Software to Recover Data From Damaged CD

danqi · 03-06-2011, 01:29 PM

I found a really old and damaged CD and am trying to transfer the data (videos and photos) from it to my hard drive. Of course this fails, the finder basically gives up after encountering the first unreadable file. What software would you recommend for salvaging as many files as possible?

Thanks!

agentx · 03-07-2011, 03:28 AM

In this case, it is good to try and clone a disk to a read/write disk image rather than trying to extract the files one by one. Give the disk a clean, use something like carbon copy cloner to create a copy of disk. If you manage to clone you have a good chance of getting data off if directory is not damaged on original disk.

simonlim · 03-07-2011, 11:38 PM

If the disk is broken its not possible

roncross@cox.net · 03-08-2011, 01:14 AM

Although I have never tried none of these procedures myself, I have heard of people filling in the scratches with clear polish or something like that or buffing out the scratch so that it's a smooth surface. Basically, the optics shouldn't reflect off the scratches and that's what making it difficult to read the data.

Google for best method on this if your interested.

acme.mail.order · 03-08-2011, 07:06 AM

Toothpaste works rather well, brush in a radial direction and resist the temptation to use the belt sander.

However, I believe the original question was:

Some files are ok, some aren't. I want all I can get and forget about the rest. Finder bails out at the first bad file.

Try `find` in the Terminal:

cd "/Volumes/cdname" ; find . -type f -exec cp {} /path/to/recover/folder/{} \;

Caveats:
Won't work if the directory is damaged
cp is called once for each file, expect lots of noise from the drive.
the final \; is rather critical. In fact, typing, spacing and punctuation throughout is rather critical.

03-06-2011, 01:29 PM	#1
danqi Triple-A Player Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 89	Software to Recover Data From Damaged CD I found a really old and damaged CD and am trying to transfer the data (videos and photos) from it to my hard drive. Of course this fails, the finder basically gives up after encountering the first unreadable file. What software would you recommend for salvaging as many files as possible? Thanks!

03-07-2011, 11:38 PM	#3
simonlim Triple-A Player Join Date: Nov 2010 Posts: 175	If the disk is broken its not possible __________________ Thanks, Simon Lim[/URL]

03-08-2011, 01:14 AM	#4
roncross@cox.net MVP Join Date: Jan 2004 Posts: 1,760	Although I have never tried none of these procedures myself, I have heard of people filling in the scratches with clear polish or something like that or buffing out the scratch so that it's a smooth surface. Basically, the optics shouldn't reflect off the scratches and that's what making it difficult to read the data. Google for best method on this if your interested. __________________ with warm regards Ronald Cross

Thread Tools
Show Printable Version Email this Page
Display Modes	Rate This Thread
Switch to Linear Mode Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode	Rate This Thread:

03-07-2011, 03:28 AM	#2
agentx Hall of Famer Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Brighton, UK Posts: 3,832	In this case, it is good to try and clone a disk to a read/write disk image rather than trying to extract the files one by one. Give the disk a clean, use something like carbon copy cloner to create a copy of disk. If you manage to clone you have a good chance of getting data off if directory is not damaged on original disk.

03-08-2011, 07:06 AM	#5
acme.mail.order League Commissioner Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Tokyo Posts: 6,057	Toothpaste works rather well, brush in a radial direction and resist the temptation to use the belt sander. However, I believe the original question was: Some files are ok, some aren't. I want all I can get and forget about the rest. Finder bails out at the first bad file. Try `find` in the Terminal: cd "/Volumes/cdname" ; find . -type f -exec cp {} /path/to/recover/folder/{} \; Caveats: Won't work if the directory is damaged cp is called once for each file, expect lots of noise from the drive. the final \; is rather critical. In fact, typing, spacing and punctuation throughout is rather critical.