I own numerous CDs, but I prefer fewer.
I own numerous CDs, but I prefer fewer.
I'm heading across the country soon, but my space is limited. I really wish I could preserve all my classic games in their current state, but I don't have much room and can't carry everything. Can I find a legal way to convert those discs into playable ISOs or similar files so I can still enjoy my old games without needing the physical media?
Well, what @jaslion recommended was considered, but since you gave clear instructions, I’ll stress it out. The situation is tricky, but legally speaking, you’re allowed to make a backup copy as long as you retain the original. It’s not ideal, but technically you can proceed. You might think you’ve lost everything, yet those copies are still valuable. For classic content like this, it should end up in the hands of collectors who appreciate it. Personally, I’d suggest removing them and selling them, because that keeps the work alive and prevents waste. But honestly, doing it the pirate way isn’t right—your ethics should guide you. Still, legally, it’s not a big issue unless someone tries to take it seriously.
My focus on non-piratey is just to prevent the discussion from getting stuck. Honestly, I’d prefer these in the hands of someone else who has more space than me, and I don’t care about the IP issues with games that mostly ended up as abandoned titles a decade ago.
That sounds like a wild memory! What a fun mix of roles and eras!
Consider trying to move all the games onto an SSD that isn’t labeled as C:\. This would let you either set it up physically, use a hot-plug or USB 3.0 connection. Essentially, you’d keep your main drive at C:\ for basic game data while storing the full game files on the D:\ SSD. That way, copy protection that requires the disc to be present in its original location would be bypassed easily—just discard the packaging and keep only the CD in a case. When using virtual PC, you’d simply need to mount the drives. You could also purchase them again from cloud services like Good Old Games, ensuring they’re ready to play online if you connect to download and install. Some cloud providers might need workarounds for older software such as Steam on Windows XP or 7, but that’s unlikely to be an issue now.