Scratched CD

[nikogian]

Hi,
I have a seriously scratched audio cd. It's so bad that on certain occasions not even my pc's cd-rom drive can play it right. I really want to avoid re-buying the cd (I really like it), so I tried cd-ripping to no good (RealJukebox). So if you know of a decent ripping utility, have another solution for me, or know of a way to tell if the cd has gone really bad and there is no way to get any decent sound from it please tell me.
Thanks in advance for your help,
Nikolas

[Bovon]

The actual track on a cd is pretty deep with a fairly heavy coat of protective clear lacquer on top. What is apparently happening...if...the data isn't scratched itself is, the scratches are deflecting the laser beam. You can try (if you haven't allready) clean it very good with alchohol. Alchohol won't harm lacquer...but don't 'wash' it with alcholol. If all else fails, and just before you trach it...clean it real good one last time, get some clear lacquer from the hardware, Walmarts...ect, spray a thin coat on the cd...let it dry good. The fresh coat of lacquer will fill in the scratches and keep the laser beam from being deflected.

[jman01pa]

Try Armor All! Has worked many times for me. Never tested on severely scratched cd's. Let me know.

J http://www.sysopt.com/forum/smile.gif

[scotter]

the only thing ya need is BRASSO and a cotton ball work from the inside out.
It works better than any thing else you can buy

[OuTpaTienT]

Get the free ripper EAC or Exact Audio Copy. I think the url is www.exactaudiocopy.de (http://www.exactaudiocopy.de)

If it can't rip it, nothing can. EAC is made to specifically deal with scratched CDs. But if it still doesn't work, your last resort would be to attempt to buff out the scratch by polishing the CD face. I say "last resort" because it's difficult to do correctly and easy to ruin the entire CD.



[This message has been edited by OuTpaTienT (edited 05-31-2001).]

[Graham]

Be careful, even toothpaste is far too abrasive.

G

[nikogian]

EAC actually worked! It encountered problems only in one track (it actually took 50 mins to extract a 3 min song, but RealJukebox would give me the song with a 1.5 min, noise-only interval). There were supposed to be errors over a 10 sec interval, but I couldn't perceive any. So thanks all for your advice. If I ever come across a more damaged cd (I hope not), I'll try the cleaning alternatives you mentioned.

[daveleau]

I second the BRASSO idea. You can get a can at your local CVS for less than $2 and it will fix your cds as long as the tops have not been scratched. Toothpaste will work ok, but is still too abrassive.

Dave

[nikogian]

I want to ask something about that BRASSO thingy. First of all english is not my native language. I thought BRASSO was some kind of substance but I couldn't find it in any dictionary. Is it a brand name? If it is can you tell me if there is a common name for it, because I don't know if the specific brand can be found over here (greece). Can you also tell me what CVS stands for?
Thanks,
Nikolas

[Bigmike2U]

Brasso is the brand name of a brass cleaner/polish. It comes as a cotton wadding containing a cleaner or polish.

CVS is a drugstore/pharmacy in the
Northeastern United States.

[MiKe85]

I also never knew what "Brasso" was http://www.sysopt.com/forum/smile.gif
Of course i don't deal with brass cleaner or brass polish very often http://www.sysopt.com/forum/smile.gif

[OuTpaTienT]

Anyone who's been in the military (or in my case a military brat) knows what Brasso is.