I have received a replacement disk for something I ordered online that had arrived loose in the case and scratched. The replacement is also loose and scratched.

The scratches are very visible, but don't look too deep. Because it's the 5th part of something that I haven't started watching yet, I'd like to try to test the disk to see if it's playable before simply returning it again, but I don't want to "watch" it yet.

Is there a way to do this? On problem disks I've had before, sometimes they pixilate, or jump ahead a few chapters, or even stop and go back to a menu. So, if I just start the disk and wander off for an hour, I still wouldn't know by what I found upon return to be a successful run of the disk or not. I could scan it on fast forward through the whole thing and hope I don't see anything that would ruin the plot for me later, but that seems weak.

Any ideas?? Or should I just return it because it arrived scratched anyway?

Maybe you could let it scan through and leave the room? Then you would just need to time it. Personally, I've found that a 2x scan will usually catch any errors. Anything higher and you could skip over it. Let's say the running time is 30 min. Run the 2x scan and come back in 15. If it's not done maybe it had to fight through a problem area.

uhh...bingo!? why would you accept a less than perfect disc? if you wanted it used...you would have bought it used.

That's my standard procedure, but since this will be my 3rd try on the same DVD, I thought maybe I'd attempt to avoid the hassle/wait, just this once. Knowing me, I'll probably send it back again anyway.

right on. yes..it's an awful thing to have to wait for. I've done it a few times myself. I just do it until it's done right!
good luck and keep us posted.

I'm also in the same problem as you are, Bronkster. I just recently received a DVD that came loose and all scratched up.

I'm personally not gonna take any chances and am just going to return it for an exchange.

Nero CD-DVD Speed (included with Nero) has the option to do a scan disk to check for bad sectors.

You should be able to download the demo and try it for 30 days.

I'd return it, you paid money for a quality product that you didn't receive.