What do I do with my old CDs?

[calthaer]

Since I am stuck at home like many folks, I have been trying to clean up and organize things. My most recent project is organizing my games, music, and movies. Given that various creative works are being "memory-holed" left and right, I'm inclined to stock up on some physical media...but I don't want to do that before figuring out what I have first.

I'm left wondering what I should do with some of these CDs. What about my installation discs for Starcraft + Brood War? The game is free now on Battle.Net; I don't need these, I suppose? Don't want to get rid of them, though. And Age of Empires II + The Conquerers...I have the Definitive Edition on Steam. What do I do with these?

Some of these don't work on modern OSes, either. Tried installing Tiberian Sun + Firestorm only to have it not work - eventually found that they'd given away an installer for it a few years back. As I go through these I'm sure I'll find more. And System Shock 2...it works great on Steam. What do I do with the old CD?

I'm also not sure I'm ever going to play some of these. I have a game called "Stolen" that I barely remember purchasing...not even sure if it's any good.

What's everyone else doing with their old PC games? Especially ones where they're free or where you have a digital copy on Steam. Even DOS games - do you make an .ISO file of the CD and throw out the original? I am guessing on this board filled with collectors the answer is going to be "no way", but...

[gbpxl]

answer: give them to me :-)

[Gameguy]

I keep the old CDs around, even if the games are free, people still value the original media. Plenty of games were released as freeware years ago but physical copies were still collected. Especially if you want to run the old games on old hardware, you can't install Steam on a DOS or Win 95 machine.

It's almost like comparing first edition copies of books to a random modern edition, the first editions still hold value above modern editions.

[gbpxl]

It's a damn shame they don't produce PC games on physical disc anymore. Probably better for the environment but still, they can use recycled materials at the very least

[calthaer]

So let me ask this question...if you're collecting your CDs...are you displaying them? For PC stuff or even for PS1 / PS2 / Wii / whatever. Something like this?
http://hobbyframes.com/CDs.htm

[gbpxl]

Nope. I just have a shelf that I put them on

[Gameguy]

I'm not displaying anything at the moment, that goes for all of my games and software. And movies. And books. I haven't set things up the way I want them yet, just about everything is stored away.

I wouldn't mind framing some items for display like the link above but it depends on what the item is. I have a laserdisc I would frame just because it's got rot on one side and is unplayable, it's only suitable for display purposes. If anything else was displayed like that I couldn't use the disc anymore. Honestly the prices of those frames are more than what I would have spent on the item being framed.

[calthaer]

They are expensive...all frames are, pretty much. The only exception is cheap frames from Walmart for standard-sized items (8.5 x 11, 11x14, poster, etc.). It doesn't help that a lot of the stuff for old games (the mini-posters, etc.) are all non-standard size. Last year I bought some custom frames for a few things, among them the "Now You're Playing With Power!" poster from the NES and some maps for PC games (Icewind Dale, EverQuest), and it cost a couple of clams.

But they look good on my wall and y'know, it kind of makes me happy looking at them. These CDs - looking at them brings back happy memories, times when I'd open that off-white CD tray and place the Starcraft CD in there, listen to it whirr, and then log on to Battle.Net. Or AOE2, or Deus Ex, or whatever. Those games were a magical escape - a real bright spot during high school and college experiences that weren't the always the happiest times in my life, despite all the great things going on I could have appreciated (but didn't). You're right - the frames are worth more than I paid for these items, in some cases, and because I haven't saved the boxes for them it's probably more expensive than they're worth today. But I think I'm starting to come around to the idea that the value of having them on my wall and being able to look at them exceeds the resale value, at least for me. Maybe I posted here to get feedback, think out loud, and talk myself into it...and I think I have.

[Baloo]

I've shifted back to CDs, in part because they are more enjoyable to find good albums that are good from front to back, and also because I have lost my digital music collection twice in the last 5 years, and only have recovered a small portion. Prefer physical media for music unless there is digital only music. Plus the sound quality is wildly better than Youtube ever will be, and you can buy at least one album a month for the price of spotify. I also find that it helps me appreciate music more than this neverending faucet of music that is difficult to sift through.

