# Scratched CD from Boxset



## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

What do you do when a CD of yours that is part of a boxset becomes scratched?


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## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

I don't know how on Earth it got scratched, I'm careful with my CDs but my Beethoven SQ last disc with 15 & 16 became scratched. Luckily I found another disc with just 15 & 16 on it, it's a different quartet but it will suffice.


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

Here's an inexpensive product on Amazon -- never used it myself.

https://www.amazon.com/SkipDr-Manua...CUKC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1496807198&sr=8-1


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

I never ever scratched a CD, scouts honour.


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## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

KenOC said:


> Here's an inexpensive product on Amazon -- never used it myself.
> 
> https://www.amazon.com/SkipDr-Manua...CUKC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1496807198&sr=8-1


I'm going to try it! Better to invest in that for a similar price of CD than to keep replacing CDs!


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

Pugg said:


> I never ever scratched a CD, scouts honour.


I grew up with LPs and stereo LPs, quite expensive in the dollars of the time and easily subject to abuse (heck, they popped and snapped even if you didn't abuse them!) Thumb on the center hole, fingers on the rim, NEVER touch the grooves!

Now I see CDs, far more durable, that look like the local street gangs have been using them as skates. What ever happened to the virtue of respect??? (grumble grumble, those kids today, etc. etc. etc.)


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## Phil loves classical (Feb 8, 2017)

I tried a few commercisl creams etc. before on scratched CD's and they don't work. I even asked Blockbuster which product they use when they fix discs for previously viewed sales, and that also didn't work. It comes to a point they can't be repaired. If it's only cosmetic, you'll introduce new scratches when you buff them with certain products.


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

Captainnumber36 said:


> What do you do when a CD of yours that is part of a boxset becomes scratched?


If it still can be ripped to files on the computer I leave it alone.


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## Klassik (Mar 14, 2017)

Captainnumber36 said:


> What do you do when a CD of yours that is part of a boxset becomes scratched?


I'm pretty careful with my CDs, but I suppose fumbles can happen. Does the CD still work fine? If so, don't worry about it. A lightly scratched CD will still play normally. CD's error correction might make a small but serious scratch unnoticeable to all but the most discerning ears. A CD that does not playback fine might be readable by a computer using software that reads a CD more carefully like Exact Audio Copy. You can then burn a CD-R from the rip.

Many years ago, I brought a used video game disc that had a serious scratch that made it unplayable. I buffed the scratch out by using baking soda toothpaste. I just rubbed the toothpaste over the scratch with my fingers several times, washed the disc with water, and it worked just fine even if the CD did not look so great.


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## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

I'm starting to think it was deliberately scratched by someone.


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## Klassik (Mar 14, 2017)

Captainnumber36 said:


> I'm starting to think it was deliberately scratched by someone.


Salieri came to your house and scratched your Beethoven CDs. You don't even want to know what he did to your Mozart discs!

:lol:


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## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

I'm going to try and copy the files and re-burn them to a disc. I'll keep you all informed.


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## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

Looks like ripping it to my computer will work, the file in question, Movement 3 of SQ No. 15, plays perfect now.


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

Captainnumber36 said:


> Looks like ripping it to my computer will work, the file in question, Movement 3 of SQ No. 15, plays perfect now.


I have had disks that would not rip on one computer but ripped fine on another. That I attribute to different disk drives. My son has a very high tech drive that ripped some partly bronzed disks that my 10-year-old drive would not rip.


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## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

Florestan said:


> I have had disks that would not rip on one computer but ripped fine on another. That I attribute to different disk drives. My son has a very high tech drive that ripped some partly bronzed disks that my 10-year-old drive would not rip.


Makes sense to me! :tiphat:


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

KenOC said:


> I grew up with LPs and stereo LPs, quite expensive in the dollars of the time and easily subject to abuse (heck, they popped and snapped even if you didn't abuse them!) Thumb on the center hole, fingers on the rim, NEVER touch the grooves!
> 
> Now I see CDs, far more durable, that look like the local street gangs have been using them as skates. What ever happened to the virtue of respect??? (grumble grumble, those kids today, etc. etc. etc.)


