Is it just MY W7 that won't burn Wav files?

Subject: Tech: Is it just MY W7 that won't burn Wav
From: Gurney
Date: 02 Mar 19 - 10:39 PM

I just tried to copy his tape to CD for a friend, first time for a while, and this W7 desktop copy of Media Player says it can't burn 'these files'. Wav files.
I digitised the tape with old faithful L.P.Recorder (WAV), dragged the files to Media Player and it refused to have anything to do with them. That's never happened before. I haven't tried to copy anything for a long while, but the last time I did, that's how I did it. Another burner refused too.
So, opinions if you please. Is the ancient L.P.Recorder the culprit, or an update in Windows. Or should I try to do the job with my irritating W10 business laptop?

All the cassette tapes and tape machines are dying, and my friend has lots of live recordings and is losing his sight and has never had a computer. And you thought I was a dinosaur!

Subject: RE: Is it just MY W7 that won't burn Wav files?
From: DaveRo
Date: 03 Mar 19 - 02:46 AM

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/316992/file-types-supported-by-windows-media-player

Similar to the AVI and ASF format, WAV is only a file container. Audio content that is compressed with a wide variety of codecs and that is stored in a .wav file can be played back in Windows Media Player if the appropriate codecs are installed on the computer. The most common audio codecs that are used in .wav files include Microsoft Adaptive Differential Pulse Code Modulation (MS ADPCM) and uncompressed Pulse Code Modulation (PCM).

My guess - W7 lacks a codec for whatever LP Recorder is using it its wav files, probably plain old uncompressed PCM. It that's true I expect W10 won't play it either.

Try searching for, and downloading, a PCM codec.

Subject: RE: Is it just MY W7 that won't burn Wav files?
From: GUEST
Date: 03 Mar 19 - 03:13 AM

Will anything else that runs under W7 play them? Audacity, if installed with the optional codecs may do. Could then write it out as something else that WMP knows about.

Internally Audacity uses a version of ffmpeg, which is like eating nails to use on its own. I would be surprised if it didn’t read most valid formats.

Subject: RE: Is it just MY W7 that won't burn Wav files?
From: Mr Red
Date: 03 Mar 19 - 03:24 AM

There are numerous file converter progs out there - When faced with such shenanigans I just pass them through freacPortable

I might have found a file that it refused but I can't remember ever. And being portable It can reside on external memory.

Subject: RE: Is it just MY W7 that won't burn Wav files?
From: Nick
Date: 03 Mar 19 - 07:12 AM

As a thought because I get this quite often...

First try just playing a bit of each of them first that often works
Second try changing the order of the tracks by dragging around, that often works
Third try removing a track and putting it back

I record all our band practices and sometimes burn to CD (albeit mp3 rather than wav usually - but same applies)

Inevitably first time through it says it can't burn one or more. It also says that it should tell me which one/ones are causing the problem which sometimes it does with a little red x against them and sometimes not.

But inevitably having done one of the three things it works.

One day I will bother to find out what the actual problem is but until then I will continue with the Heath Robinson click and guess method that always works!

I could use one of many other burners but quite like the sport haha. And that one day it may just work properly first time. I have never had to install any codecs or anything to make it burn. The burned CDs are as fine as any other burned CD

Subject: RE: Is it just MY W7 that won't burn Wav files?
From: Nick
Date: 03 Mar 19 - 07:13 AM

Mine is actually Win 10 but used to do it with win 7 too

Subject: RE: Is it just MY W7 that won't burn Wav files?
From: GUEST,ripov
Date: 03 Mar 19 - 06:36 PM

Why are you using MPlayer?
Just open explorer, select your file, right click and send it to your CD/DVD drive (with a disc in it). Windows gives you instructions.

