13th April 2007, 1:19 PM
And what exactly, save for a damaged drive, would cause scratches to appear on the disk? The disk is lifted up, so it's not like it is rubbing against the tray it is on, and the laser is not actually touching it. Further, since you are using a desktop, the problem of tilting the drive and the angular momentum throwing it into the side and scratching it is not an issue either. The laser light itself is very weak and won't cause damage either. The fact is, I have a number of old game disks I've played off and on ever since I got them that are in perfect condition. Some are scratched but I remember exactly what I did to them to cause that (dropping one on concrete, accidently grabbing one I dropped in an awkward way and slamming it into the edge of a desk, that sort of thing).
"On two occasions, I have been asked [by members of Parliament], 'Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out?' I am not able to rightly apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question." ~ Charles Babbage (1791-1871)