[Gluegun]

Hey, I have a few scratched CD's, I bought one of those cd cleaner thingys, it doesn't seem to work, and I've been using EAC to rip my cd's... but its soooo sloooow (like, DAYS for a track that had scratches on it... and there were errors anyway...)

Anyone have any suggestions for REPAIRING scratched CD's? Or doing something so I can actually get the data out? Would a different cd-rom or dvd-rom drive help? Thanks!

 

[sgrossklass]

Search for this thread called "Toothpaste!" or somesuch, that should cover the available CD repair options. (I've used plexiglass display cover polish with a soft cotton cloth in the past.)

And yes, the drive does make a difference. There are a number of older ones out there that'll do DAE very well - you don't necessarily need a PX-40TSi, something like my trusty old Ricoh MP7040A burner will also do. (The old beast already has C2 support, which did amaze me a bit. Think it has 1.40 F/W right now.) You do not want a worn-out (or dirty, particularly when this is smoking related) drive, however.

 

[Gluegun]

Okay... what's a good bang for the buck drive for ripping that I can get easily from a reputable online dealer?

 

[stefan]

alot of damage to CDs is from scatches on the shiny side -- try fixing these with toothpaste or furniture polish (such as wax spray). But scratches on the label side is also a problem -- haven't worked out a way to fix those.
I've also had CD's that EAC cannot rip -- mainly one's bought in the 1980's that turned yellow. I think the foil layer where the data is on had corroded somehow. In the end I couldn't rip them at all and threw them away.... Remember when CDs first came out, and they were touted as indestructible? Far from it, and now when I get a new CD I immediately rip it as lossless and back it up.

As for cd/dvd drives, Plextor models have an excellent reputation, so that may be a good place to start -- although I haven't tried them. I use LG models, mainly because they are very quiet. For ripping they seem OK, and were a huge improvement over my previous drives (memorex, philips, yamaha), mainly in speed.

 

[pedxing]

Liteon burners are cheap and usually perform reasonably well. If you are willing to pay more money, Plextor drives are very good.

However, a better CD-ROM drive may not help you if the disks are severely damaged. Just because the CD-ROM drive can play the damaged CDs without noticeable skips and hiccups, this does not necessarily mean the duplication is perfect. CD players usually try to interpolate and guess what is being played back if there are too many errors.

 

[Jeff Wong]

If the discs are very important to you, there are some professional services online that will resurface the polycarbonate with a high speed, very fine grinding wheel. Some video game stores also have these machines. The hand cranked units will never be able to get you the "as new" level of polish you seek.

 

[dens]

Try using Brasso to fix the scratches.
Many people recommend this method and it works fairly well, better than "toothpaste" method.

 

[blessingx]

The hardware is at least as important as the software. So yes another drive may help, but before you do anything drastic, try iTunes and a few other rippers. EAC may be the king of bit perfect rippers, but sometimes iTunes gives me a more audibly perfect rip.

 

[Soundbuff]

I highly recommend the Skip Doctor.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...&s=pc&n=507846

This product works amazingly well. I was skeptical when I purchased it, but have been consistently amazed at how many discs it can restore to bit-perfect copies.

Buy the motorized one and be sure to follow the directions. It can't repair discs that are severely damaged or deeply gouged or defective to begin with, but it has about a 90% success rate with discs that are lightly or moderately scratched. I've been able to rescue many discs from my local library that were totally abused and all but unplayable with the Skip Doctor too.

Edit: Don't try the Brasso or toothpaste or plastice scratch solution repair methods. You are highly unlikely to succeed using these approaches and will probably make your discs worse. In addition, you will waste a good deal of time too. With the Skip Doctor, all you need is two complete revolutions to fix 80% of your discs. This only takes a minute to do. Sometimes two additional revolutions are needed for more severe cases. If after four revolutions your discs are not bit-perfect readable, give up and assume your disc is ruined.