear ring of the disc growing larger and larger as the game is played over time. Eventually the crack reaches the other part of the disc and it becomes "unreadable."

At first I thought it was just a poor disc, but now their is clearly something wrong that consumers have no way of preventing beyond never playing Rock Band again.

This is ridiculous.

[Penguin1257]

1) Hitachi
2) No
3) Both ways
4) Pre-Zephyr

I myself am now on my 3rd rock band disc and this has now been borked as well. It goes down the same way every single time. I buy a disc, and play it for about a month with no problems whatsoever. Soon enough though, a single small crack appears on the inner, clear ring of the disc growing larger and larger as the game is played over time. Eventually the crack reaches the other part of the disc and it becomes "unreadable."

At first I thought it was just a poor disc, but now their is clearly something wrong that consumers have no way of preventing beyond never playing Rock Band again.

This is ridiculous.

You know, I just noticed the crack on my disc. It's not visible when looking at the surfaced part of the disk, but there is a distinct crack on the inner ring on the other side. So, my option now is to send it back and spend $20? And what if it keeps happening like in your case? Ridiculous indeed.

[Formica]

You know, I just noticed the crack on my disc. It's not visible when looking at the surfaced part of the disk, but there is a distinct crack on the inner ring on the other side. So, my option now is to send it back and spend $20? And what if it keeps happening like in your case? Ridiculous indeed.

After reading this I checked my disc.

It is cracked on the inside ring in two places.

I checked out my neighbor's setup. He has a Zephyr 360 Elite with a BenQ drive (I have a Hitachi).

He plays as much Rock Band as I do and got it at the same time. His disc is flawless.

Are Hitachi drives cracking Rock Band discs? Who's responsible - are the discs faulty (crappy plastic) or are the Hitatchi drives operating with too much torque? Should EA force the drive to spin slower?

Does the DLC have anything to do with this or is it coincidental?

WhiteHot: Could you edit your post with the data to supply and add a fifth question, "Is the inside ring of your Rock Band disc cracked in one or more places?"

[WhiteHot]

I checked out my neighbor's setup. He has a Zephyr 360 Elite with a BenQ drive (I have a Hitachi).

He's in the same boat as I am then. I have a non-elite though, but everything else is the same.



WhiteHot: Could you edit your post with the data to supply and add a fifth question, "Is the inside ring of your Rock Band disc cracked in one or more places?"

Only because you asked nicely ;)

So that makes the questions then:

1) What kind of xbox drive (http://www.llamma.com/xbox360/Xbox_360_DVD_Drive_Comparison.htm) do you have?

2) Do you have any other games that have dlc streamed from it like this game?

3) Does switching startup from dashboard to disc help you?

4) Do you have a 'zephyr' or 'falcon' 360. This can be done by looking at your 360's power bar; 175 watts is a falcon model, 203 is a zephyr model. Also state if you console is an elite, non-elite, halo, etc.

5) Is the inside ring of your Rock Band disc cracked in one or more places? [Look closely!]

I mean to go troll some places and try to find the speed at which these drives spin but I'm a little busy right now. If someone can do that research (are those numbers even public?) that'd probably be all we need to confront EA or HMX. With these numbers we could probably guess where the peak speed is before cracking occurs (or at least try). Look up these model types and try to find their specs online;
Hitachi GDR 3120L
Samsung TS H943A
BenQ VAD6038

[WhiteHot]

5) Is the inside ring of your Rock Band disc cracked in one or more places? [Look closely!]


So I just took the time to look closely and I found that circular ring pretty close to the inside of my disc. I suspect it happened when I ejected my RB disc and it came out still spinning! Never happened again. And I've NEVER had my 360 upright or bumped into it as it's playing 'cause it's pretty isolated.

[Formica]

It has to be the disk. I have the same problem with the dirty disk after playing DLC. My disk is from launch date. I bought a new disk and tried it out and the game plays fine now.

Do you still have your old disc? Is it cracked? Has your new disc cracked yet?


1) Samsung (mistakenly thought it was Hitachi previously)
2) Crashes on FIFA 07; NHL 07; NHL 08. All games have updated rosters that are downloaded and stored on the HD; games work fine with HD detached.


Can you check your three sports titles for cracks?

[plopsi]

1) Samsung

2) No

3) No. Game won't even start

4) Zephyr. Non-elite model.

5) No.

[barber78]

I have the unreadable error often. I can say for certain that it is not the disk. When me and a friend were going to do the endless we used his elite xbox and had no problem at all. but my xbox will hardly ever work right with this game...

[Penguin1257]

I have the unreadable error often. I can say for certain that it is not the disk. When me and a friend were going to do the endless we used his elite xbox and had no problem at all. but my xbox will hardly ever work right with this game...

Are you absolutely sure the disc isn't cracked?

[WhiteHot]

1. Samsung
3. Boots from disk always
4. 203W non-elite




1) Samsung
3) No. Game won't even start
4) Zephyr. Non-elite model.


These are so far the only two samsung drives in this thread with the Unreadable error. The bolded being the corrolation, and Frederf I'm curious to know if question three also matches? You failed to mention if it actually works and then dies when it reaches DLC, if it doesn't run at all (like plopsi), or something else. If they match, then it would mean:
Hitachi/Non Zephyr basically works until the disc has to be re-spun after going to 'sleep' to play a DLC song;
Samsung/Non Zephyr [if they both have the same issue of not starting the game!] would not read the disc/be essentially useless;
BenQ/Non Zephyr so far hasn't caused any problems related to this issue.

Amazon says that the Samsung (http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-TS-H943A-Replacment-drive-XBox/dp/B0012N1Z8A) drive spins at (maximum) 16x, but I can't for the life of me find anything about the Hitachi drives read speed, and I'm not really going to bother about the BenQ unless something comes up.

[Frederf]

Does switching startup from dashboard to disc help you?

Honestly I barely know what this question means. It's not exactly Charles Dickens when it comes to descriptive English language here. What I take it to mean is "Does the same problem happen when you boot straight from disk, bypassing the dashboard?" And the answer is yes, because that's the way it's always been.

I do have to say that my Xbox is a refurbished model for some $40 off from GameCrazy (partner to Hollywood Video rental) and is probably not the most shining example of good pedigree.

[WhiteHot]

Honestly I barely know what this question means. It's not exactly Charles Dickens when it comes to descriptive English language here. What I take it to mean is "Does the same problem happen when you boot straight from disk, bypassing the dashboard?" And the answer is yes, because that's the way it's always been.

Sorry, I know I tend to compress sentences and seem to articulate less sometimes, my bad. And yes thats what it means. But what does 'the same problem happening' mean exactly? Does that mean, that it doesn't even show the RB main menu (just like plopsi)? Or does that mean that after a continuous string of playing DLC from the HDD it shows an unreadable disc?

Not trying to hassle or haggle you in any way but a definitive answer here is fairly important to the outcome of these questions, particularly because you and plopsi (the only 2) have a Samsung and his problem could be a precursor of things to come. You know?

[TH3Hammer]

Additional info: My disc isn't cracked, smudged or scratched in any way. I'm using my wife's 360 (with a Samsung drive) for now and I'm having no issues whatsoever. My falcon elite with the Hitachi drive is the only problem console for Rock Band in my house.

[plopsi]

These are so far the only two samsung drives in this thread with the Unreadable error. The bolded being the corrolation, and Frederf I'm curious to know if question three also matches? You failed to mention if it actually works and then dies when it reaches DLC, if it doesn't run at all (like plopsi), or something else. If they match, then it would mean:
Hitachi/Non Zephyr basically works until the disc has to be re-spun after going to 'sleep' to play a DLC song;
Samsung/Non Zephyr [if they both have the same issue of not starting the game!] would not read the disc/be essentially useless;
BenQ/Non Zephyr so far hasn't caused any problems related to this issue.

Amazon says that the Samsung (http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-TS-H943A-Replacment-drive-XBox/dp/B0012N1Z8A) drive spins at (maximum) 16x, but I can't for the life of me find anything about the Hitachi drives read speed, and I'm not really going to bother about the BenQ unless something comes up.

I had forgot to mention that in between the times my game didn't boot up at all, it miracously booted up ONCE direct from disk, but has failed to boot up since then. What'll happen is that once I turn on the xbox, it'll just hang at the xbox screen for a couple minutes, then go to the dashboard with "unreadable disc" displayed at the bottom. My disc is also not cracked.

[WhiteHot]

Alright. So that means, out of three Samsungs;
One works fine (T3Hammer)
One doesn't work at all (plopsi)
One has unspecified problems relating to the unreadable disc (Frederf)

I don't see any rhyme or rhythm to that. Anyone see something that I'm missing?

[barber78]

Are you absolutely sure the disc isn't cracked?

Yes. it still looks brand new.

[I BE Keysersoze]

I got this problem too and it only happened once before I counldn't start up the game at all. I have about 15 downloaded songs and I play them regularly.

My other games all work fine and the rock band disc isn't scratch although it there is a slightly darker spot that wasn't there before.

Also, I have no idea what hard drive I have.

[Frederf]

Not hard drive, DVD-ROM drive. And you can find out simply by the shape of the cut out in your DVD-ROM drive tray.

[plopsi]

So... what exactly happens now? How long should we expect EA to recognize the problem? The closest thing I can get to playing rock band right now is playing them accoustic. D=

[I BE Keysersoze]

1) Samsung Drive
2) I have GH 3 DLC and some maps for Gears and COD2
3) No help from switching from dashboard to disc. It has gotten to the point where the XBOX goes to the dashboard (after sitting at the XBOX logo screen) even if I have it set up otherwise and displays 'disc unplayable'.
4) Non-Elite Zephyr
5) the inside ring has a pretty bad crack but you can only see it from the top and you can't feel it either.

Also I have tried removing the Hard Drive but this does nothing:(

[Penguin1257]

My game is completely unplayable now. This is pretty ridiculous. Why haven't we heard a response from EA/Harmonix? Probably because they want us to keep buying copies of the game... or replace ours for $20 each time they break...

[Penguin1257]

It turns out disc replacements are free for Rock Band.

http://support.ea.com/cgi-bin/ea.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=18481

Sending mine back on Monday!!

[Frederf]

So... what exactly happens now? How long should we expect EA to recognize the problem? The closest thing I can get to playing rock band right now is playing them accoustic. D=

It looks like a combination of less-than-optimal hardware and less-than-optimal software. Think of it as a recessive gene trait that takes the combination to become visible.

Good Xbox + Rock Band: Fine
Bad Xbox + Halo 3: Fine
Good Xbox + Halo 3: Fine
Bad Xbox + Rock Band: ERROR

I mean if every console was having this problem after HDD-only content with Rock Band then it would be obvious but it's just a fraction of consoles. Hopefully a fix for this can be piggybacked onto THE PATCH that we all hope is really coming.

[drWaLLs]

1) Samsung Drive
2) I have GH 2 & 3 DLC
3) No help from switching from dashboard to disc.
4) Non-Elite Zephyr
5) Disc is ok

Back Story.. I had a hitachi 360 that actually scratched the first rock band disc I had (This was a refurbished 360 that I had for 2 days because previous system had 3 red lights of death). Played other discs (COD4 and Burnout Paradise) fine until coffin came from Microsoft. When I returned the xbox I returned my rock band game so this is a new xbox and game.. Other night when my wife and I was playing we played a dlc song in tour and let it sit for a couple minutes afterwards and got disc read error.. So far it has not happened again but I have also not played any more of my dlc since google showed me this thread..

[plopsi]

"Product Replacement:
If you meet one of the following criteria, you can send your product to Electronic Arts for a replacement product.

The product is 90 days past the purchase date
The product has been scratched, broken, or has been damaged in another fashion.
When sending us your product, be sure to include a check or money order for the amount shown in the replacement costs section made payable to Electronic Arts, as well as all of the information in the requested information section below."

I don't get that part :confused:

[WhiteHot]

I don't get that part :confused:

That means if there was a cost associated (the assumption was $20 before this link was found), then you'd send in a cheque for $20 along with the disc. But since its free, its free. They just say that to envelop all replacements, think of it as an 'umbrella statement'.

[plopsi]

Ah thanks. I suppose I'll try replacing my disc as well then. Although, I don't really see how a new disc can fix this issue, when my current disc is just about unscathed.

[WhiteHot]

Worth a shot.

