Civ 3 conquests CD just broke in half - Page 2

vmxa1 · February 12, 2004, 17:25

That is what I have heard, It burst into pieces. I don't know if that is from defects or just the constant spinning at high revs.

I used to have my game Cd's in all day, one day after another and never had that happen. Now I will used a virtual CD to be safe.

asleepathewheel · February 12, 2004, 17:34

Quote:

Originally posted by bongo
If it happens when it is in the drive, it don't just break, it literally explodes!! I have seen it happen.

do you have to replace the drive after that, or can you just pick out the pieces and go on?

bongo · February 12, 2004, 18:11

Varies, the drive I saw it happen with had to be replaced. It is rare though, I work with computers every day(I'm one of those guys that run networks, take backups, install workstations and servers, we've got almost 1500 computers here) and I have never even heard of anyone with the same experience.

Harovan · February 12, 2004, 19:46

I had a CD explode in the drive. The drive was destroyed afterwards, totally deformed.

okblacke · February 12, 2004, 21:30

Quote:

Originally posted by vmxa1
That is what I have heard, It burst into pieces. I don't know if that is from defects or just the constant spinning at high revs.

I used to have my game Cd's in all day, one day after another and never had that happen. Now I will used a virtual CD to be safe.

There's a show on discovery called "MythBusters" where they explore the possibility of certain urban legends by, e.g., blowing up toilets, microwaving kittens, making bullets out of ice, etc. (OK, they didn't actually microwave the kitten, but they did microwave lots of metal.)

They did this experiment with the CD and they found they could make it happen, but it would be extremely rare.

It's the high speed and not-so-minor defects in the disc that make it occur. They really had to thrash the CD to get it to explode.

[ok]

vmxa1 · February 12, 2004, 22:02

I watched a few episode of that show last year. I have to keep an eye out for it.

vmxa1 · February 12, 2004, 22:04

BTW way, I would think it would be hard to test as it woulld require 100,000's of hours to say it was bogus. If it is a defecive drive ro media, then it would require some luck to find them.

bongo · February 13, 2004, 03:49

When 16X cd-roms entered the market some years ago (-97?) I remember discussing the possibility of a break-up with a colleague. We concluded that the increasing speed eventually turned the cd-rom players into kinetic-energy-storage

The possibility must be very small indeed. With my job, I should know it if it happened often. That I experienced it myself, before I even read about it is just plain luck.

I found a pic we took. It happened in 2001, I don't think it has happened again where I work...

Some of the pieces were flipped over manually after we opened the drive, just for the effect. there were also a gazillion small dust-like pieces which isn't visible on the pic.

Enjoy

vmxa1 · February 13, 2004, 13:57

Send it to the boys at Myth Busters.

bongo · February 13, 2004, 14:20

Do you think they will like it?

It's just another example of 'the law of large numbers' in action.

vmxa1 · February 13, 2004, 17:34

It would be a nice touch for them to finish off the segment. A documented case.

davewallace41 · February 15, 2004, 21:02

As far as exploding CDs, I had it occur TWICE on me, both times THE SAME GAME! (Not a Civ game.) First time, I figured it was a fluke, went out and got another copy. It also trashed the CD ROM drive. No problem, I also had DVD drive that I could use. Less then 2 days later, the SECOND Cd exploded. (Sounds like a plate being dropped.) The game manufacturer told me, to paraphrase, Tuff Sh**. They would replace ONE copy of the game for shipping and handling (almost the cost of the game btw), but refused to replace either drive. Sounds like low quality CDs to me...

asleepathewheel · February 15, 2004, 21:18

that sucks. does sound like cheap cd's if it happens 2x with the same game.

bongo · February 16, 2004, 06:20

davewallace41 , in your case I would try to get the company to replace your destroyed drives. When two discs blow up without any mishandling on your side, it is a clear indication that they sold you a defective product, which in turn damaged your equipment.

If a gas company filled leaded fuel in the unleaded pumps, they would surely be forced to repair any damage on customer cars. Don't you have some 'consumer rights' organization or 'small claims court' in your country?

You always have the media, no-one wants bad publicity....

