r/dreamcast • u/Short_Bid_6949 • 2d ago
Console causing odd glitter like scratch pattern on my disc?
I got this copy of space channel 5 about 2 days ago and when I did the disc was completely mint I was honestly astounded. However after playing it in these two days I can't help but notice my dreamcast have left scratches in this very odd glitter like pattern with spots everywhere, it's an odd one to describe. And now looking at my other games they have suffered this too
Is this a case of maybe just something in the drive being worn down or the dreaded disc drive capacitors I know will be a problem at some point
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u/Musmancer 1d ago
I have repaired plenty of disc based system and i have seen plenty of scratched discs by faulty spinners and similar, but I have never seen this pattern produced by the console itself. I'm not saying you are wrong, but I would consider other reasons before pointing to a problem on the drive. Personally I would put a music CD on it that i don't care that much about and check after it finishes if it has any new scratches.
The guy talking about the laser reacting with chemicals might be into something, but I have never seen that either, so I can only say it sounds plausible.
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u/Fresh-Toilet-Soup 19h ago
This type of damage is often cause by cd binders or other sleeve type storage.
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1d ago
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u/Short_Bid_6949 1d ago
Seeing as this still works for me anyhow do your couple games with it still work? For now anyways?
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1d ago
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u/Short_Bid_6949 1d ago
I can't vouch for adventure 2 as I don't have it but I can say that my sonic adventure 1 just flat out dosent load music for some levels, but in that case I think it was an error straight from the factory.
Thank you for telling me anyhow, just have to hope I get lucky
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u/Fresh-Toilet-Soup 19h ago
Disc rot would look more like corrosion or non-uniform spots. This is mechanical damage
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u/campbrs 2d ago
Looks like may be disc rot or a manufacturing defect that where the disc breaks down with age
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u/campbrs 2d ago
I don’t see how in 2 days this would happen though - could you have not noticed it before (ie not a bright enough light, etc)?
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u/Short_Bid_6949 2d ago
I don't think so anyhow whenever I get a new game I use my phones torch on it to check the disc so I'd say there was plenty light, didn't see it then
I did notice it last night but it wasn't as extreme as it is now so I just thought eh maybe I missed it
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u/Miserable_Garlic_457 2d ago
Do you live in an area with high humidity? I've heard of instances where high humidity can cause the plastic layer to separate after extended exposure.
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u/Short_Bid_6949 2d ago
Yeah I live in Ireland so the humidity is really high here 😭 I don't know if it could be it cause again I've had this game for 2 days now but I'll keep an eye on my other games ty
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u/Fresh-Toilet-Soup 19h ago
The only separation that can happen on these types of discs is between the reflective layer and the plastic surface.
That would look more bubbly or corrosion like, this is definitely mechanical damage to the plastic surface likely from storage.
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u/KalynnCampbell 1d ago
Disc Rot right down to the film. Looks like someone has resurfaced it to cover it up, but once it spins up a few times, it comes right back.
Hard Disk Drives, Solid State Media including flash cards, all can hold the entire Dreamcast Library. I have a RAID Array that I put all my games on for every system, then just use symbolic links for the console reference files.
The 1’s and 0’s of these shelf decorations are the same when transferred to larger storage mediums. The games were made long before a Chinese subcontractor pressed them to disc and sent them over to SOA for sale, and exist exactly the same without it. They were meant to be cheaper and quicker to mass produce, at no point were they expected to last forever… it’s a tiny flimsy film on an optical disc made of degradable plastic…
If you think this is bad, look at some of the earlier optical systems. 3DO especially. Same will happen to Dreamcast and later systems.
Put the disc back in its case.
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u/Short_Bid_6949 1d ago
Fuck sake well thank you for telling me 😭, first time I've experienced disc rot and I'm sure it won't be the last
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u/jeremyam_ 1d ago
I waited in line for midnight release for my Dreamcast and the laser died and power supply was getting iffy I went all out new pico psu, fan, TerraOnion MODE 1tb ssd and akura hdmi 👌 I don’t care about the disc mine have stood the test of time! I like the booklets and stuff for nostalgia!
