Tech: CD Burning - Help!!!

Subject: Tech: C.D BURNING. HELP!!!
From: Steve Benbows protege
Date: 03 Oct 03 - 01:43 PM

I have had a friend of my nans round and we were chatting about copying c.d's. He said he uses Neru Burn. He said that he has copied c.d's but they "Jump" when he plays them back.
Now firstly is there anything that could be causing that? and secondly he wanted to know if you could upload the tracks into the hard drive then copy them onto c.d. How would you do that?
Please help as I know nothing technical about computers.
many thanks in advance.
    Pete.

Subject: RE: Tech: C.D BURNING. HELP!!!
From: okthen
Date: 03 Oct 03 - 01:54 PM

The jumping could be caused by dirt on the read/write "head" either when recording or during playback, try it on another cd player if it still jumps then it's on the record side, use a cd lens cleaner and try again.

Subject: RE: Tech: C.D BURNING. HELP!!!
From: Amos
Date: 03 Oct 03 - 01:57 PM

Uploading tracks to a HD is pretty routine, depending on the system you have and the software you are using. They can be "ripped" from CDs, or downloaded from MP3 sites, etc. I use a Mac, so I can't suggest specuifics but I am sure the naswers will be forthcoming shortly.
A

Subject: RE: Tech: C.D BURNING. HELP!!!
From: Jeri
Date: 03 Oct 03 - 01:58 PM

In my experience, jumping is often caused by recording at too fast a speed. I now use the slowest one.

The program he uses for burning CDs may have the ability to copy them. You stick the original in and wait until it tells you to stick the blank one in.

Subject: RE: Tech: C.D BURNING. HELP!!!
From: GUEST,MMario
Date: 03 Oct 03 - 02:00 PM

it could be he needs to slow down the speed at which the CD is being written. the high speed drives are great for cranking out a copy fast - but they sometimes sacrifice accuracy.

To put the tracks to HD you have to use what is called "ripper" software. I used a downloadable program called Cdex

Subject: RE: Tech: C.D BURNING. HELP!!!
From: open mike
Date: 03 Oct 03 - 02:04 PM

i have heard about a program called gold wave--is this for burning
or editing sound files?

Subject: RE: Tech: C.D BURNING. HELP!!!
From: GUEST
Date: 03 Oct 03 - 02:05 PM

gold wave edits audio files - I'm not sure if it can be used to rip or burn CD's

Subject: RE: Tech: C.D BURNING. HELP!!!
From: GUEST,JudyB
Date: 03 Oct 03 - 05:14 PM

I use a version of Nero, and I've found it helps to do a complete restart of the computer system before copying anything. The little brain in my PC seems to get addled easily. I've also had less trouble copying from a CD to a CD than from the hard drive to a CD (I've been making cassette tapes of my husband's group's performances, then running them through Cool Edit to adjust levels, and them burning them to CD so everyone can have a copy - useful for hearing what really goes on during a concert). Most of the trouble with skip and noise is on the "master" disk, which sometimes takes a couple of tries. Once it's clean, the copies have been clean. I have a fast drive, and burn as fast as the disks are rated - usually 48X. But, of course, this isn't for general distribution - just to help the group with rehearsal strategies - so I'm not as concerned about perfection.

Best of Luck,
JudyB

Subject: RE: Tech: C.D BURNING. HELP!!!
From: GUEST,Arkie
Date: 03 Oct 03 - 06:21 PM

I have written from a CD to CD one time with Nero and it was fairly easy and had no problems. This is supposed to be the fastest of the various ways one can write to a CD. The Nero manual indicates that problems can occur when the burner runs faster than the source drive. I subsribe to the Association for Recorded Sound Collections email list and have profited from the knowledge of people with experience in the field of preserving recorded sound. One of the things that came up in this List was that the optimum recording speed for archivists was 12x. This was supposedly due to the various speeds of the drives at work in the process and the fact that disks recorded at one speed at the outer edges and another speed at the inner core. Another factor is the quality and construction of the disk. Some disks are technically inferior and errors will occur.   Mitsui who makes the Mitsui Gold Archive CD-R which is preferred by many archivists recommends a 12x recording speed for the Archive quality disks.

Recording from the Hard Drive takes a little longer because one has to rip to the hard drive and then to a CD-R but is also supposedly the safest route to take. The stability of the hard drive is probably a factor.

