Corrupted audio CD?

I have an audio CD (CD-R) that I think is corrupted. I don't know how, why, or when whatever happened happened, but one day the CD just wouldn't play in any CD player or computer, when it played perfectly every time before. Today, I actually managed to sorta access it on my computer. Apparently the music data is still in there, as it listed all of the tracks and how long they were. I could also barely get audio if I played it in VLC player (Media Player would only play the first second of each track before skipping to the next one). In VLC, the tracks would play for a few seconds, then lag for a while before continuing, and the sound quality was terrible and static-y. Anyone ever experience this? Is there anything that can be done? Also, the CD really can't be replaced. There don't seem to be any scratches or dust or anything on it either. Help me

If you can't, thanks anyway

 

Hi goldleader, if this is a disc that you have burnt yourself then it is probably down to the disc being exposed to sunlight.

Because *burnable* discs [especially cheap ones] are incredibly light sensitive, so while they can look fine with no scratches the dye that holds all the *ones & zeroes* can be very distressed

If it is a store bought disc with a metal rather than a dye *backing* then it is a different matter and if it looks ok it should play ok.

The're ways to try to recover the data from a damaged disc if you need to....

http://www.recoverytoolbox.com/cd.html


Q

 

Yah, it's a burned CD. I never knew about the sun thing; good to know. I tried that software this morning, but it didn't really work. It gave me each track as a .cda file, which I couldn't burn (even though my burning software says it supports .cda format), and they wouldn't open in anything either. Any other software/advice?

 

Hey goldleader, those .cda files are not the actual music data, they are sort of the directory files that point to each track, but i think it is good news that you have been able to recover those as it shows the disc is not completely goosed.

try having a play with the software and see if maybe something is not set right, and if you get the files try to get them to play on your pc before you burn anything to a disc, try VLC player.

I will have a look around and see if a can find something else.

Q

EDIT: btw if you want to store any precious data on discs, you should buy some "archive quality" discs and store them somewhere cool and dark

 

Well, they won't play in VLC, or the other half dozen programs I've tried. I'll take another look at the software, but it seemed pretty straight forward, as in not many options.

EDIT: I went back into the software, and on the screen that shows what all is on the disc, so you can check off what you want to grab, it only has the .cda files listed.

 

Those .cda files will not play, they are not the music data.

Here is a couple of different app's to try...

This is freeware - http://www.softwarepatch.com/software/cdrecovery-security.html


This one is a paid app' but i believe it has a limited trial, and it might be worth paying for if it finds the data you need. - http://www.softeza.com/download/mdrsetup.exe


Other than those, the only other thing i can suggest is try the disc in as many drives as possible, and hope you get lucky.

Sorry i couldn't be more help.

Q

[btw, i have my REALLY important data stored on discs in two different houses, i use archive quality discs, and reburn every year]

 

I tried the one from softwarepatch, and it actually worked (gave me .wav files ). It's not perfect of course, as there is still alot of static on some of the tracks, but that's to be expected. Some of them are not too bad. I will now be burning them onto a new CD, and I'll keep in mind all the things you told me.

Thanks!

 

Excellent news

Glad i could help.

[and i think ill keep hold of that software myself, it must be a good'un]

Q