Hello, my name is Doomerzan and this is my first post.
I own a rare game by the name of "D2" in my collection, and while the first disc is playable, it seems to be suffering disc rot. There are 3 tiny seethrough spots on the disc I discovered mid to late April. They look like they could've been a scratch, dent, or lable damage on the disc if they weren't seethrough. No advancements in rotting have seemed to be made since my discovery, and I've been storing the disc in a jewel case enclosed in a plastic bag, grouped with the game's other 3 discs, which I have not checked for rot.
I'm completely okay with either emulating or using an SD card reader, but I want to preserve my copy legally. Maybe that could even have a benefit, I could probably put the rom on a portable emulation device and play it on the go.
I'm aware of three methods; Using an SD Card reader through the serial port, ripping it with certain oldschool IDE and SATA drives, and using a retropi or some sort of internet connection to have the console rip the game and sent over to my computer. I cannot do the one involving the network cable, and it is highly unlikely I will do the SD Card reader method so that leaves oldschool computer drives.
Could you guys show me the specifics of the backup process, and how long would you estimate my copy would last in a playable state in my current storage conditions if I do not touch it? I should be able to easily procure one of the supported drives (which I have a list of) and an SATA/IDE to usb adapter in a short amount of time. This game is my favorite game ever, I would really appreciate to preserve my copy legally and be able to play it forever without having to buy another expensive copy of the game. I'm replaying the game once again today before I let go of my copy, and I've already made my way past the first disc. Thank you for your time.
Edit: I am an idiot lol. I couldn't catch my rot on camera, so I'll describe it instead. There's two things that look like "seethrough scratches" on the little gamecube-looking disc on the inner area, and one in the middle of the outer ring of the disc, and they are all located on the upper area of the disc. In terms of length, they're around or smaller than 1/2 the size of the sharp part on a thumbtack.
Edit 3: The disc is fully playable for now. I decided to drop my replay of the game after the second disc. I'll honestly be willing to haul my ass to get another copy, but even then I'm backing it up ASAP.