I still can hear my grandad ( rest his soul) banging in my ear saying this, his vinyl is still like new, he had a special room with almost no daylight , ( keep the colours better) and we still are very careful with all his stuff .
( and memory's for that matter)


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## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

Florestan said:


> I have had disks that would not rip on one computer but ripped fine on another. That I attribute to different disk drives. My son has a very high tech drive that ripped some partly bronzed disks that my 10-year-old drive would not rip.


This info came in handy because the first disc I burned using my CD Drive did not work, so I tried it on another computer and there were no problems. I listened to the entire disc just to make sure.


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## Headphone Hermit (Jan 8, 2014)

Klassik said:


> Many years ago, I brought a used video game disc that had a serious scratch that made it unplayable. I buffed the scratch out by using baking soda toothpaste. I just rubbed the toothpaste over the scratch with my fingers several times, washed the disc with water, and it worked just fine even if the CD did not look so great.


I read about this on TC and tried it out recently on a second-hand CD that was jumping - it worked really well


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## Totenfeier (Mar 11, 2016)

KenOC said:


> I grew up with LPs and stereo LPs, quite expensive in the dollars of the time and easily subject to abuse (heck, they popped and snapped even if you didn't abuse them!) Thumb on the center hole, fingers on the rim, NEVER touch the grooves!
> 
> Now I see CDs, far more durable, that look like the local street gangs have been using them as skates. What ever happened to the virtue of respect??? (grumble grumble, those kids today, etc. etc. etc.)


I was camping out in our local civic center one night for Grateful Dead tickets around 1985, while CDs were still fairly new (don't worry - I was the opposite of President Clinton: I inhaled but didn't smoke). I saw a group of younguns spinning one on the concrete floor, rolling it back and forth, and using it as a Frisbee - because we had been told that they were "indestructible." And don't get me started on the green marker theory!


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## Guest (Jun 7, 2017)

I tread my cd's exactly the same way as my LP's in the past,never touching the surface.The cd's with a paint finish on the labelside are more user friendly than the shining ones.
I once bought the Solti ring on LP (secondhand) and they were completely worn out .I still have some of my first LP"s and they are still in perfect order.


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## eugeneonagain (May 14, 2017)

I think we were well gypped with regard to the lifespan of compact discs. They are certainly hardier than vinyl LPs ever were, but they have their own issues.

It's definitely an issue of cheaper manufacturing. The earlier CDs - check your collection - have smoother, more rounded edges and thicker polycarbonate and acrylic coverings. I find that a lot of newer CDs are more flexible and that's not a good thing. They sometimes also have rough edges.

As is well-known it is the label side of the disc that is most vulnerable because the acrylic layer is thinner than the polycarbonate on the read side, and thus closer to the metal core. Deep scratches on that side are more of a problem.


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

Traverso said:


> *I tread my cd's* exactly the same way as my LP's in the past,never touching the surface.


I know it is only a typo but ironically it says the exact opposite of what you intended. Treading on CDs and vinyl would be very abusive.

So what I do is never play my original CDs. I rip them and play the electronic files and/or burn a disk to play so the spare disk wears out, not the original.

I always handled vinyl by the edges and/or center. Same for CDs.


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## millionrainbows (Jun 23, 2012)

Captainnumber36 said:


> What do you do when a CD of yours that is part of a boxset becomes scratched?


Simply _buy_ the identical set again, _switch_ the good new disc with the old one, and _get a refund or exchange _(not really).

If it's scratched on the label side (top) then you're screwed. That destroys the data layer, the foil layer.

Sometimes I get CDs with "pinholes" in the foil. When you hold them up to the light, you can see through the pinholes.

As far as your CDs being "deliberately" scratched, are you still hanging around with the "friends" you had before your "classical" conversion?


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## Klassik (Mar 14, 2017)

Florestan said:


> I know it is only a typo but ironically it says the exact opposite of what you intended. Treading on CDs and vinyl would be very abusive.
> 
> So what I do is never play my original CDs. I rip them and play the electronic files and/or burn a disk to play so the spare disk wears out, not the original.
> 
> I always handled vinyl by the edges and/or center. Same for CDs.


Well, some people like to play their records wet. Perhaps treading a wet LP gives it extra traction! :lol:

I don't really see the need to rip/burn backup CD-Rs to keep wear off regular CDs. Regular CDs should not wear out under regular use unless they are mishandled somehow or something. I suppose it might make some sense if you are afraid of mishandling the disc or something.

