Multiple Backups

• The adage claiming that the best offense is a good defense applies to protecting your CD or DVD data. Always make multiple copies of important data and save the discs in different places to prevent disasters from erasing your data forever.
  
  

Clean It First

• The moment you begin to suspect a problem with a data CD or DVD, save the information to your hard drive as soon as possible. If needed, gently clean the data surface of the disc with warm water and a gentle cleansing solution if your drive has difficulty reading it.
  
  

Try a Different Computer

• Every CD and DVD drive is a little different and may have quirks in the way it reads information from a disc, so try popping a damaged CD or DVD into another computer's drive to see if that makes a difference. This can sometimes save a lot of hassle and money.
  
  

Software Solutions

• Particularly stubborn CDs and DVDs can often be scanned for data by using data recovery software that is widely available on the Internet in free shareware versions or low-cost commercial discs. This is a good route to pursue if cleaning a damaged CD or DVD does not work.
  
  

Professional Help

• If you've tried everything to recover your data from a damaged CD or DVD and nothing has worked, contact a professional data recovery business. These companies charge for their services, of course, but it might be worth it if your data is important to you.