This may be a dumb question, but can optical discs get damaged from being “shaken” in the air?
I sometimes do this before I put a disc back into its case to get rid of any dust particles before putting it away. I’ll sort of “wave” the disc back and forth in the air.
Could this type of motion be harmful to the disc physically or risk damaging the data layer or anything like that?
Don’t worry, you’ll not cause any damage doing this.
The discs go through far greater stresses than that during normal use.
[B]Wombler[/B]
No the disc cannot be damaged this way (unless you accidentally hit something while shaking and thereby scratch the disc, or you accidentally throw the disc across the room as a ninja throwing-star).
It’s doubtful that the shaking will do much in terms of removing dust, in my opinion.
[B]CD Do Nots[/B]
[ul]
[li]eat
[/li][li]stand on
[/li][li]throw at hard objects, people or other animals
[/li][li]use for polishing hard surfaces
[/li][li]microwave (fun but terminal)
[/li][li]bake
[/li][li]boil
[/li][li]grill (etc)
[/li][li]bend
[/li][li]fold (no airplanes etc!)
[/li][li]use as protection against bullets
[/li][li]immerse in acids, solvents etc
[/li][li]force into holes they were not designed for
[/li][li]leave in the sun
[/li][li]leave under the bed
[/li][li]leave in the bed
[/li][li]bury in garden
[/li][li]use as beer or coffee mats
[/li][li]hit with hard objects
[/li][li]…
[/li][/ul]
Thanks for the replies … I actually emailed Memorex customer support about this and got basically the same answer!
You’d be better getting a lint free cloth that you can safely wipe the discs with if required.
For more stubborn dirt, discs can also safely be cleaned with methylated spririts or isopropyl alcohol.
[B]Wombler[/B]
[QUOTE=Wombler;2596303]You’d be better getting a lint free cloth that you can safely wipe the discs with if required.
For more stubborn dirt, discs can also safely be cleaned with methylated spririts or isopropyl alcohol.
[B]Wombler[/B][/QUOTE]
That is what I also recommend to others as well. And I do this as well.
[QUOTE=princekrillo;2595743]This may be a dumb question, but can optical discs get damaged from being “shaken” in the air?
[/quote]
No.
[QUOTE=princekrillo;2595743]I sometimes do this before I put a disc back into its case to get rid of any dust particles before putting it away. I’ll sort of “wave” the disc back and forth in the air.
[/quote]
Seriously? I doubt this would get dust off, probably wouldn’t even get thick grain sand off either.
[QUOTE=princekrillo;2595743]Could this type of motion be harmful to the disc physically or risk damaging the data layer or anything like that?[/QUOTE]
No, although there is a possibility that when you’re shaking it you’re exerting bending stresses on the disc from your fingers gripping the disc. I’ll also neglect to mention all the natural oils, grease and grime from your fingers which you are hard-pressing onto the reading surface of the CD.
Overall, I suspect shaking the disc is at best, fruitless, and at worst, makes you look silly and coats the reading surface of the disc with a an uneven surface of oil.
Wipe the disc with lint-free cloth as suggested earlier.
[B][U]Memorex rebrands cheap/chinese manufactured $hit discs that disintegrate by themselves after a few days with or without use[/U][/B]. Use a decent brand like Taiyo Yuden/ Mitsubishi which come packaged as “That’s” or Verbatim, and your disc “readability” problems will be over. Refer to the media section of the forum for recomendations on where to get it.
My work PC spent 16hrs (all day and most of overnight) recovering a memorex disc that one of my workmates had sent to her, from one of her relations in Washington.
I checked about 80 of the 500 recovered photo’s that were on it, and approximately 50% were unusable/unrecoverable. You get what you pay for.
Cheap $hit memorex disc that disintegrated in under 1 week -> $0.25 … Postage Washington USA to Sydney, OZ -> $10. Wasn’t that smart value 
A couple more CD Do Nots…
Do not write on them with normal markers (the chemicals in the ink can damage the layers)
Do not use paper labels…(same chemical problem, and the may also not be properly balanced when spinning at high speed --> disintegrate and maybe damage a drive)