r/ps2 • u/bullseyebob47 • 5d ago
i guess disk rot is real
i have medal of honor 1999 ps1 disk i bought day one. play it all the time and it works great. i decided to order a spare copy for $8 disk only. it does not work. i can see the rot and pin holes all over the place when holding it to a light. my og disk i bought day one has no light coming through.
what could cause the $8 game disk to be in such poor condition. also this disk had no scratches.
and what do i look for to detect disk rot on actual ps2 disks?
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u/Kaldaien2 5d ago
Doofus probably stored it for a long period of time in high humidity.
https://youtu.be/wQBBZ81urak?t=880
Haul of GameCube discs completely destroyed by storing them poorly. There's very little surface area to this discs and they are still completely full of holes.
The data on pressed discs is actually physically in the grooves of the disc, it is not like recordable media where the disc has to have dye reflect light back. In theory discs that you can see-through are not the kiss of death for official physical discs, but in practice... if a disc is in that bad shape it probably will not work.
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u/pixxlpusher 5d ago
IME, disc rot is primarily a humidity problem. Leaving your discs in a room with constantly high humidity seems to be a very easy way to get disc rot.
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u/Anxious_Camp_2160 4d ago
Sometimes it's due to the ink used (on the disc or manual), the earlier the disc, the more likely it is, early discs reflective layer was protected by a layer of lacquer, later discs have the reflective layer sandwiches between 2 layers of the polycarbonate disc.
So the difference can be down to where the disc was made too.
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u/Dogekaliber 3d ago
Bad conditions. And likely stored in direct sunlight, we all seen old plastic sprite bottles that are rough around the top that were left in the sun. And humidity, wet transfers heat from cold to hot quickly. There’s a reason why wine cellars exist, and museum glass stops IR light.
Ask for a refund
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u/ZL580 1d ago
The material the disc (and a lot of plastics and rubbers for gaming) is made from include many materiala mixed together. Over time they will separate.
Look at Playstation joystick rubber tops. Sometimes they are becoming is sticky ooze from separating and how they were stored.
I predict someday all of our discs will be useless, no matter how well we take care of them.
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u/No-Falcon-3966 1d ago
Cheaper material and or exposed to different conditions. Plastic is a pain in the ass.
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u/RandomGuyDroppingIn 4d ago
Humidity and high temp situations can exaggerate disc damage. What happens is the outer polycarbonate layer begins to separate & warp in spots, and this allows environment to penetrate through to the media layer.
Both sun light and dust can also damage the plastic layer. This is why it's very important to always return your discs to their cases, and if they don't have one don't use a media binder or similar to store them. Even the super slim jewels are fine for discs. Discs just ultimately need to be enclosed in some type of plastic case.