how to read video off damaged cd's

[junglemike]

Hi.
I have many backups of cd's with video that i encoded long time ago. Most of them are in xvid+mp3+avi format.
I'm now trying to re-encode some of those episoded to lower resolution/size to see the video on palm device.
Many of those cd's have scratches.
For example there is a scratch at the end of the disc and there's notheing i can do (in a physical way) to help it.
I realize that small part with scratch may be lost, but i'm still willing to pull off what i can. And it doesn't seem to work
I've tried forcing "check video stream for errors" in virtual dubmod, and it says "cyclic smth... error". Simple direct stream copy gives same error.
I've tried making an nero image of the damaged cd to the hard disk (choosing ignore bad sectors) - It does make an nero image sucsessfully, than i map the image with deamon tools, and try to copy the video - I get same cyclic error as with source cd.
Don't know what to try more.
Any help would be great. Thanks.

[steveryan]

Isobuster

[AlanHK]

Try rubbing the disk with some toothpaste and water, rub radially, not circularly, then rinse off and dry. You'll make lots of small scratches, but these don't affect readability much. The idea is to smooth the big scratch, like fine sandpaper. This often works with damaged disks, but no guarantee.

[junglemike]

Thanks steveryan. I actually have Isobuster. Didn't think it would help.
Anyway, I've copied the .avi file to hard disk - It popped up warnings, and I ignored the errors. REsulting file is 500kb smaller than original. Will try to run virtualdubmod error check now.

AlanHK, In my case - there's notheing to do. The damage is on the top side - the actual aluminium data layer is damaged (i can see through the hole in the cd)

[piano632]

I keep recommending Fellowes CD/DVD Scratch Repair Kit. You can get it at OfficeMax or elsewhere for $5-6. It uses chemical-soaked cloths like moist towelettes to soften up the disc plastic just enough to rub out the scratches. Even though it's meant for light scratches, it will work with deeper scratches as well if you do enough rubbing. I've been able to rescue "public library quality" discs with this stuff, and if you've seen how some people treat public library discs you know what I'm talking about. Works much better than polishes, waxes, and Skip Doctor machines.