CD-RW Damaged. Any Recommendations for Recovery Services?

Can anyone recommend a reputable service company for recovering data

from a damaged CD-RW disc? I've heard of www.cdrecovery.com and a

couple of others in the San Diego, CA area. Any suggestions would be

appreciated. Thanks.

In the past I used Ontrack (<a href="http://www.ontrack.com">www.ontrack.com</a>), but for hard disk recovery. They were very fast, very expensive, and completely successful. They offer several services including phone support+their software, which I assume must be more affordable. Good luck getting your data back! I'd also recommend getting rid of all your CD-RWs and going to CD-R instead (Get top of line ones!).

This begs the question - what is THE top of the line CD-R?

 

I had a couple of unopen-able Tiff's the other day from a 2 month old CDR (Phillips?), but as I had 2 copies, this wasn't a problem. I used to use the Kodak Gold Ultima's, but can't get them anywhere now. What is the most reputable, archivally safe (relatively speaking) CD to use?

When that question last came up, I did a little research on the internet and found out that there really isn't an answer. Manufacturers use a variety of different materials and process to create cds and there isn't one that's intrinsically better. As with many things related to electronics, it probably has more to do with quality control than design or manufacturing.

 

The best bet is just to make multiple, verified backups. (If you want to cover all the bases, use a couple of different brands of cds.)

I have heard of CD-R media that have 'gold' in them to be superior. I have been using the old 2x CD-Rs made by Sony for images and the new 40x ones made by God-knows-who forother stuff.

 

What do others use?

 

Ajoy

Depending on HOW it is damaged, you may be able to recover it yourself. If the damage is a scratch or a few little scratches, there are "CD repair kits" that are essentially some mild abrasive and a polishing cloth. You buff the scratch out of the CD and copy everything off. Honestly, they fail to do any good most of the time, but I do know of cases where the repair has worked long enough to make a copy of the data.

 

Joe

Did you get your data recovered John? Sometimes just trying a

different drive works.

<P>

As for gold being the best, this appears to be a myth, or no longer

true, <A HREF="http://www.mscience.com/faq52.html">this URL</A> asserts. And

<A HREF="http://www.cdmediaworld.com/hardware/cdrom/cd_quality.shtml">

this URL</A> shows proof that Mitsui, Taiyo Yuden, TDK, Kodak Japan, Pioneer and Ricoh all make good quality CDR discs. These include all dye types! CDR quality is a manufacturing, not a materials, issue.