Does anyone burn CDs? I have a CD player that we dearly love, but it is cranky about playing burned copies. Copies I make play OK on the car and Barth players, however.

I have tried several programs, and none do well. They have trouble starting a track. Once a track is started, they will play it fine, but some tracks will not start. I believe it is a software problem, because the player will play every original it is fed.

Does anyone have any recommendations for software or sources of information?

Hoboy - you've hit upon a chronic issue. Unfortunately, many older CD players can't cope with burned CDs regardless of the CD brand or burning software - they were built before CD-Rs came out or before the standardization of protocol.

What brand and age is your CD player?

If you are using CD-RW discs, I'd suggest only CD-Rs. I've had very good results with Maxell CDs, and less so with Verbatim.

I use Nero 5 for burning CDs, and the results are 100% good. I'm less enthused about Roxio or the imbedded Win XP routines.

There are many other CD burner apps on the market (try here. Alcohol tends to be a fave among geeks, but I frankly think yours is a hardware problem that won't be overcome by software.

quote:

Originally posted by Rusty:
Hoboy - you've hit upon a chronic issue. Unfortunately, many older CD players can't cope with burned CDs regardless of the CD brand or burning software - they were built before CD-Rs came out or before the standardization of protocol.

What brand and age is your CD player?

LOL. No, everything I own is not old. But almost. CD players are one area where there are no oldies but goodies.

It is an Arcam CD192 Less than a year old, a current model. Pretty good, too, except for that little problem.

quote:

If you are using CD-RW discs, I'd suggest only CD-Rs. I've had very good results with Maxell CDs, and less so with Verbatim.

Yes, I am using the Maxell CDRmax. TDK CD-R same problem. Burner drive is a Sony.

quote:

I use Nero 5 for burning CDs, and the results are 100% good. I'm less enthused about Roxio or the imbedded Win XP routines.

I have tried several, including Win XP Media player. None of them will play a disc clear through. Other programs just display dashes when a track won't start, but with Win Media Player, it just hangs there with stuck numbers. Haven't tried Nero. Could you burn me a CD to try? A CD with lots of tracks seems to be the best trial baloon, as the failure mode is to fail to start one or more tracks when the disk is played.

quote:

I frankly think yours is a hardware problem that won't be overcome by software.

Geeze, I hope not. We went to great pains to select this player, with a lot of auditioning, and we really love it. It really shines with tubes and electrostatics. I am still a Linnie, but this comes closer.

I am going to talk to my people in Blighty and see what they can find out. I have this fantasy that one software program or another will be my salvation. Or maybe there is an update to the player. They are in for a firestorm of bad publicity if I don't get this working. I kick myself for not checking on burning first.

It may be it's finicky, and can handle CD-R or CR+R better - one or 'tuther...

Best to consult with the Limeys about compatibility - they may even have their own burning software, or can recommend one.

If it's around a year old, it really should be able to deal with CD-R/+R as well as CR+RW and -RW....

Naturally, one has to consider that tubes are so, well, mid-20th Century...but frankly it comes down to the decoder and DAC...to be honest, tubes and other 1950s devices (IMHO) tend to be misleading in auditioning sound quality - I think the final bumpers (i.e, preamp and amp), are what count. In any event, speakers are analog devices, regardless of what drives 'em.

But don't kick yourself - nearly universal compatibility is de rigueur for players less than five years old (and older, actually), and you have every reason to expect compatibility.

A trial of Nero can be found at the link previously posted.

Draw forth thy sword, and slay infidels!

Rusty, I decided to look at what is authorized for the internet. I would like to know what your take is on this.

I have an IP address of 192.168.1.1 that is communicating with my computer. I would like to know what this is and why it want to talk to me.

It is on ports 1025, 1026, and 135 and is labeled as "generic Host Process For Win 32 Services"

Tracing it gave me...
"The Internet Assigned Number Authority (IANA) has reserved this IP address for private Internets.

This address is untraceable"

And...
NetName: IANA-CBLK1
NetHandle: NET-192-168-0-0-1
Parent: NET-192-0-0-0-0
NetType: IANA Special Use
NameServer: BLACKHOLE-1.IANA.ORG
NameServer: BLACKHOLE-2.IANA.ORG
Comment: This block is reserved for special purposes.
Comment: Please see RFC 1918 for additional information.
Comment:
RegDate: 1994-03-15
Updated: 2002-09-16

OrgAbuseHandle: IANA-IP-ARIN
OrgAbuseName: Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Number
OrgAbusePhone: +1-310-301-5820
OrgAbuseEmail: abuse@iana.org

OrgTechHandle: IANA-IP-ARIN
OrgTechName: Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Number
OrgTechPhone: +1-310-301-5820
OrgTechEmail: abuse@iana.org

ARIN WHOIS database, last updated 2006-12-06 19:10
Enter ? for additional hints on searching ARIN's WHOIS database.
NetName: IANA-CBLK1
NetHandle: NET-192-168-0-0-1
Parent: NET-192-0-0-0-0
NetType: IANA Special Use
NameServer: BLACKHOLE-1.IANA.ORG
NameServer: BLACKHOLE-2.IANA.ORG
Comment: This block is reserved for special purposes.
Comment: Please see RFC 1918 for additional information.
Comment:
RegDate: 1994-03-15
Updated: 2002-09-16

OrgAbuseHandle: IANA-IP-ARIN
OrgAbuseName: Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Number
OrgAbusePhone: +1-310-301-5820
OrgAbuseEmail: abuse@iana.org

OrgTechHandle: IANA-IP-ARIN
OrgTechName: Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Number
OrgTechPhone: +1-310-301-5820
OrgTechEmail: abuse@iana.org

ARIN WHOIS database, last updated 2006-12-06 19:10
Enter ? for additional hints on searching ARIN's WHOIS database.

