If you are still searching for an application to recover data stored on scratched or damaged CDs or DVDs, you should really have a look at IsoPuzzle.
Because this application has been specifically designed with this goal in mind, allowing users to recover data in a very simple and fast way.
IsoPuzzle works exclusively with CDs and DVDs with 2048 bytes sectors, so audio CDs, VCD and SVCD cannot be used at this moment.
While the program comes with absolutely no help manual, it's pretty easy to figure out how to use IsoPuzzle, mostly thanks to its straightforward and intuitive interface. The application automatically selects the source disc, so you have nothing else to configure except for the destination folder.
If you're an advanced user, you can also set up the log window and decide what to do in case of permanent failure, such as allowing cooldown and cycling tray.
Once you press the start button, IsoPuzzle prompts you to save the recovered data as ISO file, so it's easy to burn the information back on a CD once the process comes to an end. IsoPuzzle however doesn't sport a CD/DVD burner as well.
The recovery process can take anywhere from a few minutes to several hours, depending on how damaged the disc is and the amount of information to be recovered.
Still, everything should go smooth all the time, with a minimum footprint on computer resources.
But to sum up, IsoPuzzle is one of the most effective ways to recover data from damaged discs, but it's just too bad that it doesn't support a wider array of disc types.