How to Recover Data from a Damaged CD or DVD

CDs and DVDs are the most popular devices for data storage among most. Unfortunately, these are not very reliable mediums of backup

Data Recovery

Research concludes that the average life of a factory burnt CD has much higher life as compared to regular burnt CDs that have a life of 2 – 5 years. Other factors that decide and affect the life of a CD are the environment in which they are stored, the temperature, multiple rewrites, usage, and humidity. Moreover, CDs and DVDs can get damaged by dust, scratches, mishandling, labelling with marker, etc.

The reason might vary, but one thing is for sure, that a CD and DVD would not last forever. The best way to keep them safe is to take a backup every now and then. This backup can be taken on an external hard drive.

The first thing to do when a CD that contained important data, text, or photos does not work or becomes inaccessible is clean it with a cotton cloth. If this does not work, use one of these data recovery softwares that are free of cost.

CD Check: The tool detects and recovers data from damaged files. Moreover, it checks if the data existing in CD’s is safe. The tool detects errors on damaged CDs and DVDs and recovers them. The tool is a shareware utility but free for personal home use.

Unstoppable Copier: The tool is available for both Windows and Linux users. The software can copy files from scratched CDs. In most cases when PCs are unable to copy files from damaged disks, it would abort and delete the part of the file that has been copied. The tool however continues to copy the file until the end. All data that is not recovered after a couple of retry is replaced with blanks.

IsoBuster: This tool supports all formats of CDs and DVDs. The software comes with a host of recovery features and is free of cost. The premium version is available at a small cost.

IsoPuzzle: This tool helps recover from scratched CDs and DVDs. The data is taken from these devices and stored as an image file in ISO format. This format can be read by Nero Burning Rom, Daemon Tools, and WinRar. The process of doing so is simple. Specify the Source and Destination and click on the Start button to start the process. The full process would take about an hour.

Many a time’s one software does better than the other does. It is recommended to use more than one product to recover data from a damaged CD or DVD. When trying to recover, just insert the damaged CD or DVD. The software will list out files and folders that it finds on the disc. The user would be prompted to select the files that need to be recovered. The process can be extremely slow and would require the user to be very patient.

CDs and DVDs are fragile devices. Thus, when the first sign of scratches are noticed, immediately take a backup or create a duplicate, as they CD data might be at risk. Perpendicular scratches that go from the centre outwards are less harmful that spiral scratches.