How to Copy Damaged DVD Disc Successfully

Plastic discs can easily get smudged, broken, cracked, and scratched because of bad handling, or go bad due to physical or chemical deterioration. When a DVD becomes damaged and unreadable, it could skip or freeze at certain points while playing. Can you recover data from damaged DVDs? Yes. Googling around and you may find there're programs claiming that they can copy files from damaged DVDs. There're physical means to repair broken DVDs too. In this article, we'll show you how to copy data from a damaged disc successfully.

Part 1. Why It's Hard to Copy Damaged DVD?

Some people reported that when they tried to copy a movie file from a DVD to PC's hard drive directly through the copy and paste function of Windows 7/8/10, they got "Invalid MS-DOS function" error message. Actually, this is because the DVD is corrupted or copy-protected. And the damaged sectors are unreadable. You can use VLC, 5KPlayer or other player to check if the DVD can play properly or not. If there're playback problems such as skipping and freezing, the DVD is already damaged and that's why you cannot copy file from DVD to computer.

Can DVD copy software help? Not all of them. For example, if you use DVD Shrink to copy the damaged DVDs, it won't copy the DVD and will give CRC error and the like when it finds bad and unreadable area.

Part 2. Free Download the Best Software to Copy Damaged DVD

To copy data from unreadable DVDs, try WinX DVD Copy Pro. This DVD copy software has a cutting-edge bad sector recover engine to read broken sector, fix bad sector, and skip blank sector. It also offers the option to specify how many sectors you want to jump when encountering bad sectors. Besides handling physically damaged DVDs, it can also copy DVDs with Sony ARccOS bad sector, a DVD copy protection scheme used to stop users from cloning DVDs.

• Clone your damaged DVD to another blank DVD.
• Copy corrupted DVD to ISO image file or VIDEO_TS folder for saving on computer hard drive or an external hard drive. Certainly, you can also re-burn them to DVD when you are free.
• Copy the main movie from your broken DVD and save it as MPEG2 file with all audio and subtitle tracks.
• Recover certain chapters, video track, or audio track only from problem DVD.
• Utilize sector-by-sector DVD copy mode to copy full DVD and maintain original quality.

Free download WinX DVD Copy Pro and follow our guide to copy damaged DVD to another DVD or to computer.

Part 3. Start to Copy Damaged/Scratched DVDs in Clicks

Step 1. Put your damaged DVD into the DVD drive, and then open WinX DVD Copy Pro. On the left side of the main interface you will find:
* Full DVD Disc Backup options: Copy DVD to DVD, Clone DVD to ISO, Copy DVD to VIDEO_TS Folder
* DVD Title Backup: Copy to Single MPEG2 File, Copy DVD Chapter, Extract Video Only, Extract Audio Only

Just choose a DVD copy option based on your own needs. Here, we choose 'Clone DVD to ISO' as an example.

Step 2. Select the source DVD which should be already listed and specify a directory to save the resulting file if the default target directory doesn't meet your needs.

Step 3. Check Remove DVD region code, Remove UOPs, Remove CSS encryption, and Check Disney's fake if you attempt to copy a store-bought DVD. Specify how many sectors (1, 16, 32, 48, or 64) you want WinX DVD Copy Pro to read and how many sectors to jump when meeting bad sector.

Step 4. Hit 'Run' to copy files from damaged DVD.

Disclaimer: Digiarty Software does not advocate ripping commercial DVDs for any illegal purpose. You're suggested to refer to the DVD copyright laws in your country before doing so.

Part 4. Other Methods You may Use to Repair Damaged DVDs

After copying files from damaged DVDs, some people might also want to fix corrupted discs for watching or collecting. The following methods might help, but are not guaranteed to work and may further damage the disc, so try them on your own risk.

1. Clean your damaged DVD

This is the first fix you should try when a DVD has read errors. And it does solve the issue sometimes. You should use a soft lint-free cloth, a dab of warm water and mild detergent to clean disc.

2. Fill the scratches on DVD with oil-based or wax-based substances

You can use toothpaste, peanut butter, shoe polish, lip balm, banana peels and more to fill the gaps caused by scratching.

3. Correct the scratches on DVD with heat

Exposing your scratched DVD to the heat from an incandescent 60W bulb can soften the plastic and make it playable.

4. Resurface your DVD

You can go to a local video rental store to use polishing machine to resurface it. It won't cost much, maybe $2.5 only. Alternatively, buy your own polishing machine which costs about $20. Warning: This trick usually works once, but it is like getting your disc brakes machined - as a consequence your disc will be too thin to work. So once you have rescued scratched disc with this method, make sure to create a copy.

If you have success with certain method, it is advisable to make a backup of your DVD. It totally depends on you to make full disc or movie-only backup. God knows when your DVD will become unreadable again.