DVDR rip on unreadable disc

[Throb1231]

OK, let me begin by saying, I have been given this task by a boss who thinks I am the end all-be all when it comes to DVD matters because of the knowledge I have gained from lurking in this forum (yeah, I have him snowed...don't judge me). Thank to everyone here, but now I need some help.

I have a Phillips DVD-R (Fujifilm03) that was burned on a Sony RDR-VX515 DVD recorder. It is approximately 10 minutes of video recorded from a video camera, finalized and "of an evidentiary nature".

The disc is now "unreadable" and I have been given the task of making a copy of the disc so it is readable.

I have tried to use DVD decrypter and DVD fab Decrypter but both say the disc is empty.

DVD Decrypter says:

PIONEER DVD-RW DVR-108 1.18 (ATA)
Current Profile: DVD-R

Disc Information:
Status: Incomplete
Erasable: No

Pre-recorded Information:
Manufacturer ID: FUJIFILM03

Physical Format Information (Last Recorded):
Book Type: DVD-R
Part Version: 5
Disc Size: 120mm
Maximum Read Rate: Not Specified
Number of Layers: 1
Track Path: Parallel Track Path (PTP)
Linear Density: 0.267 um/bit
Track Density: 0.74 um/track
First Physical Sector of Data Area: 196,608
Last Physical Sector of Data Area: 0
Last Physical Sector in Layer 0: 0

I tried to use Nero DVD copy and I get this log info:

Unrecoverable read error at
LBA 0-67
LBA 80-95
LBA 112-239
LBA 256-271
LBA 288-384

and so on till I just abort the process.

If if run a disc info (using Nero) I get the following:

Capacity in use: 1,047MB
Available 3,152 MB

Sessions 1
Tracks 4
Book type DVD-R
Session 1

Track 01: 0 24,544KB Unknown Mode (mode1)
Track 02: 12288 480 KB Unknown mode (mode 1)
Track 03: 12544 271,296KB Unknown Mode (mode1)
Track 04: 148208 775,520KB Unknown Mode (mode 1)

I have tried to insert the disc on my Sony RDR-VX500 to finalize it but my recorder says the disc can neither be read or written to.

This DVD has been to our "Computer services" who say there is nothing that can be done. A brief conversation with these guys told me they don't know the difference between Yudens and Ramen noodles. (I have since informed my boss of the difference in DVD MANUFACTURERS and DVD LABELS...He gets it now that he has lost data!)

The data is clearly burned onto the disc (I can see where the inner ring is burned) and the disc was finalized (I was there when it was) ergo, the data is on there....how do I get it off?!?!?!

Besides sticking it to the IT guys who sit around all day and tell people to "shut down and re-boot" all day, and brown nosing the crap out of my boss, getting this data off the disc is really the right thing to do as the video would be critical in a case against the person "caught on tape". I have several other DVDs where the data recovery would be very helpful as well.

I can't promise anything to the person who helps me, other than good karma. If you watch "My Name is Earl", then you know the importance of good karma.

Thanks for the help...

[thevoelk]

Have you tried ISO Buster? It may be able to get some or all of the data off of the disc.

[Throb1231]

Nope, but I will right now!!!

[mikiem]

If you haven't had success with iso buster, might also look to the DVD itself. One post here talked about success after removing the label. Otherwise unless the DVD is coming apart, might repair or polish the surface. I've seen special pencils avertised, there are different coatings and polishing devices, I've even gotten away rubbing in a lite coat of pledge.

[Throb1231]

I did not have any luck with ISO Buster. I let it run all morning but it couldn't extract any of the 4 tracks.

Looking at the disc itself, I don't see any scratches on the data side. There is no label as we place the DVD's inside envelopes (Yet another thing I am trying to get the boss to shy away from....small steps though.)

Are there any other ideas?

[waheed]

Was the DVDR ever readable. It could be down to a bad burn or the disc gone bad.

However, I would suggest using a number of PCs, different dvd drives and seveeral softwares inlcuding ISObuster. This will increase the chances of recovering any data of the dvdr.

Otherwise, i would go with mikiem's suggestion with repairing the disc with special polishing materials etc...

[Throb1231]

I have ISO Buster running and it is 10% done with track 3 after 3 hrs. Guess its going to be running all night. I started right with track 3 this time, as it terminated on tracks 1&2 due to errors.

Am I correct in assuming that track 3 (the largest track) has the video? Track 4 is obviously the empty space to which the recorder finalized over, but the other 2 track (1&2) seem too small to contain video.

Also, when (I'm trying to be positive here and not say if) ISO Buster finishes with track three, what do I do with the .tao file? Can Nero mount that file like an .iso?

Waheed, I am unsure if the DVD was ever readable, however the DVD recorder at the time the disc was burned appeared to be operating normally. The DVD recorded and upon stopping, no unusual messages and fianlization took the standard amount of time. I have had problems with the company's unit when fianlizing discs. Someone once let it spin and finalize for 20 minutes before asking me if that is normal.

[Throb1231]

13 hrs later, I'm at 54% ...Is this normal and just how much damage am I doing to my Pioneer drive???

