CD Cracks

[Angry_Gumball]

Some may have seen the topic I had in the RCT3 section about how my RCT3 disc cracked on the inner rim. I have it somewhat resolved and questions answered so I just deleted the topic as it was useless. I figured I'd post it here instead as this issue is more of a background to the question I have to ask.

 

Is it possible for a CD ROM drive to crack CDs in the center (Where the motor spindle thingy grabs the disc and spins it)? My RCT3 disc mysteriously cracked between yesterday and today. I'd rather find out so no more of my CDs/DVDs get eaten by my drive. How could I fix it if that's the case, or is it just a matter of replacing the drive as a whole?

 

Now, for those who wonder what the results were on the RCT3 issue, I e-mailed Atari Tech and turns out that I spent my hard-earned $40 for nothing. (Well, a year and a half use out of it). They told me that they don't replace the discs and recommended that I buy RCT3 Gold...like they need more of my hard-earned cash. I found out that I could use my Wild disc to play RCT3 but still am at a loss if I need to reformat my computer. I just hope my CD drive doesn't crack my Wild disc.

[CoasterFanatic]

In a 52X Reader a disc can literally explode. I think they even did a MythBusters on this one.

[coasters 4 me]

^Yeah, they did. They put CDs in microwaves and water etc. Did all kinds of abuse on them. Then put them in the drive, hoping for a CD to explode. It was brillaint to watch, but then they linked it up to a really fast driver (I cant remember what it was) and the CDs exploded in less than a second.

[Token Yankee Guy]

^Yeah, they did. They put CDs in microwaves and water etc. Did all kinds of abuse on them. Then put them in the drive, hoping for a CD to explode. It was brillaint to watch, but then they linked it up to a really fast driver (I cant remember what it was) and the CDs exploded in less than a second.

 

I think it was a regular motor drive, not intented for regular CD use. Because I remember seeing that mythbusters and they wanted to see how fast a CD can go before breaking. What was neat was the slow cam that showed the CD in slowmotion actually bending in a wave like motion while spinning.

 

Angry, I belive I got a solution for you, I'll PM it to you

[TheStig]

The motor that the Mythbusters used to crack the CD's was a grinder thats used to, well, gind things. I think that the CD COULD crack if it starts spinning and stopping suddenly, but besides that I really wouldent know.

 

Colin C

[Angry_Gumball]

I was talking to some of my friends today and they have had similar issues happen to them. They told me that once I see a hairline crack, make a copy as that crack will eventually grow (like my RCT3 disc) and crack on the silver area, similar to a car's windshield: A rock hits it, small crack. After a while, the crack begins to grow and next thing you know, there's a nice crack crossing the windshield. My RCT3 disc must have had some kind of tiny crack that eventually grew maybe due to stress and rapid spinning (like the mythbusters thing).

 

Found a link to a cd explosion that you were talking about. They used a dremel, got the disc spinning at a nice speed, and smacking it with another and Kaboom! You can find it here.

 

It's quite funny to see the cd launch up a ramp, go flying over and still continue spinning when it lands.

[Token Yankee Guy]

^ Wow, those CD's sure had a lot of speed in them, and that one CD that did three loops up the ramp was amazing.

[Canadmos]

Are you sure that it was the cd rom drive that actually cracked it? I know that I have cracked the inner rings on a few dvd's and playstation games that I have rented by pulling the cd out of the case at a weird angle, or out of those stupid cases that lock the cd in.

[Angry_Gumball]

I'm pretty positive that it was from the CD drive. The only case I've stuck it in since I removed it from the original was those plastic "Disc Saver" brand cases, where the cd just rests on the little button and the lid snaps shut. The CD is only sandwiched between the back and cover of the case. Most of the time, it's in my CD drive as I'm frequently playing the game.