There are three central methods to take care of damaged or scratched CDs, scratched DVDs and scratched game discs. Each one of these disc varieties are produced from polycarbonate plastic consequently scratches or marks to the information surface of these discs can be handled in the same manner.

Before we set off there are one or two items you have to be aware of.

In the situation of CDs the data on the disc is actually on the base of the label therefore if the disc you are handling has a severe scratch on the label there is not a lot you can do to recover from this. Nearly all scratches to the reading surface of the disc will be able to be restored.

Regarding DVDs the data is enclosed in between two pieces of polycarbonate and is a lot more effectively protected. A scratch to the label is of no significance for retrieval purposes.

Game discs may possibly be CDs, DVDs or even Blu-ray so ensure which it is to begin with so that you are certain what you are dealing with.

Lastly Blu-ray discs. In addition to the launch of Blu-ray a new system and technology of disc creation was created. None of the tips delineated here except for software repair are appropriate to Blu-ray and will certainly result in additional damage to the disc.

The opening manner of repairing scratched discs is by utilizing specifically designed disc recovery software. This is the least intrusive process and beyond a doubt the safest of the three.

In the market today there are several software products that either specialize in disc repair or offer disc repair features as an element of their line up. A couple of the well-known programs are Isobuster and CD Roller. They are explicitly intended to recover information from damaged discs of all formats.

Additionally inside this category are Nero 9 and DVDfab. Nero 9 now packs a component called RescueAgent which has been designed to accomplish many varieties of disc information repair.

DVDfab from the outset was not intended expressly for disc recovery or to rectify data from damaged discs. But DVDfab was designed in such a way that it has a great quantity of strategies by which it can read any disc presented to it. Due to this, it can automatically sidestep or re-read damaged disc locations in various different ways resulting in the retrieval of the data.

To utilize any of these products all you need to do is set the disc into the DVD ROM of your computer and run the software. In a significant number of cases this will be adequate to replicate the contents of the disc on to your hard drive and from there you are able to burn a brand new disc.

The second process of recovering a scratched CD, DVD or game disc is by means of a CD DVD disc repair machine.

If the software routine above fails to come off then this would be my next best alternative. There are many dependable disc repair machines on offer which are able to get quite good results.

CD DVD disc repair machines are a cut above doing it by hand because they direct an even pressure to the whole disc surface and do not have to be overly rough to the disc face because of their faster rotation speeds. Furthermore they apply cleaning and buffing solutions that are intended specially for the job.

The lone drawback is that there are inferior disc repair machines about that are more or less worthless and might possibly even damage the disc further. Ahead of investing in such a device be sure to peruse reviews and user response to be sure you obtain a good model.

The last way of restoring a scratched DVD or CD is to restore the outside of the disc by hand.

This is usually a undemanding practice involving ordinary products you almost certainly have lying around in your house. What you are seeking here is a quite mildly abrasive product that will remove scratching yet take the disc back to a total gloss.

On the Internet presently there are lots of websites and videos advising the use of many unusual products to fix scratched discs. Many are helpful and many are just plain silly!

The only items that have the ability to re-surface the polycarbonate of a disc and reinstate the initial shine are either auto polish, furniture polish or Brasso. Any recommendation such as banana peel, toothpaste and several others do not provide the properties to eradicate the scratches. Any success anyone at any time had with these would have been because of the disc merely requiring a thorough clean and buff up from the outset.

The procedure for using either automobile polish or Brasso is to apply a bit to the full face of the disc using a soft cloth. On no account use paper towel since it is extremely harsh. Gently rub the area of the scratch in addition to the balance of the disc surface until you see it is reduced after that buff with straight strokes from the hub of the disc to the external edge. Bring the entire disc back to the original gloss with a clean cloth. Repeat until the scratching has lessened appreciably and good software is able to now read the disc.

No matter what technique you determine to employ... burn a back up copy immediately so you never have to resolve this all over again!