AnyReader Editor's Review

Read and backup data from scratched CD/DVD/Blu-ray discs with this handy Windows utility.

Anyone with children has this problem – you've got CD/DVD's running around the house without the protection of their jewel cases, and they're scratched beyond belief. Disc Doctors and other physical repair tools are great for optical discs, but not for other faulty media like floppies, hard drives and flash drives.  This is the reason why I like AnyReader. It’s a must have data utility for Windows.

AnyReader copies files from scratched CD/DVD/Blu-ray or defective floppy or hard disks. When your computer is unable to copy files from a damaged disk it aborts and deletes the part of the file it has copied. AnyReader will continue copying the file right to the end. Any data that hasn't been recovered after several retries is replaced with blanks. This will allow you to effectively read every byte of information that can be read at all for the media in question so that it can be copied to the destination of choice.

AnyReader effectively copies corrupt data from erroneous network and/or internet connections if standard copying methods fail. It supports resumed downloads from the remote server if the connection was broken during the copy process.  This is especially useful for unreliable or spotty Wi-Fi networks.

Pro’s: Recovers seemingly unrecoverable data, works on physical media and network connections

Con’s: Data that is completely unrecoverable is replaced with blanks, which will adversely affect the state of executables. Isn't multi-platform

Conclusion: AnyReader is an awesome tool. If you're trying to pull data off corrupt or damaged discs or media and nothing else you do seems to work, AnyReader is the type of application that can save your bacon. Its affordable and reasonably priced and is a welcomed edition to my stable of utilities.  The only real downside to the app is that it won't work with Macs or Mac discs. This would be a stone-cold ringer if it was a multi-platform utility.