# How to repair scratched cds/dvds.



## rka0 (Oct 12, 2007)

Hi. I have just found this useful tip. If like me you lend cds/dvds to other members of the family and get them back scratched especially by the Grandkids this might help.


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## The_Oracle (May 20, 2007)

Help, my disks are gone bananas 

tnx.


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## Blackmirror (Dec 5, 2006)

A handy hint there
many thanks 
Now start eating those bananas boys .................


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## Elvandil (Aug 1, 2003)

A couple days ago, I had a DVD that was not recognized in any of 3 drives. So, my theory was that if I could slightly change the refractive index of the surface by just a bit, I might be able to recover some data. So I rubbed the surface with Marvel Mystery Oil, cleaned it thoroughly with a paper towel (leaving an unremovable residue) and popped it into a machine. It still was only recognized one out of the ten times I put it in, but with Infinadyne's Diagnostic, I was able to recover about 3 gigs of the data.


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## The_Oracle (May 20, 2007)

Roadkil's *Unstoppable Copier* does a fine job too.


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## Vhs321 (Oct 17, 2007)

thats messed up, arent you supposed to NEVER clean disks in a circular motion, because data is stored from inside to out, in straight lines?


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## Elvandil (Aug 1, 2003)

Infinadyne's Diagnostic is the best I've found. It finds data on disks that no other program can see at all.


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## rka0 (Oct 12, 2007)

Hi VHs321. My understanding is that is it does not matter you are simply removing a microscopic layer from the disk which erases minor scratches, anyway if you are unsure you can always just eat the banana.


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

This thread is really going *bananas*!


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## zvone (May 22, 2003)

Just rub some toothpaste on your damaged dvd/cd and clean it with a soft cloth(from inside -out). It wil fix minor and medium scratches. I am doing it for the past few years and it is realy working!


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## L33tm4st3r (Oct 18, 2007)

try creamy peanut butter on your disks and wipe them from the middle to the outer edge all over the disk. it should take out medium scratches, and a friend even got a non-readable disk to work again after trying it.


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## Vhs321 (Oct 17, 2007)

once again, i thought you werent supposed to do that? toothpaste has mil abrasives, and that, with how fragile the reflective lens of the disk is,(if you dident know, the information is on the botom of the foil, or within milimeters of it) it would just scratch it more


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## jumper (Aug 4, 2002)

toothpaste is mild abrasive, its the baking soda in most pasts (its what cleans the teeth eh). jewlers have been using it on gold, watch crystals(face) to clean and remove surface scratches. it also works great on CDs, just place a small bit on your finger and make small circles in and around the damaged area. if you can feel the scratch it might be to late. You would have to be there for a long time to buff off all of the varnish, if you do rub that much you'r way to bored and deserve to have your disc scrapped.


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## valley (Nov 17, 2002)

L33tm4st3r said:


> try creamy peanut butter on your disks and wipe them from the middle to the outer edge all over the disk. it should take out medium scratches, and a friend even got a non-readable disk to work again after trying it.


ok, this was the only tip I remembered. My son wanted to watch a Wiggles DVD that I knew skipped badly because of scratches and tons of wear. I remembered something about bananas and peanut butter from this thread and I didnt have a banana in the house so I dabbed a fingerful of peanut butter all over the DVD and then wiped it off with a Puffs tissue. It played flawlessly! Great tip, thanks! :up:


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## L33tm4st3r (Oct 18, 2007)

glad i could help, valley!


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## lotuseclat79 (Sep 12, 2003)

Beware the microwave technique making the rounds on the Intenet for solving this problem - It's a Prank! Follow its guidelines and you will destroy your already challenged CD.

Generally speaking, I am very skeptical that bananas or peanut butter can solve this problem - I have a scratched CD from opening a very tightly packed folder with a knife - and it won't boot up due to the scratches (Knoppix CD with O'Reilly Knoppix Hacks book). Next time, I will make sure I am facing the knife toward the top of the CD rather than the working side.

-- Tom


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## gurbleeek (Oct 21, 2007)

I've been using t-cut for years to repair my discs. Even unreadable ones. It works a treat.


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## L33tm4st3r (Oct 18, 2007)

well lotus, you can't possibly screw it up worse than it already is  trust me, I use the peanut butter technique all the time. it gets rid of some pretty incredible scratches.


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## rka0 (Oct 12, 2007)

Hi Tom. If you've scored a cd/dvd with a knife then I think we would all agree that is the end of that unless some smart arse out there knows differently.
Bob.


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## drbali (May 6, 2007)

I haven' tried bananas or peanut butter to "fix" scratched disks, yet. 
Believe it or not, a gentle application of a metal polish (like "Brasso"), can work wonders. Never rub a CD/DVD in a circular fashion. Rub from the centre outwards in straight lines.

As I live in a tropical country, applying sugary materials would probably be a bad thing. I wonder how many tropical ants can exist on a laser lens?

Software programs, like BadCopyPro, can sometimes read badly damaged disks. If all fails, we can always use our disks as beer-coasters or Frisbees.


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## new tech guy (Mar 27, 2006)

I have a diskdoctor that i will say works pretty nicely for scratched discs. Use it on any used videogame i get and use it when games have freezing problems and 90% of the time the scratched disc works perfectly fine once run through disc doctor. Only side effect are buffermarks left from the electric buffer on the unit but that does not bother the drive reading the disc.


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