For the PS2, this means dumping the entire disc—not just the game data, but the error correction codes, the "wobble" of the lead-in track, the useless padding sectors. They preserve the physical fingerprint of the silver plastic. Let’s talk numbers. The PS2 Redump archive is currently hovering around 7+ terabytes .
In 2035, when every retail Final Fantasy X disc has delaminated, how will a historian know what the original retail code looked like? They won't trust a "scene release" from 2003—those often had music removed or copy protection stripped. ps2 redump archive
You need a specific old PC with an IDE ribbon cable. You need a Plextor drive (manufactured circa 2006) because only those drives can read the "subchannel data" correctly. You run a program called DICUI (Derivative Image Creation UI). It takes 45 minutes to read one DVD. For the PS2, this means dumping the entire
If the checksum doesn't match the hash of the other three people who own the same disc, the dump is rejected. The PS2 Redump archive is currently hovering around
There is a philosophical argument here: If a corporation abandons a cultural artifact, and a community preserves it perfectly, has a crime been committed? The archivists don't care. They care about CRC32 values. You don't need to download all 7TB. You just need to know it exists.
Redump is the only backup.