ChickenMcOwnage on 23/4/2009 at 06:17
I'm wondering what people use to back up their game CDs/DVDs. My System Shock 2 disc (among others) is so scratched up and I'd like to make a copy of it before it becomes unreadable. Are there any free programs out there (for Windows or Linux)?
lost_soul on 23/4/2009 at 07:37
<sarcasm> What? You don't want to have to buy a new copy?
Seriously though, because of the Dominate/Manipulate Consumer Act, consumers are unable to backup their games now. CD checks are in place so that the disks will wear out and we'll have to buy new copies eventually.
Rogue Keeper on 23/4/2009 at 07:42
My about 10 years old Shock2 backup CD is still in pretty good condition. Green IMATION CD-R, you don't see any of those these days. If you store your discs properly, they don't get scratched, but cheap and noname media and burning drives are the cause why some discs eventually become unreadable in few years.
Koki on 23/4/2009 at 07:44
I normally use DVDs, you know, these round things in supermarkets(not donuts)
EvaUnit02 on 23/4/2009 at 07:58
Alcohol 120% is very good for cloning retail CDs/DVDs. It features dozens of profiles tailored for different purposes - ie SafeDisc, SecuROM, PS1 and PS2 formats.
mothra on 23/4/2009 at 08:11
iso's on a NAS for quick access of the most often replayed games (NAS has mirrored disks for security) and just plain cloned dvds.
Shadowcat on 1/5/2009 at 06:50
I use Game Jackal so that I don't need to keep using the CD/DVD, and in most cases (albeit definitely not all) it works really well. The best way to preserve your discs is to be able to keep them safely in their case.
doctorfrog on 1/5/2009 at 07:42
I use Alcohol 52 (free version) to make images of game CDs. It won't burn the images, though. For that, I use ImgBurn (also free). The benefit of Alcohol is that it will also do its best to read the 'unreadable' or signature data tossed on there by legacy and modern DRM, and include that information in a descriptor file. You should end up with a 1:1 copy.
Make two backups. Store them in different locations.
External hard drives are so cheap these days, you can hold your favorite games in digital form for even more peace of mind. I'm broke. I have one.
If your conscience is cool with it, obtain a crack for your game so it won't require the CD. Then, archive the fully installed and modded game. Back it up. Unzip and play whenever. Never use lgntforce again.
I haven't had to use my Looking Glass original discs in ten years. They're in a cool dark box with other such stuff and a few silica gel packages that came with a pair of shoes.
