CD & DVD Scratch Recovery

Scratches and surface contamination can interfere with optical-disc reading. Specialist recovery aims to obtain as much of the original content as possible without altering the source.

Assessing scratches

Small scratches do not necessarily make a disc unreadable, but deeper or extensive damage can interrupt reading.

Cleaning

Cleaning should be gentle and should not introduce further surface damage. The National Archives recommends cleaning from the centre towards the edge rather than in a circular motion.

Multiple drives

Specialist drives and repeated controlled reads may recover information that ordinary playback cannot.

Read errors

Recovered files should be checked and any missing or corrupt content documented.

Recovery limits

Where complete recovery is impossible, the final report should state what was successfully recovered and what could not be read.

Reference guidance: This article is informed by optical-media preservation guidance from the U.S. National Archives and the Library of Congress Recommended Formats Statement. Where appropriate, the article distinguishes preservation guidance from practical extraction procedures.