Subject: RE: Is it just MY W7 that won't burn Wav files?
From: Gurney
Date: 06 Mar 19 - 12:52 AM

Some work so far;
(DaveRo) I put them through Switch, and
(Guest3:13)then they play but still won't burn. and
(Ripov) having moved them direct to the burner I get the same 'cannot burn' message.

I really miss Nero. I had three dated copies beginning in W98 and going on to WXP and it was bulletproof. But not W7 proof. And now it is expensive.

I'll try persistence. And moving them to the laptop in case the problem is the disk drive.
Thank you.

Subject: RE: Is it just MY W7 that won't burn Wav files?
From: BobL
Date: 06 Mar 19 - 02:49 AM

I see LP Recorder claims to be W7 compatible so it should be OK. Does it offer you any choice of output format?

Subject: RE: Is it just MY W7 that won't burn Wav files?
From: GUEST
Date: 06 Mar 19 - 03:26 AM

Can you burn anything else? Have you ruled out a problem with the drive or the blank disk?

Subject: RE: Is it just MY W7 that won't burn Wav files?
From: DaveRo
Date: 06 Mar 19 - 03:41 AM

... or the Windows 7 driver for the optical drive.

Subject: RE: Is it just MY W7 that won't burn Wav files?
From: GUEST,Grishka
Date: 06 Mar 19 - 07:01 AM

In case someone doesn't know: There are two sorts of CD: Audio CD and CD-ROM.

For the latter format, a file is just a file no matter what its contents. Reasons why it may not burn include: too big, corrupted.

This also applies to an Audio CD, but an additional possible reason is that your burner does not know how to convert the file into audio data.

If the file is simply too big, split it into parts using an audio software such as Audacity.

You know all that? OK, it was just in case. If you need further advice, tell us exactly what you are doing and the full text of the reaction, including the title of the window. (Not that I am likely to know the answer then, but someone else might.)

Subject: RE: Is it just MY W7 that won't burn Wav files?
From: Nick
Date: 06 Mar 19 - 01:39 PM

You could put an example on dropbox or similar and I'm sure people would see if they could burn the track. it might help narrow down

The other one that comes to mind is VLC player which does most things

Subject: RE: Is it just MY W7 that won't burn Wav files?
From: Gurney
Date: 06 Mar 19 - 08:53 PM

OK.
BobL: L.P.Recorder is/was a freeware/bundled program and is very simple, so even I could use it. I'm unaware of any alternative stuff in it, but as it seemed bulletproof I had never tried to find it. I have burned quite a lot of LPs with it, though.
HOWEVER.....
I decided to move the files to the laptop, so dragged them onto a thumb drive.
Then I thought....? Why not try burning in the desktop from the thumbdrive. So I did, dragged from the TDrive into Media Player.,,,and it burned!!!

So, Guest and DaveRo, it went onto the same blank disk in the same computer. However, I have been messing about with updates, so maybe there was the problem.
I'm listening to it now, played on a GhettoBlaster, and it is very much OK. So thank you all for your help. Chris.

Subject: RE: Is it just MY W7 that won't burn Wav files?
From: Gurney
Date: 06 Mar 19 - 08:59 PM

Thinking about it, it most likely was the updates that did the trick. I had the sides/two files in a desktop folder, and dragged them into M.P. from there. No joy. But after updates, even though they went into M.P. from the thumbdrive, no hesitation at all.

Subject: RE: Is it just MY W7 that won't burn Wav files?
From: Gurney
Date: 07 Mar 19 - 04:11 PM

I once again think I'm getting got at!

I decided to fill up the CD for my pal with some of MY bluegrass recordings, as the ones he supplied were suffering from being on a very old cassette tape, so I slipped a commercial CD into the drive and started to rip the files. Unlike iterations of old, this Music Player has the 'rip' button hidden, the obvious exposed one doesn't work at all. You have to search for it. So, having found it and included the CD in my library, I engaged the 'burn' engine, to be told that "One or more of these files cannot be burned".

It isn't paranoia if someone really is out to get you, is it?