Burning to a scratched DVD -- damage?

So I was trying to burn a DVD and all it did was make a bunch of weird noise. So I canceled and opened drive and noticed scratch on DVD-R. Is DVD drive damaged? I didn't smell anything funny and it will read discs but I don't want to risk another burn.

 

Hey Aimee, If the scratch is in a circular pattern then i think it means the drive is on its way out.

And the reason i think it can read ok is cos' it uses a different laser for each action.

I would pop a different disc in and see if it was a one off, and then start looking for a new drive if it wasn't

Q

 

No -- actually, what I meant is that the scratch was already on the disc. Cheap-o DVD-Rs.

 

Oh i see, again id say just put another disc in and see what happens, it is possible that it has damaged the drive but unlikely.

Q

 

I'm trying again. I didn't notice any visible scratches. Is there a way to check for scratches without spending any money? lol

Edit: It's burning, albeit slowly. At least it didn't get stuck on the buffering like last time. Or was it lead-in? I lost the log.