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[RagnarokIV]

I'm using MPF (Media Preservation Frontend) to rip all my disc based games. The main focus being PlayStation, PS2 and PLAYSTATION 3. I will also eventually tackle Xbox/360 but don't feel this is required yet.

When I rip the discs, I'll transfer the files to my home server which gets frequently backed up to another network drive.

Obviously I can just download ISOs but doing it this way means I get to look through the artwork and manuals again while also scanning them in. While doing this I can get unexpected urges to play certain games.

I now use FPGA for PlayStation with PCSX2 and RPCS3 for PS2 and PLAYSTATION 3 respectively.

Sadly the occaisonal PS1 disc has been unreadable or given errors while ripping (disc rot) which results in me hitting ebay to get a replacement ASAP.

My main questions are:

Has anyone else backed up a large amount of their library?

Is MPF still the best option?

Have you used anything for automation in terms of file transfers, naming etc?

 

[DownLikeBCPowder]

Man, I always hear about disc rot but I've never personally experienced it even on my older titles, like Sega CD much less PlayStation. How have your discs been stored? Sorry I don't have anything to add to your question, I've never backed up more than a couple of things but it sounds like a daunting task.

 

[RagnarokIV]

Man, I always hear about disc rot but I've never personally experienced it even on my older titles, like Sega CD much less PlayStation. How have your discs been stored? Sorry I don't have anything to add to your question, I've never backed up more than a couple of things but it sounds like a daunting task.

This is a weird thing because I've always heard about the storage environment causing it - damp, moisture etc. but my discs have been stored in a well ventilated and heated room.

Another weird thing - MGS1. Disc 1 had rot while disc 2 was perfect and the included Silent Hill demo disc was perfect!

Discs with minor scratches were fine - but the disc rot discs weren't even scratched.

Is it a PlayStation thing? Certain manufacturing batches? My Mega CD discs are fine.

 

[CGNoire]

I havr countless cds and dvds from the 90s amd they havr been kept all over the place in stacks most without cases and have never had a disc read error. Disc rot is a myth.

 

[delfrickintree]

Interesting project. I know nothing about MPF and doesnt seem to be much info on it. How do you go about storing them, accessing, restoring, launching, etc?

 

[Fuz]

This is a weird thing because I've always heard about the storage environment causing it - damp, moisture etc. but my discs have been stored in a well ventilated and heated room.

Another weird thing - MGS1. Disc 1 had rot while disc 2 was perfect and the included Silent Hill demo disc was perfect!

Discs with minor scratches were fine - but the disc rot discs weren't even scratched.

Is it a PlayStation thing? Certain manufacturing batches? My Mega CD discs are fine.

Not sure if this fully applies, but I have had mp3 CDs in my car for 22 years, which means they go through Sardinian summers (we easily get to 45°C/113 °F) and they work perfectly.
Data CDs stored in my parent's house seem to still work too, but I don't check them that often.

Edit: I'm not suggesting to not back up your data. Do it. It's just a funny anedocte.

 

[jshackles]

Like you, I started backing up my disks to a digital format a couple of years ago. MPF is nice - save your PS1 games in .bin/.cue format, then compress them into .chd - the amount of drive space you'll save is worth the hassle. The same is true of PS2 games (.iso -> .chd). I used the DiscImageCreator plugin for MPF, as my tests with the Aaru plugin resulted in having to convert the images again afterwards to work with most emulators.

The newest versions of Duckstation / PCSX2 will play games straight from chd without too much overhead.

As for naming conventions I just created a network folder for each platform, then saved each disk file as the name of the particular game. I like browsing through my collection, so I set up RomM to parse through that folder and pull metadata.

GitHub - zurdi15/romm: RomM (Rom Manager) is a web based retro roms manager integrated with IGDB.

RomM (Rom Manager) is a web based retro roms manager integrated with IGDB. - GitHub - zurdi15/romm: RomM (Rom Manager) is a web based retro roms manager integrated with IGDB.

github.com

You could also do this with something like Gameyfin

GitHub - grimsi/gameyfin: A simple game library manager

A simple game library manager. Contribute to grimsi/gameyfin development by creating an account on GitHub.

github.com

This gives me a cool way to browse my retro collection (that's better than just looking at files in a folder), and the webapp has the ability to download that file from my NAS quickly if there's something I decide I want to play.

As for disc rot, I didn't have any issues ripping these games - except the ones that had obvious signs of wear. There were a few discs I had to buff out and try again, but I never had one that was so far gone that it straight up didn't work.

Good luck on your quest!

 

[nkarafo]

Disc rot is a myth.

Maybe not exactly a myth (time breaks everything eventually) but most likely grossly overestimated.

It's very suspicious if you ask me. How come i never seen a single mention of it for a decade in game or tech magazines and it only appeared in the internet/digital stores age?

Disc rot would be very convenient for any publisher who owns an online digital store. Why keep your massive collection of old games when you can buy them all again digitally for convenience? And if convenience isn't enough for you to waste money, here, know that discs rot in 200.... er... i mean 20ish years after you buy them. So hurry, buy them in our storefront or else you will lose them all.

Sure, some discs do break apparently. But i don't think it's "disc rot". Most likely just a batch/quality issue.

Having said all that, i still advocate for backing up your stuff. Even the stuff you have access in a digital store and you can re-download. There are many more reasons you can lose your data other than a theoretical disc rot.