Of course, this technique isn't foolproof, and extremely deep scratches may be unbeatable and force you to restart with another copy of the game. Dry off your game with a clean, soft cloth, and you should be back in front of the TV, controller in hand, in no time. Leave on the paste for about five minutes or so, then off wash the disc with warm water until all the solution has been removed. (Remember what we said about forgoing circular wiping motions?). Cleaning your scratched game with toothpaste is a long-standing Internet rumor that actually works … if you do it right! First, squeeze a moderate amount of toothpaste (a little more than you'd place onto your toothbrush) and evenly rub it onto the disc in straight lines from the center to the edge. Yes, you heard that right - we said toothpaste. This cleaning method will buff out smudges and some small scratches, but if your game is badly damaged, you're going to have to break out the big guns. Also, be sure to hold onto the outer edges of the video game disc as you clean - grasping it any other way will just add fingerprint smudges to your already smeared or scratched-up disc.

Don't wipe in circles: That's how the discs are read, and doing so could cause further damage. Most instruction manuals and console manufactures will tell you to clean your games with a clean, lint-free, soft, dry or slightly damp cloth and wipe in straight lines from the disc's center to its outer edge. Therefore, if the only boss you can't get past is dirt on your discs, try following the manufacturer's guidelines to get back into the game. In fact, some Internet solutions (such as the banana-cleaning method) usually make the situation worse and will turn a game that skips occasionally into an unplayable piece of plastic trash. A quick Internet search will give you countless methods and variations for game cleaning, but not all of them are going to work. However, there's some disagreement about the best technique to clean your discs. Luckily, the cleaning process is the same for all disc-based games.

Depending on what systems you own, you'll be caring for and cleaning games that are burned onto DVDs or Blu-rays (and if you like vintage gaming, perhaps even some old-school CDs). Gone are the days of blowing into a cartridge to clean your games.

Cleaning disk for xbox 360