Posted on 09/04/2006 10:51:39 AM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach
Properly cleaning the data side of DVDs (this article also applies to CDs) is one of the most disregarded hardware longetivity precautions. Often times, individuals wipe off grease and/or dust by simply rubbing the non-label side of a disc in a circular fashion, using harsh abrasives, such the underside of a t-shirt, or worse, a towel. Truth be told, that's not the way to do it! Yes, you may have temporarily fixed the read issue, but you have also permanently scarred the disc, which could cause many more read issues in the future. Why not take a few extra precautions and do it the right way, and make your data last longer? This tutorial will show you how.
Start out by acquiring the materials. You will need cotton balls (highly suggested, they work the best), rubbing alcohol (supposedly the higher the purity, the better, but I've seen 90% isopropyl yield no scratches), and of course, your DVDs (and CDs) that need cleaning.
The first step of cleaning is the surface clearing. Blow as much dust and particles off the bottom of the DVD as possible. Try to make every single speck disappear. If you're having trouble doing that, lightly feather the cotton ball back and forth, on the data side, till all the particles that may interfere with contact are gone. Remember, if any dust is in between the cotton ball and the disc, though you may clean the DVD fine, you will also be pressing the dust and particles deeper into the disc, causing thousands of microscopic scratches. You don't want that!
Now that the surface is clean, proceed by dampening a cotton ball with the rubbing alcohol. You're going to want to have one damp cotton ball for the actual cleaning, and one dry one to dry off the disc, and remove the grease that may have been moved around during cleaning.
The most important thing to remember when cleaning your DVD collection is this: never, ever, attempt to clean it by wiping the cotton ball in a circular motion, or straight back and forth on the tracks (even if you don't pay attention to anything else in this guide, remember this). Place the damp cotton ball in the center of the data side of the disc, and slowly, gently press your way to the outer edge of the DVD.
Immediately follow this swipe by the swipe of a dry cotton ball. Make sure to start in the same position as the damp one, and glide across. This secondary dry cotton ball picks up all the dirt and microscopic particles that may have remained in the grooves of the disc. Continue to repeat this process for the entire circumference of the DVD.
And you're done. It's as simple (or as difficult) as that. But it's worth it. If you want to keep a DVD collection in tip-top shape for years to come, this is the best way to do it.
My understanding is . . .
Yes, it's wise to avoid circular motions. No need in scratching a scratch into the surface along the line of a track and messing up the 1's and 0's in a row such that the music might be noticably compromised.
However, I don't believe that there are any "grooves" per se. The tracks laid down are all coated with a clear protective coating.
And, one can buy liquid to repair scratches in that coating.
But, yeah, I'm a great one for media that doesn't move.
The old format compact flash is already up to 2 gig at 30 dollars.
I think CD's should be history and the flash mem should replace them.
That's a good price for 400gb.
I have two 300GBs and one 160gb in one computer and in my performance rig, I have two 250gb Satas and one 150gb 10krpm Raptor Sata that I use for various digital stuff like Adobe Premiere or anything that needs intense disk speed. I'm feelin cramped. Only have like 300gbs worth of space left ;).
Bump!
For holding stuff the Thermaltake Armour case seems pretty good but a beast to work with, spent the money for this case with a roll out motherboard....
on sale at Frey.s but I think they are out now....likely Coolermaster has something new coming....
I'm a big fan of the Antec Sonata II cases. Most motherboards only support 4 Sata drives anyway, so this case is enough. I've purchased about 10 of them, two at home the rest at work. I also add the extra 120mm fan and it runs nice and cool. 450watt PS, quiet, cool and easy to work with plus it's an Antec and they have generous warranties because their quality is excellent.
I use a belt sander with fine grit. Real quick, too.
Good advice. Thanks. As the article indicates, all removable disk materials should be cleaned in this manner. It is worth the efforts.
I bought a special DVD ReWinder box for that. It sets right next to my 8-track tape viewer machine.
But with DVDs.....about a month ago or so I bought a brand new copy of the movie musical West Side Story. When I got it home, I realized that the DVD was moving around inside the packaging. It had somehow come loose from that little center nub that is supposed to hold the DVD in its place. My heart dropped because I just knew that the DVD was probvably getting all scratched up everytime it moved against that center nub thing. I ripped off the plastic, opened the casing, and took the loose DVD out, and put it in my DVD player. At first I noticed that when a scene would change from one to another, it would freeze for a split second. At first I thought this was the movie, and not the DVD. But then these freezes began to occur not in between scenes, but during scenes and these freezes would last more than a split second. Then, during the numbers "Officer Krupke" and "Maria" it REALLY got bad. stopping, starting, skipping, etc. Then after that number, I stopped having problems with the DVD after the Maria number.
Right out of the package, a brand new DVD (and this isnt the first time something like this has happened).
I gently wash them under running water, with a little liquid soap, and pat dry.
I just rinse them under the faucet and dry them with a soft cotton cloth.
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