Perhaps everyone who stores any information on disks sooner or later encounters such a problem when the computer cannot open them due to numerous scratches and other damages. Often, such disks are immediately sent to the trash can, but you should not rush, you can try to recover the lost information and overwrite it to another medium. Several simple ways will help you to do this.
Necessary
- - damaged disk;
- - cotton or silk fabric;
- - special antiseptic wipes;
- - soft cloth and detergent.
Instructions
Step 1
First of all, check if your drive can open and read the detected disk at all. If not, then do not immediately panic, check this disk on another computer. Next, check the media for any scratch damage. If you find cracks, chips, or other serious damage on the disc, do not try to open it on your computer. Otherwise, due to the spinning speed, it may simply crack in the drive, and you will have another problem in the form of fragments, which will then need to be removed from the drive.
Step 2
If your computer detects the drive but won't open it, try using special programs such as BadCopy or SuperCopy. But keep in mind that they can only miss damaged areas of the disc. This property will help you when recovering audio and video files. As for games, this method is ineffective here.
Step 3
Try polishing the media with a cotton or silk cloth. This should be done in the direction from the center of the disc to its edges, but in no case in a circle. Try to do everything very carefully so as not to damage the disc further. Instead of a cloth, you can use special anti-static wipes, which are sold at any computer store.
Step 4
Another somewhat unusual way is to put a damaged disc in the freezer for half an hour, having previously wrapped it in a plastic bag that will prevent harmful moisture from entering. The media cooled in this way will heat up longer and during this time the drive will have time to read all the information you need from it. However, be careful not to overexpose the disc in the refrigerator, otherwise it will become fragile, which will subsequently lead to its breakage.
Step 5
To open an unreadable disc, wipe it with a soft cloth and mild detergent. This will help remove fingerprints or smudges from the disc. After this procedure, wait until the disc is completely dry.
