User profile for user: del.frost
del.frost Author
User level: Level 1
62 points

OS 10.14.6 thinks a DVD is blank, but it isn't

I have some old DVDRs that I'm copying to the cloud.


I should probably have used better quality DVDRs but I can't do anything about that now, so I'm just going to get as much data off the discs as possible. Some of them can't be read by my MacBook Pro. I have two external DVD burners but in this instance, both of them are saying it's a blank disc. Which it isn't, you can clearly see the data burned to the disc.


I'm wondering if there's anything I can try to get the system to see what's on the discs.


I found this old thread about restarting in 32 bit mode, but it's from a few years ago & I'm wondering if it's still relevant & worth a try without doing any damage to my Mac or me data?


https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3413998


Thanks!

MacBook Pro with Touch Bar

Posted on Oct 12, 2019 6:50 AM

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User profile for user: HWTech
HWTech
User level: Level 9
68,810 points

Posted on Oct 12, 2019 11:43 AM

You can try using GNU ddrescue to read the raw DVD bit for bit and create a raw image file. Just make sure to use ddrescue's log file option so you can continue the clone if it is interrupted or if you want to try multiple passes so you can continue from where the clone stopped. This utility will try its best to get any data that is still left, but will there be enough information to mount the image is unknown. I've never used this utility to attempt recovery from an optical drive.


You may need to use some file system repair utilities on the resulting image as well. TestDisk was able to help me access data from a raw image file created by ddrescue. Again I've never used TestDisk with an optical drive or a raw image file created from an optical drive.


If this utility does not work, then your only other option would be to contact a professional data recovery service such as Drive Savers or Ontrack. Both offer free estimates.

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User profile for user: HWTech
HWTech
User level: Level 9
68,810 points

Oct 12, 2019 11:43 AM in response to del.frost

You can try using GNU ddrescue to read the raw DVD bit for bit and create a raw image file. Just make sure to use ddrescue's log file option so you can continue the clone if it is interrupted or if you want to try multiple passes so you can continue from where the clone stopped. This utility will try its best to get any data that is still left, but will there be enough information to mount the image is unknown. I've never used this utility to attempt recovery from an optical drive.


You may need to use some file system repair utilities on the resulting image as well. TestDisk was able to help me access data from a raw image file created by ddrescue. Again I've never used TestDisk with an optical drive or a raw image file created from an optical drive.


If this utility does not work, then your only other option would be to contact a professional data recovery service such as Drive Savers or Ontrack. Both offer free estimates.

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OS 10.14.6 thinks a DVD is blank, but it isn't

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