If your DVD disc cannot be read on a computer or DVD player, then most likely the electronic media just needs to be cleaned. There are several ways to remove traces of dirt that are interfering with playback, all of which require extreme care.

Instructions

  • To clean a DVD from dust, wipe it with a soft cloth made from natural materials. At the same time, direct your movement from the center of the disk to the edge along the radius, and not in reverse order. It is not recommended to wipe the surface of the disc in a circle, since circular damage is much more difficult to get rid of.
  • Try blowing off dust from the surface of the electronic media using a special can, sold for this purpose in computer stores. Direct the air stream from the can parallel to the surface of the disc and wait until there is no trace of dust left.
  • To remove fingerprints from the surface of a DVD disc or any other contaminants, moisten a piece of soft cloth with ethyl or isopropyl alcohol, then wipe the electronic media dry with radial movements.
  • To clean your DVD disc more thoroughly, wet its surface with water, soap your hands and gently apply soap suds to the shiny side, then rinse carefully with water and blot with a cloth that easily absorbs moisture, such as a soft terry towel. Do not dry the disc with a hairdryer, as this may damage it.
  • Use glass cleaning liquid by applying it to a soft cloth and wiping the surface of the disc in a radial direction. Or lower it dvd media into such a solution and leave it in it for 5-7 minutes, and then wipe the disc dry with a piece of soft cloth made of natural material.
  • Please note that solvents such as acetone, gasoline, kerosene, and other mixtures that contain petroleum products are absolutely not suitable for cleaning discs. They can cloud the surface of a DVD disc, making the electronic media unsuitable for further use. Only alcohol-based solvents should be used.
  • Tip added February 16, 2012 Tip 2: How to clean a CD CDs are used, in particular, for long-term storage and transfer of computer files. The more actively CD media are used, the more urgent the task of periodic surface cleaning becomes. To solve it, you can use both special industrial kits and improvised means. In addition, cleaning disks does not always mean their surface; sometimes we are talking about their contents.

    Instructions

  • Buy a special optical disc care kit that includes the necessary components to clean the surface of CD/DVD media. As a rule, the package contains a bottle with a special liquid and a sponge or a set of disposable wipes. In addition to them, the set may also include a can, which allows, in the most literal sense of the expression, to “blow away specks of dust” from the tracks of an optical disc. Moreover, the basis of some kits is automatic device, into which you need to fill the attached Consumables and place optical disk, and the device will carry out the cleaning procedure itself without your participation. The simplest of the kits contains a certain amount of disposable napkins soaked in a special liquid.
  • Find a soft, lint-free cotton napkin if purchasing a special set is not possible. You can use ordinary water as a cleaning liquid. Glass cleaner will also work.
  • If the set is intended for manual cleaning optical disks, do this with movements from the center to the edge - the likelihood of causing mechanical damage with circular movements is much higher. After completing the procedure, the CD should be dry. If you used special materials from the purchased set, the liquid will evaporate from the surface on its own. Otherwise, use a dry cotton cloth to wipe the disc using the same radial movements.
  • Use an optical disc burning application if it is not the surface of the CD that needs cleaning, but its contents. But first you should find out whether such an operation is possible in principle. Required condition is the presence of a CD/DVD burner in your computer. In addition, the CD itself must be designed to reuse. If the CD marking contains the letter W, then this condition is met. Another possible obstacle is that if during the previous recording of data to the disk it was “finalized” (the corresponding mark was set in the recording settings), then no changes to its contents are now possible.
  • With one of the latest versions operating systems (for example, Windows 7 or Windows Vista) use its own components to clean up the disk directory. Load the CD into the reader, launch Explorer and click the icon optical drive right click mice. IN context menu select the “Format” line and a window with disk cleanup settings will appear on the screen. It is not necessary to change anything in the default settings; click the “Start” button and the CD formatting process will start.
  • Sources
    • how to free a cd
    How to Clean a CD - Printable Version

    To be able to rewrite data on a DVD, you must have a DVD writer (DVD+RW format) installed on your computer. IN modern laptops and the latest computers, as a rule, such DVD-roms are already included in the equipment package.

    There are two types of DVD discs - rewritable (RW) and non-rewritable (R). In the first case, you can use the drive several times, deleting and writing new data to it again; in the second option, information can be written to the disk only once. In our case, we need DVD RW. Before writing new information to a disk with data already on it, you must delete the old data (format the disk). This can be done using a special software, or installed on your computer using your own means operating system.

    How to delete information from a disc - DVD+RW or CD+RW

    If your computer has Windows XP or earlier versions of the operating system installed Windows systems, then it is best to use special programs to format DVDs. For example, which is one of the most popular among PC users. It allows you not only to clear the disk of old information, but also to write new data to it. The program is especially popular because, in addition to stable operation, it also has a very convenient and visual interface.

    Download installation file You can download Nero software for free online and then install it on your PC by following the installer's step-by-step instructions. After this, it is best to restart the computer, then insert into the DVD drive required disk and use the desktop shortcut to launch Nero Start Smart.

    In the main menu of the program window that opens, find the “Advanced” function and click on it. In response to this, a dialog box will open in which you need to click on "Erase DVD", thereby activating the “Program Operation Wizard”. The wizard will display prompts on the screen, using which you can clean the disk from unnecessary information. Once the disk has been successfully formatted, a notification will appear on the monitor screen.

