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Free CD and DVD Error-Checking Software

Avoid data loss or media corruption

By Mark Harris Mark Harris Writer University of Wolverhampton Mark Harris is a former writer for Lifewire who wrote about the digital music scene and streaming music services in an easy to understand, no-nonsense manner. lifewire's editorial guidelines Updated on November 18, 2021 Tweet Share Email Tweet Share Email Music, Podcasts, & Audio CDs, MP3s, & Other Media Music For Your Life Audio Streaming Podcasts Radio If you use a CD/DVD burning program that features a disc-verifying option, you might know that this useful feature is useful for making sure there are no errors in the discs you burn. However, what do you do if you scratch the disc and want to check that all the files are still readable? A disc-checking program is an essential tool you can use to scan CDs, DVDs, hard disks, and other types of storage media. 01 of 05

Best for Testing Without Installation Ariolic Disk Scanner

Ariolic What We Like Free drive/disc tester for Windows 10, 8, 7, and Vista. Scans any disk you can see in Windows. Identifies all damaged files. What We Don't Like The read-only scan includes no fixes. Along with being a great utility for scanning hard drives for bad disk clusters, Ariolic Disk Scanner can also check CDs and DVDs for errors. It tests the entire surface of the disc and displays good and bad clusters in real time. This Windows program doesn't need to be installed, so you can run it from any type of media. Copying it to a USB flash drive, for example, lets you carry it around to check several computer setups. Download Ariolic Disk Scanner for Windows 02 of 05

Works With All Versions of Windows Through XP Emsa DiskCheck

What We Like Analyses fixed, removable, and optical discs. Compatible with Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista, and XP. What We Don't Like Can't export scan results to a file. No documentation. Formerly free software, now requires a small fee. Emsa DiskCheck for Windows is a media-checking utility that you can use for CDs, DVDs, and other types of media. It has a simple interface that's easy to understand. An interesting feature of Emsa DiskCheck is the ability to see other statistics about the ​CD or DVD you're working on. The statistics section, for example, shows you how many files are on the disc and how much space they take up. You can also measure your drive's ability to read the disc by looking at the speed statistics. Download Emsa DiskCheck for Windows 03 of 05

Best for Recovering Files From Discs Windows Can' t Read CDCheck 3

What We Like Good for Windows 95, 98, ME, NT, 2000, and XP. Free for personal use. What We Don't Like Hasn't been updated in a long time. Registration is required for a free 30-day trial. CDCheck3 is probably the most well-known disk scanner for the Windows platform. This feature-rich application scans for errors in several ways. It can check the contents of CDs, DVDs, hard drives, and other types of media for errors and can also create and read hash files. CDCheck can also be used for comparing folders and files, which is a useful feature if you want to compare the files written to disc with the source files usually stored on your hard drive. CDCheck can also double as a file recovery tool to recover files from a disk that Windows can't read. Overall, a great utility to install to keep a check on all your media. Download CDCheck3 for Windows 04 of 05

Best for Windows Troubleshooting VSO Inspector

What We Like Works on all modern Windows versions. Provides a ton of information. Well-organized interface. Actual success rate data. What We Don't Like Might be too technical for some. VSO Inspector is a relatively new option that works across all current versions of Windows, including Windows 10. It excels at providing you with a ton of relevant information about both your DVD drive and the disc inside it. VSO Inspector lets you know information about the sectors of the disc, which ones may be problematic, and the order in which it's reading. This one is a fantastic option for helping you pinpoint exactly where a problem may occur. Download VSO Inspector for Windows 05 of 05

Best for Use With Linux Brasero

What We Like Open-source software. Simple to use. Integrated into a DVD burner. What We Don't Like Doesn't provide much information. Linux users shouldn't feel excluded here. While you can use lower-level command line tools to analyze your disks, you may have a graphical program installed that can perform a quick check of your discs. Brasero is the default GNOME DVD burner, but it also can check your discs to make sure that they're working correctly. The interface is straightforward, and you can perform a scan in seconds. Download Brasero for Linux Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know! Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day Subscribe Tell us why! Other Not enough details Hard to understand Submit More from Lifewire 14 Best Free Hard Drive Testing Tools (October 2022) 31 Best Free Backup Software Tools (October 2022) 14 Best Free Bootable Antivirus Tools (October 2022) 11 Best Free Disk Partition Software Tools (Oct. 2022) The 21 Best Free Data Recovery Software Tools (Oct. 2022) How to Boot From a CD, DVD, or BD Disc 12 Best Free Defrag Software Tools (October 2022) How to Scan a Hard Drive Using 'Error Checking' 35 Best Free Data Destruction Tools (October 2022) Best Commercial Hard Drive Repair Software How to Create an ISO Image From a DVD, CD or BD Disc 11 Best Free System Information Tools (October 2022) Seagate SeaTools Review (A Free HD Testing Tool) HDDScan v4.1 Free Hard Drive Testing Tool Review 4 Best Free Memory Test Programs (October 2022) Samsung HUTIL v2.10 Review: Free Hard Drive Test Tool Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. Cookies Settings Accept All Cookies