XBOX360 fails to load games initially

Hi all,
I have a strange problem with my xbox360 and i'm not sure if it's a hardware or software problem. It first started around a month or so ago and i have finally got around to posting here.
The problem i am having is that whenever i put a disk in to play, the disk drive whirs a bit and makes the usual clicking and buzzing sounds then... nothing. The text below the cd icon on the dashboard goes from "reading" back to "open". I open the tray and close it again and then it will succeed to read the disk on the 2nd to 5th try.
I got Red Faction about a month ago and with it was an xbox software update to get the new dashboard (the one where you can make your own avatar). But i remember this problem was before that, although i think it was less frequent. It may have been up to a month before i got RF.
Using another new feature of the new update, ripping games to HD, i copied Fable 2 and Red Faction to the HD. That slightly sped up loading times and was a lot quieter when playing, but did not help with the loading problem.
I have googled it and found a few suggestions like cleaning out the disk drive and laser, but i'm not sure how specific to my problem. Is it a dirty laser? Something with the disks? None of them have any scratches (maybe just little ones but they were there before i had this problem). Given that it is now failing every time i put a game but always succeeds eventually i am not sure what hardware problem could cause this.
So... any help?
thanks

 

im sorry to tell you this but i think the optical drive is breaking. i think that eventually the OD will not be able to read the cds at all, this happened to me THREE times and i had to send my 360 in for repairs. I would say to send in you 360 now, because if you keep playing games like that the optical drive may wreck the cds.

However dont think your alone I don't know a single person who hasnt sent in there 360 and whenever i did it the only flaw was it took a month, (but my friend got his back in a week)

 

Damn, i almost had to send it in the first day i got it because the hard drive wasn't properly connected. Now it looks like another component has crapped out on me. :cry

In just what way do you think it is "breaking"? Laser out of alignment or something? I am guessing that a disk cleaner won't help.

Uh oh. I hope it hasn't wrecked them already. A while ago (shortly before i this problem arose) i noticed that a few of my disks refracted the light a bit differently. In the rainbow coloured light that normally goes from the centre to the outside I could see faint concentric rings that looked like warping of the disk surface. At first i though it was a problem but i thought it might have been the way the disks are made so i tried not to worry too much about it. You don't think it could have been caused by the laser do you? Does the laser even have enough power to do permanent damage to a disk?

 

While reading up on the problem, i found this on Wikipedia:

I wonder if that has anything to do with my problem. I said that it happened before the update but it maybe it's not as bad as a hardware failure (hopefully).

btw, how do i edit a previous post? EDIT: hey, i can edit this one but not the last.

 

well i have heard that the laser has been known to damage disks but yours should be fine. replace your 360 and ask a friend if you can go test your disks to see if they are broken on his 360. if they are you may be able to replace them with a damaged disk replacement program that can be found on the 360 website. i would try to find the link but my internet is very slow right now. none of my disks have broken when i had the OD problems but Microsoft cheaped out on the OD so who knows whats wrong with it.

 

Ok, so before i fork out the cash to get my xbox repaired, i would like to confirm whether the problem will get worse of if i can just put up with it. You said my disks should be fine but you also said that the optical drive may wreck them.
A quick way to test them would be to use my old xbox (i.e. non-360). I don't think any 360 games are compatible with the old xbox but if i put an old game in the 360 and it plays fine then that will tell me that the problem may be with the disks. I will also check all my 360 games (i haven't played some in ages) to see if they look ok.

fyi, none of my disks are scratched or anything... luckily.

 

how old is your 360 cause you may still be in warranty. and if/when you do call Microsoft they might ask you if you use a any third party cooling fans SAY NO because it WILL void your warranty if you say yes.

ALSO: it does not hurt to call Microsoft for support, yes the will ask you stupid question but they might put you on the road to fixing your 360, its free so you have nothing to lose.

 

Thanks for the advice, i guess i should call Microsoft support just to see what they say. Although i did the same thing when i first got it and the HD wouldn't work and they weren't much help.
I have actually had it for less than a year (i thought it was longer) so it should still be under warranty. In fact, when i said i hadn't played some games for ages i was thinking of my original xbox games, so i'm not sure if there are any that i haven't played on the 360 since the problem.
Update on the possible disk damage, to best describe the coloured rings i mentioned before, they look like how light refracts from oil/petrol on the ground or in the sea after an oil spill, i.e. swirly rainbow colours.

 

Update on this problem, the other day i checked a few of my disks for those weird colours and i couldn't see any. I was looking at in under natural light whereas before i was using fluorescent light, so maybe it was just something with the spectrum of light that was being refracted. Well whatever it was, i don't think it is a problem.

I'm not sure if i mentioned this before, but the xbox will always fail to load the disk at exactly the same spot each time. And that differs for each game. Red Faction fails to load from the dashboard but GTA 4 will load fine but stall somewhere between the title screen and loading the save game. One time Perfect Dark Zero loaded multi player levels ok but would hang about half way though loading a specific single player level.
It is not always at these spots but happens consistently enough for me to think that it is a problem with the disks.

I will try with an old xbox game and see if that loads ok.

 

did you recently recover you profile at a friends house before this problem?

 

No i didn't. Does that require one to be a member of Xbox Live because i am not, and i don't even have my xbox connected to the internet. Are you thinking virus?

 

No i don't think its a virus. well what I would say is, ask a friend that has a 360 to come over and bring his 360. try your memory in his 360 and do a few tests. next try to put his memory in your 360 and test to see whether games will work. and if you're 360 doesn't want to work then its a hardware related issue, but if you memory the one causing problems then you will know its that.either way when you find out whats causing problems you will have to contact Microsoft to fix your gaming console.