Hello!

I was given a 2nd-hand copy of Ratchet and Clank 2 (which is brilliant by the way) bought from ebay - only to hit a fatal scratch on the disc.

This is actually my second copy of the game (both 2nd hand and both scratched! ) unfortunately the first one can't get me past the fault in the second one.

My question is - has anyone used these CD/DVD repair kits you see advertised - do they work? Clearly some scratches will be easier to repair than others (and scratches that actually go through to the foil are fatal) so I'm not asking for a definitive answer but I would be interested to know if anyone has had any success with them....

At this stage it might be worth a shot-this particular game seems rare 2nd hand and brand new and shelling out for a third one seems stupid unless I want to stump up £40 for a new copy.

Many thanks


A

I haven't used one of those kits myself to repair a disc. I tried a cleaning device on one and it didn't work.

However I have been told that you can take your game to a store that sells used games and they can clean and repair them for you if the damage isn't too bad.

Here in the states there is a chain of stores called Gamestop. And I have been told that they will provide that service.

I don't know what you have where you live for stores such as that, but if you have something similar you might give them a try.

HARV

Hi HARV,

I didn't know that---they may not do it in the UK but definately worth looking into--thanks!


A

If a scratch is deep enough to go trough the clear plastic and to the layer where the data is burned, it's usually unrepairable, as you mentioned.
The chance of those repair services working, it probably depends on both the method used, and the severity of the scratch.
Same as those commercial "polishing kits", in case the repair method involves sanding out the scratch and polishing the surface, it's only good for relatively light scratches, as getting rid of the imperfection requires sanding away material until the scratch is gone.
First filling the scratches, then sanding and polishing would be required for heavier damage, but doing that at home probably equals a ruined disc. I'm not aware of such things sold commercially anyway. Perhaps some repair services do that. I don't know.
Thinking about it, filling the damaged parts would require seamless filling, without making any optical imperfections to the area. It's not worth a dime to get a nice-looking disc which doesn't work because the laser can't touch the right spots on the disc.

Hey, I know a modeler's solution, dip the disc in future!
(really, don't try that, it'll probably just get worse)

gamestation stores sometimes do it