Halo 3: ODST Forum
This topic has moved here: Subject: Disc Unreadable
  • Subject: Disc Unreadable
Subject: Disc Unreadable

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I'm an old school gamer, but I'm still hip. Wait, when referring to oneself as, "Hip", does it reverse its meaning?

I just thought I'd give my experience. I've had two issues, but neither have given me a messaged error. In case it matters I have an old Xbox 360 Pro that has never had RROD and is now out of warranty.

1. Tonight, 9/25/09, during the "Romeo" level on the rooftops, I noticed longer than usual pauses during loading. I also noticed my disc drive making a repetitive sound like it was accessing back and forth. It didn't effect gameplay, other than the strange pauses.

I finished the level and saved my game and quite to go watch some TV.

2. Later I turned on my Xbox 360 with the game still in it and the system didn't register that game disc at all. I ejected and closed it and all it showed was the "Eject" button. I swapped it for Halo 3 and it still did not register it as being inserted. I swapped it for the closest other game I had, Ridge Racer 6, and it showed up waiting to be played. I swapped back to ODST and it worked. I booted in, played some "Rookie" up to the second, "Buck" level near the end of the game. Everything seemed fine and I decided to call it a night after watching the cut scene.

As gameplay started I went to the menu and it seemed to trigger the drive spasm I mentioned before. I saved and quit. After turning the system off I decided to check it again and turned it back on. The system read the disc fine.

I hope this helps, I've decided to install it to my hard-drive just in case it could be warring out my disc drive. Hopefully it's something that can be patched and no permanent damage has been done.

Great game, hope you can resolve the issue.

[Edited on 09.26.2009 3:01 AM PDT]

  • 09.26.2009 1:59 AM PDT
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Posted by: TheGr8Sandman
Cannot play Halo 3 at all anymore. Although my multiplayer for ODST works fine. So it is definitely a software issue. My guess is that Bungie servers and/or people's older x-box's hard drive are getting confused with two versions of Halo 3. I'm hoping it's that simple. I did however play the game for a while and it crashed after I completed Data Hive. Also, I just attempted to play a game of Battlefield 1943 and it crashed after about a minute. That too has never happened. Good Luck. I await a solution quite impatiently.
Interesting..I tried a game of battlefield after i read this and no problems there. Then I downloaded a demo and my xbox froze like it has all night on the mythic mp disc...I wonder if this is related to the update, since this xbox has froze one time that i can remember around when cod5 came out. All these strange things started happening after the 22nd.

[Edited on 09.26.2009 2:20 AM PDT]

  • 09.26.2009 2:12 AM PDT
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In my opinion, after read about same errors on forza 3 and BL demo, it's all latest 360's firmware update fault.

Please notice that if now i turn on the console the game is going to work for a bit, then it crashes again.

Please notice also that i cannot understand when it's going on a technical malfunction or a "prepared path".
When i played Tayari plaza (mission 2) the first time, the game was going to show me the initial cutscene more and more times (like a loop). When i pressed A (to quit the footage after 2 views) i unlocked the achievement "Detective" (first evidence of the mystery found).

What i've written in my previous post it's normal: i just pulled out the dvd, not made "quit and save", so it's fine that the save was dated sept 22nd.

Is there any way to simply uninstall latest 360 firmware update?

Hope you will understand my english

  • 09.26.2009 2:35 AM PDT
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Posted by: Caleb The Game
In my opinion, after read about same errors on forza 3 and BL demo, it's all latest 360's firmware update fault.

Please notice that if now i turn on the console the game is going to work for a bit, then it crashes again.

Please notice also that i cannot understand when it's going on a technical malfunction or a "prepared path".
When i played Tayari plaza (mission 2) the first time, the game was going to show me the initial cutscene more and more times (like a loop). When i pressed A (to quit the footage after 2 views) i unlocked the achievement "Detective" (first evidence of the mystery found).

What i've written in my previous post it's normal: i just pulled out the dvd, not made "quit and save", so it's fine that the save was dated sept 22nd.

Is there any way to simply uninstall latest 360 firmware update?

Hope you will understand my english


Im getting the same problem in Forza 3 demo.

and my odst still crashes after the first cut scene...is just horrible.

Im thinking about buying a new 360 to be honest.I mean is not just odst..my 360 also think that battlefield 1943 requires a disk and says to clean the disk when its an XBLA game.It also randomly freezes sometimes.

Its really pissing me off...Im to the point where is not even fun playing my 360 because Im just waiting for it to crash or do something stupid.

I do think is the updates that might effect some 360's mostly old ones probably.

  • 09.26.2009 2:56 AM PDT
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Posted by: SavageAcE


Im getting the same problem in Forza 3 demo.

and my odst still crashes after the first cut scene...is just horrible.

Im thinking about buying a new 360 to be honest.I mean is not just odst..my 360 also think that battlefield 1943 requires a disk and says to clean the disk when its an XBLA game.It also randomly freezes sometimes.

Its really pissing me off...Im to the point where is not even fun playing my 360 because Im just waiting for it to crash or do something stupid.