[Penguin1257]

Well I sent my disc in today. I didn't have my receipt, so I just said it's over 90 days (which it is) and it should be free anyways according to the link I previously posted. Hopefully I'll get my new copy sometime next week.

[Penguin1257]

And I didn't mean to triple post, so I'll just edit this into something useful... or not

[Penguin1257]

Anybody else send their disc in as well? How long did it take?

[drWaLLs]

Anybody else send their disc in as well? How long did it take?

I sent mine in it took 5 days shipping there and 5 days back and was shipped out the same day they returned it.. I'm also in Georgia so if your closer it may be faster..

[Formica]

Anybody else send their disc in as well? How long did it take?
I'll be sending mine in tomorrow... I'm just across the bay from them, so hopefully the turnaround won't be too bad.

As frustrated as I am with this problem, I want to give props to EA for doing the right thing by their customers outside the letter of the warranty. I have a working Fender controller and working drums now despite having to return multiple controllers at their expense, and they're (apparently) going to replace my Rock Band disc too. That's customer service, and that's how you establish a platform and a brand. This is in stark contrast to Activision's customer service, which refused to replace my broken Les Paul ten days out of warranty.

[KWAiRT]

The "Unreadable Disc" error is caused by a combination of two things. Low quality media and a problematic DVD drive without proper spinup code found in the firmware. If you experience this problem I would return the Rock Band DVD to EA immediately and request a replacement due to a faulty media unless you experience the same problem with all or most of your DVD's it is specific to the media in question.

This problem has been widely reported on a few EA titles produced within the last 12 months and I myself have had the exact same problem with NHL 08 which I am now on my third DVD. It looks like EA has found another way to cut corners and has started to distribute their games on the cheapest media they can find. This media also has a tendancy to wear out very fast if you use it on a regular basis even if it is working properly out of the box.

As a hardcore gamer I would always recommend extended warranty on EA products and software to protect yourself as EA's warranty these days aren't even up to retail standards in my opinion. If you can't get extended warranty on your bundle then at least get it for the DVD itself. This way you can exchange a faulty DVD or one that wears out with regular usage.

[ArsncLacd]

1) What kind of xbox drive do you have? Toshiba/Samsung

2) Do you have any other games that have dlc streamed from it like this game? Most of the GH2 and GH3 DLC, which have shown no problems, ever

3) Does switching startup from dashboard to disc help you? It always boots from the disc, no switch required

4) Do you have a 'zephyr' or 'falcon' 360. This can be done by looking at your 360's power bar; 175 watts is a falcon model, 203 is a zephyr model. Also state if you console is an elite, non-elite, halo, etc. Non-Elite, pre-Zephyr

5) Is the inside ring of your Rock Band disc cracked in one or more places? [Look closely!] Disc looks pristine in every way, and I've looked everywhere, closely

The unreadable disc error message only happens after playing a DLC song or if I leave the game paused for more than a minute or two and come back to it. This didn't happen at first, but then it started doing it and it's gradually gotten to the point where it happens almost all the time. You can always count on the error message popping up after the first DLC song you play in a gaming session. After that, it seems to not happen as much, but it eventually happens regardless of circumstances, it seems. Happens on solo tour, band world tour, and band quick play (online) that I have seen, so it doesn't appear to be linked to only one mode of play. The game always loads up just fine and plays beautifully unless a DLC song triggers the error message.

Having read through this entire thread, my question is this: given my setup, and the fact that my disc shows no visible signs of damage like others have reported, will a replacement disc really help?

I know it's free to exchange, so what's to lose, right? Well, for one, I wouldn't be able to play for a couple weeks, probably. I play Rock Band every day. It's pretty much my favorite thing to do when I'm not working. I'm just not sure I want to endure the pain of going without it for that long unless I'm sure that doing so will get me the results I'm looking for. Anybody have any luck with it that didn't have a scratched disc before?

[WhiteHot]

Having read through this entire thread, my question is this: given my setup, and the fact that my disc shows no visible signs of damage like others have reported, will a replacement disc really help?

I know it's free to exchange, so what's to lose, right? Well, for one, I wouldn't be able to play for a couple weeks, probably. I play Rock Band every day. Anybody have any luck with it that didn't have a scratched disc before?

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say probably not; nothing we've narrowed down/changed/'fixed' has any significant impact and I can't see how simply a new disc would completely absolve your issues. However, nobody has replaced the disc and posted on here the results of doing so. So either it hasn't had an effect (as in nobodies had the thought of posting to say 'hey it didn't work!'), or the people who shipped their discs off haven't received it back yet.

I play RB every day too, I don't think I'd want to 'risk' it.:o

[daikiniATX]

This just started happening to me, I've had rock band since day 1.
*A side note: I keep all my saves on a memory card and all of my DLC on my HD.

1) What kind of xbox drive do you have?
- Hitachi

2) Do you have any other games that have dlc streamed from it like this game?
- GH3, never had any disc read errors. Sometimes it decides to delete my DLC scores, but I'm pretty sure that has to do with me moving DLC from my memory card to the HD.

3) Does switching startup from dashboard to disc help you?
- Nope.

4) Do you have a 'zephyr' or 'falcon' 360.
- Falcon
- Regular Xbox, bought it about a month after GH3 came out

5) Is the inside ring of your Rock Band disc cracked in one or more places? [Look closely!]
- Yep, 3 or 4 cracks going from the inner ring to the label. A few minor scratches on the disc, but have never had any problems except with DLC, and problems only started recently after downloading Punk Pack 2.

:mad::confused::mad::confused:

[WhiteHot]

The "Unreadable Disc" error is caused by a combination of two things. Low quality media and a problematic DVD drive without proper spinup code found in the firmware. If you experience this problem I would return the Rock Band DVD to EA immediately and request a replacement due to a faulty media unless you experience the same problem with all or most of your DVD's it is specific to the media in question.

This problem has been widely reported on a few EA titles produced within the last 12 months...This media also has a tendancy to wear out very fast if you use it on a regular basis even if it is working properly out of the box.



I think KWAiRT seems to know the most about the subject. He does point out however to exchange the disc due to faulty media, so there actually might be a chance they'll send your replacement on different media. If anyone replaces and it works, post back!!:p



- Yep, 3 or 4 cracks going from the inner ring to the label. A few minor scratches on the disc, but have never had any problems except with DLC, and problems only started recently after downloading Punk Pack 2.
Unfortunately daikiniATX, your 'symptoms' are much the same as other people on here. With a Hitachi Falcon, rest assured your not alone. Many people also claim it started just after I downloaded the (enter pack name here). Especially since your disc is cracked in Multiple places I'd get it replaced.

[TH3Hammer]

Discouraging to see no recent dev update regarding progress on identifying and fixing the issue.

[MuDpie]

I have just recently had a problem with this. I downloaded all of the downloadable content this week and have been playing it daily. Then all of a sudden last night when I pick a song thats DLC, it says my disc is unreadable.

It is a 1 out of 4 chance that it will play and read the song.

Not to mention my foot pedal broke this week too...

[rrod]

No offense all... I'm NOT hating on the 360, but can't we all see a pattern here? Yes, you may argue that it is due to bad media, but I haven't seen anyone with a PS3 have this issue. I didn't read the entire thread, but of the 5 pages I did read, the recurring theme is that is has something to do with the 360 and RB combination. If it's not happening on the PS3, wouldn't you think it would be more Microsoft related?

I had a 360 for almost 2 years and liked it, but after I put my Halo 3 disc in on the first night it came out, my xbox became unusable. Yes, Microsoft made good on sending a replacement (refurb), but I decided I didn't want to continue with possible ongoing issues.

I have a PS3 now. I have DLC from RB. I have seen a few instances where the song would kind of skip during play but it never froze and I never got a disc read error.

Maybe I'm missing some key elements like code for 360 versus code for PS3, but to see EA taking the responsibility on this one and send a disc out for good will... they deserve some good props for that.

[Negative]

1) What kind of xbox drive do you have? Samsung

2) Do you have any other games that have dlc streamed from it like this game? GH2 and GH3. GH2 had this problem for me when DLC songs first became available for it, but after a couple weeks the problem went away. I have quite a few DLC songs for GH3 which I play often without a problem.

3) Does switching startup from dashboard to disc help you? No

4) Do you have a 'zephyr' or 'falcon' 360. This can be done by looking at your 360's power bar; 175 watts is a falcon model, 203 is a zephyr model. Also state if you console is an elite, non-elite, halo, etc. Non-elite Zephyr

5) Is the inside ring of your Rock Band disc cracked in one or more places? [Look closely!] No cracks or scratches, at least none that I can see.

I've had this problem with Rock Band pretty much from the beginning, and I got it at launch. Besides getting the error on the score screen after a downloaded song, a couple times I have gotten the error by just scrolling down the main setlist.

[michael_bolton]

Just an update on this, but I have tried clearing my cache and playing the game for a few hours. For the most part, I played original game songs, but played some of my DLC intermittently. It might just be a string of good luck, but so far I haven't received a disc read error. I'll try it on a few of my other problematic games and report back later.

This seems to have solved the problem for me. I don't have any issues with Rock Band, or with NHL 08 anymore (so far; 2 weeks and counting). I didn't think it would work when I was first told to try it, but I guess I was wrong. Perhaps those of you having similar issues with a console with a Samsung drive might try the same thing.

[WhiteHot]

This seems to have solved the problem for me. I don't have any issues with Rock Band, or with NHL 08 anymore (so far; 2 weeks and counting). I didn't think it would work when I was first told to try it, but I guess I was wrong. Perhaps those of you having similar issues with a console with a Samsung drive might try the same thing.

Right on. Thanks for coming back and posting this as it could be pretty helpful. Is it straightforward on how to clear the cache or what?

[HPLabonte]

This just started happening to me as well, I got rockband on November 20th. I guess i'm screwed out of waranteed product replacement....

1) What kind of xbox drive do you have?
- Hitachi

2) Do you have any other games that have dlc streamed from it like this game?
Yeah, MLB2k7 slows down, but doesn't get an error.

3) Does switching startup from dashboard to disc help you?
- Nope.

4) Do you have a 'zephyr' or 'falcon' 360.
Pre-Zephyr, pretty much a launch console

5) Is the inside ring of your Rock Band disc cracked in one or more places? [Look closely!]
- Yeah, one crack on the label side, but not on the data side.

[WhiteHot]

This just started happening to me as well, I got rockband on November 20th. I guess i'm screwed out of waranteed product replacement....

5) Is the inside ring of your Rock Band disc cracked in one or more places? [Look closely!]
- Yeah, one crack on the label side, but not on the data side.

Doesn't matter when you got it (so far) as they'll replace any RMA that you put through. I got mine half way through January and my pedal snapped maybe 2 weeks ago, that might've been in warranty but they never asked for my receipt, any serial numbers or anything like that.

But then I've not replaced the disc (which is free, check out the link posted either this or the last page where it says it's free) which might be in warranty. I'd replace it either way if the disc is cracked there and the replacement is free...

Edit: Here's the link (http://support.ea.com/cgi-bin/ea.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=18481)
Edit 2: Ok so here's specifically what applies to you:

Product Replacement:
If you meet one of the following criteria, you can send your product to Electronic Arts for a replacement product.

* The product is 90 days past the purchase date
* The product has been scratched, broken, or has been damaged in another fashion.

When sending us your product, be sure to include a check or money order for the amount shown in the replacement costs section made payable to Electronic Arts, as well as all of the information in the requested information section below.

Requested Information:

* Explanation of your situation
* First and Last Name
* Return Address
* E-mail Address
* Phone Number

Replacement Costs:

* There is no charge involved with the replacement of broken or damaged software.

[plopsi]

Ok. I'm gonna send it in my used disc and hopefully get a new one. Now should I send them just the disc, or the whole box and manual?

[Formica]

No offense all... I'm NOT hating on the 360, but can't we all see a pattern here? Yes, you may argue that it is due to bad media, but I haven't seen anyone with a PS3 have this issue. I didn't read the entire thread, but of the 5 pages I did read, the recurring theme is that is has something to do with the 360 and RB combination. If it's not happening on the PS3, wouldn't you think it would be more Microsoft related?

I had a 360 for almost 2 years and liked it, but after I put my Halo 3 disc in on the first night it came out, my xbox became unusable. Yes, Microsoft made good on sending a replacement (refurb), but I decided I didn't want to continue with possible ongoing issues.

I have a PS3 now. I have DLC from RB. I have seen a few instances where the song would kind of skip during play but it never froze and I never got a disc read error.

