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.

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 disc 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”).

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 dvd disc or any other contamination, moisten a piece of soft cloth with ethyl or isopropyl alcohol, then wipe the electronic media dry using 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

    A regularly used CD-ROM or DVD drive likes to collect dust and other “unnecessary things”. If you are looking for a way to effectively clean disk reader without having to take your computer apart, here are the instructions.

    When the CD-ROM drive needs cleaning

    The most obvious signal is when your DVD drive is failing work fine. This can be caused by many things, but disk cleanup may I help.

    Another sign is when your computer has Difficulty reading discs. The third signal is strange sound when the drive tries to open the disc or even during extension and retraction.

    Another sign is when used the disk twitches(although then it could be the disk's fault). These are just the most common symptoms.

    The general conclusion is this: if your CD-ROM/DVD is not working, clean it. If this does not help, try cleaning it again, and if this does not help, the drive is probably faulty and you should replace it with a new one or send the existing one for repair.

    What you need to clean the drive

    Of course, do not use the blowing method. Your breath contains a lot of moisture, which can cause even more damage, including irreversible destruction of the drive.

    How to prepare the drive for cleaning

    Turn on the computer and remove the partition holding the disk. Then turn off the computer again, leaving the partition open. Remove the disc from the drive if it was in the computer.

    How to clean a DVD drive

    Insert the “straw” into the hole of the can of compressed air. If you have a laptop, place it on the edge of the table with the CD-ROM/DVD compartment hanging in the air.

    Hold the can of air perpendicular to the floor (i.e. upright) and be careful not to pump it, as the gas it contains may damage your CD-ROM/DVD. Insert the straw into the drive connector and lightly press the air release button from the can.

    Repeat the procedure two or three times, and then turn on the computer and see if the drive works.

    What to do if this does not lead to the desired result

    Some instructional videos or web pages recommend removing the drive completely from the computer. Do not do that. In many cases, performing this operation may cost you the warranty, and even if not, it may damage the drive.

    what can you do

    Call a specialist maintenance or bring your computer to a service center. You can also contact the manufacturer and ask for advice. If your computer is under warranty, then, of course, you have a phone number written down that you should call in such cases.

    A few tips for cleaning the drive

    Drive unit CD-ROM drives/ DVD is a very delicate part of the computer that requires good care. You can clean it before alarm signals appear.

    Use compressed air carefully and responsibly to avoid damaging your computer. When you empty the container, do not throw it in the trash. Compressed air cans often contain toxic substances, so we must dispose of them in special waste containers that represent

    You often come across the fact that a previously perfectly playable disc suddenly stops loading or the files loaded on it simply do not open, although the drive seems to have detected their presence. What happened in this situation? Is the drive broken or is it time to throw this disc in the trash? There are several ways to try to solve this problem yourself without drastic measures to replace the drive or remove the disk itself from use.

    1. To determine whether the drive is the cause or not, you need to try playing several discs using it. And if he doesn’t read only a specific version, then it’s not his fault. If the situation repeats when discs stop reading or are problematic to play, then this is a problem with the drive.
    2. In the case of a problem disk, you must first clean it of dirt. There are many means for cleaning them, but from experience we can say that there is no point in spending money on any liquids - discs can be easily treated in warm water and soap. After this procedure, they must be blotted with a well-absorbing towel and allowed to dry before placing them in the drive again.
    3. In the case of a dirty laser read head of the drive, you can get by with purchasing a special “cleaning disk”. Or you can remove the drive from the computer and disconnect the protective cover by moving it backwards and upwards. Then you need to use something thin but strong, for example, a pin on the front panel through the hole, to press the latch and open the tray that blocks access to the lens by pressing on it. It is necessary to blow off large dust from the surface of the lens using a can of compressed air or even an ordinary blower, but in no case with your mouth. The pear must be without talc inside, otherwise everything will become even worse. Using a brush and lens cleaning liquid, you need to rinse the lens thoroughly, making light movements that do not press on it at all. After this, the lens should dry, and to prevent dust from getting on it again, it is better to cover it with something during the drying period. If plaque forms after drying, it must be removed with a dry soft brush. After this comes the process of assembling the drive.

    The disc itself may not only be dirty, but also severely scratched, which also affects the ease of playback. It is possible to restore its surface by polishing. With large and deep scratches, it is unlikely that anything will work out, but if there are a lot of thread-like damage on it, this option can be “cured.”

    The simplest method requires clean rags and goyim paste. The disc must be well wetted with water and a little paste applied to it, which must be spread evenly over the entire surface of the disc. Then, using a rag, you need to polish from the center of the disk to the edges until the paste simply disappears. The number of such processes will depend on the state of the disk after each stage. As soon as the disappearance of the most conspicuous scratches is noted, the disc can be considered to be polished. After polishing, the disc should be rinsed thoroughly, blotted and allowed to dry. After this, you can try to play back the recording.

    And at the end, a little advice. If you need to download a driver for your printer, scanner, modem or laptop, you can always do it on the website www.hwdrivers.com or www.driver.biz.ua.

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