I do think is the updates that might effect some 360's mostly old ones probably.


You just remembered me and Devil May cry 4.

I never understood why the game freezed randomly. I had to play it on another xbox (older than mine and a 4-times RROD), because there was no way to solve it.

But I'm not going to spend anything for xbox. No way. I would prefer (if I had money) to buy a HD 5870 for my pc (where a gtx 295 is currently installed).

But let me know, did your problems with BF and forza demo appear after latest 360 update (it was a firmware update put online a few days before ODST dayone)?

  • 09.26.2009 3:28 AM PDT
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hey guys i dunno if this is useless but today my odst is working perfectly and yesterday it had the problem of disk unreadable i havent had an update or anything any reason why this might have happened?

  • 09.26.2009 3:33 AM PDT
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Posted by: jackanator141
hey guys i dunno if this is useless but today my odst is working perfectly and yesterday it had the problem of disk unreadable i havent had an update or anything any reason why this might have happened?


in mission 2 try to:
- save and reload games;
- die often and see if it respawns you back at the mission's initial checkpoint;
- play a couple of hours;

if all works fine (i doubt it without any update) it will called the mistery of halo odst.

Hey, wait a minute, what about if this "mistery" is the "mistery" mentoned in "Detective" achievements? ;)

  • 09.26.2009 3:40 AM PDT
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ive tried all that and its fine so im quite happy

  • 09.26.2009 4:10 AM PDT
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they rushed the game im sorry i payed 35 quid for a 5 hour campaign and a firefight mode.. and a halo 3 multiplayer which i already have and now i myt need to pay for a new hard drive or xbox 360.... cmon bungie i love ur halo seris dnt dissapoint me

  • 09.26.2009 4:10 AM PDT

Posted by: Monoflow
I told you guys that Bungie informs us of anything new. We just have to keep believing. Sounds frustrating but let's be patient. Bungie haven't forgotten or ignored us.

i have been patient since release day. but as mentioned this is not the only game doing this. fight night 4 is having problems aswell and it does not wash when people suggest getting a new console. anyway enough of the rant. my frustration is more at ms and these 2 new titles that do not work

  • 09.26.2009 4:10 AM PDT
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comon cant u just get a xbox and test it out like a old one then see wot the problem is

  • 09.26.2009 4:21 AM PDT

And I am back. I am surprised by how little people are taking Bungie's advice and PM'ing Alpha. Everyone please go back to page 9 and PM him with your EXACT problem. The more data they get, the better. Also, I am staying with my theories that this was an update problem on Microsoft's side that happened somewhere down the line that is now causing games and demos not to work

  • 09.26.2009 4:27 AM PDT

someone please fix this problem i've tried everything.did i just throw away $64?

  • 09.26.2009 4:46 AM PDT
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i have sent a pm to tht test alpha dude i swear to god if this is gunna take around 3-4 weeks to sort out bungie uv just lost a fan

  • 09.26.2009 4:54 AM PDT

does putting the disc in hot water work?somebody please tell me.

  • 09.26.2009 4:58 AM PDT
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Posted by: eric7341
does putting the disc in hot water work?somebody please tell me.


no dude u dnt get it its nuthing to do with the disc

  • 09.26.2009 5:00 AM PDT

It has been noted that "boiling" the disc has helped a select few, but I would strongly recommend holding off on that alternative. We just need to wait for Bungie or Microsoft to make an announcement. Boiling your disc may merely break it and then you won't be able to return it

  • 09.26.2009 5:14 AM PDT
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so anyones odst working then?

  • 09.26.2009 6:04 AM PDT
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well i thought i was cured from this problem but it happened on the fourth mission for me just now all the firefight is now working though so im quite content to wait i guess :)

  • 09.26.2009 6:05 AM PDT
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how did u get it to work for a little bit?

  • 09.26.2009 6:09 AM PDT
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well i left it turned off for about 8 hours ( i went to sleep) and then i woke up and it was going all well until just about 10 mins ago when it came up with the error so call it lucky ?

  • 09.26.2009 6:16 AM PDT

ya i had the same problems with odst and cod

  • 09.26.2009 6:21 AM PDT
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if the problem is indeed the new firmware or update, couldn't it be rolled back to previous versions.

  • 09.26.2009 6:27 AM PDT
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Guys, it's the update. I have a fairly brand new xbxo from 5 months now and i don't have xbl but my odst works perfectly.

  • 09.26.2009 6:29 AM PDT
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Posted by: DazMaz
Guys, it's the update. I have a fairly brand new xbxo from 5 months now and i don't have xbl but my odst works perfectly.


So you're saying that you didn't connect your xbox to XBL for 5 months, and it's working perfectly?

Anyone else with a less than 6 month xbox that was updated or not updated and can tell us whether they are getting the error? We might be one step closer to finding out what caused this.

It definitely seems to be an update from XBL that is causing this.

[Edited on 09.26.2009 6:39 AM PDT]

  • 09.26.2009 6:36 AM PDT