cd burning woes

[danny_galaga]

i've ALWAYS had troubles burning cd's. one of my banes has been nero. it looks really simple but at various times on different computers i go to burn an audio cd and it says 'job done' but of course nothing has been burnt onto the cd. the only one that worked every time came with my very first cd burner ages ago. i cant remember what it was called but it wasnt nero! what do you recommend? im even willing to PAY!!   . my system is a HP and it seemed to have something useful on it, but i gave up on it at one stage and did a full install of xp pro. so no more hp software (probably a good thing). i get the feeling that cd burning technology just isnt up to speed for retail...

also, are there any cd brands that you either highly recommend or totally loath?

[danny_galaga]

by way of illustration this is the message i get for a 'successful' burn. in this case i didnt even have a cd in the drive!!

[DrewKaree]

danny, what's probably happening in THAT case is that you burned the image to your drive, that's the only reason I can think of that it'd "burn" your CD without even having a CD in the tray.

I'll check my settings and drop you a line as to what to do.  Nero (before EZ CD 6-ish & 7) was/is routinely regarded as one of the best programs for burning, although others have now come up to make 'em huff for the money.  EZ CD Creator is prolly the one you had long ago...does that name bang a gong?

Another good one is Alcohol 120% (although if you didn't like Nero, I can't fathom HOW you'd like this one).  It's what I currently use, but I prefer Nero for .iso's and the like.

It almost sounds as if your PC is intermittently recognizing your CD DRive as well.

What make/model of CD Drive do you have?

Don't worry, mate!  We'll have you burning CD's in no time!  There IS no "wrong side of the road" on this one!

May Savuul be with you (and smite me for my blasphemous ways!)

[DrewKaree]

Ok danny...I need some info.

What version of Nero are you using?  Even all the .bla.bla.blabla.02.blah.x

Manufacturer/Model of CD Drive
_{Name and picture of hottest girl you've ever dated, including phone number}
CD's you're using (dammit, I had a program here for testing who REALLY makes your discs, and can't remember who/what tab I look under)

Is that version of Nero "tied" to that drive i.e. did it come with the drive, or did it come with another drive, or was it purchased as a standalone @ the store or online?

Fresh install of XP Pro....Corporate Edition, or Pro, and what service patches have you installed?

How MUCH are you willing to pay _me to burn CD's successfully?

No traces of HP on your system anymore AT ALL?  Positive? (HP sux....although if you've never had problems, you think I'm nuts....trust me, many more agree with me than disagree, and I don't mean about politics  )

[danny_galaga]

hey, what are you doing here? this isn't the 'everything else' forum

it is version 5.5.9.14 .nero 5. i think it wa EZ cd creator i had. did that have some sorta animated icon like that windows paper-clip? the cd burner came with my hp pavillion. i just find it amazing that cd burners are so fussy. maybe i should just buy a NEW cd burner with packaged software (which ironically will probably be nero!). now i think about it, my first cd burner in my old computer was packaged with EZ cd creator.

don't get me wrong, the 'user-friendliness' of nero is great!! but just that it seems to only pretend to do the job. btw, i can still burn data cds with whatever comes with xp pro. so the burner CAN actually burn. just audio seems to be a hassle. and i burnt some iso images using nero and some free trial thing. audio is a thorn in my side.

oh, and there ARE some traces of HP, i dunno why as i did a new format before i installed a bought copy of xp pro. but im too afraid to touch any of it. the pic shows whats in the HP folder

[danny_galaga]

keira knightly ph: 123456

[DrewKaree]

hey, what are you doing here? this isn't the 'everything else' forum

This, along with "Project announcements and Everything Else, is one of my faorite forums.  This one just seems to be the least used

I'm off to see if I can get that version, and see if I can reproduce your error or see what settings are/aren't ticked that may be causing you problems.

One other thing - since you've no problems with Data CD's or .iso's, it's JUST audio?  Are you burning mp3's or wav's or a combo of both?

[DrewKaree]

keira knightly ph: 123456

subliminal messaging DOES work   although I think you passed along the fake number she gave YOU when you hit on her  

[danny_galaga]

keira knightly ph: 123456

subliminal messaging DOES work   although I think you passed along the fake number she gave YOU when you hit on her  

yeah, i guess she only wanted a one night stand. but ill cherish that night forever...

[danny_galaga]

hey, what are you doing here? this isn't the 'everything else' forum

This, along with "Project announcements and Everything Else, is one of my faorite forums.  This one just seems to be the least used

I'm off to see if I can get that version, and see if I can reproduce your error or see what settings are/aren't ticked that may be causing you problems.

One other thing - since you've no problems with Data CD's or .iso's, it's JUST audio?  Are you burning mp3's or wav's or a combo of both?

it seems to only happen when i try and burn a cd to play as an audio (like for a stereo).

[Lave Laar]

If you are using the wizard to create your CD's, turn it off and select audio CD from the list and press "New".   Go in the menu -> Recorder -> Choose Recorder.
Make sure that your recorder is selected and not "Image Recorder".

[danny_galaga]

aha!! thats the clue!! i cant burn audio cds with the version ive got!! Drew, you let me down!! move to cuba!!

thanks lave laar. im going to throw this useless piece of crap out, buy a new cd recorder with packaged software and hopefully everything just works. i cant stand 5h1t that just doesnt do what its supposed to do. what a joke our world is, no wonder we all look to the simpler days when you threw a coin into an arcade cabinet and got some joy out of it. none of this 'right click this to get to that and then left click the other and then do the hokey pokey'....

ahhhh, thats better

[DrewKaree]

aha!! thats the clue!! i cant burn audio cds with the version ive got!! Drew, you let me down!

