20 replies to this topic

[dinovelvet]

Anyone have any foolproof solutions for fixing scratched game discs? Specifically, PS2 games, I have some that play for a few minutes before they freeze up and I get the message ERROR READING <game> DVD. I've got a Game Doctor but I've found that to be completely useless. So does anyone have any better ideas, I've heard of using turtle wax or toothpaste, amongst other things...

[Raijin Z]

Take your PS2 apart and clean it with alcohol. Guaranteed to work for one week before the dust builds back up. Fucking Sony....

[Nukey Shay]

The weird thing is that even when most discs fail, GTA3 works fine

But yeah, lightly swab the lens using a qtip. Cleaning discs will not be allowed to play

[RJ]

My Game Dr has fixed quite a few PS2 discs, including Midnight Club, TimeSplitters, & Fatal Frame...that one being damaged by ANOTHER repair product! (I'll get you, Allsop...)

This is probably my 5th time posting to a topic like this...doesn't anyone LOOK first anymore?

[Kyo]

What the game doctor does is put a strach on top of a strach. kind of funny, really.

[RJ]

What's a "strach"? My understanding is the Dr removes a thin coating from the data side of the disc, the layer the scratch is on.

Are you sure you're using the Dr right? It wont fix very deep scratches. Make sure you wet the disc surface before repair. Read the manual- as I said, it's worked wonders for me- I stand by it!

[Kyo]

well, i had a connection with a friend who works at a small game shop, and that's what he told me.

pardon my spelling there. it was about 7 am when i posted that, and i had no sleep the night before.

[Lost Monkey]

dinovelvet said:

I've got a Game Doctor but I've found that to be completely useless. So does anyone have any better ideas

RJ said:

My Game Dr has fixed quite a few PS2 discs, including Midnight Club, TimeSplitters, & Fatal Frame...that one being damaged by ANOTHER repair product! (I'll get you, Allsop...)  

This is probably my 5th time posting to a topic like this...doesn't anyone LOOK first anymore?    

Nope. no-one does...

Sorry dino, can't really help... the only trick I know is to rub toothpaste from the centre of the disc to the outside, over any scratches you can see. Just don't do it too hard. This has worked on my nephews' PSx discs but I've never tried it on DVDs.

[RJ]

I've heard the toothpaste trick before...WHAT KIND? Crest, Colgate, Aqua Fresh, Arm & Hammer, MentaDent, etc etc etc.

There's Tartar Control, Minty Fresh, whitening, smoker's toothpaste, etc etc etc.

There's white, green, blue, etc etc etc.

What the hell, try it... at least your games'll smell good!

[liquid_sky]

i use turtle wax... works perfectly on everything ive needed it for. toothpaste is too gritty and WILL add more scratches to a cd, dont ever try it.

[Raijin Z]

Only if you scrub in a circle. A light scratch across the string doesn't do any damage, but one along it will.

[dinovelvet]

liquid_sky said:

i use turtle wax... works perfectly on everything ive needed it for. toothpaste is too gritty and WILL add more scratches to a cd, dont ever try it.

Aha so the turtle wax method works does it? So before I try it, what exactly is the procedure, rub it on the disc, wait for ??? and then wash it off with a damp cloth?

[AtariYoungin]

You would usae toothpaste without any little crystals in it, plain crest usually works for me. If that still fails, you can take it to ceratian stores that will resurface it for you, that will work as long as you can't see the scratch on the top of the cd.

[RJ]

Yeah, I figured the toothpaste should be as "ungritty" as possible to avoid further scratches from abrasiveness.

Seriously dinovelvet, try some different methods & let us know what works best. I've heard all sorts of things when I asked this. There oughta be a "be all, end all" answer to this...?

[Raijin Z]

The best way, as mentioned before, is to use one of those Disc Doctor widgets. They're really worth the money after one use. I don't know about that motorized one, though. =_=

[liquid_sky]

the turtle wax method is as follows (seriously, dont use toothpaste)

1. Place a few drops of wax around the cd
2. Rub the drops of wax around to create a medium thickness level of wax over the entire disc
3. Wait about 2-3 min or so
4. Using a soft cloth, wipe the excess wax off using straight strokes, starting from the inside of the disc and working to the outside
5. There should still be a bit of wax left.. buff the following wax onto the cd in circular motion, there should be enough wax left that the motions still feel smooth.. if you have too little wax, add a small bit more because you dont want to rub the disc in circles "dry"
6. When this is rubbed in, you will see a small chalky residue on the disk when the wax dries.. rub this off in straight strokes just like before to get rid of the excess.. your disc should look polished now, and the scratches will be harder to see, if not gone.

yet again, dont use toothpaste.. i know alot of dumb people that use it and fuck up thier game systems, stereos, cds, dvd, ect. All that over the counter cd scratch repair solution is is turtle wax.

[Raijin Z]

liquid_sky said:

5. There should still be a bit of wax left.. buff the following wax onto the cd in circular motion, there should be enough wax left that the motions still feel smooth.. if you have too little wax, add a small bit more because you dont want to rub the disc in circles "dry"

...and when you run a groove parallel to the string, your disc is ruined.

[liquid_sky]

well i dont know what the fuck that means, but my friend that works at a recording studio says this is how they fix scrached up shit there. It works for me. if you scratch shit up then its your goddamn fault for scratching it in the first place, fuck em.

[Raijin Z]

A CD IS NOT UNLIKE AN LP, A VINYL RECORD. THE DATA IS RECORDED ONTO THE DISC IN A LONG STRING THAT CIRCLES FROM THE INSIDE OF THE DISC TO THE OUTSIDE EDGE. Any scratches along the string will make it impossible for the disc to be read there. Take a nail and scratch an LP along its string and see what happens. Do it to a Beegees LP, not something cool like the Goldfinger soundtrack. Now do it to Tomb Raider and try to play it. A scratch perpendicular to the string will do much less damage. Rubbing in a circle puts streaks and fine scratces in every direction all over the disc.

[Mintyfresh]

Hehehehe, 11 posts up, RJ said my name.....

[RJ]

...& I love TROGDOR!!!