Forums > Game Talk > Fellow MobyGamers, please help!!!
Unicorn Lynx (181769) on 4/5/2006 9:49 AM · Permalink · Report
I'm totally desperate... I tried to install one of my favorite games, Arcanum: Of Steamworks & Magick Obscura, and neither one of my computers could read the CD. I saw then that the first CD had some scratches. I couldn't copy the CD, there was nothing I could do - I couldn't access the files needed for installation, the game wouldn't install, so I am unable to play it.
What's worse: there is no way I can buy the game again. I can't have a credit card in China because of my foreigner status. I don't have any other credit card. Using sites like Amazon or eBay or any other on-line site is out of question. The game is not sold here in China because it is too old.
If anyone here has the game and agrees to sell it to me, or can easily buy it somewhere and then sell it to me, I'm willing to pay any extra price needed. I can send cash in registered mail; shouldn't be a problem, I've done it before. Please guys, help me! I'm really desperate here... :(
Unicorn Lynx (181769) on 4/5/2006 10:01 AM · edited · Permalink · Report
Oh yes, and if anyone agrees to trade "Arcanum" for several other games, I'd be very happy. I can trade the following games:
PC:
Crescendo (English)
Gothic II (German)
Moment of Silence (German)
Any Chinese RPG you can think of.
Playstation 2:
Beyond Good & Evil (PAL version, German manual, multilingual)
Sakura Taisen V Episode 0 (Chinese)
Sakura Taisen V (Japanese)
Eve Burst Error Plus (the remake, Japanese)
Mars of Destruction (Japanese)
Playstation:
Eve The Fatal Attraction (Japanese)
Gensou Suikogaiden 1 & 2 (Japanese)
Dreamcast:
Eve Zero (Japanese)
Nakoruru (Limited Edition, Japanese)
Saturn:
Lunar: Magic School (Japanese)
Lunar: Eternal Blue (Japanese)
Desire (Japanese)
Sega CD
Lunar: Silver Star (Japanese)
Space Adventure (PAL, English)
Turbo CD
Cosmic Fantasy 3 (Japanese)
Aurora Quest (Japanese)
If you need any of those, I can send you several at once, no problem at all. All I need is my "Arcanum"!..... :-(
Sciere (930966) on 4/5/2006 10:36 AM · edited · Permalink · Report
Most video rental stores have a tiny box to repair scratched DVDs by applying a new layer. When a DVD is rented ten times, it's usually a complete mess, and they can restore it almost to perfection that way. You can always ask, I've done it as well.
Unicorn Lynx (181769) on 4/5/2006 11:09 AM · Permalink · Report
Is it possible to do the same thing to CDs as well? If it's theoretically possible, maybe I can find someone in China to do that...
Thanks for the tip. But I doubt it will work, the scratches look too bad. I think I really need a new copy...
Mobygamesisreanimated (11069) on 4/5/2006 11:36 AM · Permalink · Report
Why is eBay out of the question? Are foreign eBay sites blocked in China? If not, can't you use paypal then?
Unicorn Lynx (181769) on 4/5/2006 11:40 AM · edited · Permalink · Report
No, nothing works. Most eBay sellers won't ship to China. If they do, they demand PayPal. I can't use PayPal because it doesn't accept Chinese bank accounts, and I can't have a credit card in China. I also have no friends with a PayPal account. There is no way for me to buy stuff online.
You guys are my last hope :-(
Unicorn Lynx (181769) on 4/5/2006 1:45 PM · Permalink · Report
Man, you are returning me back to life :)) You can't imagine how thankful I am.
There are no special instructions... it has to be original and in English, that's all :)) Doesn't have to be in box and with manuals or anything, but original jewel case and CDs are a must... Let me know if you prefer to trade or to get paid.
D Michael (222) on 4/5/2006 1:49 PM · Permalink · Report
probably don't need a trade. I'm going to find one and let you know the price and then you can give me your address and it'll be done.
I know what it's like looking for a game you can't get your hands on (although for different reasons). I went through something similar with bane of the cosmic forge, finally found one but it didn't have the magic word/icon list (copy protection thing) so had to find another one and it didn't have the disks but it had the chart. In any case I'll get the game for you but it might not be until tomorrow (my time) that I have something definite for you.
Unicorn Lynx (181769) on 4/5/2006 2:10 PM · Permalink · Report
Thank you very, very much. That was really an awful feeling - staring at the corrupted CDs and realizing one of my favorite games is no longer playable...
Don't forget to give me your address, too, so that I can send you money. Just e-mail me at [email protected] if you don't want to display your address on the board. Otherwise too many people will start begging you to find games for them ;))
Scott Monster (986) on 4/5/2006 10:55 PM · Permalink · Report
And if nothing else works, I find that car wax can restore Some CDs temporarily. Careful to archive once you can get a good read, you don't want wax spattered in your CD drive. :)
Unicorn Lynx (181769) on 4/6/2006 7:02 AM · Permalink · Report
Car wax? What's that, a kind of wax? Like the one you get from candles?
Scott Monster (986) on 4/6/2006 5:10 PM · Permalink · Report
[Q --start Unicorn Lynx wrote--]Car wax? What's that, a kind of wax? Like the one you get from candles? [/Q --end Unicorn Lynx wrote--]
Car wax is a polish that you use on auto finishs to take out scratches. It has limited success with CDs.
http://www.g4tv.com/screensavers/features/37127/How_to_Remove_CD_Scratches.html
Unicorn Lynx (181769) on 4/6/2006 7:02 AM · Permalink · Report
Thanks :) But I think it won't help much, even if I download the game, I'll have to burn it on CDs, and from the experience I have with backup CDs, they will get bad quickly. Maybe I do something wrong with CDs? My backup CDs get corrupted so easily. However, "Arcanum" was the first original game CD that went bad.
Roedie (5239) on 4/6/2006 11:37 AM · Permalink · Report
You could try to read the data on a corrupted CD with a recovery tool like IsoBuster (see www.isobuster.com). Had some (limited) success with that one. Anyway don't forget to keep your CD-R's away from sunlight. They deteriorate much faster if exposed.
Unicorn Lynx (181769) on 4/6/2006 12:06 PM · Permalink · Report
I tried it... no success :(
I do keep CDs away from sunlight... and usually they don't get scratched or anything. Guess this "Arcanum" CD was damaged when moving from Europe to China... :/
Marko Poutiainen (1151) on 4/6/2006 11:47 AM · Permalink · Report
Most important thing is to get good quality CD-R's. They last a lot longer. If you want to play safe, make two copies. Unfortunately it looks like CD's are not a very good way of storing data, but with some precautions they should do ok.
Unicorn Lynx (181769) on 4/6/2006 12:05 PM · Permalink · Report
I couldn't make a copy, it was a copy-protected CD :(
chirinea (47516) on 4/13/2006 9:57 AM · Permalink · Report
How bad are the scratches? Do they reach the CD's silver surface, or just it's bottom face? If it didn't touch the silver (upper) face, you still can recover it, by polishing. Car wax is a good idea, but those recovering tools for DVDs and CDs work better 'cause they polish all the surface equally. But, since your game is on its way, you probably wouldn't mind fixing your old CD.