Can a Few Small DVD Scratches Cause Playback to Crash?
Asked by
MistyCedar42
I bought a DVD online, and the seller said it had been tested. When I play it through VLC on my computer, the movie gets about an hour in and crashes at exactly the same point every time. The disc looks nearly pristine, except for two or three shallow scratches that are difficult to see. I tried gently cleaning it with a microfiber cloth, but that didn't help. Could such minor-looking scratches really cause this kind of failure? Is there a reliable way to repair or recover the disc? I haven't tested it in a standalone DVD player yet.
Answers
A disc resurfacing machine, sometimes sold as a disc doctor, can help with scratches by polishing the surface. It may be worthwhile if you regularly watch physical media, but avoid household remedies like toothpaste, banana, or soap since they can leave residue or create more surface damage.
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A disc can look almost perfect and still have damage in one spot that causes read errors. Try checking it with a disc-testing utility such as CDCheck to see whether it reports unreadable sectors. Testing it in another DVD player or computer drive can also help determine whether the problem is the disc or the original drive.
MistyCedar42: I’ll give that a try. Thanks!
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If the disc is faulty, returning or exchanging it is probably the simplest solution, especially since the seller claimed it was tested. A standalone player may handle the error differently, but it won’t actually repair damaged data.
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MistyCedar42: I was getting desperate enough to consider toothpaste, but I’d rather not make the disc worse. Since I use physical media fairly often, a resurfacing machine might be worth considering.