It does so using two different selectable methods Surface Scan will check the quality of the media surface itself while ignoring the files, File Test checks the files themselves so you can see which ones are a problem if the disc isn’t perfect. The sector viewer allows disc sectors to be viewed and saved, the System tab displays any installed filter drivers.įor the purpose of this article, the Scan tab is the most important because it allows you to run a complete scan of an inserted disc and flag any issues with its content.
The Device Features tab will give various bits of information about the reading and writing capabilities of your burner along with region code and firmware details, while the Media tab will show information about any inserted media. VSO Inspector is a free utility from the makers of Blindwrite to report information about your computer’s hardware configuration where reading and writing CD’s and DVD’s are concerned. All tools were tested on Windows 7 64-bit and will also work on XP/Vista/8. Here’s a selection of 5 different tools that can help you check the readability of your media. Just like your hard drive in your computer needs to be checked from time to time for errors, it’s useful to be able to scan a CD or DVD to verify the disc is in good condition and all of the data contained on it is completely readable. It’s also common for things like fingerprints or scratches to stop disc contents being read properly, maybe even the ROM drive you’re using is the problem and you don’t know. You can also get similar problems if you are burning discs yourself and the media is of poor quality or the data is being burned too quickly for the media to handle.
Although many users still think CD and DVD discs are pretty much indestructible and last forever, they do in fact degrade over time and have a limited lifespan. When trying to play a game or read data from the disc you might get a simple error in Windows that the disc cannot be read.
If it’s a movie or music, it will probably skip and jump around or get completely stuck during playback. It’s probably a safe bet that most people who use a computer have come across a CD or DVD that refuses to work properly.