ANy ideas how to recover data from a CD-R written using some form of UDF (I don't know the software initially used) with a corrupted TOC??

My father sent up some pics he had taken of my sister when she went down to visit him in the U.S. and the CD-R he sent is an old (REALLY REALLY OLD!) TDK 12x CD-R, and the TOC is toast due to massive C2 errors at the beginning. However the rest of the CD-R is relatively fine (according to K-Probe) so I'm betting most of the pics will be intact.

I don't have any packet writing software installed on my system, so reading it is difficult, also, I'm not going to buy any packet writing software just to read this disc, I'd never use it again! but any suggestions are welcome... my sister is really on my back about the pictures too! [:I]

Hey, try installing the UDF reader from Nero's website, it's free, maybe it will help.

(in reply to Dolphinius_Rex)

Dolphinius_Rex:

You forgot to tell us what happens when you try to read this disc, and which version of Windows you are running (e.g., XP SP1 should be able to read most old packet-written discs natively). How do you know it's a UDF disc?

Well, if you aren't running XP SP1, you could try EasyWriteReader from Ahead's site (go to InCD's download page, select InCD | Utility). You don't need to worry, since it uninstalls cleanly. Anyway, if it doesn't help, don't forget to uninstall it via Add/Remove Programs before trying other readers.

Next, you may try Roxio's UDF Reader listed at the end of this page

http://www.roxio.com/en/support/ecdc/software_updatesv4.jhtml

To make sure that you can get rid of it completely if it doesn't work, you may create a system restore point before installing it, or use some monitoring tool to detect what it installs in C:\Windows\System32 and C:\Windows\System32\Drivers (I guess UdfReadr_XP.sys and possibly Cdudf_XP.sys); this is for XP. As an additional precaution, you may search for LowerFilters in the registry and write down the current values of LowerFilters and UpperFilters.

If the disc is really unreadable, it might be wise to ask your father to send another copy, since there are no free tools for recovery. Anyway, here are some links to specialized CD recovery software:

http://www.smart-projects.net/isobuster/ (ISO Buster)

http://www.jufsoft.com/badcopy/ (BadCopy Pro)

http://www.arrowkey.com/cddvddiagnostic.html (CD/DVD Diagnostic)

http://www.arrowkey.com/cdrxdataretriever.html (CD Rx)

http://www.naltech.com/ (CD Data Rescue)

http://www.cdroller.com/ (CD Roller)

http://www.elpros.si/CDCheck/ (CD Check)

Sometimes such programs are used with RoadKill's Unstoppable Copier

http://download.com.com/3000-2248-10155419.html

A recent comparison is available at

http://www.ibo-business.com/ibo-cd-recovery-report.htm

(in reply to Dolphinius_Rex)

Tron: I tried installing the Nero UDF reader and it didn't help but I think it had more to do with my system's instability at the moment. My PC is WAY overdue for a re-install of windows.

KCK: You da man! that's an awsome list of software!! perhaps an FAQ on recovering damaged discs would be useful?? Anyways, I'm running Win2K and have no intention of switching to a different OS, especially with MS being the way they are with WinXP and Windows Longhorn ([xx(])

When I insert the CD-R and attempt to access it through my computer, it gives me an incorrect funtion error. Nero can only attempt to copy the first track which is 1MB long and I would assume is the UDF file structure info. The second track (or possibly session??) is the actual data, and Nero can't see it. Alcohol 120% couldn't see the disc when I tried. I then downloaded badcopypro and CD Roller in an attempt to retrieve the data. Both pieces of software would see through the UDF format, and ignore the missing TOC, but they wouldn't let me save the files without paying roughly $30.00 USD (roughly $45.00 CND). Luckily I contacted a friend who aleady had a registered copy of BadCopy Pro and he was able to retrieve the photos for my sister unfortunatly, it was a slightly older version of the software, and it was unable to recover the .mov's also on the disc (must have been SOME digi-cam that can make .mov's!!). The version of Badcopypro that I downloaded could see the .mov's though.... but I can always get the originals sent through e-mail since they are really small and only a handful of them.

Thanks for all the help everyone!

(in reply to Dolphinius_Rex)

You are welcome, Dolphinius_Rex!

(in reply to Dolphinius_Rex)