Healthcare for CDs!

[Whyzman]

I was just the recipient of a tad of CD healthcare information that I figured I pass on. My son was having trouble with one of his PS2 video games. This was actually a used disc that I purchased from BlockBuster a short while back.

I visually inspected the disk and didn't see any scratches that looked like they would affect play...just the "usual" mishandling stuff! http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/rolleyes.gif Upon closer inspection, following his diskread problems, you could see "lots" of tiny scratches.

I was stumped as to what to do! http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/frown.gif Was it toast? I'd seen the Disk Doctor (sp) in the stores...did they work?

I wound up calling FUNCO with the thought that since they take in used DVD and CD games for resale that they'd be familiar with my distress. Indeed, I was on the right track! http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/smile.gif They had a $1800 disk cleaning machine that resurfaced and polished my son's disc for a $3.00 fee. It now loads his game at lightning speed! http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/cool.gif

In my pursuit of CD knowledge, I was quite shocked to find that actually the top (labeled side) of the CD is actually it's Achilles' heel. If a scratch occurs here, due to it's extremely thin nature, the reflective foil that is sandwiched in is easily destroyed rendering the disk truly unreadable.

The data is actually imprinted on the top of the bottom (oxymoronic sounding I know :rolleyes http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/smile.gif) layer...which is then read by bouncing the laser off the reflective foil above it.

I always thought I was exercising extreme care by placing the disks with the printed side down! Au contraire mes amies! We're really looking at a situation of "Total Healthcare!" http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/biggrin.gif

Could be considered circular reasoning, however, I think I'll call this round one of Disk Healthcare! http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/rolleyes.gif

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May all your dealings in life be win/win!


Whyzman
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Reserved for Punishing Humor...A Pessimist's blood is always B-negative!


[This message has been edited by Whyzman (edited 05-26-2002).]

[iisbob]

Yep, that's how she "layers ". http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/biggrin.gif

i keep telling people that laying them on the printed side defeats the purpose as it can cause the very problem they are trying to avoid-but in their oh so infinite knowledge of CD pariphenalia -they know better. http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/rolleyes.gif

I've seen guys use fingernail polish to fix the problem, any thing that'll help reflect the light back down to the laser will work.

Just be careful that it doesn't heat up and run!




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iisbob

Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society.-Mark Twain

[kfh]

Hi Whyzman,
Thats an interesting thing to know.
Thanks,
kfh.


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Sequitur Patrem Non Passibus Aequis

[pentachris]

I told my mother once that if you fired a bullet from a gun with the barrel level with the ground, and dropped a stone from shoulder-height at the same time, the bullet and the stone would hit the ground at the same time. I was in seventh grade, and had just learned it in science class. I told her that gravity affected them both the same, but she refused to believe.

Same with CD's. I tell people if they're going to lay them down, it makes no sense to turn them label side down. It doesn't matter how scratched the bottom is - just buff it out! Get some turtle wax if necessary! (Sounds stupid, but it's worked wonders for me. http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/biggrin.gif) It's more important to keep the label side in good shape. There's just a thin coat of some sort-of-polymer-or-other, a thin label, and then the foil with the data. Get a spindle of CD-R's and see that the bottom 95% is see-through when you hold it up to a light! No one believes me...

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Some mistakes are too much fun to make only once.

[Whyzman]

Here's the VISUAL (http://htthttp://www.cdrepairman.com/how_disc_made.shtml) for any having difficulty with my "oxymoronic explanation!" http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/biggrin.gif

And, the HOW (http://www.cdrepairman.com/how_disc_damaged.shtml) they get damaged.

2 types of TOP (http://www.cdrepairman.com/top_damage.shtml) damage.

Last, but not least, there's the PLAY SIDE (http://www.cdrepairman.com/play_side_damage.shtml) damage.

As I mentioned earlier, the disk I initially had repaired was a rental CD game from BlockBuster that I did visually inspect. Now, I know what I'm looking for to determine whether they are really worth purchasing. The used game I purchased for my son was $20.00 less than retail.

Pentachris, you are exactly correct! They keep refering to the top layer as "microscopically" thin...that now alarms me! And, as noted, the CD-Rs don't even have the screened on ink layer.

All three pages are on their site...I was just enjoying my cup of coffee this morning and practicing link pasting! http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/wink.gif

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May all your dealings in life be win/win!


Whyzman
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Reserved for Punishing Humor...A Pessimist's blood is always B-negative!


[This message has been edited by Whyzman (edited 05-27-2002).]

[kayofcircles]

I am no doubt dense this morning, but read about the CD Shields, and it says if you are using them, the CD can be repaired many times. Eerr? Wouldn't you think the Shield would prevent it from needing repair?

I HATE opening a new CD. I have barely mastered cellophane..I am convinced someone invented that (and bubble wrap) strictly to drive us insane. And then, when past the cellophane problem, am confronted with the problem of getting the CD off the center gizmo without bending the CD or breaking part of the center. So, I can understand where "fold" damage might occur..but what causes the "pin hole" type damage?

[Whyzman]

Kay,

The shields they are refering to are placed on the top side...the most vulnerable side. The bottom side can be resurfaced a number of times...depending on how deep the scratches get into the plastic. http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/wink.gif

Took me a while also...try pushing downward on the center spindle the disks are retained on. Especially the new DVD movies. Usually the disk pops straight up. Yep, been there trying to pry 'em with my fingers placed in those little depressions they furnish along the edge...they're definitely "placebo" things. http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/rolleyes.gif http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/biggrin.gif

The "Pin Hole" damage is what is inflicted from the "top" side of the disk. Placing it face down on the "top" side (ink side) thinking that it is now safe...getting a scratch here results in pin holes...or linear scratches.

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May all your dealings in life be win/win!


Whyzman
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Reserved for Punishing Humor...A Pessimist's blood is always B-negative!

[This message has been edited by Whyzman (edited 05-27-2002).]

[kayofcircles]

Thanks, Whyzman. Learned some new things, and renewed a recent vow I made to get ALL our CDs into the plastic cases. Some of our hardware came with the driver CDs just in paper envelopes. And recently also vowed to "sort" some..lol. We have utilities, and games, and drivers, etc..and run around the house saying stuff like, "Where did you put the CD with the Registry Cleaner?"

[iisbob]

hehhe Kay my wife finally got tired of us ( actually me ) always trying to find that CD for something or another so she suggested i just get a bigger drive for aour home server and place all the CD's i had on it.

Wow. I mean, uh...Wow. http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/eek.gif That thought never even occured to me. Thank GOD she has the comon sense i sometimes lack. { and supposedly i'm the IT adminstrator ! http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/tongue.gif }


So i bought an 80 GB drive to replace the aging 13 GB in my old Celeron server, and i've just about copied our entire collection of CD's on to it.

Sweet. Now we know exactly where any program/driver is that we need.



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iisbob

Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society.-Mark Twain

[Lucias_Clay]

Whyzman as usual you have come up with another little tidbit that we never think of untill its to late. http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/smile.gif If you find out anymore about Disc Doctor let us know, I too have been wondering about its effectiveness. Even though my discs are not in that bad of shape yet I would like to have the info.
iisbob not to argue with the great Mark Twain let a naked man walk into your local grocery store and see how much influance he suddenly has http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/biggrin.gif
I remeber when I was young(barely) and a naked man robbed a local conveniance store and even though he wore no mask the female attendant could not identify his face. http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/biggrin.gif

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"....I'm tired of being lonesome, ornery and mean." (Waylon Jennings)(Rest in Peace my friend.)