Damn! my add-on cd cant be read

[dsawan]

Hi, I was wondering if someone can help. I accidentally dropped my addon cd on the floor and when I put it in the cd drive, pc wont read it. I hope its not scratched. It has all my files from october of last year. Its a dvd. I ried another cd and it read it s its not the drive. I tried cleaning surface of dvd with alcholol and cloth but no go. Is there a utility that can assist? thks.

[Shessi]

Hi Dsawan,
I really hope you've not completely b%ggered it up using alcohol on it! :icon_eek:

Firstly I would try it in several other DVD drives, some drives are better at reading problem discs than others.

I would only use a soft lint-free cloth and either breath condensation or nothing at all. Try cleaning every bit of that side even the clear centre and the very edge. Make sure there are no other bits left afterwards.

The only other thing is something called a CD-doctor, it works by polishing the surface. They're not expensive and may save your disc.

Good luck!

Cheers Shessi

[dsawan]

Hi, only have one pc here as Im in process of moving. I tried this utility called elprime media recovery but it doesnt seem to work. I looked at the disc bottom and do see scratches near the edge of disk not the center and they are sideways. I used another utility that worked almost all the time to recover data but cant think of the name.

[p14u2nv]

The ONLY thing I have ever used to clean a cd or dvd was a quick rinse under a lukewarm faucet and then, after shaking as much water off as you can, let it air dry. Never use hot water as it will warp the disc. As a next to last resort sort of step lint free cloths can be used and I suggest a small eye glass cleaning cloth only as it is much cheaper than the same cloth sold as a cd/dvd cleaning cloth.

Shessi is right as it appears that all you can do now is try to re-polish it and remove those scratches and they do work as long as the scratches are not too deep. You also could possibly try a friends pc and see if it reads and if it does burn a new copy. Usually, for the most part, software is designed to recover files when there is corruption.

One small trick, that if you use it you are on your own. Simply use the faucet trick and put in your machine somewhat damp meaning a minimal amount of water droplets on the surface. Minimal amount is subjective I guess. The reasoning is that as the "eye" passes the disc surface looking for info the water will temporarily coat the surface enough to fill any minimal scratches long enough to reveal the data. Burn asap as this doesn't last long as the water will evaporate and you don't want excess water inside the pc anywhere.

And yes I have used this trick a time or two myself but ONLY on personal equipment and ONLY as a last resort! Note; I take no responsibility for any damages as you can understand.

Hope you can get it straight. Losing any files is personal and it hurts.

[Rockster234]

I had a CD that was scratced beyond repair...............

I used a freeware disc recover software.........and as above.......I can't remember the name...........

but it recovered a large amount of the info....................including the file I was after..............

[p14u2nv]

Learn something new every day 'round these parts. Thanks for the heads up Rock.

I checked and found this freeware;

http://www.oemailrecovery.com/cd_recovery.html

Here are three articles about scratch recovery for disc media;

http://www.isobuster.com/tips.php?tips_page=6

Worth a look I guess. Hope it helps

[dsawan]

Hi, thx for support and help. i found a media recovery software called badcopy pro. I am running as I write this but it looks like it may take an enitre day or two as it is scanning 1481471 sectors of dvd. So have to wait till next weekend to do. Started it today but dont wanna leave pc on while i go to work. I think this tuility may work as I used it a long time ago and it recovered some scratched disks. will keep ya posted.

[leroy10]

Sometimes just putting the disk into another machine can help. Cleaning your CD/DVD's with alcohol won't hurt them, unless it was cheap and nasty alcohol. Most CD disk cleaning solutions are based on isopropyl alcohol.

Cheers :ernae:
Lindsay