What does disc rot look like on original PlayStation discs?

[Skippy B. Coyote]

After a great deal of searching online trying to find pictures of original PlayStation discs with disc rot (or bit rot, depending on what you want to call it) and coming up empty handed I decided to make a thread and ask about it. There are plenty of pictures out there of Sega CD, Saturn, and other early disc based games rotted out, but since PlayStation games were made a bit differently with a black coating on the bottom and usually a layer of solid non-translucent art on the top I'm not sure exactly what I should be looking for when checking original PlayStation discs for rot.

 

I ask because I recently acquired a fairly pricey PlayStation game that I'm planning on giving as a gift but I noticed that on the bottom of the disc there are half a dozen little pinprick sized dots clustered together that look like shiny metallic spots in the black layer. They're definitely inside the black layer and not on the surface of the disc, but due to the solid artwork on top of the disc I can't tell whether or not they go all the way through the disc even when it's held up in front of a bright light.

 

So, I'm hoping someone can provide some pictures of what the underside of an original PlayStation disc that has succumbed to disc rot looks like to help figure out if the game I'm planning on gifting just has an odd manufacturing defect or if it has indeed developed disc rot and should be returned for a refund. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Edited July 31, 2016 by Jin

[Shawn]

The mirrored layer flakes off. I've had it happen to a couple pc software discs in the past. First time it happened to me was my windows 98 disc in about 2001ish.

 

 

EDIT: Sometimes it's little dots as you mentioned. The above image is an extreme case (maybe even on purpose). Also, the data is closer to the top of the disc than the bottom so what you are describing is actually a worse not better case for the chances of data loss on your disc. Below is a black bottom ps1 disc with an extreme case of disc rot.

 

Edited July 31, 2016 by Shawn

[Skippy B. Coyote]

Thank you for the reply and picture Shawn! After looking at the game I bought again (which is Dino Crisis 2, for anyone who is curious) it seems to be quite possible that it's got some disc rot going on. Here are a few pictures for reference:

 

 

 

 

 

The only thing that makes me wonder whether or not it's disc rot is that the pinprick sized dots in the black layer of the disk have a shiny metallic look to them rather than the completely clear color that you usually see in cases of disc rot. What do you guys and gals think?

Edited July 31, 2016 by Jin

[mickcris]

yeah, looks like disc rot. looks like maybe a couple of the spots you can see the color from the art on the top (yellow and red)?

[CatPix]

Wow, I wonder how those coem to rot? I have several PS1 and 2 discs, CDs, and LD, none of them even got disc rot. I guess moist places doesn't help?

[0078265317]

Ya I have a bunch in good shape also. I just store them in a CD square thing that holds 24 cds.

[0078265317]

And it has a zipper so maybe that seals out the dust and stuff.

[Skippy B. Coyote]

Thanks for the feedback everyone! I've gone ahead and returned the game for a refund so I can hunt down another copy of Dino Crisis 2 without disc rot. At this point there are 38 original PlayStation games in my wife and I's library and Dino Crisis 2 was the first game with disc rot that either of us have come across. It seems to be a pretty uncommon problem with PS1 games, but it does happen sometimes so it's definitely something to be aware of when buying games for the system. I know that I'll be a bit more wary of buying higher cost PS1 games on eBay after this little experience.

[thadsilverfox]

Thanks for the feedback everyone! I've gone ahead and returned the game for a refund so I can hunt down another copy of Dino Crisis 2 without disc rot. At this point there are 38 original PlayStation games in my wife and I's library and Dino Crisis 2 was the first game with disc rot that either of us have come across. It seems to be a pretty uncommon problem with PS1 games, but it does happen sometimes so it's definitely something to be aware of when buying games for the system. I know that I'll be a bit more wary of buying higher cost PS1 games on eBay after this little experience.

This good new is that if you indeed purchased it from eBay that the seller must pay for return shipping for items not as described. It won't cost you a dime except just a little of your time to print the label and drop it off at the post office on your way to the grocery store (insert any store).

[jhd]

I have probably 50 or 60 PSX games, many purchased used, and I have never encountered bit rot. I store the games in their original jewel cases in a box in my closet.

 

One game, Chrono Trigger, consistently crashes at a particular point, but there is no obvious damage to the disk.

[Video]

Its hard to tell from pics but that looks like the read side is pitted from improper storage. Its really hard to see disc rot through opaque plastic the psone discs are made of.

 

As a rule commercially produced discs wont get disc rot without abuse being involved. That's why its so rare for people to encounter it in their personal collections. It mostly happens with used items brought in from outside your personal collections.

 

Keep discs in a cool place with little light and it should last the rest of your life. Car seats on hot sunny days are real hell on discs.

Edited August 3, 2016 by Video

[CatPix]

As a rule commercially produced discs wont get disc rot without abuse being involved. That's why its so rare for people to encounter it in their personal collections. It mostly happens with used items brought in from outside your personal collections.

I guess it's true of modern pressed discs, but it's not an absolute rule. Also I was thinking of Laserdiscs but the main cause of bit rot was due to discs bieng made of two CD-like plates being glued togather; one series of LD from... an UK factory, if I'm right, was notorious for a poor gluing processing that cause "laser rot" more than often.

 

Laser rot can be favorized by a poor quality coating; it's why several burned CD are unreadable today, because cheap CD-R arrived in the late 90's, with, if you remember, some CD that had so little coating that you could see through the CD easily; those are more than likely to be unreadable even if kept well preserved.

Edited August 3, 2016 by CatPix

[+thegoldenband]

I've had commercially pressed discs mysteriously develop those pinholes over the years. Bootleg music CDs are frequent candidates since they're pressed on the cheap, but I've had some major-label discs do it too.

 

Some discs are just fragile and the reflective layer falls apart under normal handling conditions. I routinely hold all discs I buy up to a light, to see if any pinholes show through.

 

There's also "bronzing", where the dye layer oxidizes and the disc becomes unplayable, but I don't think that happened much after the early 1990s. Hyperion Records, a high-end UK classical music label, was hit hard with that issue. IIRC the culprit turned out to be the ink used to print the CD booklets, which outgassed some sort of chemical that triggered the reaction.

[cimerians]

Its hard to tell from pics but that looks like the read side is pitted from improper storage. Its really hard to see disc rot through opaque plastic the psone discs are made of.

 

As a rule commercially produced discs wont get disc rot without abuse being involved. That's why its so rare for people to encounter it in their personal collections. It mostly happens with used items brought in from outside your personal collections.

 

Keep discs in a cool place with little light and it should last the rest of your life. Car seats on hot sunny days are real hell on discs.

 

Totally true.

 

I have CD's from the late 80's, laser discs, PS1 discs....you name it. Not one has a problem and look near mint because I've always stored them properly indoors for the last couple of decades and most of them were bought by me originally from a store.

 

If you buy used just remember rule #1, people who don't care like we do, are basically pigs who could care less if the CD was left in a basement half flooded with water for a year or in Uncle Bob's cigar smoke filled pick up truck for the whole summer.

[7800fan]

I've had 2 bad discs lifetime, out of oh around 2,000 DVDs and countless CD (including games). Both the DVD were kept in nice place, never touched by a kid, was watched a few times. When I tried to play them, it wouldn't play at all. DVD player took a while then reported no disc. Computer would also hang a while trying to read it before giving up. No obvious damage and no scratch. Disney sent me a new one for free for one of them, the other one I got a new one for $5 in Walmart bargain bin.

 

So even if you kept it nice and protected, a few bad disc will happen due to error in manufacturing process somewhere.