Anyone into the HD Music scene, like SACDs and DVD-Audio and Blu-Ray Audio music releases? They're obscure and costly, but are fun to listen to in 5.1 channel if you can find all of the right equipment and the CDs themselves that doesn't cost a complete fortune.

[gbpxl]

my current car lacks a CD player so I havent listened to a CD in a long time. If I'm at work I listen to Pandora which has most of what I want.

As I was cleaning, I noticed I had dozens and dozens of CDs and thought to myself why the f*** did I buy so many of these. There's only been a couple that have gotten some good mileage out of them. One is Dont Break the Path by Mercyful Fate which might be my favorite album of all time. The other is a Greatest Hits compilation of The Cure. I also got a lot of play out of Perperual Flame by Yngwie Malmsteen. Couples others, but those are a few that stand out. Once I move, I may set up my 5 CD player and connect it to my surround system. I just dont find myself listening to a ton of music at home. Usually just if I am driving or working.

[SpasticFuctard]

If you heat em up on the stove, you can shape them into ashtrays...

[Tanooki]

I have in the last few years been slowly grabbing up complete copies of old games I used to own for the DOS/Win9X era that I lost over time (seemingly just retained Fate of Atlantis talkie all this time.) I know a good large many on the DOS side work great in DOSBox so that's covered, even in the case of a floppy as I found in the box a USB floppy drive for a few bucks in the the last 5 years at a thrift here.

So in the cases they work, they work, great. In the case of them also being on GoG I grab that too, usually the installer is far easier to put up with in some cases, and the PDF reference materials are solid and keep wear off the others in a pinch. In a few cases I can't get it on GoG, the floppy works, such as Silverball 2 Plus!

But then you have these other games, the Win 3.X stuff, a no-go in Win10. Those I got a custom setup of Win3.X I injected into DOSbox (ECE version I use) and wham, where i had been blocked but stored thigns, such as my Explorers CD with CIV+Colonization for Win, I can play them again installing it right into that emulated OS within an emulated OS. I've got a few like that, have the Maxis Collection with the epic Sim Tower+Sim City Classic there and they run too.

Some cases I've also got games that refuse to work in Win10, but are in the 9x/XP era that just end up being pissy or having trash 16bit installers. THose so far have GoG copies, and other than HiOctane (which runs like on speedballs on track) I'm in good shape there too.

There are a few games, I've had to do some google hunting, I found other lovers of said company or game they've hacked the crap out of the games installer so since the game itself is 32bit, and got them working. All those nice SegaPC Collection games (the racers, panzer dragoon, etc) can't work, but with those, they do. So that solved that. I've got a Sim City 2000 Win installer repair that does the same too.


Right now within the last week the half price books just up the street I walked into a treasure trove as it hit the floor. Someone dropped a big box collection. Over 2 days (first was majority) I walked out of there with a presumed 16 big box DOS-98SE era releases from mostly 1995-2000 and they were mostly $3-6 each, a couple $10. MOST of them are sealed still. THree that weren't one (sadly) incomplete with no paper (Civ2 for DOS-WIn3X) did have CiV1 CD and CIV4 DVD inside) so +2 on that. So far I've officially added CIV2(bought the missing paper off ebay cheap) XWvsTIE w/expansion box, and Wing Commander Prophecy to the pile of my box collection. The other 13, a few I will sell I just can't use them, but I'm torn on the rest. I'll never see this again without getting taken to the cleaners. Some of those sealed I own (Railroad Tycoon 2) on GoG, and AOE2 and expansion, (as already mentioned earlier by another) I can get the HD release on Steam so it can stay bottled up. I know I have over $500 in games I grabbed for like $75 so I'm not complaining. Here's what I'm talking about for clarity. I don't have a pic of my closet shelf of gems and the few I keep in my desk too like Simpsons Arcade Game.

[calthaer]

That is a nice haul.

I present to you all now the finished result of my quest to make my wall look less boring: