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How to automatically read DVDs that have I/O errors? (lemmy.zip)
submitted 1 year ago by to c/linux@programming.dev
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I have a collection of DVDs and CDs that I’ve been meaning to archive. However, most of them must be scratched because whenever I try to read them, they get an I/O error in a random spot of one of the 1gb files. I heard that you can do some magic with ddrescue and possibly even read them in reverse, but don’t know the limitations of that when it comes to USB DVD readers. How can I copy these reliably?

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[–] 6 points 1 year ago (4 children)

ddrescue.

Also, maybe look for a CD lens cleaner.

May be hard to find nowadays. An alternative is gently clean the lens with a Qtip slightly moist with distilled water, and dried with the other, dry end.

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  • [–] [S] 1 point 1 year ago (3 children)

    that was something I tried, to no avail. I used a clean lens cleaner with a dab of distilled water. I am only assuming at this point that the drive is scratched, but to my eyes there is nothing wrong with the CD. They are just maybe a decade old at this point and my cousins want a copy of the data which I intend to send them by ripping the existing CDs.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 year ago (2 children)

    Quick question, are these burned blank disks, or purchased commercial disks?

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  • [–] [S] 2 points 1 year ago* (1 child)

    I believe they were burned, since we have blanks laying around. The data was migrated from tape I think.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 year ago

    Ok, you may be facing disk rot. Disk rot is much more prevalent on self recorded that commercial recordings.

    ddrescue is probably your best bet.There are other options, but I've always had the best results with ddrescue. There is no way to fix disk rot.

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