[Brian Johnson]

I searched the forum but didn't find anything regarding this, and the 4 page thread on Xbox & GTA didn't mention it. So I am starting new.
I received the GTA DoublePack for Christmas (thanks Ma).
I have never even seen the game, but since everyone was wetting the bed over this title, it was something I had to have.
So I opened the package, checked the disc(like I always do)for factory defects, & put it in the Xbox. Suddenly the "dirty disc" screen of death pops up. WTH.
Remove it, check the disc, re-insert it. Same thing.
Finally on the third try it started.
However, since I've been playing it, I think it has locked up in various parts of the game at least 3 or 4 times.
Are there any known problems with the game? I tried a google search but found anything.
My ultrashort review of the game: It's awesome. I see why it is so popular.

Thanks for any help,
Brian

[Alanna]

I have this two pack for the XBox (and what an upgrade it is from the PSpoo versions!) and no - there aren't any problems with it that I've seen in the few hours I've put into GTAIII and Vice City. Sounds like you've got a bum disc there. Did you check out the Vice City one to make sure its alright atleast? At any rate, you probably might want to try taking an aircan and using that to clean the surface of the disc, if still no go, its probably return time.

[Jay Mitchosky]

Are you also sure that it's not the drive? How old is your Xbox? I haven't had any problems with my copy.

[Dave F]

The GTA set is notorious for having problems with the Thompson drives. You might be limited to 3 options (in order of increasing difficulty): replace the Xbox, replace the drive, or try to tweak the drive.

It probably won't help in this scenario, but it's a quick & easy last ditch attempt: Try loading three different games into the Xbox, then try GTA again. This will flush out all of the GTA-related temp files on the Xbox.

-Dave

[Tony_L]

I get the same problem in ESPN Basketball 2K4 with my Thompson-drive-equipped Xbox. Whenever I try to use my custom soundtrack in conjunction some of the default, built-in songs, I only have to let the music play a few minutes to get the stupid dirty-disc error. This especially appalling because of the fact that both products are pretty recent manufactures (my Xbox around September, and ESPN Basketball came out last month I think), so legacy incompatibility is no excuse.

Worse is that I experience a host of other glitches: many FMV movies (examples: the start-up intros to Splinter Cell and Genma Onimusha, the "Features" clip in ESPN Basketball and many others) have this weird interlacing/combing artifact. In Syberia, the high-definition FMV sequences play squished (like, instead of 16x9, it's 9x16) and offset to the right. In Metal Gear Solid 2 Substance, the intro stutters ridiculously and sometimes even locks up and resets the system. I only have a few games or so, so who knows how many other games would suffer problems. Unbelievable. I buy consoles to escape from the errors, bugs, and hassles of the PC, you know?

Anyone have tips on how I should go about replacing my Xbox? I've had it for about a month, it'd be a hassle with all my harddrive saves, and I'm not even sure that I won't get another piece-of-shit Thompson drive (although I'm not entirely sure that Thompson is to blame for all of the aforementioned glitches). Not to mention that I'd rather deal with Microsoft than some department store that has nothing to do with the machine and its issues.

[JamesH]

I would put your most critical saves on a memory card and return the Xbox to the store you bought it at. Most of the new Xboxes have samsung drives now, so check the manufacture date when you get your new one.

[Brian Johnson]

Thanks everyone. Since my Xbox is nearly(if not over) a year old I imagine its the drive as suggested. The game has been doing alright last couple times I have played it.
Wonder if I could find a replacement drive on Ebay ??
Then again. I doubt I will do anything...