MattH · February 18, 2004, 00:28

Ahhhh, the sadness. My $10 el-cheapo worst-buy CD-RW did this to poor Mr. Morrowind. The noise was heart-rending

.

davewallace41 · February 24, 2004, 23:30

Not much one can do to 'force' them to replace anything. They claimed htat by using their product, I agreed to their EULA (End User Liscense Agreement) which lets them off the hook. Could fight it, but who has the $$?

notyoueither · February 25, 2004, 22:47

If you are ever unfortunate enough to have this happen to you, take the CD ROM drive apart. The least you can do is get some pleasure by seeing what happens to the drive when a CD explodes.

Often, the guts of the drive will be shredded. It's quite impressive.

bongo · February 26, 2004, 15:09

davewallace41 , yeah, the EULAs suck....Good thing they don't mean diddely-squat where I live

Send them a mail which start with 'By opening and reading this e-mail you agree to replace my broken drives..'

vmxa1 · February 26, 2004, 17:22

I would think the ELUA will not stand up to a court battle. It looks a lot like the crap the business tried on customers at skate parks and the like. Forcing you to give up rights with out any representation. I doubt it is worth the paper it is written on.

Barinthus · February 26, 2004, 19:15

Snoochems, hope you will let us know how that goes.

You mentioned you wrote them, was that an email or a letter. Many people today don't realize the power a letter has. Naturally, be polite and include a picture of your disc. If you already did that, ignore me

.

Hopefully you were or will be successful in getting it replaced.

Dis · February 27, 2004, 05:12

this game requires a cd to play

snoochems · February 28, 2004, 10:57

I did email them. I got the run around. So i've given up.

Anyways, i still have the game installed on my computer, so i just put a no-cd crack on it.

I start uni' again (tomorrow), so i probably wont be playing civ for a while (takes up too much time

).

THe game costs $30 over here, so maybe when i do want to play it again, i'll just buy it again. But you can be garuanteed that i'll be making a back up copy. I've never seen a CD just break like that, and i wasn't impressed. What did they do, go cheapo on us and get the poxy media to put there games on.

Maybe by then, there will be an official patch released to.

Kull · February 29, 2004, 01:32

Quote:

Originally posted by davewallace41
As far as exploding CDs, I had it occur TWICE on me, both times THE SAME GAME! (Not a Civ game.) First time, I figured it was a fluke, went out and got another copy. It also trashed the CD ROM drive. No problem, I also had DVD drive that I could use. Less then 2 days later, the SECOND Cd exploded. (Sounds like a plate being dropped.) The game manufacturer told me, to paraphrase, Tuff Sh**. They would replace ONE copy of the game for shipping and handling (almost the cost of the game btw), but refused to replace either drive. Sounds like low quality CDs to me...

If you are still interested in getting your money back, there is a way. Do an internet search for free legal advice sites, and do some research on product liability. Make notes, being certain to record the EXACT legal phraseology that covers your situation (i.e. damage to your personal property caused by their defective product). Once you've established the parameters of your case, find out which court in your area has jurisdiction and contact them for information on the basic requirements for kicking off a do-it-yourself lawsuit (some clerks are helpful, others are not - be persistent).

Now you are ready. Draft up a short, legally worded document and send this to the Game Company. Outline the specifics of the case and close with two items:

1) The amount required to "make you whole" (should be limited to the cost of the two games and the two drives - don't fool around with pain and suffering or any other baloney, it just marks you as a lightweight)

2) The date by which you expect a response, after which you'll begin legal proceedings (be certain to mention the specific court and the basis of the lawsuit so they take you seriously)

Having been in business forever, I can assure you that nothing gets a response as quickly as a lawsuit - especially in this case, where it's almost certain that even talking to their lawyer for 30 minutes will cost more than sending you a check. And even if they ignore your letter, by now you'll know exactly what's required to actually launch the lawsuit. It won't cost that much, and you'll get the added satisfaction of tacking on court costs and other sundries (once the game is on, now you can press for this stuff) when you win the case - as inevitably you will since they simply can't justify the expense of defending themselves when all you are asking for is relative peanuts.