    Use built-in disk cleaning programs

    The Windows Vista and Windows 7 operating systems have intuitive and stable built-in capabilities for formatting DVDs. After the system independently detects the disk installed in the drive, a dialog box will appear on the monitor screen in which you need to click on the “Burn files to disk” function. In the new window that opens, you need to select the disk name, then click on “Show formatting options” to set the parameters for future recording to the disk. If the new information will consist of files of the same type (for example, movies or music), then you need to select the Mastered option so that the disc can be read well by the equipment that plays these files. To collect files on one disk various types It's better to choose LFS. Having specified the desired parameter, click on the “Next” button. In response to this, the formatting process will automatically start, after which a corresponding message will appear on the monitor screen.

    Useful video

    We have prepared a video especially for you on how to clear data from a CD/ DVD disc A:


    Many users prefer to buy rewritable discs in order to be able to record information on it several times. But before you clear a dvd rw disc of information, you should choose the most suitable way. This can be done using some disc burning programs, or you can use the operating system installed on your computer.

    If not installed programs To burn discs, you need to go to the “My Computer” section and in the window that opens, find the CD/DVD drive icon.

    We move the mouse cursor over the drive icon that contains the disk that needs cleaning.

    Click on it right key mice.

    In the drop-down menu that opens, find the line where it says “Erase this DVD-RW,” and then click on it with the left mouse button.

    The “CD Burning Wizard” window will open, in which you need to click “Next”.

    All files located on this disk are deleted. This process can take from a few seconds to several minutes, depending on the number of files written and the speed of the rewritable disc.

    After cleaning the disk is completed, the “CD Burning Wizard” window will display information that the operation was successful and the media is now suitable for burning new files. Here we click the “Finish” button.

    If it is not cleared after performing the above steps, the CD/DVD drive may be faulty, or the disc may no longer be suitable for subsequent recording.

    You can clean a DVD-RW disc very quickly and easily using UltraISO programs or NeroBurningROM.

    To use UltraISO to clean up your disk, you need to: open window program, select the “Tools” menu, and in the drop-down menu with the left mouse button select the line “Burn CD image”.

    The “Write image” window will open, in which we click “Erase”.

    If the NeroBurningROM program is installed on your computer, then to clean the DVD-RW disc, select “Recorder” in the open program window, and click on the “Erase rewritable disc” line in the drop-down menu.

    In the window that will then open (Erase rewritable disk), select the drive, disk cleaning method and erasing speed.

    After clicking the “Erase” button, the process of cleaning the rewritable disc will begin.

    When cleaning DVD-RW discs, it is worth performing a complete erase of all files. This will help prevent old data from being read in parallel with new recorded information being read.

    If the disk was not cleared immediately or not on the first try, you should not use it, as this may lead to the loss of information that will be written to it later.

    How to clean a DVD disc

    Computers are an integral part of our work, everyday life, and leisure. However, with this widespread use and distribution of computer technology, ordinary users have certain difficulties with its operation. In particular, with regard to working with disks. Not everyone can figure out how to clear a DVD from an existing recording so that a new recording can be made. And it's not as simple as it seems. To simplify this task as much as possible, it is better to use special program. and literally in one click he will tell you how to do this and create a special application for burning CDs, DVDs and Blu Ray discs - “Disc Studio”.
    How it works? Everything is elementary! Now you don't need to be a big computer professional to complete this task. Actually, like a number of others, now the problem will not be the question of how to clean a DVD disc, nor how to record a new one on it - music or video.

    So, cleaning the media is a separate function in the program: select the desired drive with a disk and press the “Clean up disk” button. If necessary, you can now overwrite and clear again an infinite number of times.



    Even more - the program opens up a whole range of new possibilities: creating beautiful design to your disk. For example, if you are compiling a home archive or preparing promotional materials for a presentation or handouts. You can choose a disk image or use graphics. Everything that might be necessary and everything that might come to mind is now easy, accessible and simple!


    An important nuance is that working with the Disk Studio program, which can be downloaded, helps save all valuable data from loss or unintentional destruction.


    "Disk Studio" is good decision for those who want not only to simplify their communication with technology as much as possible, but also to simply “keep up the brand” in everything. Order in your own archives and easy work will be ensured.

    It may happen that we bought a film, watched it and gave it to our friends or acquaintances to watch. Then, after returning the disk, it suddenly became unreadable.

    What's happened? We open the drive, look carefully at the disk and see with disappointment that scratches have appeared on it that were not there before, but what is even more strange: it is somehow all dirty, smeared with something, covered in some kind of dried stains. How can a poor man read? It’s just that a friend’s child acted carelessly with it: let’s say, he threw the disk face down on a dirty table, and, God forbid, he put some object on top of it and moved it around the table.

    In no case do not wipe the CD some napkins or rags - you can scratch (damage) the working surface of the disk even more...

    Well, nothing can be done about scratches. If they are insignificant, then the disk will be readable. But you can remove dirt from the disk by washing it in warm water and soap. Yes, like a regular plate, only with your hands, not with a rag or sponge.

    We wet it with plain water and carefully distribute the soap solution over the surface with a soapy hand. Simply put, wash your hands thoroughly before complete removal dirty spots.

    Done, washed:

    Then just shake it well and let it dry, but if the water is hard, traces of hardness salts may remain after drying. To dry, we simply blot with a material that absorbs moisture well, for example, a terry towel:

    It is advisable to carefully blot or wipe (rub) the CD/DVD disc, but do not. Any friction on the working surface of the disk can lead to scratching; what if a grain of sand remains in the material? So it’s safer to blot:

    And if possible, do not touch the work surface with your hands:

    Give the disc a few tens of seconds to dry completely and that’s it. Disk ready to eat. Try it, it may happen that those discs that were not read before will be successfully read in your drive.

    By the way, if most of the discs from your collection are not readable in a CD/DVD drive, then check on another drive, for example, with friends or acquaintances. It may happen that it is time to change the drive due to mechanical displacement of the reading head relative to the surface (they say that the “eye is lost”).