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David M · 04-09-2006, 10:12 AM

I find that cleaning it improves the chances of it working. I mean REALLY cleaning it. Take some dishwashing soap and scrub it for at least a minute with your fingers or something that does not scratch soft plastic. Spend another minute rinsing it off. Dry it with a clean 100% cotton towel and of course don't touch the surface again. Try it again if it still will not play...sometimes the dirt is really deep in the scratches.

My guess is that dirt and dust on a microscopic level gets into the scratches and absorbs the light instead of reflecting it back where it should be reflecting back. I don't think it has a whole lot to do with light refracting from a scratch. This has worked for numerous Netflix movies that I have rented which were scratched so badly that it looked like there was no way the DVD would ever work...but did after a good cleaning.

04-09-2006, 10:12 AM	#5
David M Techphile. Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: San Francisco Bay Posts: 5,955	I find that cleaning it improves the chances of it working. I mean REALLY cleaning it. Take some dishwashing soap and scrub it for at least a minute with your fingers or something that does not scratch soft plastic. Spend another minute rinsing it off. Dry it with a clean 100% cotton towel and of course don't touch the surface again. Try it again if it still will not play...sometimes the dirt is really deep in the scratches. My guess is that dirt and dust on a microscopic level gets into the scratches and absorbs the light instead of reflecting it back where it should be reflecting back. I don't think it has a whole lot to do with light refracting from a scratch. This has worked for numerous Netflix movies that I have rented which were scratched so badly that it looked like there was no way the DVD would ever work...but did after a good cleaning. __________________ Asus P8P67 WS Revolution \| Intel 2600K @ 4.7 GHz \| Win 7 Pro 64 \|8 gigs Corsair 1600 \| Two Diamond 6990's in Crossfire\| Corsair AX1200 \| Thermalright Silver Arrow \| Western Digital Black 2TB 64 meg cache \| Lian-Li PC-A71B \| Logitec Z-5500 \| Three Asus 26" VW266H monitors running under Eyefinity \| Last edited by David M; 04-09-2006 at 11:03 AM.