Rescuing data from an old CD

cwhaley

cwhaley

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I have a CD-R I created in about 2004. On this disc are digital images taken from as far back as 25 years ago.

Unfortunately the disc is fairly scratched (no deep scratches you can feel with your finger, just 'scuffs') and no drive I have tried is able to read and mount it. I did try cleaning it with toothpaste many years ago (don't ask...) but the disc was still unreadable.

Has anybody had any experience with data recovery companies? Even if it were possible to retrieve some of the images on this disc, it would be really great!
 
cwhaley said:
I did try cleaning it with toothpaste many years ago (don't ask...) but the disc was still unreadable.
Click to expand...
Polishing with toothpaste, brasso, etc. Takes down the surface a little to reduce the height of the scratch.
You can also try filling in the scratches with some liquid car wax.
Using a combination of both methods, is usually best.

Sorry, I haven't used a recovery service, but if you have a microscope to hand... :)

hackaday.com

Reading Data From A CD, With A Microscope

There was a time when electronic engineering students studied the audio CD, for all its real-world examples of error correction and control systems. There’s something to be found in the syste…
hackaday.com hackaday.com

....if the disc doesn't mount, that suggests there may be scratches around the centre of the disc.
 
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RandomGrinch said:
Polishing with toothpaste, brasso, etc. Takes down the surface a little to reduce the height of the scratch.
You can also try filling in the scratches with some liquid car wax.
Using a combination of both methods, is usually best.

Sorry, I haven't used a recovery service, but if you have a microscope to hand... :)

hackaday.com

Reading Data From A CD, With A Microscope

There was a time when electronic engineering students studied the audio CD, for all its real-world examples of error correction and control systems. There’s something to be found in the syste…
hackaday.com hackaday.com

....if the disc doesn't mount, that suggests there may be scratches around the centre of the disc.
Click to expand...

I have a few tubs of carnauba car wax actually -- I'll re-asses the disc and see if I can mix with some metal polish! I'll have a look around the centre as well to see if there is any damage there.

I work in a lab actually, so I am around lots of microscopes! I never use them however, but that looks like an interesting read. I remember looking at a vinyl record underneath a scope to see the grooves.
 
RandomGrinch said:
Sorry - I didn't mean to suggest mixing them!
I meant polish first, and then fill what's left with wax :)
Click to expand...
With you now! Sorry, you can get some 'all-in-one' jobs which cut and fill (a little bit like Autoglym's resin polish).

I'll take a look and if it looks like it could take another go, I'll follow this method. If not, I'll keep looking out for data recovery people.
 
There are machines which can resurface them, and various places where they can be used, such as https://helps.game.co.uk/en/support/solutions/articles/80001036274-disc-repair as a random example.

This is only of use if the scratches are on the underside. Any damage to the label side is usually irreparable.

The DIY repair things are mostly useless, and applying wax or similar won't help either.
 
Thanks both. There’s a Game in the next town I believe. I didn’t know they offered this. I’ll nip in on Saturday as I’m there for beers.

At the time the ‘CD Stomper’ was all the rage, so I proudly printed and applied a label sticker. This sticker is still firmly applied and there’s no visible damage to the ‘top’ of the disc.

Would be amazing to get something from the disc for sentimental reasons.
 
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Take a laptop with you so you can see if it works in store.

Assuming you have a laptop that still has a CD drive :)
 
Yes I've got cutting compound, car polishes and waxes -- just a bit weary of taking too much of a 'layer' off the disc.

Just found out the Game store nearby has closed down, so it means a weekend trip out I think. Might try the suggested method first.
 
Before doing anything more drastic try several different CD drives, some will read something that another drive may not.
 
I have had a similar problem. I found that removing the adhesive label with soapy water cleared the problem - my impression/guess was that as the disc 'aged' the label 'shrank' and slightly distorted the disc beyond what the head could cope with. Could try for free!
 
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