Have you ever had a CD or DVD that contained critical information but you could not get to it? Does your disk have a huge scratch running through it? Maybe it’s a little chipped or cracked? Don’t throw it out there might still be hope!
CD and DVD are fragile media. A few scratches here and there and they can easily become coasters on your table. I have had plenty of them myself.
Let’s just look at some of the ways to repair damaged CD’s and DVD’s and recover data from those spoilt CD/DVD’s.
Anatomy of scratches
Scratches that are perpendicular (going from the center outwards) are generally less harmful or damaging than the scratches that go along the spiral. So if your CD/DVD has more of the latter ones, then the chances of recovering data from that CD or DVD may be bleak. Nevertheless, Thou shall try till thou art able to Make good Use Of thy media.
Attempt to repair the damaged CDs
If the disc has profound scratches you can try to repair those scratch to make
the disc playable again. The best way to do this is to use a whitening toothpaste or some polish (specially those used by opticians) although Brasso also works.
- First clean the surface of the disc
with a soft lint-free cloth. You can use a gentle detergent (or rubbing alcohol) if there are some grease spots. Make sure there are no finger prints or dust particles. Don’t scrub too hard as you may do more harm than good this way. - Now apply some toothpaste or polish on the scratched surface. It is best to start with a minimum amount of either, or else you will have your work really cut out trying to buff away the remainder.
- Now rub gently with a cloth moving from the center outwards.
If you did a good job, you will actually see the scratch diminishing, or if it was a faint one, it might just disappear.
The success with this method varies greatly. It is hit and miss. I have had an equal amount of successes and failures. Sometimes it works allowing you to even read data from that part, other times it is of no use at all.
Some Tips
- Try recovery in a CD/DVD writer as opposed to a reader. Writers are generally more precise and can see the tracks better.
- If possible try recovery on the same drive that was used to create the disc. Chances of a good read have been found to increase if you use the same drive or at least the same manufacturer.
- If nothing helps you can go to music stores and show them your disc. Such stores usually have a CD refinishing machine and may be able to do a better job.
- As soon as any of the above methods works, don’t think even twice and just create another copy of the disc.
- Buy good quality media.
- Take good care of your CDs
If nothing helps
Contact NuMedia Specialist either by phone toll free or request more information below. We would love to help you restore or recover your lost data.
Source: Varun Kashyap
