Game Cube Disc Help

[rayne315]

I recently got Mario sunshine for the game cube at a garage sale for $0.25 got it home and tried to play it on my wii just to see disc read error pop up. So I cleaned the disc and tried again same issue and even took it to a friends house that has a game cube same issue. what gets me about this is that the disc is not dirty, It passed the scratch test (hold the disc to a light source and if you can no longer see scratches it should work) and the label on the top of the disc is complete (none of the label is removed to kill the disc).

Is there an Issue with the discs that cause them to stop working?
Is it maybe a scratch that would not cause problems for a normal disc?
If so is there a way to fix it without a disc buffer?
Or is this game a lost cause?

[maximo310]

  Do your other gamecube discs work on your wii? You should check for scratches in the inner ring of the GC disc( usually where the data is located) since Gamecube optical discs seems to get disc read errors more easily than regular DVD discs, because of the small surface area. That means that a scratch is more likely to cause damage/ affect a GC game disk, compared to a PS2/Xbox disc.

If it doesn't work after repeated tries,  a disc buffer is the best bet to get the disc to work. I've heard of people using toothpaste on their discs, but I'm not sure how good of a method it is to permanently fix the problem.

[rayne315]

What is the toothpaste method and does it work even temporarily?

How would I go about getting a disc buffer (I do not buy online)? Where are they usually sold?

And I will look at my disc to see if there are any inner ring scratches but of what I remember there were only scratches on the outer edges.

[telly]

For me, toothpaste never works. I've heard you need the plain white paste with else nothing in it, and you rub it around the disc to buff out the scratches... There are plenty of videos on YouTube, but for me it just makes more scratches whenever I do it.

Most Movie rental stores and some used games shops have disc buffers that you can use. For me it costs around 3 dollars. Just be sure to ask them to show you what an already buffed disc would look like before you use it though. I had some bad experiences with buffers that do more harm then good.

Just keep in mind that if there are any cracks in the disc plastic, or scratches on the top/label of the disc, the problem may not be fixable  . If you have that, it means the problem is from the actual data being corrupted/damaged, and not because the GC's laser is simply being refracted from reading the right data because of the scratches on the underside.

The laser of your GameCube could also be dirty, but it seems unlikely since you tried in a friends' GameCube and I'm assuming your GameCube is working.

[rayne315]

The laser of your GameCube could also be dirty, but it seems unlikely since you tried in a friends' GameCube and I'm assuming your GameCube is working.

I do not currently own a game cube but yes my wii plays game cube games perfectly (usually) and my friends gamecube plays his copy of the same game so it is something with my disc.

[telly]

Ok! 

Is the disc cracked at all? Look along the inner ring of the disc to see if any cracks are in the plastic. It's a common problem with GameCube games: I think it's because people didn't know how to take them out of the console properly and you're forced to literal "peel" them out of the case since there isn't a nice eject button like in the PS2 game cases.

And I think you mentioned that the label is intact? Are there any bad scratches on the clear parts that don't have a label, like where the "clouds" are, under the blue part on the disc

[matimo]

When you hold it up to the light do u see any light shining through little holes or anything?

[aliensstudios]

I found an extra copy of Super Smash Bros. Melee and it wouldn't read, had it resurfaced, still wouldn't work. There are no cracks or scratches, there are no holes in it, it just will not read it. The inner ring of the disc is the most important part in terms of getting it to read, if that is damaged, it will never work. Therefore, resurfacing won't help much since resurfacing machines don't get that small inner ring. DO NOT use toothpaste, it'll just make the disc cloudy. I'm betting it's that inner ring which is a b*tch to get scratches out of, the best method is to use a fine cloth and some disc repair solution. If you hold it up to the light and there is holes in it, it'll never work. Unfortunately the going rate for this game is 30 bucks on the low end, so I understand your frustration.

[rayne315]

NOOOOOOOO!!!!! Hard to see but I think that little bit of light is my culprit

Thank you matimo I actually never even thought of looking at the label like that till you mentioned it... You have no idea how hard it was to take a pic of it so it would show up...

Lol I know everyone calls it the discs death but is there actually any way to fix something that small? like a bit of foil or something?

[aliensstudios]

NOOOOOOOO!!!!! Hard to see but I think that little bit of light is my culprit

Thank you matimo I actually never even thought of looking at the label like that till you mentioned it... You have no idea how hard it was to take a pic of it so it would show up...

Lol I know everyone calls it the discs death but is there actually any way to fix something that small? like a bit of foil or something?

Nope That's data that is taken out of the disc and is unfortunately impossible to replace.

[rayne315]

so does that mean that the data is on the underside of the label? I always thought it was imprinted on the plastic of the disc and that it only required the label to bounce the laser off of...

Oh well it was only 25 cents.

[aliensstudios]

It's under both sides really. Chances are if either side is worn down it's ruined.

[matimo]

so does that mean that the data is on the underside of the label? I always thought it was imprinted on the plastic of the disc and that it only required the label to bounce the laser off of...

Oh well it was only 25 cents.

With more modern games like PS3 or PS4 Blueray this kind of damage may not even affect gameplay necessarily, as data is stored a more towards the middle of the layer, also games are now coded better to not to crash if data is missing anyway. But for pretty much anything else all data is stored just under the top reflective layer of the disc, so if damage is done to that top layer data is lost. Sorry you were unlucky with this disc op. :/

[rayne315]

so does that mean that the data is on the underside of the label? I always thought it was imprinted on the plastic of the disc and that it only required the label to bounce the laser off of...

Oh well it was only 25 cents.

With more modern games like PS3 or PS4 Blueray this kind of damage may not even affect gameplay necessarily, as data is stored a more towards the middle of the layer, also games are now coded better to not to crash if data is missing anyway. But for pretty much anything else all data is stored just under the top reflective layer of the disc, so if damage is done to that top layer data is lost. Sorry you were unlucky with this disc op. :/

Eh like I said it was only 25 cents so it was still worth the gamble especially since I technically got it for free because the previous garage sale I was at I found the quarter I used on the sidewalk lol.

plus now I know its busted forever and I can do with it as I see fit (have any of you thrown discs like frisbies/ninja stars. Its actually quite fun as they fly rather well)