How can I fix a slightly-corrupted CD?

[bluemax]

I used my DVD burner to backup a bunch of data, there's no scratches on it.

...but my new computer (and newer LG 16x DVD) will not read the disc! Windows says it's not formatted.

What would you folks suggest by way of software that might recover at least *some* of that disc? My wife has some emails she really wants to recover!

What *really* sucks is that on a previous machine, I suspected there was a problem, as the Dell took a loooong time to initialize the disc then copy over to the hard drive.
I thought it was just a "Dell thing" and that my backup was still secure. Well... guess not.

What now?

 

[bluemax]

 

[DaveSimmons]

Do you have a DVD burner on the new comp? It may only be readable by the burner if you created a UDF format instead of ISO. I did this burning a disc with >2GB Hauppage capture file.

If you formatted it for drag-and-drop copying (packet writing) you might even need to install the same kind of packet writing software from the Roxio or Nero suite.

 

[Bozo Galora]

The reasons for "not formatted" message by Windows is that the O/S can only read ISO's and UDF's (which should be 1GB min to be reliable) as far as DATA goes.
Thus we are not talking about region codes/movie codecs/aspi layers/macrovision protection or nVidia IDE driver probs.
Your data is still there, not corrupt, but you need some software to READ the raw data sectors, and convert it to ISO mode or UDF. because you used wrong settings in burn SW.

This can occur with data because:
you used DVD RW type media without formatting first (NeroInCD)
you inadvertently recorded in RAW mode
crappy media not recognized by new burner
Old DVD drive going bad, laser misfocus
etc.

Note well-----
I'm assuming you know for sure the DVD was readble on the old DVD burnr
I'm assuming you did not use DVD RW media

So, the next things to know are:
What was old DVD burner brand and model
What was the buring software used
What was media brand and speed
How big was data file total

 

[corkyg]

. . . and did you close the disk?

 

[bluemax]

Originally posted by: Bozo Galora
So, the next things to know are:
What was old DVD burner brand and model
What was the buring software used
What was media brand and speed
How big was data file total

Well, running on an nForce4-X board... LG 16x DVDRW now.

Disc was burned on a 4X DVD-RW drive, DVD+R disc. Brand...... umm..... (two machines ago...) I seem to recall it was a SONY brand drive. The Dell had an NEC (I think.)

Software was Nero6, BenQ 4x media, burned at either 2.5X or 4X... sometimes I use the lower speed. Should be ~2GB of data.

Not sure if I finalized the disc or not. It's a tiny bit scratched now... not too bad.

And thanks, guys!

 

[Bozo Galora]

dont worry about the scratches
In Nero Toolkit/Info tool, I would be interested in what the disc tab says as to format
you basically have a DVD that has no file table or header/TOC - just like a HDD with no partitions/FAT tables
you have written packets of info in succession
windows has no method of seeing this
However you might try the "comes with XP" MS IMAPI windows CD burning software for access to files

this kind of explains things a little:
http://www.backup4all.com/use_packet_writing.php

This is the long explanation
http://www.mrichter.com/cdr/primer/udf.htm
(note that Sony used to use a special MS driver)

The first thing I would try is to load up ghost into windows and use Ghost explorer to see if it can find data on your DVD while in the drive. Ghost in use doesnt care about file tables - it just takes a snapshot of info. Acronis true image would do the same.

The next thing is to load up and use latest (free) Nero INCD to see if it recognizes data
on DVD

If not, depending on how badly you want info, you will have to download trial versions of DVD packet writing softwares and find one that does not say "format not recognized" when accessing drive. Then you can do a conversion.(Actually you have NO format or no finalization or TOC)
For example your best shot may be this:
this app may allow you to copy your DVD to HDD or a DVD RW
http://www.isobuster.com/

 

[bluemax]

trying those links out now.... thanks in advance!

ISOBuster found 3 tracks, #1, #2 (open session?) #3

#1 turned in 100% errors.
#2 is completely empty (0 bytes)
#3 is currently being chewed on.... crossing fingers!

 

[bluemax]

100% errors. Time to try another prog...

 

[Bozo Galora]

http://www.softwarepatch.com/software/cd-recovery.html
http://www.cdroller.com/
http://www.gold-software.com/download9288.html