What's your thoughts on this?

IP addresses 192.168.x.x are reserved for local networks. Those ports aren't typically used for hacks, and the IP address unless forged (unlikely) would be internal.

Are you connected to a network? Or were you? Or do you have a wireless network card that's active?

quote:

Originally posted by Rusty:
Are you connected to a network? Or were you? Or do you have a wireless network card that's active?

Yes, that must be it. I tried to google search it and didn't know what I was reading. Thanks for the lesson.

Bill N.Y.

Just to be absolutely sure, I suggest you download and install Zone Alarm.

You can even configure it to shield against local networks. If you have a wireless network in your computer, let me know, and I'll tell you how to shut it down if you're not using it for your own network...what can happen is that a neighbor may have one, and your PC is connecting to it, and that can lead to unwanted intrusion, because it would be obvious that the neighbor hasn't implemented secure settings, or you'd not be able to access it.

I have a Lynksys Wireless-G v.5 and it has a hexidecimal security setting (WAP) I have McAfee Firewall and run SpyBot, CCleaner, and Ad-Aware Se twice a week.

Every morning McAfee starts a full system scan at 5am. I'm amazed at what additional stuff SpyBot finds afterwards.

I've been into the McAfee program and it has warned me several times of an attempted hack. It has always asked permission to connect to the internet for anything that I haven't given permission.

I was just looking thru the list today of what was enabled. Looking to see if everything looks ok and all. I just didn't know what that IP address and those ports were all about.

Do you still think I need Zone Alarm? Will I need to uninstall McAfee too?

IMHO, Zone Alarm is more effective than McAfee due to the way it works - in abbreviated form, it puts your PC into stealth mode on the 'net. I'm not sure how McAfee or Norton firewalls work, but I've pretty much abandoned products by both those companies for a variety of reasons (ever tried to expunge a Norton app from your PC? You need their special software to do it).

Anyway, if it were I, I'd uninstall McAfee and install Zone Alarm in its place. I've used ZA for years (including my office PCs, which ran 24/5, with no intrusions). Also note that most DSL modems have a hardware firewall facility, which is also worthwhile to learn how to engage. If you're running a network, most routers also have a hardware firewall. Both are quite robust.

In addition to SpyBot Search and Destroy, I'd use Ad-Aware SE, as I find that both work in company. Ad-Aware picks up most stuff, but SpyBot S&D picks up a few remaining artifacts.

Without seeming too brutal, (well, maybe I am, but intrusions aren't something to take lightly), a serious anti-virus app is essential; I use AVG (Paid mode for the main PC, free for the others) Anti-virus for scanning, and Mailwasher Pro to prescreen email before downloading. Mailwasher doesn't analyze mail, but it provides the facility to decide what to download and what to delete or to bounce. In essence, it allows safe preview of email one's not too sure of. It employs a "friends" list as well as a "blacklist".

The bottom line is that there are many uglies out there, but most hackers depend on users not taking the most primitive of precautions, or having done so, subsequently doing something stupid, like opening strange email, or downloading cute little things from the Internet.

quote:

Originally posted by Rusty:
I frankly think yours is a hardware problem that won't be overcome by software.

Yeah, I think you're right. It is now getting crabby about factory CDs, too, so things are a little more clear cut. It has a two-year warranty, so I will drop it off at the dealer after the holidays.

You might try a cleaning CD - it has a little soft brush for dusting the laser - unless the dealer is nearby. It could be the little light is just dirty.

quote:

Originally posted by Rusty:
You might try a cleaning CD - it has a little soft brush for dusting the laser - unless the dealer is nearby. It could be the little light is just dirty.

Now that the holidays are over, I took it down to the place I bought it, and, wouldn't you know it, it worked fine. AAAAAAARGH!

Due to Friday traffic, I took it on the motorcyle, but it was in the original box with real good padding. The bike is as smooth running and smooth riding as ever left Bayern, and I rode real smooth, too, but I guess the mild movement made everything work. I left it anyway, if for nothing else to leave a paper trail for warranty work later. They got a month to play with it.

Wort's Law: "No electrical or mechanical device will work closer to factory specifications than it will on the repair technician's workbench."

You have observed Wort's Law in action!

At work, I have done my share of reseating, reracking, rebooting and "percussion adjusting", but just couldn't bring myself to whomp the thing myself.