Every once in a while we do end up into getting a corrupt cd drive, or unable to read from drive errors. CD’s and DVD are the most common and cheapest data storage devices. However these optical devices are quite sensitive and get corrupted easily. The main causes are dust and scratches .The defection of these memory storage result in data loss. In these circumstances recovering data is almost an impossible task until backup is available. So here are a bunch of way to recover data.

How the data is stored in cd & what causes the loss
If you take a look at the recording surface of the cd you can easily see one or mor scratched. CD’s data is stored on a metal layer inside it which is either golden or silver. The metal layer is protected with a transparent plastic to protect it from scratches. Usually the scratches caused on a cd are on that plastic layer and if they are deep and can collect dust in them then, the laser that reads data cannot pass through the scratches and thus read error starts to pop up.

Washing, Polishing & Waxing the CD using Soap, Toothpaste or Vaseline .

1. First way out is to wash the cd, you can even use a detergent, but just wash it using your fingers only to clean it up “no sponges”.
2. Polish the plastic surface of the cd which can easily be done with a toothpaste. Yes It works wonders, you don’t have to spend on professional cleaning kits when you can easily do it with the toothpaste. Take a cotton swab, rub gently the paste over the scratches until they disappear. Once done wash the CD with water let dry and then try it out.
3. Wax the tracks. If polishing doesn’t work, apply a very thin coat of Vaseline, liquid car wax, neutral shoe polish, or furniture wax to the CD’s playing surface. Wipe excess off using clean, soft, lint-free cloth in a radial (inside to outside) motion. If using wax, follow manufacturer’s instructions (some need to dry before you wipe them off, while others should be wiped off while still wet).

Top 3 Free CD Recovery Software’s

1. CD Recovery Toolbox Free
   CD Recovery Toolbox Free is a data recovery tool, designed to recover files from scratched or otherwise damaged or corrupt CD, DVD, HD DVD and Blu-Ray disks. Just select the drive that contains the media you want to recover from, check the files you want to restore and start the recovery process. Depending on the level of damage, the recovery process may take a long time, and may not recover all the files. It did recover a good portion of images for us from a badly scratched CD that Windows was not able to read properly.
2. Roadkil’s Unstoppable Copier
   Recovers files from disks with physical damage. Allows you to copy files from disks with problems such as bad sectors, scratches or that just give errors when reading data. The program will attempt to recover every readable piece of a file and put the pieces together. Using this method most types of files can be made useable even if some parts were not recoverable in the end. Program now supports batch copying to automate the programs use and save copying/restore copying jobs. The level of data recovery can be changed to enable very intense data recovery through to skipping damaged files completely. The data recovery process can be paused and resumed mid file. [Get Roadkil it for free ]
3. CD Check
   CDCheck is a utility for the prevention, detection and recovery of damaged files on CD-ROMs with an emphasis on error detection. With CDCheck you can check your CDs and discover which files are corrupted. By using the program proactively, you can insure that your data on CD-ROMs are safe — before it’s too late! CDCheck provides the following features: readability verification, binary compare, CRC file creation (and verification) and file recovery. [ Get CDcheck for free ]

Try CD/DVD data Recover

The application named CD/DVD data recovery makes the task easier .This software is launched by the company 008soft.com.It recovers all the data stored on an optical disc which is corrupted .This data recovery tool requires a minimum of Windows 2000 operating system to run. It has a very easy to use and understand user interface .This tool recovers all type of files including jpeg,gif,doc,xls.It also recovers video files of all formats like mpeg,avi and rm.Data can be recovered from all major formats like CD-R,DVD-r,DVD_RW,CD-RW

The software has a temporary downloadable version of size 476.23 Kilo Bytes .It can be downloaded from SoftSea.com (www.softsea.com) .However the complete version canbe purchased for a price of 39.99 US Dollars .Now with CD/DVD data recovery ,corrupted CD’s and DVD’s are not a problem
[ Download CD/DVD data Recovery ]

Interesting Resource

• WikiHow to fix scratched cd
• Wikipedia CD - ROM
• How CD Works