Maybe I'm missing some key elements like code for 360 versus code for PS3, but to see EA taking the responsibility on this one and send a disc out for good will... they deserve some good props for that.

You may very well be a Sony troll with a name like rrod :P but at this point? Dude, I totally wish I'd gotten a PS3 instead of a 360 Elite with the HD-DVD drive. I bought a next gen system for HD and for Rock Band (and GH3 to a lesser degree) and to play it online with friends of mine who've moved away. It's been a good time playin' with them, but probably 90% of my play time is having friends over in my living room, at which point the platform doesn't matter.

If I'd gotten a PS3, I'd have paid the same amount, have a blu-ray player, and not have a cracked disc :P


Doesn't matter when you got it (so far) as they'll replace any RMA that you put through. I got mine half way through January and my pedal snapped maybe 2 weeks ago, that might've been in warranty but they never asked for my receipt, any serial numbers or anything like that.

But then I've not replaced the disc (which is free, check out the link posted either this or the last page where it says it's free) which might be in warranty. I'd replace it either way if the disc is cracked there and the replacement is free...


This has been my experience too, after returning four Fenders and one Drumkit, as well as now getting a replacement DVD. I called them on the phone about it (650-628-1001) as the RMA website has no entry for the disc. The folks who answer the phone have access to the same database, and they were able to look me up via my shipping address. As soon as they saw that I was already in the system they sent me a new disc. They aren't following the letter of the warranty for any of this, implying (to me) that they know they have a significant defect rate for the whole game and it's in their best interests long term to make those launch day customers happy. Happy customers = more DLC purchases = recurring revenue stream.

[WhiteHot]

This has been my experience too, after returning four Fenders and one Drumkit, as well as now getting a replacement DVD. I called them on the phone about it (650-628-1001) as the RMA website has no entry for the disc. As soon as they saw that I was already in the system they sent me a new disc. They aren't following the letter of the warranty for any of this, implying (to me) that they know they have a significant defect rate for the whole game and it's in their best interests long term to make those launch day customers happy. Happy customers = more DLC purchases = recurring revenue stream.

Wow lots of returns! I've only had one kit and one pedal broken... I'm pretty sure those people answer the phone basically mouthing to themselves what the caller is saying because they hear it so much. I like the formula too, very scientific :p

[drWaLLs]

Just an update on this, but I have tried clearing my cache and playing the game for a few hours. For the most part, I played original game songs, but played some of my DLC intermittently. It might just be a string of good luck, but so far I haven't received a disc read error. I'll try it on a few of my other problematic games and report back later.

Here is how to do what michael_bolton found:

Go to the system blade and then select memory. Press Y on the HD symbol and then press X,X,Left Bumper, Right Bumper, X,X. Once you do this a messsage will appear saying: Do you want to perform maintenance on your Xbox 360 storage devices? Choose Yes

I played 2 DLC songs in a row today and had no problems..

[WhiteHot]

Press Y on the HD symbol and then press X,X,Left Bumper, Right Bumper, X,X. Once you do this a messsage will appear saying: Do you want to perform maintenance on your Xbox 360 storage devices? Choose Yes

Here's (http://vgstrategies.about.com/od/xbox360faqs/a/ClearX360Cache.htm) proof just in case anyones skeptical from about.com. This also removes all downloaded updates to games though, so you'll have to re-download them the next time you try to play it online. You saves and demos and such will be fine though. Good luck everyone.

[HPLabonte]

Doesn't matter when you got it (so far) as they'll replace any RMA that you put through. I got mine half way through January and my pedal snapped maybe 2 weeks ago, that might've been in warranty but they never asked for my receipt, any serial numbers or anything like that.

But then I've not replaced the disc (which is free, check out the link posted either this or the last page where it says it's free) which might be in warranty. I'd replace it either way if the disc is cracked there and the replacement is free...

Edit: Here's the link (http://support.ea.com/cgi-bin/ea.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=18481)
Edit 2: Ok so here's specifically what applies to you:

Product Replacement:
If you meet one of the following criteria, you can send your product to Electronic Arts for a replacement product.

* The product is 90 days past the purchase date
* The product has been scratched, broken, or has been damaged in another fashion.

When sending us your product, be sure to include a check or money order for the amount shown in the replacement costs section made payable to Electronic Arts, as well as all of the information in the requested information section below.

Requested Information:

* Explanation of your situation
* First and Last Name
* Return Address
* E-mail Address
* Phone Number

Replacement Costs:

* There is no charge involved with the replacement of broken or damaged software.



Naa, I called them on phone, they said they wanted $20 and I had to send it myself... **** that.

[Swervo]

1) What kind of xbox drive (http://www.llamma.com/xbox360/Xbox_360_DVD_Drive_Comparison.htm) do you have?

I've got the Samsung drive.

2) Do you have any other games that have dlc streamed from it like this game?

Guitar Hero 3, never ran into the problem, but also didn't play the DLC all that much.

3) Does switching startup from dashboard to disc help you?

Not so far, no.

4) Do you have a 'zephyr' or 'falcon' 360. This can be done by looking at your 360's power bar; 175 watts is a falcon model, 203 is a zephyr model. Also state if you console is an elite, non-elite, halo, etc.

Zephyr, non-elite (bought about 2 months after launch).
EDIT: After reading through some more posts, I may have a "pre-zephyr" model. I have no HDMI.

5) Is the inside ring of your Rock Band disc cracked in one or more places? [Look closely!]

Not at all.

This has been happening since the first DLC I played. Sometimes it's fine, sometimes it's a nightmare. It can also happen if I leave the game paused or on the "here's your score and how many stars you got" screen after finishing a song, but prior to going back to the song list. Just had it pull this trick on Truckin' the night before last. It doesn't seem to be localized to any song though, it can happen on DLC song at any time, and reloading the game and playing the same song has never caused it to happen again.

I have recently had problems with the drive door not opening if the unit is cold. I'll hit the button and it'll pop out about an 8th of an inch, wait for a few seconds, then pop right back in again. Once it's been opened, however, it will continue to work fine until it hasn't been used for a while. It did, however, just open up quite nicely after not being used for about 36 hours when I went to check the drive type.

My 360 is getting reasonably old though...I wish I could just toss in a DVD drive for a computer, it seems like such a simple repair at this point.

[michael_bolton]

1) What kind of xbox drive do you have? Toshiba/Samsung

2) Do you have any other games that have dlc streamed from it like this game? Most of the GH2 and GH3 DLC, which have shown no problems, ever

3) Does switching startup from dashboard to disc help you? It always boots from the disc, no switch required

4) Do you have a 'zephyr' or 'falcon' 360. This can be done by looking at your 360's power bar; 175 watts is a falcon model, 203 is a zephyr model. Also state if you console is an elite, non-elite, halo, etc. Non-Elite, pre-Zephyr

5) Is the inside ring of your Rock Band disc cracked in one or more places? [Look closely!] Disc looks pristine in every way, and I've looked everywhere, closely

The unreadable disc error message only happens after playing a DLC song or if I leave the game paused for more than a minute or two and come back to it. This didn't happen at first, but then it started doing it and it's gradually gotten to the point where it happens almost all the time. You can always count on the error message popping up after the first DLC song you play in a gaming session. After that, it seems to not happen as much, but it eventually happens regardless of circumstances, it seems. Happens on solo tour, band world tour, and band quick play (online) that I have seen, so it doesn't appear to be linked to only one mode of play. The game always loads up just fine and plays beautifully unless a DLC song triggers the error message.

Having read through this entire thread, my question is this: given my setup, and the fact that my disc shows no visible signs of damage like others have reported, will a replacement disc really help?

I know it's free to exchange, so what's to lose, right? Well, for one, I wouldn't be able to play for a couple weeks, probably. I play Rock Band every day. It's pretty much my favorite thing to do when I'm not working. I'm just not sure I want to endure the pain of going without it for that long unless I'm sure that doing so will get me the results I'm looking for. Anybody have any luck with it that didn't have a scratched disc before?

Before you exchange it (which I doubt will help if there's no signs of damage to it), try clearing your cache (the tech at Xbox support told me that it's akin to defragmenting a hard drive on a PC). You do this by navigating to the System tab on your dashboard; selecting 'Memory'; and then selecting your hard drive. It should bring up a screen giving you the option to 'Rename' or 'Format'. Don't do either. When you arrive at this screen, press "X,X,LB,RB,XX". A window should pop up asking you to confirm that you want to perform maintenance on your hard drive; just say ok. That's it. It seems to have worked for me, at least temporarily.

[drWaLLs]

Just noticed there is a patch coming out this week..

http://www.xbox360fanboy.com/2008/03/20/rock-band-patch-rolls-out-this-week-adds-music-store-and-fixes/

Wonder if it will help our problem?

[EAxMetroJack]

Hi all,

There has been a new game update announced. One of the changes will be faster loading times for downloadable content. This change should help with the unreadable disk errors encountered while accessing DLC material.

The full update details can be found here (http://www.rockband.com/forums/showthread.php?t=36811).

Check the announcements section for details on when the update will be released. I'll also update this thread with more news as it becomes availble.

Cheers,
MetroJack

[WhiteHot]

^ Awesome EAxMetroJack thanks for stopping in and letting us know.

Edit: I would like to point this out from that link:


Faster loading of downloadable content: Not only is the loading speed faster, but this information is now cached so that this loading time is a “once only” wait rather than something that happens every time you turn on the game.

Funny how we are clearing our caches to make the game actually work, and here you guys are storing the songs in the cache...?

[Negative]

Hi all,

There has been a new game update announced. One of the changes will be faster loading times for downloadable content. This change should help with the unreadable disk errors encountered while accessing DLC material.

The full update details can be found here (http://www.rockband.com/forums/showthread.php?t=36811).

Check the announcements section for details on when the update will be released. I'll also update this thread with more news as it becomes availble.

Cheers,
MetroJack

As I understand it, this just refers to the "loading additional content" at the main menu, but will it really help the fact that we get the errors after playing a DLed song? I hope so.

[Penguin1257]

I got my replacement disc today. I mailed it off last Monday, so not a bad turn around time at all. The game booted fine, but I am unable to test and see if it works with DLC since I have no instruments currently. I'll post back Saturday or Sunday and let you guys know. I am excited for the patch as well!

[Swervo]

I'm very excited about the patch. What worries me is that I don't see how this will affect one of the symptoms I'm seeing, which is keeping it paused or on a results screen too long making this happen. Admittedly, that one is easier to avoid, just click though and get back to the song list, but in the end, I have a feeling this is outside their realm of influence and has a lot more to do with having an old version of the XBox itself.

Thanks to DRM, I'm actually nervous about buying a new console with a new chipset and DVD drive and a bigger HD and just running with that. Way to go MS, make me actually afraid to give you money...

[WhiteHot]

^ As long as your console is connected to live, you can use your DLC.

[Swervo]

Which is all well and good, but that means if my internet goes out, then the stuff I paid for won't work. So if I decide to spend more money to buy a new XBox with a larger hard drive, I actually get reduced functionality.

It's a moot point anyway here, as I know that it's not Harmonix' decision on this front. DRM is a pet peeve of mine, having experienced using software both from the fully legal vs. the not necessarily fully legal sides, I can comfortably say that you run into a heck of a lot less hassle using the not necessarily legal side. I am more than willing to pay for all of Harmonix' efforts as I feel they're more than worth the money. I just find it funny that, as a willfully paying customer, I'm the one who runs into the inconveniences and issues, not someone who decides to steal it.

Either way, it's neither here nor there and not applicable to this thread except my initial point: I'd rather just pay the money to get a new XBox with a larger HD (to hold more DLC and to have the newest chipset/DVD drive that doesn't have these issues) and the only thing that holds me back is that I'll have less functionality due to following the rules.

[notoriousgop89]

I just tried playing DLC after installing the patch. I got the dirty disc error on my third DLC song, Limelight. Is there even a possible fix for this via software patching, because to lose all unsaved data (ie the score on the song you just played) is really annoying.

[Negative]

Yeah this patch didn't help at all.

[thetrout]

Ditto on the patch not helping. I played 4 DLC songs in a row, and got the usual error after the fourth one.

[WhiteHot]

I found it a rather useless patch IMO.
The music store should have been in game from day one, many other games have it, why didn't this?
The voice patch apparently makes some songs easier and some songs harder? Thats not very helpful HMX...
Caching the DLC to the HDD apparently doesn't help either (if thats what EAxMetroJack ^ Meant)

[TH3Hammer]

Yeah... it's kind of hard to get excited about the music store when we can't play DLC.

