We have already talked about the fragility of media such as CDs and DVDs in the article on how to recover files from a damaged or unreadable CD DVD BR. Many CDs and DVDs are in fact thrown away because they are scratched with extreme ease and, once damaged, they are no longer readable by computers or multimedia players.
In this article we will not only talk about software solutions but about manual remedies to remove scratches as the ancients would do.
To recover data and files from a damaged media we talked about CD Recovery Toolbox or also, dvdisaster, among the best to recover files from a damaged, ruined or unreadable CD DVD BR disc .
Another software solution you can try is Unstoppable Copier's Roadkil .
It is a Toolbox-like program that is capable of recovering data from a damaged or scratched disk.
The good thing is that if file recovery takes too long, you can also pause, or save the session to resume work at another time.
If you are using Linux you can try the ddrescue software which is a command line tool with numerous options.
A third attempt can be made with Rizone's DVD Drive Repair, which tries to solve any driver problems in using the computer's CD / DVD player.
But if no software can recover the contents of a CD / DVD disc then I want to try to indicate other ways, without using software, to try to bring a disc, CD or DVD back to life so that it can be read.
First of all, it is necessary to know that the scratches that go from the center of the disc to the outside are generally less harmful or harmful than the scratches that go along the spiral and that go around the disc.
So if the CD / DVD is scratched in this way the chances of recovering data will fade, however it is possible, with a little luck, to make the CD / DVD readable again using less orthodox remedies that I would call "grandmother's remedies" more than technical solutions.
If the disc has deep scratches you can try to repair the scratches as if you were a body repairer who repairs the car and use a toothpaste to whiten your teeth.
I can assure you that it is a solution used by many in the field of multimedia.
Other useful products can be the liquids used for cleaning, for example, glasses or better, those which are used to clean the lenses of glasses and which are generally sold by opticians.
Then, before cleaning the surface of the disc with a soft fabric, you can use a mild detergent (also alcohol) to eliminate any fingerprints, dust or grease stains.
The recommendation is to clean the surface of the disc very gently without rubbing too much otherwise you risk worsening the situation.
After this operation you can use toothpaste or a liquid to clean the scratches.
The amount of liquid or toothpaste must be very small otherwise you risk staining the CD and having to waste a lot of time cleaning it.
Now you can rub it gently with a cloth or cotton to move your hand from the center out.
If the scratch is not too deep, it should be noted during cleaning that the scratches fade or even disappear if they were very small.
If the scratches remain always evident, you can also try to rub, always very gently, even the vaseline.
Another widely used and very unorthodox method is to use a banana peel : after cleaning the disc, you simply have to rub the banana peel over the entire surface and finally clean it with a damp cloth.
These methods sometimes work and sometimes not, there is no insurance in this but I want to clarify that they are not stupid and that there is no hoax otherwise I would never have written them.
To finish the article some important tips :
- The recovery of a CD / DVD is better done by a burner player because it is much more precise than a normal player and can see the tracks better.
- If possible, try recovery on the same drive that was used to create the disc, apparently the chances of a good read of the CD / DVD increase if you use the same drive or the same brand of recorder.
- If you are unable to recover anything on your own, you can go to a music store as a last resort to show the CD / DVD disc media.
Such stores generally have much more powerful and advanced CD players that can better recover the disc content.
- In case you can recover the data from the disc, it is obviously advisable to immediately make a copy of the CD / DVD and throw away the damaged one.
If there was nothing to do, you can use the CD / DVD to make it a spectroscope, or a Christmas decoration ...
I'd like to hear now if you know other methods and your experiences in recovering discs.
