CD Audio Ripping Problems

Every once in awhile when I make a compilation CDR, I encounter a few CDs that will not "allow" ripping. It recognizes the CD and will play it, but when I try to save the audio, the CD reader-drive sounds like a jet taking off and it justs spins and spins until it eventually gives up. I then usually switch CD drives and although the second drive may rip the audio, it labors through the process and the file is riddled with glitches. Sometimes the drives can't read the CD at all, even though it will play fine in my conventional CD players.

Is this problem with the hardware, the software, or the CD itself? I use Nero as my basic app at home, but if I encounter problems, I'll try other programs. From my experience, if the CD won't rip during my first pass in Nero, all other attempts (even if the audio is ripped and saved) result in either no audio or major errors.

Any thoughts?

 

Try either Audiograbber or Exact Audio Copy.

Both are free.

You may have success with these... or the disc you're trying to rip may be Copy Protected.

 

here's a link to EAC . . .http://www.exactaudiocopy.de/

 

I'd say hardware or the CD is the problem. My one favorite CD-RW drive, a TDK, worked well for years, but toward the end, it would "spin up" the disc as you say, and it struggled with extracting. It also used to choke on discs that were a little beaten up, too, spinning up again and eventually freezing up the drive (would have to reboot to be able to open it). My Lite-On DVD±RW drive hasn't had that problem at all. I only rip with Sound Forge, CD Architect or one other program (which I use to make MP3s with), and found my own ripping problems were about equal in all programs I tried, when I had the problem.

 

Thanks for all the info guys.

What's up with the "try at your own risk" thing mentioned on the EAC website? Could this possibly create problems with my OS and software?

It appears that this is just a problem I'll have to live with. Anyway, I can count on my hand the number of discs I've had problems with... and I have thousands! So it's not that big of a deal.

 

CDex is the program I use. It's the next best thing to using EAC but much simpler to use.

 

It's possible that the CDs you're having trouble with have copy protection. To circumvent many protection schemes, all you need to do is hold down the SHIFT key for about 20 seconds after you insert the CD. This prevents the disc from "autoplaying" and will prevent all copy prevention measures I've encountered from running.

Otherwise, it could be your CD drive. If you want a replacement, look for LiteOn brand CD writers. They are inexpensive but are highly respected for their accuracy in ripping and burning. Newegg.com is a good place to buy them (despite the stupid name).

 

Another suggestion: go into the setup for your drive(s) in Nero and lower the max read speed. I've had some tracks that I needed to rip at 1x speed in order to get error free reads.

 

There are CDs out there that are difficult to rip, most notably WEA-manufactured CDs from the early 90s. My new LiteOn DVD burner won't rip them, not even with EAC, but my Yamaha F1 will rip them with no problem on any software.

 

I've got a Lite-On DVD drive and a Sony burner drive which both work 99% of the time. I did a few tests today with known problem CDs just to see what's going on. The Lite-On will sometimes rip CDs that the Sony can't read, but it takes awhile, and there are usually audio glitches, no matter what program I use. This leads me to believe that the problem lies in the CD itself. I don't think it's always a copy-protect issue, it could also be just a manufacturing or inherent problem with the CD. Sometimes it could be just a problem with the CD/Reader interaction. Who knows?

 

Did you try holding down the shift key? You have to hold it down a while after you put the disc in. If it starts playing then you didn't hold it down long enough.

Also, what CD is it? Maybe another member can try ripping it to see it it's an issue with the title.

The only other thing I can think of is to make sure you have the latest firmware for your drives. You should be able to find firmware for most drives here:

http://www.cdfreaks.com/drive/

You can check to see what version you've currently got by using Nero InfoTool.

 

I did try the shift key thing but it didn't make any difference. The worst "problem CD" I encountered yesterday was Jonatha Brooke - Plumb. When I finally did get it to "save audio" there were glitches and digital spikes everywhere. The other, less problematic CDs were actually a variety of Rhino releases: Monkees Music Box, Bread Retrospective, and a couple of Super Hits Of The 70's CDs.

 

Shoot, I don't have any of those discs. Hopefully, someone here does and can try ripping them.

 

Re the comments about cd's from which it is difficult to rip. What about ripping from your cd-rs?

I just reported in another thread about the Memorex colored disks, that I have just had an incident of being unable to rip from a Verbatim vinyl-look cd-r that I had previously made on the same burner.

There sure are a lot of variables. Making cd-rs to me, is like magic. I've no idea what spells are involved in getting everything to come together

 

I've been using Taiyoyuden CDRs for over ten years now, and they've held up really well - no problems with playing or ripping. I have had problems with other CDRs that have been given to me over the years. If it's something real important, I'll usually just make a backup copy.

 

The dyes inside cheaper CDR's can fade over time and render the burned pits and grooves (which represent 1's and 0's) unreadable. Mitsui (MAM-A), Taiyo Yuden, and Verbatim discs tend to have the best dyes. The worst CDR's I've personally used were Imation. They became unreadable after just 2 years.

 

That's good to know - I have a bunch of these that I've received in trades. I better start backing them up pronto! Are there any others?

 

No. This is misinformation. The dyes DO NOT fade over time. I have never had any trouble with any Imation CD-R.

Again, the issue with unreadable discs are due to the burner or burner/disc combination. There is even the issue of storage. And, once in a while, i'm sure more than a few pwople have gotten bad batches of CD-R. I've had Fuji discs go bad on me after just a few months of having been recorded, but I was also using a bad HP (Philips) burner to record them with in the TAO writing method, and that was eight years ago. The burner has long been put out to pasture along with a second HP burner I used. I use Fuji today, so what does that tell you?

 

Relax! Hey. if you have Nero's CD Speed, you can check the error rates. If they look good, there's n o need to back them up unless you really want to.

 

Guess what, guys! I LABEL my CD-Rs too, and they STILL play! After eight years they still play! I wrote on them with fine-point sharpies too. THEY STILL PLAY!

Let's dispense with all these personal incidents being passed off as absolute truth here. All it does is scare people needlessly withoput any basis for it.

 

I agree. I was astonished at the reports of large percentages of CDRs going bad after only a couple of years. I've got several brands of CDRs that are up to eight years old and have never found one I couldn't read or that had an unusual amount of errors. As long as you don't treat your disc like a frisbee like so many people do, I think your discs will last many years or decades.

 

Thanks for the info, Grant. That's saves me from having to go backup crazy. I knew that the Taiyoyuden's were good, but I was never sure if there were other brands that became unreliable over time.