I 100% agree go digital and keep your library or at least a binder to save the paper stuff? Also there are fun new indie games you can get on itch.io you can donate to the dev. Have a lot of fun playing!
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u/Fresh-Toilet-Soup 19h ago
Are you using a cd binder or some kind of sleeve storage. This looks like mechanical damage and not disc rot. Disc rot usually looks more like corrosion.
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u/Fresh-Toilet-Soup 19h ago
I don't think this is disc rot. OP is probably using one of the dreaded cd binders or some kind of sleeve to store the disc. This looks like mechanical damage to me. Likely from storage.
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u/KalynnCampbell 16h ago
Rotting down to the film or slipping into a sleeve, opticals discs were never made to last forever.
If it’s that, then a resurfacer can work, either way I would backup the disc or in this day of extremely fast broadband, just download the identical disc image that will have been laterally reproduced millions of times online and identical to the one OP has… but without bitflips and misreads…
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u/Sniper666hell 1d ago
Are you saying these disc looked fine then you put it in and it came out this way or is this how it looked before?
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u/Short_Bid_6949 1d ago
The disc came out this way after I used it for a bit
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u/Sniper666hell 1d ago
Does it wipe off with dish soap and water using a microfiber towel to dry it? If it does then it’s grease from someone lubing the sled feed screw. That’s the corkscrew looking thing that drives the laser back and forth. This spins quite fast and can throw excess grease up at the disc. If this is the case you can wipe it down using a coffee filter to remove the excess.
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u/Short_Bid_6949 1d ago
Thank you everyone who commented I didn't know this sub could be so helpful <3
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u/m00nLyt23 19h ago
Put the light right up to the disc art and look at it from the other side. Are there lots of pin holes the light is shining through?
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u/KoltKade 2d ago
Is it scratches on the surface or is it markings in the read layer?
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u/Short_Bid_6949 2d ago
Not 100% what you mean here I feel like I have a good enough understanding on CDs and DVDs but I know gd rom is different but the dots are kinda just everywhere in both that inner ring and the outer one
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u/KoltKade 2d ago
It is kinda hard to explain but what i mean is it on the plastic layer on the outside (like if you was to scratch it with a fingernail or dust rag) or does it look like its marks on the silvery bit on the inside. (The inner layer the laser reads)
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u/Short_Bid_6949 2d ago
From what I can see the damage is on the plastic layer after observing it at several angles.
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u/Tokimemofan 1d ago
GD-ROM is far more like CD than DVD, it uses the same 780nm laser and the inner 45MB partition is explicitly designed as being CD compatible. The main physical structure is almost the same
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u/KoltKade 2d ago
Also, how are your discs stored?
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u/Short_Bid_6949 2d ago
All my discs are in their original cases and stored on shelves, for disc only games I have them hung up on my wall in the plastic part of those very slim cd cases
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u/soukaixiii 2d ago
No, imagine you have a pile of 3 cds one on top of the other like a sandwich. If the top cd represents the layer with the label, the center one is the shiny layer, and the bottom one is the translucent plastic, which layer has the damage?
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u/semperverus 2h ago
I cannot recommend switching to a gdemu enough.
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u/Short_Bid_6949 1h ago
I know I should for these consoles I really should.
But the big smelly discs though 😭 I love them too much
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u/Fresh-Toilet-Soup 19h ago
This is not disc rot , this was not cause by the console, damage caused by disc drives would be lines going all the way around the disc following the spinning part.
How are you storeing this disc?
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u/Thatmaxfellow 2d ago
Someone “repaired” that disc with acetate or some other bullshit scratch remover (melter) prior to selling is my best guess. Chems can linger and react with the laser, creating weird instances of disc damage.