Problems With OXM Splinter Cell Demo Disc?!! (1 Viewer)

[Jay Mitchosky]

WTF?!! After eagerly awaiting the December issue of Official Xbox Magazine I was incredibly disappointed to find the disc could not be read. Actually two discs (I bought a second after trying the first), purchased from two different stores, in two different locations, who likely received their shipments at two different times. Both with the same result. There does not seem to be anything physically wrong with the disc. All my other OXM and Xbox discs play fine.

Has anybody else had this problem?

 

[Dan B]

I've heard of other people who have problems with the OXM discs in general. Supposedly, there is a solution that involves "boiling"! You boil the disc.
I can try to find the instructions or a link for you if you are interested in trying it. There might even be a link at the Official Xbox Magazine website, because I think they are the ones who originally recommended the technique.
-Dan

 

[Jay Mitchosky]

You've got to be kidding me. I'll try anything. Like I said, this is the first one that's given me problems.

 

[Brian J Dupuis]

I can vouch for the reported success of boiling. Never did it, never had the need (including the one you're having problems with), but have heard of many people successfully resurrecting dead discs this way. Good luck.

 

[Jay Mitchosky]

Found a couple of links here on "boiling". Tried it. To my utter amazement it works. That is completely bizarre.

 

[Brian J Dupuis]

Oh my god. Well, congrats, and enjoy the demo .

 

[Dan B]

Glad to hear it works. I wouldn't believe it, but I found thousands of posts confirming it. For future reference, these are the basic instructions that I gathered from various sources:
1. Tie a piece of string through the center hole of the disc.
2. Get a decent sized pot.
3. Fill pot 2/3 with water.
4. Boil
5. Lay disc in water, data side down, keeping the string hanging out so you can retrieve the disc later.
6. Boil for about 30 seconds. You will see the disc start to warp/bend slightly - THIS IS ABSOLUTELY NORMAL. JUST MAKE SURE THE DISC DOES NOT TOUCH ANY PART OF THE POT
7. Remove disc from water. (disc will return to it's original shape)
8. Immediately place on a flat surface, label down.
9. If there is excess water, wipe CAREFULLY from the disc. (soft cloth towel - do not use paper towels!) Start at the center of the disc, near the hole and WIPE OUT toward the edge. Wipe the whole disc this way, and then clean the little hole, because some water will be in there.
10. Wait until the disc is room temperature before putting in Xbox!
-Dan B

 

[Dave Falasco]

I saw those instructions in the beta forums, but they were immediately followed up with a warning NOT to boil a disc so long that it starts to warp. 10 seconds ought to do it...supposedly there is an oily film that will come off of the disc; as soon as the film comes off, take the disc out.
Strange, yes, but I've read dozens and dozens of posts saying that it worked for faulty beta disks. Thankfully I've never had to try it.
If all else fails, you can also try boiling your Xbox, but I wouldn't recommend it. For one thing, where would you get a pot that big?

 

[Andrew s wells]

oops. real post is below. :b

 

[Andrew s wells]

"if all else fails, you could try boiling your Xbox..." . funniest thing i've read in a while. Thanks dave.

 

[hwshi]

boiling works as i can attest to it resolving my beta live disc issues.however as stated above do NOT boil the disc till it changes shape(lol)! 20/30 secs is fine.

 

[Romar Armas]

This is not a new thing. I have been boiling discs since the Dreamcast Magazine demo disc days.

 

[Bjoern Roy]

Huh, I didn't even know you could use discs WITHOUT first boiling them. Learning something new every day!
That sounds really convenient. Simply take the disc and use it. Doh! Never thought of that.

 

[Grady Hollums]

This is amazing! I never would have believed it! Well what ever floats your disk...heh I couldn't resist!

 

[Rusty Ray]

i used a pair of tongs and boiled it for a minute exactly and it worked for me...

 

[Leroy]

Yup, had to boil my last 2 OXM discs. One that would not load at all, another that would load but take reaaaaaly long.

 

[ChrisV]

So I'm reading this thinking, "You poor bastards, BOILING a disk? That ain't right.". But of course yesterday I pick up the new mag (finally made it to the island) and sure enough the disk won't work. So, I broke out the pots and pans and ten seconds of boiling later (the whole time shaking my head that I was doing this) I was playing the Panzer and Splinter Cell demos. Thanks guys