The drive is shot.
You need to install a new one or send it in for repairs.
that could be the case, but there is a chance it is his disc (if he has only tried one game)
how old is the unit, is it still covered under warranty? if you do have to install a new one yourself, be prepared to flash it and all that good stuff. it's not as simple as throwing an IDE drive into a computer
He said 'games'. Chances are the drive is having one of two problems - a tray issue or a laser issue. The tray issue, for whatever reason, will cause a game to DDE. A laser issue would be more likely since DVDs still work. DVDs are single layer. Games are dual layer. Chances are the laser hasn't got the juice to read the second layer any longer.
If you install a new drive, you can install Lite Touch which is always a plus.
Who uses IDE drives anymore anyway?
i am aware of single/dual layer. and thats why i said it was probably a stupid question when i first asked, since i figured its value would be debated
but its best to always check the small shit first, theres always the remote chance that he just tried one and assumed the problem would be uniform... who knows, thats why i asked :? i mean if it is the disc, hell it could be a couple worn out discs for all we know, and he goes and replaces the drive.. its like opening a bottle with a tank.
i have the bearing-seal issue with my drive, i got past it by simply installing the games to my hard disk, which bypasses the drive for the most part. i just didnt want to take it apart and glue the piece back on.. thats not the best solution, but it worked for me since i only play 1 or 2 games on my xbox. of course, you still need a working drive to do this since you have to copy the files from the disc to the HDD, and the drive needs to read the disc on the initial startup.. much like how secure-rom and other protections work for PC games..
and i still have an IDE dvd-rw/dl in my main rig, because it works
i cant remember the last time i even opened it other then to burn cd's though, my optical drives barely get used. the only time i even needed one for my server was with the OS install since i was having issues with my jump-drives
anyways, back on-topic.. vince is most likely right and it is an issue with your laser - which means you will need to replace the drive, or send it in for maintenance if you are under warranty