How to Fix Your Skipping CDs
Repair Scratched CDs
by wiping them gently from center to edge with a damp
cloth with a small amount of one of the following mild
abrasive cleaners: plain white toothpaste, metal polish, or
plastic cleaner.
Rub the abrasive on lightly, working from the center of the
disc straight out toward the edge, not in a circular
motion. You may need to rub a few times, depending on the
depth of the scratch. The scratches may not disappear
completely. You're mainly trying to smooth out the sides of
the scratch until it won't affect CD playback. Rinse the
abrasive off with water and wipe the disc dry with a dry
section of the cloth.
Additional information:
-
Pick your battles: Choose which scratches to work on. Thick
scratches and those that run parallel to the edge of the
disc are those most likely to make it skip.
-
A CD plays from the center to its edge, so if your CD skips
mostly toward the beginning, look for scratches near the
center of the CD. Scratches toward the outside edge will
affect the end of the CD.
-
If the CD's total track time is less than 75 minutes, some
of the space toward the outside edge isn't even used. If
you look closely, you should be able to see a lighter area
around the outside edge. Ignore scratches in this
area--they won't affect playback.
-
What is a skip, anyway? Vinyl LPs skip when the record
needle hits a scratch or some dust, which makes the needle
jump into another groove. Although there's no needle
touching the CD surface during playback, CDs sometimes skip
for a similar reason.
-
The CD track is laid out in one continuous spiral, like a
LP, although the CD track starts at the center and winds
out toward the edge (the opposite of an LP). Instead of a
stylus, CD players use a laser, located below the disc
inside the CD player. The laser sends a beam of light which
reflects off the shiny side, and thus reads the tiny pits
in the track. Since the laser follows the track, a scratch
can reflect the laser in just the wrong way, and send it
repeatedly to another part of the track. For this reason,
scratches that run parallel to the track (or the edge of
the CD) are much more likely to make a CD skip. This is why
you should not rub the CD in a circular motion. You may end
up causing more of these 'track parallel' scratches that
are the worst kind.
Improve the Sound of all of your CDs
by demagnetizing them.
Even though CDs (and DVDs) are not magnetic in any way,
using an inexpensive bulk tape eraser, easily purchased at
Radio Shack for less than $20, you can make a significant
improvement in the way your CDs and DVDs sound.
This tip was found at
psaudio.com
. Visit them for more tips on how to get better sound out
of your stereo.