[deValor]

I just got the dlc on monday,then I started to get the error (the disc cannot be read at the end of every dlc song) on wednesday, then today(friday) my xbox cant read the cd all together. When I put it in it says "unreadable disc"
The cd is perfectly fine on the data side except it did have a crack in the center on the label side, idk if I had that before or after downloading the dlc

[EAxMetroJack]

Hi All,

Please keep the feedback coming. Can you also post which console you use?

I was also wondering if any of you have tried to remove your DLC content and then redownload it since the patch?

Cheers,
MetroJack

[TH3Hammer]

XBOX360 Elite

I tried redownloading with no luck. I even got the disc unreadable message after redownloading through the new music store. After REALLY looking at my disc, I see that crack that everyone else is talking about. My guess is that it is a manufacturing defect in a small batch of Rock Band discs.

Calling support now in hopes of getting a replacement.

[WhiteHot]

Hi All,

Please keep the feedback coming. Can you also post which console you use?


Hi EAxMetroJack. All of the responses below are for Xbox 360 users only.
The number beside means how many people have this issue (eg, 6 Toshiba/Samsung means 6 users that have this DVD-ROM and confirm it doesn't work)

Drive Type:
6/15 Toshiba/Samsung users can't use DLC
0/15 BenQ users can't use DLC
9/15 Hitachi/LG users can't use DLC

2/16 Falcon users can't use DLC
9/16 Zephyr users can't use DLC
5/16 KNOWN Pre-Zephyrs (I wasn't clear on this originally) users can't use DLC

Switching from dashboard to disc hasn't helped one person (8 and counting)

4/7 Discs Cracked users can't use DLC
3/7 Not Cracked users can't use DLC

Hope that helps EAxMetroJack

PS. If anyone wants to help keep that tally running that'd be great...I don't even have a DLC issue I'm just here to help.

PPS. This is numbers for people who filled out the questions formally by posting the question and answer beneath it. People posting saying 'my disc is cracked and won't play' weren't counted, neither were ones who simply said 'I have a Zephyr and my DLC doesn't work'.

[TH3Hammer]

They're going to replace the disc for me, and the guy I talked to seemed to be aware of the issue. I don't mind if mistakes are made as long as they are handled properly and I like how these guys are taking care of the problem. As long as it is in fact an issue with the disc, I'll be back in business in a week or less. I will post here when I receive my replacement disc to let you guys know if it fixes the issue for me.

[drWaLLs]

well got the disc error after patch and clearing cache of hdd..

I am going on rock band dlc strike.. no more purchases from me till this is fixed..

I am already on my second disc and it doesn't freeze during regular songs so I don't see how the disc could be the problem. I wonder if keeping the disc spinning while playing dlc could fix this.. it seems that the drive has problems spinning back up after the idle 3-5 minutes you are playing a song.

[Negative]

well got the disc error after patch and clearing cache of hdd..

I am going on rock band dlc strike.. no more purchases from me till this is fixed..

I am already on my second disc and it doesn't freeze during regular songs so I don't see how the disc could be the problem. I wonder if keeping the disc spinning while playing dlc could fix this.. it seems that the drive has problems spinning back up after the idle 3-5 minutes you are playing a song.

Yeah that is the problem. Anytime the disc stops spinning for a moment (either while playing a downloaded song off the hard drive or having the game be idle for a few minutes), the 360 can't read the disc when it starts spinning again. It would be great if they could add in an option under gameplay settings or something that would keep the disc spinning during DLed songs for those who have problems. I have no idea if something like that is even possible.

[Limemonkeyx3]

OK--I got the patch...and now my ROCK BAND will only work (I get a "Disc Unreadable" error message at the main screen) if my hard drive is removed. I deleted my song files...and my save files (that hurt...a lot) and still no luck. BUT when I remove my hard drive, the game will play.

How do I kill this patch? I really think it corrupted my game. My game isn't scratched, and plays WITHOUT the hard drive (that still has the patch, btw...where the hell is is? I can't find it to delete it).

Anyway, I feel like I burned by this patch today. I lost my songs, my save files, and basically...the only way to play this game in a meaningful way (by saving my progress).

My hard drive is okay (played HALO 3 tonight, no problem), so it's only a ROCK BAND issue. Too bad it's my favorite/most played game.

I contacted EA, no idea what they'll tell me to do...

[WhiteHot]

Clearing the cache of the hard drive removes all patches downloaded. It won't remove any saves but it sounds like you gave it some tough love and tried that too.

Here's (http://vgstrategies.about.com/od/xbox360faqs/a/ClearX360Cache.htm) a little site I like to call about.com that will explain how to do it.

Good luck. And answer the questions below as I'm keeping (trying) a tally of the answers people present.

1) What kind of xbox drive do you have?
2) Do you have any other games that have dlc streamed from it like this game?
3) Does switching startup from dashboard to disc help you?
4) Do you have a 'zephyr' or 'falcon' 360. This can be done by looking at your 360's power bar; 175 watts is a falcon model, 203 is a zephyr model. Also state if you console is an elite, non-elite, halo, etc.
5) Is the inside ring of your Rock Band disc cracked in one or more places? [Look closely!]

Please answer with the answer below the copy/pasted question so that it says orderly, easy to read, and accurately. Thanks alot Limemonkeyx3

[Limemonkeyx3]

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! I only wish I'd have gotten this info BEFORE I deleted my precious game files. Oh well. I played those songs once, I can do it again.

I am a little peeved that this cache deletion method is so dang "secret." I'd have tried this first had I known about it.

So far, everything seems okay. I re-downloaded the patch...and...no problems. I'm re-downloading my (many) extra song tracks. I hope this "patch first, then songs" method clears things up.

I really love this game, dearly...but today has been a trying day. Harmonix/EA you owe me some hugs...

[Limemonkeyx3]

Nope. Didn't work. Still broken. I'm about to give up.

[WhiteHot]

Can you please answer those questions I had just posted? Your answers will be very helpful in determining what your problem is. For example, on page 14 we found that a Zephyr/Hitachi combination has the most probability of failing. Answer and we can figure out what yours is, where it fits, and if your in the same boat as others.

[entrust]

my disc flat out doesnt work! starts up fine and everything is normal, i pick the band then pick the song, starts to load the song and then it says disc cannot be read, does it on every song, even with the hard drive taken off, so its not the DLC, im gonna send the disc back and hopefully and new disc will solve it! im bummed, been without rock band for like over a month now :(

[Negative]

I seem to be getting the unreadable disc error even more now after the patch.

This is so damn frustrating.

[orpheusxx1]

I have been playing rockband for a week now on my xbox 360 without any problems. Yesturday I played at a friend's house with my hard drive in his xbox. Tonight I just purchased 4 songs from the DLC section and now everytime I put in the disc I get the "cannot read disc" error. Sometimes I can get the game to run, but anytime I play certain DLC songs in quickplay or try to play any song in a solo tour it gives me the error. I tried playing without a hard drive to see if that would help, but it still gives me the error. No other game does this on my xbox 360.

[Penguin1257]

I played plenty of DLC tonight in a good hour and a half session of RB. I had no disc errors and everything was smooth. I also unlocked Ballroom Blitz and Outside by Tribe. I never got around to getting them in the BWT but finally unlocked them tonight! I had a cracked disc, but the replacement seems to be working great so far. I am hoping it was just faulty media that was the cause of the crack and not my Xbox DVD drive (Hitachi). So for those of you with cracked discs, there is hope in a replacement. Also, it took a week and a half. I mailed it out on a Monday vis USPS Priority Mail and it got there Wednesday (Socal to Norcal shipping route). EA shipped on Thursday, and I received the disc the following Thursday via UPS (it went cross country from CA to MA via UPS ground).

[protomech]

1) What kind of xbox drive do you have? samsung
2) Do you have any other games that have dlc streamed from it like this game? GH3, haven't noticed problems in a couple hours spent playing any of the half-dozen dlc .. also forza 2 with road america, no problems
3) Does switching startup from dashboard to disc help you? haven't tried, will update
4) Do you have a 'zephyr' or 'falcon' 360. This can be done by looking at your 360's power bar; 175 watts is a falcon model, 203 is a zephyr model. Also state if you console is an elite, non-elite, halo, etc. pre-zephyr, manu 5/2006
5) Is the inside ring of your Rock Band disc cracked in one or more places? [Look closely!] There is a faint almost-circular line that runs around 90% of the inside ring. I'm not sure whether it's a crack or not; forza 2 and gh3 have nearly identical faint lines running around 90% of their inside rings.

I get "disc read error" maybe 10% of the time after finishing playing through a DLC song. The disc spins down sometime while playing the song and then fails to spin back up. It does not happen consistently or appear to be related to any particular DLC song, as I can restart RB and finish the DLC on the next play through.

It will also occasionally spin down when the game is paused for a period of time. Prior to our Endless Setlist attempt, I paused the game for five minutes - once with the start button, once with the home button - while playing through a disc song in solo tour. Then I repeated both tests with a DLC song. In all cases, the game continued to play as expected.

On our Endless Setlist attempt, we paused the game for approximately 2-3 minutes on Outside (song 52 of 58). When we resumed play, we received a "disc read error" - the disc had apparently spun down and failed to spin back up.

That's 4 hours of play gone. This is rapidly eroding our group's (~8 people) interest in the game.

[orpheusxx1]

1) What kind of xbox drive do you have?

2) Do you have any other games that have dlc streamed from it like this game?

3) Does switching startup from dashboard to disc help you?

4) Do you have a 'zephyr' or 'falcon' 360. This can be done by looking at your 360's power bar; 175 watts is a falcon model, 203 is a zephyr model. Also state if you console is an elite, non-elite, halo, etc.

5) Is the inside ring of your Rock Band disc cracked in one or more places? [Look closely!]

I suggest these questions be entered in the first post and answered for each person with this problem, and these aren't hard to answer and could be valuable.
But do feel free to add things not mentioned, like when this began (right after the NIN pack...has been getting worse since launch...etc) Also try playing the game with the hard drive removed, and if available, with just a 64/256 memory card in it. If it works, great, try downloading a song to it and try again. If it works, post it. If you did that and it didn't work, post that too.

1. Samsung
2. I have Guitar Hero 3 DLC
3. No, it does not
4. Zephyr
5. No it is not cracked.

I never had a problem until last night when I purchased 4 songs from the DLC music store. After downloading the songs, it started giving me the "cant read disc" error whenever I try to play any song. Today it is giving me the error in the main menu. I hope someone is working on a fix for this because my disc is clean, it is obviously a problem with the downloaded software. I am going to try it on a friend's xbox later this week to make sure it is not the disc.

[WhiteHot]

I suggest these questions be entered in the first post and answered for each person with this problem, and these aren't hard to answer and could be valuable.
But do feel free to add things not mentioned, like when this began (right after the NIN pack...has been getting worse since launch...etc) Also try playing the game with the hard drive removed, and if available, with just a 64/256 memory card in it. If it works, great, try downloading a song to it and try again. If it works, post it. If you did that and it didn't work, post that too.

The original poster hasn't shown his face since the first post :rolleyes:, and these questions were first posted on page 4 and people have been answering. Also, we have discussed with the hard drive removed, re downloading songs, clearing the cache, switching from boot to dashboard to boot to disc, with just a memory card...Everything you can think of, no offense, we've tried and failed.

Thanks for the answers, and I'm actively keeping track of them.

[Zebraq]

I first had the DLC issue a month or so ago, being unable to play any DLC songs. (I'd finish them, then get the "unreadable disc" error right after the summary screen.) I contacted EA support where they referred me to their forums. My problem has since escalated, and I've gotten to the point where I can't even boot the game up. I only get the "unreadable disc" error, every time I put the disc in.
I have an Elite 360 with the Hitachi drive. After reading some of the posts here, I decided to take a look at my game disc for the tiny crack found on the inner ring, and lo and behold, there it was.

The weirdest thing about all this is, I tried my game disc in a friends xbox, and it worked just fine. Why wouldn't the crack affect his xbox??
I'm going to try his game disc in my xbox now. Hopefully the only problem here is the game disc. Every other game I have works perfectly, except for Rock Band. (And the real bummer is, I deleted ALL of my Rock Band content in an attempt to fix my problem... Gaw!)

