We present high-resolution X-ray diffraction measurements on degraded II-VI-laser diodes. Reciprocal space maps were measured using a new single exposure technique at a microfocus beamline of the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility. Both degradation in samples with and without stacking faults was studied. In all cases the lattice of the observed samples is astonishingly stable even in the case of massive degradation, and lattice constant changes, plastic relaxation, and an increase in lattice disorder can be excluded within the conventional sensitivity limits of high-resolution diffraction. Thus the softness of the II-VI lattice is not a main reason for degradation.