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Other => Technical stuff => Topic started by: love_cat on July 07, 2008, 12:51:03

Title: How To Get My Data Back From a DVD??
Post by: love_cat on July 07, 2008, 12:51:03
I have a DVD which no computer can read.
it's completely unreadable. It has been exposed to a heavy sunlight. Is it possible to recover my data in any way?
Title: Re: How To Get My Data Back From a DVD??
Post by: Steve on July 12, 2008, 18:51:09
Sounds like it fecked, but what type of data was on it?

Never heard about sunlight muffing up dvds before.

Tried it in any other machines?

Title: Re: How To Get My Data Back From a DVD??
Post by: jmusiclover on July 13, 2008, 17:10:03
You'll be lucky to retrieve anything from it. I had a cpl of DVD's left on a table in direct sunlight a while back. Now they are completely fucked...Won't be doing that again in a hurry. :roll:
Title: Re: How To Get My Data Back From a DVD??
Post by: japanesebaby on July 13, 2008, 19:41:41
Quote from: jmusiclover on July 13, 2008, 17:10:03
You'll be lucky to retrieve anything from it. I had a cpl of DVD's left on a table in direct sunlight a while back. Now they are completely fucked...Won't be doing that again in a hurry. :roll:

yes that's true, unfortunately. direct sunlight and/or heat can "fade out" the data on the disc, a bit like if you leave a photo on a sunlight for a long time.
how much direct sunlight a disc can take actually depends on the disc quality/brand. the cheaps brands can be more easily damaged/destroyed than quality brands. i've heard that even a few days/a week of sunlight can ruin a mediocre quality disc, whereas good brands can take a lot more, like a month or so. so when one pays for quality brands it is actually worth the money.

slightly off-topic perhaps, but i've also heard that dvd-rs should be generally more reliable/durable that cd-rs/cd-rws. i know some companies who don't accept cd-rs/cd-rws as an "official" archival method because of this.


anyway, there's nothing much to be done i'm afraid, if the disc is already badly damaged by heat.
good tips for the future might be not to storage one's discs above the heater/leave them on the window ledge, and not to buy the cheapest brands.
Title: Re: How To Get My Data Back From a DVD??
Post by: love_cat on July 14, 2008, 11:19:37
I'm getting used to have lost all the data. I had very nice things toi listen to (though not music), lots of curiosities, photos.. 10 GB of data lost (3 DVDs)
Title: Re: How To Get My Data Back From a DVD??
Post by: jmusiclover on July 21, 2008, 15:30:15
Ouch, that's a lot of stuff to lose. :(
I always take 2 backup copies of really important stuff, usually to DVD and external HDD or DAT tape, just in case.
Title: Re: How To Get My Data Back From a DVD??
Post by: love_cat on July 22, 2008, 10:31:57
I stored this on an external USB disk, which has storage capacity 40 GB, and I had to make space for something else, so I burned it to DVD and put in the sun.
Stupid...
Title: Re: How To Get My Data Back From a DVD??
Post by: jmusiclover on July 22, 2008, 11:20:45
yeah, 40Gb doesn't go far nowadays...not with all these flac files and dvd/movies. At least the price has dropped on large capacity external hdd's now...I've got quite a few hooked up to the pc.
Title: Re: How To Get My Data Back From a DVD??
Post by: japanesebaby on July 22, 2008, 14:48:52
Quote from: jmusiclover on July 21, 2008, 15:30:15
I always take 2 backup copies of really important stuff, usually to DVD and external HDD or DAT tape, just in case.

i must be paranoid but sometimes i'm not convinced even that is enough.
(i'm dreaming of those HDs that actually consist of two independent drives in-one so that everything's automatically backed up already on HD - if one drive fails there's always the other one left...)

Title: Re: How To Get My Data Back From a DVD??
Post by: jmusiclover on July 22, 2008, 17:49:17
Well, I've used DAT/DDS tapes for over 10 years for both personal & business archiving and never had a single failure (either backing up or restoring data) and that's using them on a daily basis. It's not the cheapest option but definitely one of the most reliable.