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CD/DVD Scratch removers....
lokki:
Hi,
Was wondering if any one used DVD scratch removers?
Do they work?
Any product recommendations?
The Amazon reviews seem to be pretty negative.
Thanks
patrickl:
I used one a couple of times (on CD's and DVDs) and it worked pretty well. At least I could play the discs again.
DrewKaree:
Skip Doctor is one of the more highly touted solutions, which I also happen to own. It has mixed results. I prolly get about 75% successful results with it.
Another less touted, but cheaper alternative are a few common household products you'll have lying around.
Where the scratch is, wet the area, and use a small amount of toothpaste (NOT the "whitening" kind, something old school, like Crest original or something similar) or Brasso (or barkeepers friend, I can't remember) and rub that around for a touch, clean it off, and give 'er a go.
ANY of these solutions may not fix the problem on the first crack, you may need several re-applications/run-throughs with these things, sometimes up to half a dozen, depending on the severity.
If you want some more info on this, it's an audio forum, but the same info will apply, head on over to www.hydrogenaudio.com for a more detailed discussion of this issue.
Oh, and if you're gonna go with a Skip Doctor, don't bother with the motorized version, it's just a waste of 20 extra bucks.
Ravant:
Well, depends on where/what kind of damaged disc you're looking at. If you're trying to repair a CD you burnt yourself, if the data layer scratched off, you're screwed. (The top of the CD gets scratched, the foil comes off, and thus your data is permenantly gone, hence why CD labels are a nice thing to have... protection.)
If you're trying to repair a comercially burnt CD or DVD, you have about an 88% chance of fixing the CD almost entirely using Skip Doctor. But like Drew said... the motorized version is an utter waste of the extra cash.
markb:
There are software solutions as well, they basically read the disk multiple times around any damaged areas and then you burn a new disc.
I tried a program called CD Rescue X (?) a while ago and it managed to read a heavily scratched CD that was almost unplayable and burnt it to a new disc that only had 1 or 2 crackly bits.
I don't know if the program in this link is any good but this is the kind of thing I mean.
http://www.naltech.com/