by cfitz on Fri Dec 12, 2003 4:41 am
I recently had a similar problem with a CD-RW that a (shield your eyes, aviationwiz) Plextor burner ruined. No drive could make any sense of it, no software could recognize it, and as a result there was no way to erase it and start over. I eventually recovered the disc by baking it in my oven for 15 minutes at 200 degrees F.
I don't know if this will work on your DVD-RW disc, but if all else fails and you want to try something a little wacky, give it a go. Just be sure to be careful and use your best judgement. Support the disc by the inner hub area where there is no dye or data, make sure to preheat the oven so you don't expose the plastic to high heating temperatures, use a foil lined baking sheet to shield the disc from the heating elements so you don't get direct radiant heating and so that if something does go wrong you don't end up with melted DVD stuck to your oven, etc. Most importantly, don't get the disc so hot that it catches fire or emits noxious fumes.
cfitz