Anyone interested can find the ARCSLIST here:
http://www.arsc-audio.org/arsclist.html

Subject: RE: Tech: C.D BURNING. HELP!!!
From: Mary in Kentucky
Date: 03 Oct 03 - 06:23 PM

I also have Nero, and spent the better part of the last two months trying to put all my digital pictures on CD. I read every site I could find and tried all the tricks: 1) good quality CDs 2) defrag and reboot 3) slow writing speed (and several unique to Nero concerning the settings) 4) close all running programs

I finally, in desperation, asked my son-in-law to troubleshoot it for me. Immediately before this I FINALLY read the minimum requirements......it said 64 MB RAM minimum, 128 recommended. I only have 56 MB RAM! So I was prepared to upgrade to more RAM, but he looked at it anyway. It seems that there was an adjustment under "options" (I think) where he reset the buffer to a larger %(?), and it now works!

In my Nero software (which I don't think is user-friendly at all) I could never find out how to change the writing speed. (The option was always "grayed out." Now it appears that it sets itself, and if it is already on the lowest speed, 4x, the option is "grayed out."

Subject: RE: Tech: C.D BURNING. HELP!!!
From: mack/misophist
Date: 03 Oct 03 - 06:37 PM

If jumping means what I think it does, it's probably caused by a 'buffer under-run', a brief period when everything in memory has been recorded so it records a blank. Using a slower speed would help. Also, if you have a 'burn proof' option, make sure it's selected. The internal programs used are usually cdrdao, cdparanoia, and cdrecord. If your software offers a choice, see if one of the others works better. I think all are available free.

I wonder about that speed thing, though. I can't see them offering a speed the machine can't handle. Blowing out the inside with a little compressed air might help and can't do any harm. Perhaps there's some lint on a gear.

Subject: RE: Tech: C.D BURNING. HELP!!!
From: Joybell
Date: 03 Oct 03 - 07:01 PM

Thank you everyone for all the tips. I'm rather new to it all and I'm using Nero too so some will be very helpful.
I have another related question. I think it's related. I am having a CD commercially copied, after bravely doing the recording and mastering myself, and here in Australia they use a different process for short runs. (That's all I can afford) I understand that larger quantities are made from a "glass master" (whatever that is) My worry is that there is a small (they tell me) - number of systems that cannot play cds made by the short-run process. Does that all make sense? I feel I have a responsibility to my fans and friends. Should I worry do you think?

Subject: RE: Tech: C.D BURNING. HELP!!!
From: Steve Benbows protege
Date: 04 Oct 03 - 01:09 PM

O.k guys thanks for the info so far. He has said to me he uses it on the sloewst burn speed so any ideas what could be up?
Many thanks.
   Peter.

Subject: RE: Tech: C.D BURNING. HELP!!!
From: Mary in Kentucky
Date: 04 Oct 03 - 01:35 PM

I had mine on the slowest speed also, but it wouldn't work because I only had 56 MB RAM.

If this is your case also, go to more/configure...click on ultrabuffer. Put manual configuration in the drop down box, and I used 22 MB for data buffer size. (I think my son-in-law read somewhere that this could be changed to a % of the RAM. The automatic settings are different.)

Also, make sure you have good CDs. I was told to use CD-RW ones. Then defrag and reboot. You can search on Google for some other settings to check.....mine were OK from the installation. But above all, check to see if you have the miniumum requirements, especially 64 MB RAM.

Subject: RE: Tech: C.D BURNING. HELP!!!
From: mack/misophist
Date: 04 Oct 03 - 06:12 PM

With windows, you can never have too much RAM. It's easy to install and not very expensive, just be sure to get the right kind. And make sure you're grounded. RAM can be fragile.

I can't understand the problem. True, I don't use windows and have 512M of RAM, but I record at 30x and the buffer is never less than 75% full. Could it be the software or hardware? Most burners come with a burner cd that should work well with that burner.

Subject: RE: Tech: C.D BURNING. HELP!!!
From: Fiolar
Date: 05 Oct 03 - 08:12 AM

Mary in Kentucky: If you want to get your pictures onto CDs, I would reccomend a program called "Photos on CD and DVD." Version 2 is now out and the company is Magix. It's ever so easy to use and you can add music, make slide shows and add titles as well as a whole lot of special effects such as zoom in and out. A great piece of software.

Subject: RE: Tech: C.D BURNING. HELP!!!
From: Mary in Kentucky
Date: 05 Oct 03 - 11:24 AM

Thanks, I'll look for that software. Since I've already bought the Nero CD burner, I may just stick with that. My main concern was to clean up my hard drive and to save all my wonderful pictures in a permanent place. I have a graphics program for manipulating pictures, making thumbnails, browsing a CD, even animations......but my main problem is just organizing them in a useful manner. When you have 70 pictures of your granddaughter in just one month, you really need to get organized!

Probably my next need is a cheap way to get paper prints, maybe even thumbnail sheets, so I can share my masterpieces with my mother.