I had a PC CD-ROM software disc many years ago that looked fine, but when I read the disc using my computer drive, the CD shattered into seemingly millions of little tiny shards. I had to manually open the CD-ROM drive of my computer and clean all the mess out. That's really the only time I had a pressed CD go bad. A CD player may not spin fast enough to shatter a CD with a physical defect, but computer CD drives spin much faster. Oh well, that's not something that happens frequently to CDs, but I guess it's something that could happen.

But, yeah, I try to be very careful with my discs. I hold them by the sides and the center hub. Sometimes a minor use of violence is required to get a virgin CD off the CD case hub though! But, yeah, here's Karajan showing a good way to hold a CD:


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## millionrainbows (Jun 23, 2012)

If you play your discs in other players, like in cars, it's a good idea not to use the original, and use a copy. Also, multi-disc players have been known to malfunction and scratch CDs (I learned this the hard way).


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## Klassik (Mar 14, 2017)

millionrainbows said:


> If you play your discs in other players, like in cars, it's a good idea not to use the original, and use a copy. Also, multi-disc players have been known to malfunction and scratch CDs (I learned this the hard way).


This is true, I'd certainly use CD-Rs for the car and for any CD player that is known to have disc handling problems.


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## SONNET CLV (May 31, 2014)

Klassik said:


> ...Does the CD still work fine? If so, don't worry about it. A lightly scratched CD will still play normally. CD's error correction might make a small but serious scratch unnoticeable to all but the most discerning ears. A CD that does not playback fine might be readable by a computer using software that reads a CD more carefully like Exact Audio Copy. You can then burn a CD-R from the rip.


Good advice from Klassik.
Minor scratches may not present any playing problem with the disc. Too, you may find that a scratched disc skips in one CD player but not in another. (I have two disc players in my system. Occasionally a disc won't play in one of the units for whatever reason but will play in the other. If you can't play the disc in your Stereo's disc player, try it in a computer's DVD tray and see if it plays: if so, make a copy and use that.) Sometimes polishing the disc simply with a soft cloth will repair the problem (I've found), but I do occasionally use some Gruv-Glide on the cloth, which will often fix up a scratched-skipping disc as well as seemingly make some discs sound better. Gruv-Glide is a product sold for vinyl discs, but I've found that polishing CDs with it often improves the sound.
CDs were originally advertised as the "perfect" audio media, as "virtually indestructible". Both claims were far from true. One should handle one's CDs with the same care one handles vinyl records. And use a lens cleaner on your disc player every once in a while. You may find a disc that skips or won't play will change its attitude after your clean the disc player's lens.


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## Becca (Feb 5, 2015)

Whenever you rip a CD to a computer file, be sure to use an application which uses the 'paranoia' CD reading libraries. It may take forever to read a damaged disk as it has to do constant retries on bad sectors, but it will ensure that you have an exact copy. Without that you could end up with corrupted data copied into your files, which is not good!


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## Klassik (Mar 14, 2017)

Becca said:


> Whenever you rip a CD to a computer file, be sure to use an application which uses the 'paranoia' CD reading libraries. It may take forever to read a damaged disk as it has to do constant retries on bad sectors, but it will ensure that you have an exact copy. Without that you could end up with corrupted data copied into your files, which is not good!


Something like cdparanoia or another Paranoia front end probably works well as a Linux ripper. Many people wanting accurate rips in Windows use Exact Audio Copy. It works pretty well, but I would not use Paranoid Mode in EAC. Secure Mode works better than the older Paranoid Mode.


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## dillonp2020 (May 6, 2017)

Nothing, unless I really want to hear that CD. If that be the case, I simply go to Amazon and order it. For example, I have a Pogorelich "Complete" recordings box, and I scratched the Tchaikovsky no.1 disk. I love his playing of it, so I ordered another one. I have too little time and sufficient money to not worry about those types of things.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

dillonp2020 said:


> Nothing, unless I really want to hear that CD. If that be the case, I simply go to Amazon and order it. For example, I have a Pogorelich "Complete" recordings box, and I scratched the Tchaikovsky no.1 disk. I love his playing of it, so I ordered another one. I have too little time and sufficient money to not worry about those types of things.


It's all that simple really, except for being cautious.


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