The most widely used external storage media devices are the optical storage media like the CDs, DVDs and Blu-Ray disc’s. Most of us might have come across a scratched or damaged disc in our long association with the computers. These optical discs are very fragile media only few scratches on the disc can cause the disc to malfunction and it becomes difficult to impossible sometimes to recover or rescue data from the discs. However there are software’s that help you to recover data from the scratched discs and this again depends up on the nature of the scratches on the disc. Alternatively you may also follow some tips to keep your disc safe and help to minimize the scratches on the disc. Here in are tips and tools that help you to repair and recover scratched CD/DVDs.

1) CD Recovery Toolbox

This is the most widely used application when it comes to recover data from the scratched CD/DVDs and it even supports recovery of the Blu-ray discs. All that you need to do is just insert the disc in the optical drive and run the application to start recovery. CD Recovery Toolbox will analyze the disc and shows all the files on the disc that can be recovered and you can select the file that you want to recover from the list one by one or choose to recover all the files on the disc at once. By this way you can recover the file that you need quickly and easily.

Tip: Try to clean the surface of the disc with a lint-free cloth with some mild detergent or wipe alcohol to remove any fingerprints on the disc. By this you can increase the chances of data recovery from the disc.

2) IsoBuster

This application supports data recovery from any type of the optical discs and it supports all most all major optical drives. This application uses the most sophisticated algorithm to rescue the data any way by repeated attempts without any interference from the windows. It tries to recover every bit of data it can such that files can be reconstructed even though part of it is missing. All these complex tasks are done by the application itself automatically. You have to just insert the disc in the optical drive and select the file or all files that you want to recover from the list just like the windows explorer and relax IsoBuster will do the work for you and get back the files that you need.

Tip: Try to recover the disc in the same optical drive in which you have burned the disc or at least use the same make optical drive to improve the chances of data recovery. By this way the optical drive can effectively read the tracks on the disc and retrieve the data quickly.

3) Roadkil’s Unstoppable Copier

This application will try to recover data from the damaged, scratched discs and also help you to recover data from the discs with bad sectors. This application reads the disk completely and analyzes the data thoroughly such that it can recover every bit of information on the disc and allow you to reconstruct most of the files with some data missing in-between. Even though some data is missing you can use these files to recollect the lost data. Using this application you can copy the files on the disc to the hard drive and make a new disc. This application runs on both Windows and Linux platforms.

Tip: Not all data recovery applications work the same so you can try more than one application to recover the data. If one application fails or recovers the data slowly then try other application by this way you can improve the changes of CD/DVD rescue.

4) CDCheck

You can use this application to run every time on the computer when you insert a disc into the optical drive it automatically reads and analyzes disc and checks for any damage on the disc. It even monitors the health of the disc and if it notices any disc that is at the brink of damage it notifies you about it such that you can create an extra copy of the disc if required. If the CDCheck finds any damaged disc then it will automatically switches into the data recovery mode and help you to retrieve all the undamaged data on the disc. The file size of this application is small and it is available as a free download and it is good application to have on a computer.

Tip: If you notice little scratches on the discs you can minimize the scratches or remove them by using optical polish or whitening tooth paste. Apply a little past or polish on the surface and polish it by using a lint-free cloth.

5) Multi Data Rescue

This application not only lets you to recover data from the scratched disc’s but also allows you to recover data from other removable storage media like the USB stick, memory cards, etc., and offers effective data recovery. It supports all major make optical drives and features a step by step guided recovery wizard that allows you to recover the data that you need. You can even recover deleted files from the media and it fully supports all the popular disc burning software’s and UDF support. With just few clicks you can create your disc back.

Tip: Cleaning the lens in the optical drive may be one of the solutions to make your disc work. Sometimes due to the dust on the lens in the drive it cannot read the disc properly. For this purpose you can use the lens cleaning disc or any other product.

6) Max Data Recovery

This is one of the effective CD rescue and data recovery software available. It uses one of the complex and advanced data recovery algorithms to recover data from the scratched discs. It tries to collect all the available information in the undamaged area and try to recover data from the damaged area based on the recovered information. It try’s repeatedly to retrieve data from the damaged part. All the files that are present on the disc can be seen in a list form and you can select any of the file to recover quickly. After the process is completed it gives a detailed report of the process.

Tip: Optical drive readers are less likely to read the scratched disc than the writers. So try playing the disc in a writer to recover the data. It is best if you play the disc on the same drive in which you have burned the disc. This improves the chances of data recovery many times.