[Gildas]

If you put the disc in a DVD burner drive in a computer and open Windows Explorer, can you see the files on it? Since it was recorded on a standalone DVD recorder, there should be no encryption and you should be able to just copy all the files from within Windows Explorer.

[Abond]

I assume this is not normal. Usually I am extracting with isobuster files, but no tracks. Can you post here an image of isobuster with what you have found on the disc?

[Throb1231]

Gildas, When I put the DVD in my computer, it does not recognize the disc. Windows explorer says the drive is empty so there are no file to just drag and drop.

Abond, ISOBuster shows 4 tracks labels Track 1, Track 2 etc. Track 1 is 23.97 MB, Track 2 is 480KB and track 3 is the largest at 264.94MB. Track 4 is 4.10 GB and should be empty space. The video on the disc should only be about 10 minutes long at most. I'm assuming track 1 is the menue system and track 3 is the movie.

Sorry, don't know how to get a screen cap. of the program, and since its been running for 14 hrs, I really don't want to mess with it and casue an error.

What do I do with the .tao file once its off the DVD???

[Throb1231]

27 hrs and I'm at 96%. Does anyone have answers to my questions above?

[Throb1231]

it has run its course and I now have a 266 MB .TAO file...can someone tell me what to do with this?

[drjtech]

Remove the disc from the drive. In IsoBuster, go to the "File" menu and select "Open Image File". Browse to the TAO file you created and "Open" it.

Select the files and or directories you want to extract, right-click and "Extract Objects".

-drj

[Throb1231]

OK well now it says I have a recovered VOB file but I have to register to "get that functionality".

IT would be worth it if I knew that s what I am getting, my recovered file. Are there any other freeware programs or do I have to shell out $25 for the code for this one video?

[thevoelk]

I've had luck doin this:
Copy the TAO file to a different folder. Rename the copy to [filename].iso, and then burn with Nero. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Off the top of my head, I can't remember the situations where I had to do this, but it was hit or miss.

[Throb1231]

thevoelk...Tried to rename but no luck. I tried to extract to mpg files and I get a 0kb file that obviously won't play.

To everyone else that chipped in... thanks for your help but it looks like this will be unrecoverable. Bet the boss will learn to buy better media.

Ill still check in if someone has a brainstom, but alas, I have resigned and consider myself defeated.

Thank you all

[drjtech]

Don't give up too easily. I just used Daemon Tools to mount a .tao file as a test case and it worked. Rather than rename the file extension I simply told Daemon Tools to browse for "*.*".

If it doesn't work for you, at least it's free.

-drj

[handyguy]

Have you tried to put it back in the dvd recorder? Chances are it might not have been finalized but it would be readable in the recorder even if it wasn't.

[Throb1231]

drj, I'll try that, but I'm starting to think the tao file is garbage.

Handyguy, I have already tried putting the disc back in several Sony burners in an attempt to finalize it. All I get is that the disc is unreadable and unwriteable.

Thanks for the advice...

[handyguy]

"I have already tried putting the disc back in several Sony burners"

Yes, but I was reading your OP & it said it was made on a dvd recorder, not a writer. They don't do things the same way.

[Throb1231]

handyguy, I'm sorry I wasn't clear. I have tried to insert the disc into the set top recorder that made the disc (as well as my set top) and the disc is unreadable/unwriteable. I don't have access to any others, but out computer services reported to me their "DVD copier" couldn't read it either

[xzanman02]

It looks like an unclosed udf disc or one that was not properly closed.

From nero it looks like the LBA for track 3 goes for 12544 to 148208 for a size of 271296mb

ISOBuster should also show you the length of track 3 in the LBA column.

I don't know if this will work but it might be worth a shot.

UDF Verfier 1.3r0
http://www.hitech-projects.com/udf/download.html
download and extract into an empty folder - Scan with antivirus first to make sure.
Read the info contained in zip.

It is a command line application but I think I have the batch files working pretty well. I wrote them for windows 98.

Open notepad and paste the command below - it will show how your drives are numbered. I numbered the output to help me keep all my info straight.

-showscsi # Show host adapter and scsi id of scsi devices
-scsi <h>:<g>
# Read from scsi device, e.g. -scsi 2:3
# <h> is scsi host adapter number,
# <s> is scsi id number,
# use -showscsi to find numbers.

batch file to determine h and g

udf_test -showscsi >01ShowSCSI.txt

Once you have h and g

batch file to read and save track 3

udf_test -scsi h:g -write_image c:\tempfolder\video.mpg -start 0012544 -lastvalidblock 0148208 -nocache

All you sould have to do is supply h and g (from 01 ShowSCSI.txt), define tempfolder, and name the video if you so desire. The start and last validblock numbers are from nero in your earlier post. nocache means that it will read the disc instead of reading from the disc cache. ISOBuster should be able to confirm these LBA's.

I used this app to recover jpgs off an unclosed udf disc (cd) and it worked. Hopefully it will for you also.

If it doesn't work, hopefully someone else will be able to help.