[vij_b]

the patch kind-of worked for me. (described below)

Note: I dont have a single DLC song. I have problems with just the songs on the disc.

1) What kind of xbox drive do you have?
Toshiba/Samsung TS-H943

2) Do you have any other games that have dlc streamed from it like this game?
No

3) Does switching startup from dashboard to disc help you?

My Situation is wierd. Initially, startup was from disk and I started to have random failues. I had to boot from dashboard for the random failures to stop.
With the patch, I started having random failures even when I booted to dashboard. Now I have switched back to startup from disc and I havent had any freezing issues (for 2 days)

4) Do you have a 'zephyr' or 'falcon' 360. This can be done by looking at your 360's power bar; 175 watts is a falcon model, 203 is a zephyr model. Also state if you console is an elite, non-elite, halo, etc.

I have the zephyr model. non-elite model

5) Is the inside ring of your Rock Band disc cracked in one or more places? [Look closely!]
No

[ArsncLacd]

1) What kind of xbox drive do you have? samsung
2) Do you have any other games that have dlc streamed from it like this game? GH3, haven't noticed problems in a couple hours spent playing any of the half-dozen dlc .. also forza 2 with road america, no problems
3) Does switching startup from dashboard to disc help you? haven't tried, will update
4) Do you have a 'zephyr' or 'falcon' 360. This can be done by looking at your 360's power bar; 175 watts is a falcon model, 203 is a zephyr model. Also state if you console is an elite, non-elite, halo, etc. pre-zephyr, manu 5/2006
5) Is the inside ring of your Rock Band disc cracked in one or more places? [Look closely!] There is a faint almost-circular line that runs around 90% of the inside ring. I'm not sure whether it's a crack or not; forza 2 and gh3 have nearly identical faint lines running around 90% of their inside rings.

I get "disc read error" maybe 10% of the time after finishing playing through a DLC song. The disc spins down sometime while playing the song and then fails to spin back up. It does not happen consistently or appear to be related to any particular DLC song, as I can restart RB and finish the DLC on the next play through.

It will also occasionally spin down when the game is paused for a period of time. Prior to our Endless Setlist attempt, I paused the game for five minutes - once with the start button, once with the home button - while playing through a disc song in solo tour. Then I repeated both tests with a DLC song. In all cases, the game continued to play as expected.

On our Endless Setlist attempt, we paused the game for approximately 2-3 minutes on Outside (song 52 of 58). When we resumed play, we received a "disc read error" - the disc had apparently spun down and failed to spin back up.

That's 4 hours of play gone. This is rapidly eroding our group's (~8 people) interest in the game.

I have same model you have and experience the EXACT same issues. I haven't played any since the new patch went live, but I am going to download it tonight and see if it makes any difference. I hope that things don't get worse, as I have seen some people post. Either way, I'd like to know what people like us can do about our problem. It seems to me that our problem is not faulty media, so replacement discs won't help. It may be helpful for others with different models, but I have to believe it's something to do with poor software coding or a crappy drive or a combination of the two in our case. For us, it seems the torment will never end.

**UPDATE AFTER PATCH**: The new patch, while awesome, doesn't seem to have any effect on the occurrence of the Unreadable Disc error, positively or negatively. At first, I thought it might have had a positive effect, but soon I realized that I had just been experiencing a string of good luck.

That's the thing of it: there doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to it, it'll just happen at completely random times after playing DLC. Sometimes it will happen after the first DLC song you play in a gaming session and then it won't happen again for awhile, if at all. Sometimes you can play a few DLC songs without a hitch in a new gaming session, then the error message will just pop up randomly.

I really feel that there is a trend beginning to emerge with Samsung drive, pre-Zephyr models. I know of at least a couple others on this thread with the same model and experiencing the EXACT same issues. I think it is completely separate from the issues experienced by those with the Hitachi drives.

[thebear308]

1) What kind of xbox drive do you have? Samsung

2) Do you have any other games that have dlc streamed from it like this game?
GH3, Forza, Halo. No problems with any of them

3) Does switching startup from dashboard to disc help you? Haven't tried, but (not to be a pain about it or anything) that shouldn't matter

4) Do you have a 'zephyr' or 'falcon' 360. This can be done by looking at your 360's power bar; 175 watts is a falcon model, 203 is a zephyr model. Also state if you console is an elite, non-elite, halo, etc. It's a pre-Zephyr non-Elite (no-HDMI, mfg date 8/2006)

5) Is the inside ring of your Rock Band disc cracked in one or more places? [Look closely!] No crack on the disc, but it does look like it wasn't burned correctly

I've had this problem since I started downloading songs; you can play the song, but occasionally it'll give me the disc read error after the song is finished and you try to continue. I have downloaded the newest patch, and new DLC (the Boston pack), but I still get the errors. It also isn't confined to one mode; it's happened in both the Tours and Quickplay.

[josh3111]

This problem pisses me off daily. It is like the xbox stops running, or something. That is when I KNOW.

[michael_bolton]

This seems to have solved the problem for me. I don't have any issues with Rock Band, or with NHL 08 anymore (so far; 2 weeks and counting). I didn't think it would work when I was first told to try it, but I guess I was wrong. Perhaps those of you having similar issues with a console with a Samsung drive might try the same thing.

Well, guess what? I got the error again last night, after playing the new Boston pack for about an hour or so. It happens right after the song is over and the 'Loading' screen is active; you can hear the drive spinning down, almost like it's skipping. I guess it was just a matter of time.

(for those interested, I have a pre Zephyr model with a Samsung drive.)

[DrunkOldMan]

I had the exact same problem in Guitar Hero 2, and I'm pretty sure the theories posted at the start of the thread are correct. The game is reading the content off the HardDrive so the disc spins down and the drive (which is most likely faulty) can't pick up where it left off.

I had numerous "Dirty Disc Errors" with other games like MotoGP 06, and a few others I can't remember. In MotoGP 06 it would be during one of it's long loading screen. I could see it coming, the load with take a little longer than it should, the drive didn't spin up to speed like it normally would and instead I'd hear a clicking noise followed by a Dirty Disc Error message.

It started happening constantly with GH2 when I played DLC.

I had had tonnes of problems of the same sort with the Original XBox's famous crappy drives, but I was still under Warranty this time so I sent it off for replacement. The new system has had 0 issues with any game including GH2, GH3, Rock Band, MotoGP 06 and MotoGP 07.

[protomech]

Update tonight. Played a four song set in band world tour with one other player. Disc spun down after the completion of a 4 song set - all disc songs, no DLC. The 360 spent about a minute trying to spin the disc back up before failing out with a Disc Read Error.

Wondering whether the disc is going bad. Having to wait two weeks for a replacement disc will make me a sad panda :/

[TH3Hammer]

Having to wait two weeks for a replacement disc will make me a sad panda :/

They told me that they will be shipping a replacement disc to me without me having to send mine in. At least I can play the on-disc songs until I get my replacement. You should call and see if you actually need to send your disc back to get a replacement.

[josh3111]

My disc just spun down while creating a character....

SO let me get this straight...is this the disc or the xbox?

Sometimes I wish i woulda bought a ps3

[drWaLLs]

They told me that they will be shipping a replacement disc to me without me having to send mine in. At least I can play the on-disc songs until I get my replacement. You should call and see if you actually need to send your disc back to get a replacement.

Who did you talk to? When I sent mine back everyone I tried to talk to wouldn't help me they were like we only do hardware.. for software you have to send it in.. They couldn't even tell me the address to send it to..

[TH3Hammer]

I called the number that used to be in Whitehot's sig. Then I pressed the number for software but it said to go back to the previous menu and select the option for warranty repair for the problem I was having with my disc. I told the guy what was going on and he that for this particular issue he would just send out a replacement and I didn't have to send my old disc back. Before telling me that, he put me on hold to check to make sure my problem fell into a certain category... I guess the crack on the inside ring was and indicator of a known manufacturer defect on their end, but I'm just assuming that by how he handled my case.

[TH3Hammer]

My disc just spun down while creating a character....

SO let me get this straight...is this the disc or the xbox?

Sometimes I wish i woulda bought a ps3

We're still trying to figure this out. My disc also spun down and gave me the error while browsing the music store :(

[Negative]

My disc spins down and I get the error while browsing the leaderboards.

[Formica]

I called the number that used to be in Whitehot's sig. Then I pressed the number for software but it said to go back to the previous menu and select the option for warranty repair for the problem I was having with my disc. I told the guy what was going on and he that for this particular issue he would just send out a replacement and I didn't have to send my old disc back. Before telling me that, he put me on hold to check to make sure my problem fell into a certain category... I guess the crack on the inside ring was and indicator of a known manufacturer defect on their end, but I'm just assuming that by how he handled my case.

This is the same experience I had. I believe that number goes to whomever EA contracted for Rock Band Warranty Fulfillment (the guy I talked to was in Maine). They looked me up and saw I was already in the system for hardware exchanges, and they sent me a brand new copy of the game via UPS.

Once I had an un-cracked disc I had no problems playing DLC; I played a couple of downloaded tracks in a row without issue and then proceeded to inspect my disc for cracks :P I no longer snap it into the case - I keep it in a sleeve. So far it's uncracked.

I have had no problems since the patch, and in fact the load times do indeed seem to have gotten a little faster. We played a marathon session the other night, constantly mixing DLC and original tracks in BWT without any problems at all. It reminded me why I got so angry in the first place - I absolutely love this game and when it's working, it's one of the most entertaining video games ever! :)

[marvelusmayo]

my disc just wont load at all:(

but my other games play fine.

[marvelusmayo]

I first had the DLC issue a month or so ago, being unable to play any DLC songs. (I'd finish them, then get the "unreadable disc" error right after the summary screen.) I contacted EA support where they referred me to their forums. My problem has since escalated, and I've gotten to the point where I can't even boot the game up. I only get the "unreadable disc" error, every time I put the disc in.
I have an Elite 360 with the Hitachi drive. After reading some of the posts here, I decided to take a look at my game disc for the tiny crack found on the inner ring, and lo and behold, there it was.

The weirdest thing about all this is, I tried my game disc in a friends xbox, and it worked just fine. Why wouldn't the crack affect his xbox??
I'm going to try his game disc in my xbox now. Hopefully the only problem here is the game disc. Every other game I have works perfectly, except for Rock Band. (And the real bummer is, I deleted ALL of my Rock Band content in an attempt to fix my problem... Gaw!)

this is exactly what happened with my disc....but i havent checked for that crack....ill do that when i get home from work

[imjoshsizemore]

My playstation 3 won't load any copy of rock band at all, i've tried 2 different copies.

[whopperdown]

I've been running into the spin down problem ("Unreadable disc") now for a while (samsung drive) when playing DLC and i stumbled upon a short term fix.

Whenever i hear the disc spinning down and starting to click (right after i beat a track on the screen that shows score) ,I click the xbox button on the guitar and bring up the blade and just wait. Rock Band in the background will advance to the next screen and when i hit cancel i am able to continue normally. its sort of a pain to do this after every DLC track but it works and its better than losing my gold star score and restarting :D

[HPLabonte]

I've been running into the spin down problem ("Unreadable disc") now for a while (samsung drive) when playing DLC and i stumbled upon a short term fix.

Whenever i hear the disc spinning down and starting to click (right after i beat a track on the screen that shows score) ,I click the xbox button on the guitar and bring up the blade and just wait. Rock Band in the background will advance to the next screen and when i hit cancel i am able to continue normally. its sort of a pain to do this after every DLC track but it works and its better than losing my gold star score and restarting :D

Heh, i'm gonna try this, lol

[whopperdown]

I've been running into the spin down problem ("Unreadable disc") now for a while (samsung drive) when playing DLC and i stumbled upon a short term fix.

Whenever i hear the disc spinning down and starting to click (right after i beat a track on the screen that shows score) ,I click the xbox button on the guitar and bring up the blade and just wait. Rock Band in the background will advance to the next screen and when i hit cancel i am able to continue normally. its sort of a pain to do this after every DLC track but it works and its better than losing my gold star score and restarting


hrm actually after playing a ton today i had the unreadable error happen even while doing this, so maybe i just had a lucky streak before :(

[Limemonkeyx3]

Wow. Me and my g/f just got done playing ROCK BAND...early...not by our own choice. See, I got sick of seeing the stupid "disc read error" message popping up. I had one disc that got scratched up, so last weekend I bought the game FOR THE SECOND TIME thinking that this would kill the problem, but it doesn't...I mean, we can play the game now (as opposed to before) but we still get the error message with some frequency.

