I had a bad disc that was put into one of those terrible plastic sleeves that when the disc was removed from it parts of the plastic sleeves came with it.  Since I figured it was a lost cause, I used Windex on it and was able to get the drive to read it so I could copy it over to a new disc.  I'm glad I didn't use too many of those sleeves (the semi-clear ones that are different colors) and I don't think they're available anymore.

I know Windex is very abrasive and not an ideal solution, but as a last resort when the banana doesn't work and it's headed for the trash it's worth a try.  Then again, I only tried it once.  It worked so well on the CD that I really did something stupid by using it on a film negative that was filthy and water wouldn't clean it so I used Windex.  It completely destroyed it.  So it's definitely abrasive. 

Periodically I go through all my old CDs/DVDs and make sure they're readable.  If they are more than five years old I'll recopy them.  I find that CDs wear out quicker than DVDs and I only use RW DVDs for temporary storage.  Even if the data will fit on a CD I put it on a DVD because I've had a very low failure rate with DVDs.  Most DVDs that have failed was during the backup process and the software rejected it.

I'm a backup fanatic which is why I have about eight boxes of DVD backups.  I'd hate to do them all over again at the same time.  Now I'm thinking it's probably time to check some of them.

Anyone know the reliability of DVD dual layer discs?  I know they're more expensive which is why I don't purchase too many at once, but with large Poser files they are a necessity.

Poser 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, Pro 2014, 11, 11 Pro