How to recover a scratched CD/DVD : a guide on CD/DVD care
What do you feel when you thrash your disc containing favorite songs, pics, files, games or videos into dust bin! Read forward to know if you could do something to recover them :D
Anatomy of scratches
Scratches that are perpendicular (going from the center outwards) are generally less 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 less. But don't forget to give it a try :-)
First Aid
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 .Rub a small amount of toothpaste on the scratch and
polish the CD with a soft cloth and any petroleum-based polishing
solution .If available, squirt a drop of Brasso and wipe it
with a clean cloth from the center outwards.You can also seek the help of CD refinishing machine if you feel so. Softwares to check out
There are many softwares available on internet, which enable the recovery of the CD data.You can search on google and find out some yourself.Also you can try recovery in a CD/DVD writer as opposed to a reader as writers are more precise and can see the tracks better.
How to care CD/DVD?
- Always keep CD/DVD in pouches.
- Do not scratch the graphics layer as you cannot repair the disc.
- Regularly clean your disc's.
- Always wipe the CD from the center outward with as wiping CDs in circles will create scratches .
- If wiping with a cloth does not remove a fingerprint or smudge, use a specialized DVD disc polishing spray to clean it.
- Only handle the disc by its outer edge and the empty hole in the middle.
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