*deflects danny's aspersions cast his way*

I was just putting it in vague terms that, in and of themselves, meant nothing to you....I give you:

danny, what's probably happening in THAT case is that you burned the image to your drive, that's the only reason I can think of that it'd "burn" your CD without even having a CD in the tray.

You hurt my feelings!  

Actually, I'm a-gonna get you a download site for version 6, so I CAN help you...I didn't think I'd have to go back to version 5 and the dark ages   ever again!  

Really, seriously, Nero or EZ CD are both excellent choices, and the standalone versions should be just fine with your PC, but like any other software, they may need tweaking to work their best.  

danny, I promise, I'll have you burning audio CD's like a pro soon, however, for casting doubt on me, my fee just went up.  Scrap giving me her number, send me THE GIRL in the blue dress!  

[danny_galaga]

ok, full blown nero 6 retail- $170 australian

new cd burner (with nero!)- $110 australian!! (first example i found)

[DrewKaree]

Yeah, the full blown version adds all the mix/fade/DJ/DVD/assorted-craplets-you'll-never-use things, but check your PM.  

Hey, if you ARE just gonna grab your skirt and run to the store like you said, make sure to pick up something good, then.  Or head to newegg (or some similar Aussie thing if the shipping is crazy) and pick up EITHER a Plextor, or a LiteOn.  LiteOn is just a Plextor with a different faceplate....they even had a mixup a few months back with the Plextor sticker on the body of the thing, with a LiteOn faceplate, and vice-versa!  

Oh, and the Plextor will run ~100 USD, whereas the LiteOn will run ~50-75 USD, depending on vendor!

If you DO give up and head to the store, make sure you pick up a pair of heels to match that skirt, Sally  

[danny_galaga]

i guess im just constantly angry at 'the man' for not having propelled us into the 21st century like we imagined growing up. the example i use often is that by now if we need something done by a computer we should be able to ask it verbally and in normal language free of jargon. for example, yesterday i flipped my lid because i was trying to cut and paste some text from a text document into a word document. but it would paste it into an area that only covered about half the page. if i then TYPED some sentences into the same word document it would space it like i would expect. this is what i reckon we should be doing by now:

'HAL' (real name not used) i might ask

'yes Dave?' (real name not used) it might reply

'i need some sort of pic of a fluffy cat. can you get something off the net and put it in the top right corner of that thing i was doing earlier?'

'i found a pic,will this do? is it ok just here?'

'yeah, maybe just a bit higher. thanks, there's a good computer'

'while you're at it, can you cut and paste that text we were looking at into this word document and make it look normal?'

'i am here to serve'.

notice the lack of windowsesque jargon? just plain english. the same as if i were asking an actual person.the problem with my example of course is that HAL went berzerk, didn't it?

[DrewKaree]

Hey, your words and previous posts tell me the REAL reason you want that future-esque utopia.  Lemme tell ya, in that future, there's still gonna be some uggo chicks.  They won't ALL look as good as Judy Jetson  

[danny_galaga]

Hey, your words and previous posts tell me the REAL reason you want that future-esque utopia.  Lemme tell ya, in that future, there's still gonna be some uggo chicks.  They won't ALL look as good as Judy Jetson  

true. but so long as in that world its ME with judy jetson, then i dont mind   you can have that cleaning robot (just think of that vacuum)...

[DrewKaree]

you can have that cleaning robot (just think of that vacuum)...

I may have to see if there's a BYOCleaningRobot now...back in a bit  

[SirPeale]

What kind of CD burner do you already have?

And I'll second the vote for Nero 6.  It let me use a ton of features on my burner that 5 never would.

And yah, your image above (as has been stated by others) shows you burned an image to your hard drive somewhere instead of to disk.

And I never heard of a program not allowing you to burn audio CDs before.  That's a basic CD burner function.

[danny_galaga]

that's why i'll never get a job in IT!! i've had constant headaches with audio cd's on two different computers, windows98 and xp and three cd burners over the last 4 years. things like this get me down because i'm no dummy and yet i can't make something as simple as this work...

[SirPeale]

So...what kind of CD burner do you have?

[danny_galaga]

dunno. will have to have a look tomorrow. the machine is a hp pavillion but i have no idea what cd burner they use. and from what i can tell, it could be different from one machine to the next. i'll let you know tomorrow...

[SirPeale]

Ah, then likely 'tis something old that they bundled with their systems.  4x burn or something without BurnProof.

Still, it should do audio without a hitch.

[DrewKaree]

that's why i'll never get a job in IT!! i've had constant headaches with audio cd's on two different computers, windows98 and xp and three cd burners over the last 4 years. things like this get me down because i'm no dummy and yet i can't make something as simple as this work...

Put a dress on, Sally, and stop your whining.  We can't help you if you can't see the pc through your tears  

[danny_galaga]

well i'll be horn-swaggled!! i was just doing a backup of some mame stuff on a cd and the box came up saying theres a cd in your drive what do you want to do (dave, haha)? in the options, besides the cursed nero was realplayer. id never really looked at it before, so i gave it a shot. hey presto!! it burnt an audio track onto a cd just like i asked it to!! just tested it in the stereo just to make sure.
  another software mystery i will never solve...
damn, it's hard to walk in this skirt. must be all the tears its soaked up...