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08/08/2004 |
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SkipDoctor CD and DVD Repair Device Repair scratched CDs with SkipDoctor. Review by Kai Chandler
A word about CDs If you look after them, CDs are very resilient. I’m talking about audio, DVD as well as the computer/Playstation CDs and rewriteable CDs that contain your precious programs and data. You can get thumbprints all over them or dip them in jam and after a quick wash and wipe they’ll be as good as new. The trouble is that unless you store your CDs properly, a myriad of little scratches will start to affect the readability of the data over time. It’s helpful to know a little about the structure of a CD. There are five layers. 1. Looking at the shiny, unlabelled surface the first is a thick, soft plastic layer that protects the data and helps the laser to focus on the data layer. 2. Next is the data layer which stores music and data for the CD player to read. It’s pressed into the top of the clear plastic layer (see above). The data in the data layer is arranged in tracks that spiral like the grooves on a vinyl record (except CDs are read from the “inside out” which is the opposite of vinyl records). 3. A metallic reflective layer sits on the data layer. It allows the disc to function like a mirror, reflecting the CD player’s laser light back to the detector. It gives the CD’s play side its shiny appearance. 4. A thin, hard protective layer to provide some protection for the reflective and data layers, while also forming a surface upon which the label information can be printed. 5. The label is printed on top of the protective layer – this is the label layer. The top surface of this label is called the “label side”. When a CD is damaged, it’s generally a scratch in the thick, soft plastic layer that causes difficulties while the all-important data layer may still be intact.
DiskDoctor is a cleverly designed device that skims off some of the thick, soft plastic layer to reveal the data layer once again. It comprises an attractive green and black device with a handle and ‘wet and dry’ abrasive cleaning wheel. To repair a CD using DiskDoctor you spray the CD with a little distilled water to act as a lubricant. Then place the CD shiny side up in the holder and close the device. Next, rotate the handle in a clockwise direction. Each turn of the handle will rotate the CD by a few degrees. About 100 turns of the handle will clean the whole disk in one direction. Then move a small lever and after another 100 turns the CD is cleaning is complete. After a quick buff and dry, the CD is ready for use. The shiny surface will look slightly less shiny as it has been gently abraded to remove surface scratches. For deeper scratches, you can repeat the clean as many times as necessary. Water spray, drying and buffing cloths come with the DiskDoctor package so it’s complete and ready to go. The abrasive wheel should last for about 50 CDs and can be washed after use to help unclog the finish. Spare wheels are available if required. And the result… In the interests of science I took three old CDs and gently scratched them with a sharp knife. After confirming that they were unreadable in a PC drive, I gave them the DiskDoctor treatment. It worked brilliantly with two disks that had the sort of shallow scratches that result from everyday scuffs and scrapes. Two or three passes through DiskDoctor were needed to restore function. The third disk had deeper scratches and was still unreadable after five passes but perhaps if it was an expensive or important CD it might have been worth persevering but my arm was getting sore after all that effort! To sum up, DiskDoctor is an excellent CD/DVD repair device that will quickly recoup your investment. It won’t repair the most deeply scratched or warped CDs but should work with most everyday scratches. A motorised version is planned for later in the year which would be ideal for schools or video libraries. |
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DiskDoctor
to the rescue