The Read Error problem usually happens at the very early stage of the backup or conversion process—the disc analyzing stage, and whenever you are confronted with a read error problem, it indicates that there is something wrong with the DVD or Blu-ray disc you are accessing. It could be a bad sector, a scratch, a film of dust, a bad disc, or even a bad DVD/Blu-ray drive. In either case, it prevents DVDFab from reading the content on the disc.

When this error happens, how to fix the problem? Here below are a few things to try.

1. Whenever the Read Error happens, DVDFab shall pop up a dialog window with certain message which reads “Error while reading! Please choose what to do? Retry, abort, ignore, and ignore all.” At this point, following the advice is the very first thing users should try, around 50% of the read error problems can be fixed, if you try again, ignore the current read error, or ignore all the read errors. However, if this does not address the problem, then read on.

2. If ignoring the read error does not fix the problem, it probably means that disc might have been heavily used, scratched, damaged, or severely covered by dirt. At this point, cleaning the DVD/Blu-ray disc should rescue the scene. How to clean? You can try the following.

Ø  Use a Piece of Microfiber Cloth  

These are the same kind of cloths people use to clean eyeglasses, monitors, and laptop or LCD monitors. Because of microfiber’s very tight weave and the synthetic materials used to make microfiber, dust and particles of dirt are attracted and lifted up into the microfiber, which prevents you from simply spreading the dust around and scratching the DVD/Blu-ray disc further.

Ø  Use Rubbing Alcohol

Rubbing alcohol is also often used to clean discs and just about every sensitive piece of technology out there because it doesn’t act like strong solvents do, and it evaporates quickly without leaving a residue. Usually a 1:1 mixture of 90%+ Isopropyl alcohol and water will do the trick. Simply dab a small, clean cotton cloth into the mixture and wipe in straight lines from the center of the disc to the outside edge. To dry the disc, just let it sit for a moment or two in a vertical position.

Ø  Try Window Cleaner

Similar to rubbing alcohol, window cleaner is a great way to clean sticky residues and dirt off of a disc. This isn’t a very “organic solution” but it works. Window cleaner is not a very strong solvent, and it evaporates quickly without leaving residue as well. Instead of spraying the disc, spray a little bit onto a soft, cotton cloth and wipe from the center of the disc to the outside edge—leaving it to dry by propping it up in a vertical position for a few minutes.

Ø  Try the Toothpaste

Toothpaste is a natural abrasive, and that’s how it cleans your teeth, and it will do the same for a disc. But don’t use those extra-whitening formulas. Just dab a little bit of Crest or Colgate on that disc, mix it with a little water and with either your finger or a small piece of cloth, and then buff those scratches away.

3. Aside from cleaning the disc, your disc drive, whether internal or external, might also be the reason causing the read error problem. Try not to use the drive continuously for a long time, as overlong work might generate too much heat inside the drive which might be causing the read error problem. Also, try to cleanse the disc tray once in a while to keep the drive free from dirt and dust, so that it can remain in a good working condition.

4. If cleaning both the disc and your optical drive does not fix the problem, then maybe it’s time to give up that disc, but if it is a brand-new disc you just purchased from Amazon, or nearby computer shop, it could be a bad disc. In this case, you can have it returned and replaced.