How to verify that an Installation CD-ROM is not damaged

You will always keep facing instances where you suspect that a software installation media on an optical disc (CD or DVD) might be scratched or otherwise damaged, and this is why it does not function properly, leading to all sorts of peculiar error messages. Here is what to do in order to check out the optical media and eliminate (or, in the worst case scenario, confirm) this possibility. The methods suggested herein are applicable to all kinds of CD/DVD discs.


A. The simple approach

1. Click Start and then click Run.

2. In the Open box, type command and then click OK.

3. At the MS-DOS prompt, change to the CD-ROM drive (usually drive E - but try D if E won't work), and type the following command:

4. If an error message appears, the compact disc is damaged, or the CD-ROM drive cannot read the contents of the entire compact disc.


B. The thorough approach

1. Click Start, and then click Run.

2. In the Open dialog box, type cmd, and then press OK.

3. At the command prompt, type the following command:

Code:

xcopy  discdrive:*.*  drive:psstest  /V /E

4. Note that discdrive is the drive letter of the CD-ROM or DVD drive (see step 3 of Method A), and drive is the letter of your system hard disk (usually C). Press ENTER.

5. If you are prompted with the question whether psstest specifies a file name or directory name, press F.

6. If you are prompted to overwrite, press A.

7. Since you'll be using the /V switch with Xcopy, the copied files will be verified, so the whole process will take longer. However, this makes sure that the files were copied correctly. If Xcopy completes successfully, the issue is unlikely to be a problem with reading the disc.


C. References

1. How to Troubleshoot CD-ROM or DVD-ROM Read Issues

2. How to Troubleshoot Issues with Reading CD, CD-R, CD-RW, and DVD Discs

3. How to troubleshoot installation from a CD or DVD for Office XP

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