Please don't ask me what type of XBOX I have, or any of that other nonsense. My 360 has no problems with ANY OTHER GAME I OWN or DVD's. It's this game. There is a bug with the DLC--but I think it goes deeper than just when you play DLC...because it happens (for us) when we're playing songs of the disc, too. I think the DLC effects the glitch though, because the game has to repopulate the master "song list" everytime you finish a song (which is where we get the error). I love DLC, but maybe we all shouldn't be filling up our hard drives with it????

Just a thought.

Anyway, Harmonix...I love you guys, I love your game...look into this! Please!!!

[HPLabonte]

yeah, that did nothing, why must this be happening!?

[Formica]

Please don't ask me what type of XBOX I have, or any of that other nonsense.

It's not nonsense. It's called gathering diagnostic data. By dismissing something you don't understand, you are in fact part of the problem. Consoles go through multiple hardware revisions in their lifetime, and these revisions can cause issues with the software despite the best efforts of developers to account for them. Based on this thread, cracked discs and Toshiba drives seem to be the big culprits, and we'd never have figured that out if everyone had your opinion on working together by collecting information.

If you choose not to participate in the gathering of this information, you are in fact making it more difficult for Harmonix to address the problem. This would seem to be at cross purposes with your stated goal of enjoying the game.

By submitting my diagnostic information, conversing with the folks who participate in this thread, and taking some simple troubleshooting steps, I was able to resolve my problem, and I can play as much Rock Band as I want, now. Perhaps you need to re-examine your perspective on the issue before you dismiss the suggestions of others out of hand. Remember, the collection of this data was primarily at the behest of WhiteHot, who's just a forum member who wanted to help out. It's not some kind of smokescreen from EA to distract or discourage; it's a genuine grass-roots effort to get to the bottom of the issue. Why not participate in the process with your fellow players instead of yelling into an echo chamber?

[Frederf]

I've bought a new Toshiba/Samsung DVD drive for my Xbox 360. I'll let you know if the problem persists after installation.

[HPLabonte]

I've bought a new Toshiba/Samsung DVD drive for my Xbox 360. I'll let you know if the problem persists after installation.

heh, yeah , keep us updated! i was thinking of doing the same thing

[stoastyd]

It turns out disc replacements are free for Rock Band.

http://support.ea.com/cgi-bin/ea.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=18481

Sending mine back on Monday!!

Thanks a ton!

[Negative]

Alright so I finally broke down and just bought a new 360. I bought a 360 arcade and made sure it was a falcon with the benq drive, and then just stuck my HD on it.

Rock Band works flawlessly with it, so the disc was fine.

This will probably be my last post in this thread (i hope).

[WhiteHot]

I bought a 360 arcade and made sure it was a falcon with the benq drive, and then just stuck my HD on it.

Rock Band works flawlessly with it, so the disc was fine.

This will probably be my last post in this thread (i hope).

Well I'm glad your situation has been fixed, but you don't have to wish to never see us again :(:D. I have this exact same console (an arcade with benq/falcon, and I bought the HDD separately afterwards) and mine works completely without a hitch.

Thanks for your input.

You are however going to be required to be connected to live to access your DLC unless you've had the chance to have M$ re-license your files.

[WhiteHot]

I bought a 360 arcade and made sure it was a falcon with the benq drive, and then just stuck my HD on it.

Rock Band works flawlessly with it, so the disc was fine.

This will probably be my last post in this thread (i hope).

Well I'm glad your situation has been fixed, but you don't have to wish to never see us again :(:D. I have this exact same console (an arcade with benq/falcon, and I bought the HDD separately afterwards) and mine works completely without a hitch.

Thanks for your input.

You are however going to be required to be connected to live to access your DLC unless you've had the chance to have M$ re-license your files.


It's not nonsense. It's called gathering diagnostic data. By dismissing something you don't understand, you are in fact part of the problem. Consoles go through multiple hardware revisions in their lifetime, and these revisions can cause issues with the software despite the best efforts of developers to account for them. Based on this thread, cracked discs and Toshiba drives seem to be the big culprits, and we'd never have figured that out if everyone had your opinion on working together by collecting information.

Word. If I were to experience this issue, I would personally have this information ready to whoever asked. If I were set the task to fix this issue by HMX and had little more to go on than a bunch of "my 360 says 'unreadable disc'" and "please don't ask me what kind of xbox I have, or any of that nonsense" I would be banging my head against the wall in frustration. Now we know that there seems to be a correlation between Toshiba drives and cracked discs. We are trying to isolate the problem. By helping them, your helping yourself.



By submitting my diagnostic information, conversing with the folks who participate in this thread, and taking some simple troubleshooting steps, I was able to resolve my problem, and I can play as much Rock Band as I want, now.

Awesome. That's what I like to hear :D.


it's a genuine grass-roots effort to get to the bottom of the issue. Why not participate in the process with your fellow players instead of yelling into an echo chamber?

Indeed, if you are not part of the solution are you not part of the problem?

And thanks for the props Formica.:)

[Negative]

Well I'm glad your situation has been fixed, but you don't have to wish to never see us again :(:D. I have this exact same console (an arcade with benq/falcon, and I bought the HDD separately afterwards) and mine works completely without a hitch.

Thanks for your input.

You are however going to be required to be connected to live to access your DLC unless you've had the chance to have M$ re-license your files.

Hey what do you know, that wasn't my last post.

Yeah I know I'll have to be connected, but that's fine with me since I've never played without being connected to live. I don't know if Rock Band works the same has GH2 did, but you had to be connected to live in order for your scores to update on the leaderboards.

In the event that I somehow can't connect to live, I'll just play the songs on disc until I can connect again. No big deal.

[HPLabonte]

I'm gonna RMA my 360 for a defective DVD Drive, because i'm 100% sure that's what it is, reading about what's going on here. Especially since my disc works in my friend's 360.

[WhiteHot]

I'm gonna RMA my 360 for a defective DVD Drive, because i'm 100% sure that's what it is, reading about what's going on here. Especially since my disc works in my friend's 360.

Doesn't that cost $$? As far as I knew, Microsoft only replaced dead RROD'd consoles free of charge. After that, any other 'fixes' are something to the tune of $90...?

[HPLabonte]

I'd rather just pay 90 for a working XBOX than to keep buying new RB discs, and breaking other games. I also may have a Warranty still good at Gamestop, not sure about that one... but If i don't i'd much rather have a working XBOX for when GTAIV and Who's Next comes around

[Penguin1257]

Just an update for all of you with this problem. I had a cracked disc and sent it back, received my new one, and have not had any problems with any of my DLC or regular content. I haven't had a single disc read error. I guess it's obvious that a cracked disc spells doom for playing the game, but for those of you out there that are experiencing this problem, you might want to borrow a disc from a friend to see if that resolves the issue

Also, you might try to slightly bend the DVD to see if you notice any cracks underneath the DVD foil. I'm curious if any of you who claim not to have any cracks in the DVD actually have them underneath the DVD foil but simply don't know it. I could barely notice the crack on the inner ring of my DVD, but when I twisted the DVD very slightly it became clear that the foil bent just enough to cause disc read errors. I'm wondering if some of you might have cracks at spots other than the inner ring. It's certainly something to try before sending in your 360 for repair.

[HPLabonte]

I tried my friends' disc, it didnt really work, and right now, other games barely work, freeze, and lag, I think my 360 is on its way out.

[lukdabeast]

it happens when i leave it on pause when i go to continue it gives me the error messege.

[WhiteHot]

Yea we know. Also when the end of a song DLC song comes...and it freezes on the finale screen...

[Frederf]

I've bought a new Toshiba/Samsung DVD drive for my Xbox 360. I'll let you know if the problem persists after installation.

New drive installed, used the old PCB from the existing drive to transfer over the hardware keys. It seems to do that problem just as often. I think that it at least doesn't randomly scratch (lightly) disks... I think. Time will tell.

[daikiniATX]

So my disc finally just gave up on me tonight. I put it into my xbox to play it and started hearing the same noises it makes when it DREs on DLC. I took it out and tried cleaning it a bit, put it back in, and now the xbox thinks its a DVD or just gives me the Unplayable Disc message.

Oh well, guess I have no choice but to get a new disc. :(

BTW, this has never happened on any other games, and all of my other 360 games are in flawless condition (no scratches, much less cracks), although I don't have any other EA games...

I was really looking forward to the Boston pack too...:mad::mad:

Enough ranting though, I'm going to try my friends disc and see if works, hopefully my xbox doesn't destroy his disc as well.

[TH3Hammer]

I'll let you guys know if a new disc fixes my problem if I ever get one. Going on 3 weeks now waiting for a replacement and I still haven't received an email saying that it has shipped.

[speedbump1980]

i started getting the unreadable disc error trying to play any song. when i looked at the disc, it looks like it's delaminating. there's no scratches or smudges on the disc at all, but about 1/5 of the cd that looks like it's coming off the plastic. anyone else have this problem?

[plopsi]

So I finally noticed the crack that everybody was talking about. My crack was only visible on the inner ring of disk and on the artwork side, not the written data side. I didn't notice the crack before because obviously, I thought that the game would only be affected with blemishes and cracks on the data side.

I gave EA a call and told them about the crack and how my game doesn't even start up while giving me the "unreadable disc" error. The rep whom I spoke with was very helpful. Since I was already in their system when I sent in my guitars and drum set, they didn't need any other info. I reported the incident on 4/2, and received the tracking information on the same day. According to UPS tracking, it was shipped out on 4/2 and it arrived on 4/9 from Menlo Park, CA to Boston, MA. Much faster service than I have generally experienced with the other RB components. I had thought they were just going to send me just the disk, but they ended up sending me a whole brand new copy of the game. They didn't even ask for me to send my old copy back.

I immediately popped the game in when I received it, and it plays absolutely fine now.

Granted the instruments and game itself are far from perfectly functional, I have to give EA a big two thumbs up for providing such a great service and warranty.

[notoriousgop89]

When you say inside ring of the disk, do yuo mean the one that says xbox in holographic letters? If so, I believe I may have found a crack (although I can't tell if its just my eyes playing tricks on me.) I there any way anyone could post a pick of the crack for reference.

[swiper]

I just got this for the kids for Easter and have already sent the guitar back three seperate times, and now am getting the error message "disc is unreadable", I have noticed that the disc is two seperate colours one is darker than the other, in a weird shape, it also has the ring around the middle. I looked on both my xboxes (it works on neither one) and cannot find the info you were requesting, these xboxes were just replaced in Oct by microsft under warranty

[WhiteHot]

Granted the instruments and game itself are far from perfectly functional, I have to give EA a big two thumbs up for providing such a great service and warranty.
Word. I've had great service from them as well. Of course, it shouldn't happen but if it does...they replace it. Glad to hear your situation worked out :)


When you say inside ring of the disk, do yuo mean the one that says xbox in holographic letters?
I don't think anyone can really take a picture of it. Some have been here saying they haven't had the crack and then realized after that they actually indeed have it. Get someone in your family or something to look at it too?:confused:

I looked on both my xboxes and cannot find the info you were requesting, these xboxes were just replaced in Oct by microsft under warranty

I find it hard to believe that you can't open the drive, observe the shape of the drive and compare it to one on your computer screen. I also find it hard to believe that you couldn't find a power amount of 175 or 203 either on the power bar itself. Look again.

[plopsi]

When you say inside ring of the disk, do yuo mean the one that says xbox in holographic letters? If so, I believe I may have found a crack (although I can't tell if its just my eyes playing tricks on me.) I there any way anyone could post a pick of the crack for reference.

Yep. That area. If you compare your RB disk to another game, you should see the difference. The crack on mine is literally very straight and fairly well defined that it almost looked like it was intentionally manufactured there.

[Frederf]

I'm going to try swapping disks with another friend that has Rock Band and see if the problem is with the disk.

[notoriousgop89]

It is definately cracked then (I had my friend double check). To get a new disk is there a site (like hardware replacement) or do I have to call customer support?

Thanks for the help.

[WhiteHot]

To get a new disk is there a site (like hardware replacement) or do I have to call customer support?


This (http://support.ea.com/cgi-bin/ea.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=18481) might be the page your looking for.

"Product Replacement:
If you meet one of the following criteria, you can send your product to Electronic Arts for a replacement product.

* The product is 90 days past the purchase date
* The product has been scratched, broken, or has been damaged in another fashion.

