Copying CDs

[JohnD]

I have a DVD reader, and a CD-R/RW writer. I have usually been able to record data CDs with file backups.

in the past i have been able to copy music CDs, as far as I remember by using Roxio Easy-CD, version 5.3.5.10 (i have downloaded and installed the available updates to it). I have mostly tried the "CD Copy" function but also the "Easy CD Creator (Music CD) and have had it seeming to freeze and not compete the copy.

I have tried to copy a few music CDs in the past few days, and have had repeated failures* where it does not seem to successfully finalise the disk. Sometimes when I try again (using the same CDR) is has succeeded.

I had some buffer underrun errors earlier but i reduced write speed from 48x to 8x and set to "Disk at Once" instead of "Test then write" which seemed to help

I can't see another program or utility that I already have to do it.

1) Is there a recommended (preferably free) package that will do it for me and be more reliable? I am Win XP

2) Anyone familiar with what to look for that might help me track down the cause?

The CDR ejects, and I get message "Easy CD Creator has detected that there were errors during the recording, or that there are errors on your new CD"
View errors brings
"E80041898 Write error (03/0C/00)
E80041930 TrackWriter error - Wait failed (T7123)

 

[Richard C]

Are you sure it’s not a hardware problem? Have you tried swapping the CD/DVD drives on the IDE cable; there is a preference as to which is master & slave but I can’t remember which way around it is.

What Operating System are you running? Windows Media Player has a media copy engine, I’ve personally never used it so don’t know if it’s any good but might be worth a try.

I do a lot of ripping & copying but stopped using Easy CD creator many years ago because of the number of software/hardware conflicts it can cause; I didn’t think it was even supported any longer. I now use nothing but Nero & always get faultless CD/DVD copies; I appreciate it’s not free but this can be overcome if you know your way around.

 

[JohnD]

I haven't started dismantling yet to look at the IDE cable.

I am on XP and have been looking at Win Med Player which says it can burn a CD, but I can't see how (if) I can burn direct from another CD, it looks like I have to put the tracks into my library first (I am not familiar with this)

I have a vague idea I found Roxio troublesome in the past.

 

[TonyWarrington]

Like Richard I wonder if it could be hardware issue - although why now if previously ok?

After having similar problems in the past trying to use a CD reader and CD writer on a shared IDE cable (on old system) I stopped trying to copy from one device to another and now copy directly to HDD then use Nero to burn and finalise. Slightly slower but certainly more reliable.

Although it does not sound like it is there any chance that you are trying to copy CD with some form of copy protection?

Edit: Just did a quick check on my newer system configuration similar to this should work ok
Primary master: Harddrive
Primary slave: DVD-ROM
Secondary Master: DVD-RW
Secondary slave: None.

The DVD-ROM and DVD-RW is not on the same cable (better for copying on the fly). HDD and DVD-RW is not on the same cable (better for copying from HDD to DVD-RW).

 

[JohnD]

the one I am working with is fairly old, and when I was looking at Disk properties it said something like "Copy Protection missing"

I will try copying to HDD first

I have copied it to Wndows Media Player library to try that. Seems slow...

 

[TonyWarrington]

John, just edited my post above sorry I should have waited till I had my thoughts together

 

[tim west]

also look at updating the firmware of the drive, search the make/model on the net for info, I was having trouble with my drive not recognising some new software but found it was due to old firmware, after googling around, so might be worth trying?

depending on your drive it can be a labourius task as i found i had to upgrade in three steps to get to the latest version.

 

[Richard C]

I always rip to my HDD as I now keep my entire music & film library there. Media player shouldn’t be slow, I can rip a whole CD in less than a minute but rarely use it, I use Nero instead; the thing to remember when ripping/copying with Media player is that it only uses MP format & not WAV so if your into high end music reproduction & have a high end music system it’s not much use as you really need to maintain the original full WAV definition.

Like Tony, I usually always rip to my HDD & then copy to media rather than try copying “on the fly” which can sometimes cause problems. What spec is your PC?

 

[JohnD]

I was trying to burn from Windows media player; then the disk ejected and WMP said it had been unable to record, try again with a clean/empty/undamaged disk (i didn't get the full text) then I got BSOD. The progress indicator said it had recorded about 30% of the CD before it stopped.

The BSOD said "Driver locked, pages in process" and syst restarted (seemed OK)

Windows said recovered from severe error and offered me advanced troubleshooting, but that was for CD ROMs not writers.

I ran Norton 1-button checkup, no errors found

I had previously uninstalled and reinstalled the CD writer drive, and checked for updated driver.

I can't remember how to search for firmware.

Looking at the syst spec (I think I got it it about 2 years ago as a Barebones tower and fitted my own drives) it is
Win XP 5.1 build 2600
AMD Sempron 2800
511 MB memory
C drive 80 ish GB (48 free) (not IDE, the newer sort) WDC SCSI
D drive (for backups) 80 ish GB Maxtor IDE in removable caddy (509 MB free)
E CDR/RW IDE ARTEC WRR-4848
F DVD reader IDE Sony DVD-ROM DVDU1615

 

[TonyWarrington]

I was trying to burn from Windows media player; then the disk ejected and WMP said it had been unable to record, try again with a clean/empty/undamaged disk (i didn't get the full text) then I got BSOD. The progress indicator said it had recorded about 30% of the CD before it stopped.
Not sure about WMP as I do not use it. Have you tried to copy to HDD and using your CD burn package transfer to CD media?

