I have had music cds and tv show  dvds ruined because of one tiny scratch I could barely see, yet, my FSX, is scratched nearly to death and still installs properly. Why is it that it works that way?

Pure luck I guess... 1 tiny additional scratch might be "the last drop" it needs to get killed.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I would make a backup copy as sone as possible!

 

Dave

maybe worth mentioning: the data for laser-readout is located near the top of the disc-surface ( the side where the print is) - therefore scratches on the silver/ blank side are not soo critical..

newish is correct - if you scratch enough of the "paint" from the label side you have just lost your disc. One reason (perhaps the main reason) is this: The laser beam reflects from the aluminum layer (very very thin) under the paint. The data is etched on this layer. Enough of these spots and it will overwhelm the system and it can't recover. Especially on the center-most area of the data because that's where the TOC is located. The TOC is table of contents, it's similar to the FAT on your PC's hard drive. You break the table of contents, and you have a coaster in your hand.

 

I was a Laser DVD and CD tech during the mid 80's. Those DVDs were LP record sized, not the DVDs we all know and love today. Anyway, we had a Sony test disc that, after alignment, we popped in to verify our work. This disk had a test track with holes in the paint, several tracks with etched scratches in all directions, and others simulated various anomalies in the data. I would not ship the player to the customer unless it would play these tracks without any errors, whether audible or on the oscilloscope. I also had several well used CDs with various levels of damage. Some players could handle them and others couldn't. I could tell you which brands could and which couldn't. Never buy a... nevermind.

Car CD players were the worst ever - they were way ahead of their time, but now with the error-smoothing circuits you almost never notice a scratch and (usually) skipping is diminished greatly. Good thing because one of the worst environments for a CD player is in a vibrating vehicle!

 

Scratches on the bottom will definitely affect the disk as well, though they may not always "coasterize" it. The laser light may be dispersed (scattered) by these scratches enough that critical parts of the data will not come through because the laser signal is degraded. If you have a video rental store nearby, ask them if they will polish your CDs or DVDs for you. I had damaged a GPS DVD disc in my car to where it wouldn't read in the device. It fell off it's mount inside the DVD case and bounced around enough to wear abrasion patterns in it. This is a $300 CD we're talking about and I was sick to my stomach about it. Hollywood Video (now defunct) polished it to new condition. Fortunately, the worded side wasn't damaged and it is still working fine.

 

Scratches that go across the silver side of the disc (that is, from the center outward) are not as bad as scratches that go in a circle. The system can overcome most across scratches quite easily. But long circular scratches will overwhelm the system and really goof it up. That track is toast. That's why if you have to wipe a disc, you should always go center to outside, never in a circular motion.

Another important tip is never, ever write on the label with a ballpoint pen because you WILL damage the paint. It may not look damaged but the paint can flake off after a while, thus coasterizing the disc. I always use a Sharpie (brand name only, it ain't sharp).

why are you guys even using the CD's anyways? copy the two discs into one folder on your HD, run the installer ... keep the CD's away somewhere