When sending us your product, be sure to include a check or money order for the amount shown in the replacement costs section made payable to Electronic Arts, as well as all of the information in the requested information section below."

Apparently this is free, although that is not a personal testimony. Search back from this page, I know a couple have done this and I'm fairly certain theirs didn't cost them anything.

[swiper]

I have contacted them regarding my disc twice in the last two days, and they are telling me I have to pay for the shipping to send it to them, this game is only a month old

[braydonbond]

I have the "Unreadable disc" thing when I start up my xbox in the bar at the bottom of the screen where you can start your game from the dashboard. i've used my home disc cleaner about 3-5 times, and it still shows this message. i got it to work at one time to lay my xbox on its side instead of keeping it vertical, but now this doesnt solve the problem. every now and then, instead of saying "unreadable disc" it says "Play DVD", so i play it and a message comes up saying "In order to play this game, you must put it in an xbox360 console." but since its in my 360, this doesnt make sense. has anyone else had this problem?

[TH3Hammer]

I have the "Unreadable disc" thing when I start up my xbox in the bar at the bottom of the screen where you can start your game from the dashboard. i've used my home disc cleaner about 3-5 times, and it still shows this message. i got it to work at one time to lay my xbox on its side instead of keeping it vertical, but now this doesnt solve the problem. every now and then, instead of saying "unreadable disc" it says "Play DVD", so i play it and a message comes up saying "In order to play this game, you must put it in an xbox360 console." but since its in my 360, this doesnt make sense. has anyone else had this problem?

Yep, mine is now at this point. It started with just freezing after DLC or extended periods of inactivity and now it is exactly as you described.

[Sully]

I didn't read through all 6 pages so I'll just throw in my two cents.

I get this error about 50% of the time after finishing a DLC song. Disk error - restart xbox. I've exchanged my pretty-much-pristine disk for a new one through a friend who works at EB Games and the problem hasn't stopped.

Recently, it has happened after an on-disk song (it was Run to the Hills Expert Guitar, if it matters) AND during a DLC song (shortly after starting Call Me on Expert Guitar).

[AnEternalEnigma]

My girlfriend just started getting this error. It's really disheartening. On Saturday, she was playing DLC on her console which she has been doing since last December.

All of a sudden, she started getting a DRE after every DLC song she played. It doesn't happen at all on my console and I've been playing just as long as she has.

What is the deal with this problem? Harmonix really needs to get their crap straight. With as expensive as this game is and can continue to be with DLC, it's really a shame that stuff keeps falling apart.

[Frederf]

I had this problem happen to me the first time on a disk song.

[WhiteHot]

I didn't read through all 6 pages so I'll just throw in my two cents. Recently, it has happened after an on-disk song (it was Run to the Hills Expert Guitar, if it matters) AND during a DLC song (shortly after starting Call Me on Expert Guitar).
I think there's a couple more than 6 pages...;)
These questions provide you with info about what combination of Xbox 360 you have, as certain hardware combinations have disastrous effects while others are completely fine. Eg, Toshiba drives and cracked discs are a concern, but a BenQ/Falcon mix means no problems will occur while playing RB.
1) What kind of xbox drive (http://www.llamma.com/xbox360/Xbox_360_DVD_Drive_Comparison.htm) do you have?
2) Do you have any other games that have dlc streamed from it like this game?
3) Does switching startup from dashboard to disc help you?
4) Do you have a 'zephyr' or 'falcon' 360. This can be done by looking at your 360's power bar; 175 watts is a falcon model, 203 is a zephyr model. Also state if you console is an elite, non-elite, halo, etc.
5) Is the inside ring of your Rock Band disc cracked in one or more places? [Look closely!]
[seems to be a no if you've replaced the disc]



All of a sudden, she started getting a DRE after every DLC song she played. It doesn't happen at all on my console and I've been playing just as long as she has. What is the deal with this problem? Harmonix really needs to get their crap straight. With as expensive as this game is and can continue to be with DLC, it's really a shame that stuff keeps falling apart.

It's not any fault of Harmonix, really. Multiple hardware revisions of the 360, to help combat the 3RRoD, have created an inconsistency on how the disc will be read. Cracking discs and DRE's are basically due the cheap media that EA used. The instruments (I believe) were drawn up by HMX, but EA made them so I'd say they're both to blame for the instruments. They've also, just like every other game with online, released gameplay/functionality patches to their game to cover up past boo boo's and make things more accessible. So really, there's not much thats actually HarmoniX's fault that we can blame them for. Maybe some of the DLC choices...;) To an extent I can agree, but only to a point.

In both your situations, it would not hurt to clear your systems cache. But it WILL remove all updates (not saves or anything however) Find out how here (http://www.joystiq.com/2006/06/09/xbox-360-hdd-cache-clear-code-discovered/)

[Psygnosis]

I'm just going to add that I have this problem as well. We have two 360's here, one is mine the other, well isn't. Both are non-HDMI Xbox's with Samsung drives. I'm actually on my 3rd 360 now and my drive has almost always yet inconsistently given me DRE on many games, Burnout and Portal come to mind along with Rock Band.

I get the errors on DLC quite often and every once in a while with songs on the disc. Yet the other 360 has never gotten any disc read errors nor had any other problems. I called Microsoft on this recently and the lady in India told me that it was my game save, which it's not. I can take my HDD along with the game and use them on the other 360 and it works just fine.

I should probably call again, but I just dont feel like it and I think my warranty is up anyway. I'm half temped to just buy a new DVD drive from here https://secure.llamma.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=73_86 swap the board off my current drive and put it in my 360.

[SM2535]

I just started having an issue with this error today. I've been playing the game for a solid two weeks now, and all of a sudden I get this error message today. I boot up the game, and after the "ROCK BAND Press Start" screen, it tries to load up the main menu (Solo, Multiplayer, etc.) and then freezes and gives me the "disc is unreadable" message. Any ideas?

[Zebraq]

i sent my disc back to EA on friday, so hopefully i'll get a replacement within the next few weeks. the crack on the inner ring of my disc was really noticeable. it was located on the holographic foil on the inner ring, and it traveled all the way up to the artwork on the upper surface of the disc. i know for a fact that this is why rock band wasn't working, and it's very disheartening to know that i deleted all of my game data in order to initially remedy my situation. (which did nothing.) now when i get the game back, i have to start all over from scratch... (and i was almost done the game on every instrument, not to mention the world tour...)

[WhiteHot]

Both are non-HDMI Xbox's with Samsung drives.
I should probably call again, but I just dont feel like it and I think my warranty is up anyway. I'm half temped to just buy a new DVD drive from here https://secure.llamma.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=73_86 swap the board off my current drive and put it in my 360.

So, that means they are both pre-zephyr/falcon considering neither have an HDMI port. I wouldn't recommend buying the same drive that is giving you issues (Samsung); I'd at least search for the BenQ drive. Hitachi has the most widespread issues it seems, so both of those seem to be out of the question (at least in my mind)



Any ideas?

Clear your 360's cache. (http://www.joystiq.com/2006/06/09/xbox-360-hdd-cache-clear-code-discovered/) See if that helps. Good luck.

[SM2535]

Clear your 360's cache. See if that helps. Good luck.

No luck. It looks like I have the beginning of a ring on the underside of the disc. I've heard this is possible by moving the XBox while the game is playing. Is there any truth to this?

[AnEternalEnigma]

Clearing the cache didn't help me either.

[Psygnosis]

So, that means they are both pre-zephyr/falcon considering neither have an HDMI port. I wouldn't recommend buying the same drive that is giving you issues (Samsung); I'd at least search for the BenQ drive. Hitachi has the most widespread issues it seems, so both of those seem to be out of the question (at least in my mind)Well getting a different brand drive would mean I would have to figure out how to flash the new drive with the key from my old one, if I just get another Samsung, I can just swap the circuit boards. Otherwise it'll only play movies and it wont let me play any games.

[WhiteHot]

^

I suppose thats true but I'm thinking of this like a drill and bits for lack of a better example. It's not that the drill or the bit are not working, but in combination with the wrong screws it may work for a while and then 'strip out' and get stuck or not work. I'd rather not replace the drive ('bit') than try a new brand of drive (new 'screw') as if the 'bit' didn't work the first time, chances are, it won't the second time. I could very well be wrong however.


I've heard this is possible by moving the XBox while the game is playing. Is there any truth to this?

This is definitely true. I had my 360 in the vertical position playing GoW and it fell over when I bumped it and scratched the disc so bad that it instantly wouldn't work and left a huge visible ring about half way through the disc. If RB has been running and your 360 got bumped, the cord got pulled, kicked/whatever that probably did it.

[Krutzak]

4) Do you have a 'zephyr' or 'falcon' 360. This can be done by looking at your 360's power bar; 175 watts is a falcon model, 203 is a zephyr model. Also state if you console is an elite, non-elite, halo, etc.



So, that means they are both pre-zephyr/falcon considering neither have an HDMI port. I wouldn't recommend buying the same drive that is giving you issues (Samsung); I'd at least search for the BenQ drive. Hitachi has the most widespread issues it seems, so both of those seem to be out of the question (at least in my mind)

FYI, the first generation of 360s w/o the HDMI is the Xenon (using a 203W supply).

[Psygnosis]

I suppose thats true but I'm thinking of this like a drill and bits for lack of a better example. It's not that the drill or the bit are not working, but in combination with the wrong screws it may work for a while and then 'strip out' and get stuck or not work. I'd rather not replace the drive ('bit') than try a new brand of drive (new 'screw') as if the 'bit' didn't work the first time, chances are, it won't the second time. I could very well be wrong howeverWell I don't think my 360(drill) or the game(screw) killed my DVD drive(bit). What do you do when a drill bit wears out, pop in a new bit. I figured I got a bad drive, as it has always given me issues.

While they do appear to be more prone to problems, not all Samsung drives are bad as evidenced by the other 360 that we have here. It has a Samsung drive and has no issues. Besides this seems like it would be the easiest fix, rather then filing down a different bit to fit make it in the drill, I just replace the "tip" on the bit that already fits.

Analogies are fun :D

[whopperdown]

After having 4 disc read errors today after playing DLC songs i decided to take some desperate measures. i located the scratch on the inner ring on the bottom of the disc (on the xbox label) and put a piece of tape over the scratch.

I just finished playing for about 4 hours and not one error. The game loaded noticably slower initially, and sometimes loading songs takes a while, but as long as i get no errors i don't care.

[drWaLLs]

I am getting my xbox 360 replaced, so maybe that will help..

[Pnazz]

I was getting disc read errors whenever I tried to play on solo quickplay or when I tried going into the rock shop. All I did was us a cd/dvd cleaner and I haven't had an issue since.

[Zebraq]

I had some brutal issues with Rock Band, which started as system hangs and dirty disc errors after DLC, and escalated to not being able to even boot up the game. Looking at the inner ring of the disc, there was a noticeable crack in the holographic foil. I sent my disc in to EA to be replaced, and I finally recieved my replacement disc yesterday. I'm happy to say that the game now works perfectly! No more problems, everything works the way it should.
If you're having DLC issues or you can't even boot up the game, make sure you check for the little crack on the inner ring. If it's there, ship it to EA and get the replacement. It is the definite fix!!:D

[Goofyboy]

I'm having this issue randomly no matter what songs I'm playing, alone, tour, quickplay, drums, guit... Really, random!

Never had any problems with this error in any other game and my disc is crystal clear. I'll check if I see a dent in the central hologram tonight!

[drWaLLs]

I am getting my xbox 360 replaced, so maybe that will help..

Got it back on Thursday and my problems have been erased, I had already had the disc replaced and the problem persisted immediately - Don't know if this will help others but wanted to give everyone an update.

Note: This is also the quietest my Xbox has ever sounded :D

[gorgo99]

OK, I'm having this issue too, and I THINK I FOUND THE CAUSE.

My disc, although treated lovingly by only adult users, also has the dreaded crack on the inner ring.

I have never knowingly moved my 360, but I know I have seen, when playing with friends, the occasional instance of a guitarist or singer accidentally pulling their usb cord out, which instantly pauses the game. Could that small "tug" be what is causing the 360 to scratch the disc?

The only other option I can think of for the inner ring crack is a too-tight spindle in the game case.

I'll be sending my disc back to EA for replacement.

What do you think?

[Frederf]

I got my replacement disk from EA and I'll let you know if that fixes the problem. (Replacing the DVD drive in the Xbox did not.)