The BSOD said "Driver locked, pages in process" and syst restarted (seemed OK)
I dont suppose you were able to copy any other information from the BSOD such as parameter descriptions ?
Have you looked in the Event viewer under Applications and System for errors?

Windows said recovered from severe error and offered me advanced troubleshooting, but that was for CD ROMs not writers.

I ran Norton 1-button checkup, no errors found

I had previously uninstalled and reinstalled the CD writer drive, and checked for updated driver.
Have you checked Device Manager for CD writer problems?

I can't remember how to search for firmware.
Be careful with this possible to "fry" your drive. The link below is for v1.07
http://www.driverskit.com/freedownload/Firmware/Artec/WRR-4848_CD-Rw_1_07/13527.html[/color]

Looking at the syst spec (I think I got it it about 2 years ago as a Barebones tower and fitted my own drives) it is
Win XP 5.1 build 2600
AMD Sempron 2800
511 MB memory
C drive 80 ish GB (48 free) (not IDE, the newer sort) WDC SCSI
D drive (for backups) 80 ish GB Maxtor IDE in removable caddy (509 MB free)
E CDR/RW IDE ARTEC WRR-4848
F DVD reader IDE Sony DVD-ROM DVDU1615
Your C drive is a Western Digital SCSI device and will have its own controller, unless it is the newer SATA drive
How are the other drives configured i,e. sharing IDE cables

 

[Richard C]

The BSOD said "Driver locked, pages in process" and syst restarted (seemed OK)

From my previous experience with Roxio CD creator, the BSOD says it all; almost certainly a conflict which is why I dumped it years ago. Uninstall & get something more up to date & reliable; I have Nero 7 which is a couple of years old now but I wouldn’t use anything else, it just makes it all so simple.

Didn’t think anyone still used SCSI, is it a legacy drive you plugged in? Switch to SATA if your Mobo will support it. I build myself a new system every 2 years or so & make a point of never reusing stuff from the old box. I’ve found it can lead to hardware/driver/firmware compatibility problems & give you all sorts of unexpected grief; it all gets just a bit too fussy. When SATA first emerged, I spent a nightmare 2 weeks trying to get the thing to work on a well branded legacy MOBO that was only a few months old & supposed to be SATA compatible. Was it hell, I never did get the BIOS or patch drivers to work properly & ended up buying a new Mobo; I now just sell my old box on as a unit & start from scratch.

 

[JohnD]

Thanks for your interest

It is actually a SATA drive, I bought it about 2 years ago when I got the barebones. it shows on my norton system information page as SCSI, I don't know the significance, I never used SCSI before.

I have several old IDE and caddies that I use for removable backups, so I use one at a time as the D drive.

I will not be able to get it out and look inside the case at how I connected the IDE cables, for a few days (I know I have two IDE ribbons as I have 4 connectors, though I am only using 3 of them).

I suppose I will look to see how much Nero will cost me. What is the product/version I should look for, and is it registration-number protected?

BTW my Win Explorer has a Copy/write to CDR facility, but it also doesn't finalise the disk on my machine, and it says it is Roxio copyright so I suppose a similar app to the Roxio I got when I bought the writer

 

[TonyWarrington]

Latest version of Nero is 9.
The Nero 9 trial version can be tested for 15 days starting from the date of installation.
AVCHD authoring and playback as well as MPEG-4 and BD-AV formats are not supported in the Nero 9 trial version.
http://www.nero.com/eng/downloads.html
Check your system specs. first against Nero requirements

If you dont feel you need the latest perhaps fleabay search will find something like
Nero 8 Ultra at £8.49 + £1.49 p&p

EDIT: Just a thought I have been looking at replacing DVD writer most seem to come with some software. Such as this Sony including Nero Express http://www.ebuyer.com/product/142274 might be a better option ?

 

[Richard C]

Shouldn’t be any compatibility problems with the 2 year old SATA drive. I’ve never actually used SCSI either; they were a high speed drive, relatively expensive but usually of limited capacity & were available when most of us were still messing around with relatively low speed drives. They were available long before SATA appeared which I believe is based on similar technology &, hence, why Norton sees it as a SCSI.

I’m still running Nero 7 SmartSuite which covers both CD & DVD formats but I believe they are up to ver, 9 now, it’s a lot cheaper than it used to be at around £50 now. It’s downloaded in the form of a trial version but there is, in fact, no difference between the trial & full software version. What unlocks it to the full, legitimate version is the software key you buy with your credit card. The payment gives access to a software key generator so the key generated is unique to your PC & based on your system configuration; what your effectively buying is no more than access to a software key generator

 

[JohnD]

I see Nero Suite 6 and 7 on Fleabay at £1, are they any good?