So I recently decided to purcahase the "Operation Anchorage and The Pitt" expansions on disc and have noticed some major issues recently. To qualify, I own an original launch 20GB system that had to be repaired for red rings once about a year ago. Saying that since installing the expansions onto my system I have noticed major major slowdown with the Pitt portion of the expansion (I have not tried the Operation Anchorage portion yet). It's wierd because it started out just fine but since playing I have seen the load times between areas and save screens increase to the point of making the game unplayable. When I speake to people sometimes they just don't respond and I have to reload or they do and they don't say anything, just the text appears. I've never seen this happen and I'm curious if this is a symptom of a larger problem (HDD crashing, system dying, etc.) or just a case of me needing to reinstall the expansion pack. This sort of slowdown has never happened before, although I will say that I have had some issues with the Dashboard that makes me think the system will probably crash and burn again. Should I reinstall the expansion and if I do will it affect my game saves? Or am I up a creek and should just go for the newer 299 Elite model (not really financially feasable at the current moment)?

The least destructive thing to attempt is clearing just the game cache for Fallout 3. If you press and hold the left bumper (LB), right bumper (RB) and X buttons all at the same time while the game is loading, this should do the trick. If this doesn't help, you can clear the system cache (from the Xbox 360 dashboard), but you will lose all game patches/updates and any game you insert will insist on having to re-download these.

The least destructive thing to attempt is clearing just the game cache for Fallout 3. If you press and hold the left bumper (LB), right bumper (RB) and X buttons all at the same time while the game is loading, this should do the trick. If this doesn't help, you can clear the system cache (from the Xbox 360 dashboard), but you will lose all game patches/updates and any game you insert will insist on having to re-download these.

Yeah, sorry forgot to mention I did that already. That's actually the first thing I did. I might just reinstall the expansions. Now though I'm afraid to dl Point Lookout and Zeta for the fear they might do the same thing. I already have Broken Steel though and it showed no signs of slowdown so this is wierd.

*edit* I also forgot to mention that I get a bad disc error on occasion now and when I tried to just install the game to the HDD to see if that would solve the problem it didn't do it and I was told it was a dirty disc, won't read, etc..

So either your disc is bad, or more likely your DVD drive is dying.

So either your disc is bad, or more likely your DVD drive is dying.

possibly. have you tried installing to the HD?

Yeah tried to load it to the drive and all i got was an error message saying i needed a good disc, dirty disc, etc.. If it is the drive is there a way for me to replace it myself? This is the second drive, the first was swapped when I sent the system in for the rrod the first time.

*edit*

If it is the drive do you think laying the console horizontal might buy some time or fix it altogether? I keep the system vertical for space reasons but I'd be willing to try it horizontal.

While it may be the DVD drive, it may also be the Fallout 3 disc itself. Ironically, I actually had read errors with this same game, despite the fact that the disc was in perfect brand-new condition (and even without any expansion content, mind you). I wound up installing Fallout 3 to the HD to get around this issue, but I had to try several times before the installation succeeded.

Hence, it may be that there's a bad batch of Fallout 3 discs out there...

Well, I've never had an issue with it before so unless the disc suddenly gets to where it can't be read I don't see that being the issue. I am going to try to install the game to the HDD again tonight so hopefully that will solve the problem. If not I think I might just swing it and sell my current one and buy a new system.

You really should try a different copy of Fallout 3 before you considering scrapping your entire Xbox 360 over an issue that may be specific to a given DVD. Plus, if it's just that game, sometimes certain disc pressings/runs can be more problematic than others. Pick up a copy of the "Fallout 3: Game of the Year" edition or whatever when it comes out.

In any case, if you really believe there's something wrong with the system, why not have it repaired for $99?

I don't want to spend the money. :p

I'd rather just buy a newer HDMI-equipped system than spend any more money on my old and busted Pro. I'm going to rent Fallout tonight from Blockbuster to see if that's indeed the case. If it is then it's the ol' switcheroo time. Kidding. Maybe. If not, well I wanted a new system anyway so this gives me the initiative to do it.

Well, it certainly is the case that some discs and some DVD drives don't seem to get along, for whatever reason. Perhaps the DVD laser is slightly out of calibration on some Xbox 360s, or perhaps a batch of discs is not quite perfect, but that seems to be the reality of the situation.

I've had it take something like 10 attempts to get an install to complete due to the process failing at various points. Even if the disc is brand new and has never been touched, it can still happen. If and when the install does complete, it's smooth sailing, but it can be agonizing to try it over and over again. I hear what you're saying about the refurbs, though; it's probably the source of my own problems as well, in terms of the fact that you exchange one unit that's broken for a unit that's broken in a different way, since the Microsoft repair validation process seems less than thorough.