I purchased GTA IV today and when I went to play it, my xbox told me it could not play it. It read it as a DVD and would not play it. My roommate and I have a BenQ disc drive, however, his is flashed and was able to read and play the game perfectly. Does anyone why this would happen?

Sounds like your laser might be need it's POT levels checked. You could try flashing the firmware and see if it is more forgiving.