[kieswetterant]

my disc for PS2 wont even be read and i just bought the game. If i were to exchange it would i trade the entire set in or just the disc? :confused:

[Frederf]

The PS2 is known to have separate read issues that are not in line with the nature of this thread. It's usually that the laser unit in the PS2 is old/tired and Rock Band requires more out of it than some other games. Try searching this forum for "PS2" "Laser" "disk" or something and see what comes up.

P.S. So far with the new DVD (XB360) there's not been one DRE!

[WhiteHot]

Note: This is also the quietest my Xbox has ever sounded :D

Probably a BenQ. Like mine :D. Quieter by alot, but still a loud console! Compared to my Wii.


I got my replacement disk from EA and I'll let you know if that fixes the problem. (Replacing the DVD drive in the Xbox did not.)

It was with you I had a conversation about drill bits and drills right? :p




P.S. So far with the new DVD (XB360) there's not been one DRE!

So switching out the dvd drive didn't work, so what'd you do? Leave it in? Was it the same model as the one you replaced? The new DVD was a replacement and is running in your replaced drive is what your saying right?

[lissajous]

Just to add to the thread - my copy turned up in the post today. Got back late from work and set everything up. The very first track played was DLC (Still Alive)...the Wife Acceptance Factor was immense (well done HMX!). Played for about 15 minutes, then grabbed some food, leaving game running on menu screen. Returned to the playing, and I started to get Dirty Disc Errors. None of the disc-based tracks worked...tried 3 or 4 of them. The disc is as perfect as the day it came out of the box....because that's today!

My 360 is a pampered early EU release. It has very little use, mainly XBLA stuff - don't have much time to play, and have all 3 current-gen consoles, so everything gets light usage. I believe it's a Samsung drive in there, but will have to check tomorrow. The console has never been moved when it's on, and has always been kept horizontal.

The drive grinds a little just before the error comes up, is this the same as everyone else gets?

I haven't tried cleaning the drive yet, just turned the console off to let it chill out and see if it's a temporary thing. I heard bad things about drive head cleaners and DVD drives, but I don't know if that's just FUD.

I have to say I'm in two minds about the game. On the one hand, I absolutely loved it....the little I got to play. On the other, this is quite inexcusable - there's got to be a software patch that HMX can come out with - if it's something to do with drives spinning up / down, then that's gonna be an easy fix.

Any news from HMX/EA as to a resolution to the problem? And would me upgrading to an Elite guarantee to solve this? The 120 Gig and HDMI seems quite tempting with all the DLC, but not if it's going to head me to a world of pain and heartache!

Cheers,

Lissajous

[SnowballTheDog]

My disc started crapping out on me yesterday, and I found the little crack in the art side, so I'm going I'm going to hypothesize that's where the problem stems from. I called for a replacement today and the fellow who assisted me was very nice. The replacement is on it's way and should be here in a few days, free of charge. Kudos to EA for excellent customer service.

[epb2001]

I've had this problem quite a bit as well. Very frustrating. I'll have to see about getting a disc cleaner. I wouldn't mind the issue so much if the game saved before the error.

[Ashiitaka]

Has anyone found a rock solid solution to this yet ?

It seems like the more DLC I get the worse the issue becomes, Also I find if I have downloaded other things then also the issue is made worse.

I have a year after release replaced EU 360 and have only ever had issues with RB and GH3 (which is ironic as both have DLC)

Is it worth me formatting my HDD ?

Writing this I havent tried booting the game without the HDD connected to see if it makes a difference.

Does anyone else notice the problem getting worse with time ? My disc is perfect with no scratches?

Its getting to the stage already that the game is unplayable :(

[protomech]

I get an 'disc read error' maybe 1 in 10 times after finishing a DLC song. When it happens, you can hear the disc spin down at the end. Pressing continue on the results display then results in a 'disc read error'.

[Ashiitaka]

I would like to add on to my previous post as to something I have found that seems *nock on wood* to have resolved my issue.

My game got to the stage that it was failing after every single DLC and thats even if it could get onto the mode select page after the intro movie.

So I decided to bite the bullet and completely deleted the entire rockband area from my HDD, save games and music - the lot

I then loaded the game up, loaded fine

Then using just the in-game song downloader went through and downloaded all of my tracks again (about 30-40), also I didnt download any of the song previews.

I then shut down my 360 and booted it up again. Loaded RB and all seemed good.
Managed to get into the menu and start a game, create a character, and I proceeded to go through a load of the DLC songs.

I played for around 2 hours using purely DLC and it didnt throw a read error up once.

Obviously this could very well have been a coincidence and I will be able to confirm if its still an issue tomorrow, but this seems too convenient that after clearing out all the saved data it seems to be working.

And downloading all the songs a third time is not high on my to-do lists I hope it works again when I try it tomorrow.

[Frederf]

So switching out the dvd drive didn't work, so what'd you do? Leave it in? Was it the same model as the one you replaced? The new DVD was a replacement and is running in your replaced drive is what your saying right?

Yes. I left it in and then used the replacement DVD in the replacement drive. It makes all kinds of racket that sounds awful like it's destroying the disk and even has some "I'm going to fail" pauses during read. However it has never done a DRE since the new DVD and the drive has not scratched the disk at all. The DVD is Hubble-mirror perfect.

[Negative]

I last posted in this thread back in April after I bought a new 360 arcade to try and solve this problem. Just posting to say that I haven't had one disc read error since. I still have the original disc, so that wasn't the problem for me.

Hopefully everyone can find a solution to their problem, even if it's replacing their 360.

[emato]

1) What kind of xbox drive do you have?

Hitachi

2) Do you have any other games that have dlc streamed from it like this game?

No

3) Does switching startup from dashboard to disc help you?

No (neither did clearing the cache)

4) Do you have a 'zephyr' or 'falcon' 360. This can be done by looking at your 360's power bar; 175 watts is a falcon model, 203 is a zephyr model. Also state if you console is an elite, non-elite, halo, etc.

203 zephyr -- elite

5) Is the inside ring of your Rock Band disc cracked in one or more places? [Look closely!]

Yes. On the label side the inner ring has 2 cracks (almost at like 12 and 9 clock position)

Had to replace a pedal so far -- and until recently didn't have much d/l content. Got a new pedal and some content --- now disk read errors. [sigh]

[Frederf]

Well my first DRE with yesterday. Wouldn't you know it it would be just after I 5-starred Expert Green Grass & High Tides (guitar). :mad::(

Disk still looks perfect. I don't get it.

[Ashiitaka]

My problem has just come back again, it was after downloading a single extra track!

this is a shocking issue... after putting over £160 into a game I expect to be able to play it.

[WhiteHot]

this is a shocking issue... after putting over £160 into a game I expect to be able to play it.

Rest assured this is a culmination of MANY issues at once, not simply a conspiracy to steal more money from you.:)

[emato]

I just decided to try the game again before either buying a new disk or begging for one via RMA whatever ...

Put the disk in -
Played Solo Tour on expert / drums and about 6 or 7 songs. No problems. None. Took disk out and shut system off and waited a good 15-20 min.

Put disk back in -
Played Solo Tour on expert / drums and this time went straight to Tokyo (DLC) and picked Gimmie Three Steps -Lynyrd Skynyrd. Did fine, 5* and when it went to save ---- There it was -- Dirty Disk Read error bit.

So for sure I have a cracked inner ring on my disk ---- but I seem to always be able to play songs from the disk without the error.

As soon as I go to the DLC stuff --- as soon as I finish the song ---DDR error! Can this truly be caused by the cracks? Seems to me ALL songs would be messed up - especially after an hour or more playing. But hey, if it's for sure the disk, I'll get a new one. But I'm not sure that will cure this and I'm into getting some more DLC BUT without knowing if a new disk will cure this problem - I'm scared to DL more songs.

It's very frustrating. I'm wayyyyyy oldddddd and take way good care of my system. It's horizontal - no bumping of the box and very careful care of the disk. Still, I've got 2 (TWO) cracks on the inner most ring and have never experienced this before. Yet all the disk only songs play fine. It's the DL content stuff that caused a read error.

What to do? For sure having a cracked disk is not good -- but will getting a new one cure things? Have others been cured by replacing the disk?

Confused and frustraed with not being able to play my favorite game ... AND mostly, buy not being able to play my DLC stuff! :confused:

[Frederf]

The inner ring cracks seem to affect DLC because the disk spins down during DLC (or long pauses) and the cracks affect its ability to spin back up.

[emato]

The inner ring cracks seem to affect DLC because the disk spins down during DLC (or long pauses) and the cracks affect its ability to spin back up.

That makes sense as it does seem to chug and make gasping noise as it 'tries' to spin back up. It seems to make that same noise elsewhere on THAT disk too but some how pulls itself through.

I will order the replacement disk today but I'll hold back on more DLC - hard since it's TUE!

Thanks for the encouragement! Hope things are still working for you. Please keep us posted if you start having trouble again.

emato (Karin)

XBLGT: Thorn 09

[Ashiitaka]

Does anyone else get the same issue when starting the game up ?

After pressing start on the title screen the game will hang before bringing up the menu and then give me a DRE ...

maybe i just need a new disc :|

[emato]

The inner ring cracks seem to affect DLC because the disk spins down during DLC (or long pauses) and the cracks affect its ability to spin back up.

Ok, just got off the phone with support. The guy says NO WAY the inner cracks on the disk are causing my problems. He had no suggestions other than to call MS and see if there is a patch or something.

Just like to add that I've done the deleting the game data file via the Memory blade - as well as clearing the cache numerous times.

Can't play any DLC now --- no correction --- I can play, get the dirty disk read error and no way to save the score - shut down and restart.
That sux.

Any suggestions?

*** added info after trying some more things ***

Now cannot return from the Music Store -- can browse etc but when I try and com back I get the error. I can still play all disk content - but none of the DLC (after playing when the score comes up).

So do I need a disk? A patch? All my other games play fine. R6V, GRAW2, CoD4 etc... even arcade games --

What to do?

[BayouBengal032]

i finally found this forum (never really saw tech support til now)

it seems like i cant even play DLC songs because this disc read error pops up at least once every 4 DLC songs i play.

i didnt read all 25 or so pages before posting but this is really getting on my nerves. my disc does have a couple minor little scratches on it but as do some of my other games and they are fine. all the on disc songs work fine.

my xbox does go from vertical (in my room) to horizonal (in the living room) so i do move it a good bit but ive never had this error before (actually once playing guitar hero 2, i dont remember if it was a disc song or DLC)

so does anyone have any insight on this? im gunna try and go back to read some of these pages so if anyone had a solution i apologize for not finding it earlier. im just a little annoyed at this problem. if someone does know something can they link me to the page or something plz and let us all know.

Thanks.

[Frederf]

Ok, just got off the phone with support. The guy says NO WAY the inner cracks on the disk are causing my problems. He had no suggestions other than to call MS and see if there is a patch or something

Just because the EA support guy says something, doesn't mean it's true. I had these DREs all the time before I got a new disk and they've only happened once since.

[WhiteHot]

Ok, just got off the phone with support. The guy says NO WAY the inner cracks on the disk are causing my problems.

Explain to me, or explain what he said, that made you believe a cracked disc trying to be read by a laser won't cause a Disc Read Error?

Just say it aloud, and it will make sense. A cracked disc will OBVIOUSLY be the cause of frustration. Just take Frederf as an example.

Remove the cracked disc, the laser can read it, and everything is fine.:o

[emato]

Explain to me, or explain what he said, that made you believe a cracked disc trying to be read by a laser won't cause a Disc Read Error?

Just say it aloud, and it will make sense. A cracked disc will OBVIOUSLY be the cause of frustration. Just take Frederf as an example.

Remove the cracked disc, the laser can read it, and everything is fine.:o

Ok, I can't remember verbatim but he said since the cracks were not on the data side AND because they were in the holographic area on the printed side (2 of them) that there would be NO effect on reading the disk.

I even told him about this forum and how we (all of us) have been posting info about this and it seems a new (different) disk solved things - for the most part.

Also explained to him my box has never been vertical, never moved while in use - only around adults (adult - me!) and I can't figure the cracks or why only the DLC is affected.

Anyway, I will be getting a new disk tomorrow and will post an update. I am so missing drumming!!!!

[grassr00ts]

I'm having the same problem as mentioned a few pages back. I cannot select Solo or Multiplayer without it having an error reading the disc. The only thing I can do is play "Practice" on songs. That's it.