BoringSupreez wrote: All this disc rot talk worries me. I have like 150+ disc based games, and many of them are 10 years old or older.
I used to have a lot of discs as well, and finding bit rot on some of them was one of the factors behind my decision several years ago to pare down the collection somewhat. I do checks every month or so on most of my discs I still have, I cannot recommend you doing the same enough. It is worth it to take the time to do so, except for sealed games. Then you can only hope there isn't any.
Has anyone witnessed pitting on the label side as a form of rot? Well, it isn't really pitting. It's more like micro bubbles, little bumps all over the label side of the disc. There isn't any discoloration on the shiny side. Stranger, the shiny areas of the label (where there isn't actually a graphic) don't have these bumps.
I have noticed this happening on my Die Hard Arcade disc for the Saturn and a newly acquired copy of Rez (Japanese) for the Dreamcast.
There aren't any scratches or tears on the labels and they are otherwise pristine.
I try not to be too paranoid. I think disc rot is pretty rare, honestly. I went and checked all of my game discs months ago and none of them showed any signs of rot.
Out of my 400-ish music CDs two have the tell-tale pinholes. Both CDs are from DIY hardcore punk bands, so I assume a cheap/shoddy factory pressing was all the labels could afford. Both CDs play fine though and I was able to successfully rip both to iTunes.
Honestly... I don't think it's rot. I would expect some kind of discoloration or rippling when viewing from the bottom (shiny side). I think it's just the decal aging. It may lead to rot later on if the laquer starts to go. I figured it fit into this topic and didn't want to start a dedicated thread to some silly bumps on a label.
I have a similar discussion going in a disc rot thread on Dreamcast-Talk. They are asking for pictures so I will take some tonight when I get off work. I will post them up here, too.
I don't think I've ever come across disc rot before. I don't have as large of a collection as some of you guys, but I definitely have whole lot more games than the average gamer.
Look at the bloom in the reflection of the light (not the flash as it's overblown). You can see the bumpy texture of the label. In the close up of Rez you can clearly see the bumps at the rainbow reflection, just under the figure. There are three very prominent bumps.
You can see the texture of the Die Hard label pretty easily.
While taking these pictures I found a pin prick right on the outter edge of the foil. That most definitely will turn into rot at some point. Any ideas on how to seal that? A dab of superglue LOL?
I have a notorious example; my japanese copy of Daytona USA. The lighting made all of those holes look bigger than they actually are. There are, however, that many holes.
This type of thing is a big part of why I stopped collecting. I would rather not pay a crap load of money for things that encounter problems like this. Nothing lasts forever, as unfortunate as it is.
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Yeah, my Soukyugurentai is like that. Not quite as bad, but definitely rotting away.
The guys over at Dreamcast-Talk are under agreement that what's going on with my Rez and Die Hard is rot showing from the label side of the disc. They recommended I hold it up to a very bright light and inspect the bottom for any light peaking through. At first I didn't notice any, but there are definitely micro pin pricks coming from some of the bumps. Oh well, nothing lasts forever, right?
My copy of Virtua Cop 2 has some spots that shine through. I saw the problem right after I bought it, but didn't feel like returning it. The game was a rental at some point, and had a scratch on the label side that cut through the metal. I've played through every route in the game though and didn't have any problems.
Hurray for game data not filling the whole disk and/or for Reed-Solomon error correction.
EDIT:I wonder if some bit rot is caused by label side abuse. Even if the metal doesn't get cut, it could still get exposed to the air and corrode away latter.
Since this signature affects old posts, I'm leaving a message here in case anyone searches for my username. This account died in early 2013. I am no longer a fundamentalist.
Don't add to my problems by pretending my past views are still held in the present. I do not have any patience for that. Feel free to ask me what I think now.
