We archive a bunch of stuff at my job and when pulling things off our archive CDs, I put the ones I'm not using face down on my desk. My boss just told me the top of CDs -- where the label goes -- is more important than the bottom side... this doesn't sound right to me at all.
Can anyone give me a reference or source in addition to an answer?
2007-03-05 12:17:03 · 6 answers · asked by dmeyers503 3 in Computers & Internet ➔ Other - Computers
Completely agreed. This is why you can't write on the cd with a ball point pen. The pits and grooves that convert a laser into binary code are on the underside of the label. The plastic is there to protect the foil. Scratching cd's is a bad thing but when the top is scratched on a fully loaded cd you can ruin it. A scratch on the plastic can be buffed out. I'd assume the same goes for dvd's, hd dvd's, blurays, cd and dvd rw's.
2007-03-05 12:21:43 · answer #1 · answered by Wastedmilkman61 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The bottom part is where all the data is written and is the part of the cd that is read. If you scratch it or if it has smudges on it then the laser will not read it and you will not be able to run the disk or access the info you need. If you have a label or not on the other side, is irregardless of whether you can load the disk or not.
Yea, I have seen the picture and funny, I ruined a couple of cds to prove that the bottom part is still the most important as far as scratches. Most CDs have a label so you really do not have to worry about scratching this. You can smudge and spit on the label and put it in the computer and it will play but do that to the bottom and see what will happen.
But put the cd face down and handle it by the edges as you do not want to get smudges, fingerprints, or scraches on the bottom side.
2007-03-05 12:20:37 · answer #2 · answered by Big C 6 · 1⤊ 2⤋
Your boss is 100% correct. The top of the cd is where all of the data is stored. If it gets scratched all is lost. If the bottom is scratched it can normally be fixed. Don't believe me? Take a cd and scratch the top of it, you will see that you can see all the way through the cd and it will never work again.
2007-03-05 12:23:31 · answer #3 · answered by my_craig1 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I don't have a source for this, but I do know that the label is what the laser uses as a way to reflect back and if part of it is scratched off then u can't read anything off that portion of the disc. Of course, scratching the CD itself isn't much better. Hope that helps and sorry I don't have a source, it's more from personal experience.
2007-03-05 12:21:21 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
He is correct. The data layer of a CD is near the top of the disc. A small scratch on the bottom may do no harm, but it's possible that a similarly deep scratch on the top could damage the data layer.
Check out the diagram on this page and see for yourself where the aluminum data layer is: http://www.howstuffworks.com/cd1.htm
DVD, however, are different. The data layer is in the middle of the disc.
2007-03-05 12:26:45 · answer #5 · answered by greymatter 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Your boss is full o chit! You need a reference? Tell him ME! How could you put a paste on label on a cd and expect it to work if that was the case? How could you mark the top with a marker? You guys can BS all you want but you would have to scratch it far deeper on the top than on the bottom to ruin it!
2007-03-05 12:20:07 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 2⤋