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montmorency

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Everything posted by montmorency

  1. Sort of inspired by the thread about the shelf life of burned discs (and being a bit more backup conscious after a recent hard-disk incident, and hearing about someone else's), I'm wondering about the best way to store CDs and DVDs that I have burned. We hear that they are suppose to be stored vertically, but when new, they usually come in a "cake box" stored horizontally. Or do you only really have to start worrying after they are burned? Hence or otherwise (as they used to say in exam questions), what are your feelings about hard disc storage versus CD or DVD storage? Clearly, CDs and DVDs have storage limitations, but for small amounts of critical data they may well be big enough, but are they reliable enough? (I realise that M-Discs may be the answer in future, but they don't exactly seem to have caught on yet, and maybe they won't live up to the hype. I know a lot of people depend on multiple external hard discs, and clearly, where a large space is concerned, it seems to be the only answer, but even if the shelf life of a CD or DVD is not infinite, is a disc continuously spinning round going to be any less vulnerable than a CD or DVD tucked away safely in a dust-free environment at the right temperature, etc, etc? To cut a long question short: what are you doing about the data you care about?
  2. As internal drives in external enclosures seems to be the way to go (if one isn't fitting a drive into a desktop PC), I'm wondering about the fixing screws. I know if I buy a "bare" internal drive, it will come without cables and screws, but I can buy cables easily enough. Not sure about screws though. I don't have any spares lying around and don't have a desktop PC to cannibalise. (I'm not really used to PC maintenance, generally speaking). Is it likely that the enclosure would come with them? If not, any suggestions as to where to buy them (in the UK) and what exactly to ask for? Many thanks.
  3. Would it make sense to Verify by default when creating an image from a disc (i.e. Read mode)? I could not find a setting that covered this, and the Verify box gets greyed-out during the Read operation. It is normally recommended to do a Verify after burning a disc (i.e. the default action), but isn't it equally logical to want o make sure an image you have just read to disc was read correctly? You can do the Verify manually of course, but would it not be more consistent to make it automatic (with the ability to turn it off if not wanted)? Thanks.
  4. May I re-open this thread, writing as a fairly non-technical sort of person (at least in this sort of area): I've only ever used built-in drives (that came with the PC or laptop, not that I installed!), or external USB drives. I used a cheap Qbuz external USB drive reasonably happily for a year or more, but I think it is wearing out. I bought what I thought was a better one, branded "Leicke", but it seems to be a crock, and I've all but given up on it. It seems that all the external USB drives nowadays are USB-powered only, which I'm not happy about (even secondary power comes from USB). Could live with that if this worked, but it doesn't seem to. However, finding this thread made me think with a fresh mind. So, just so I have this straight, would something like this be what I want? http://www.amazon.co.uk/Hard-Drive-Enclosure-External-Connector/dp/B0006ZQ6N4 (OK, that one is not available, but that sort of thing?). Then I buy a good quality internal drive or drives of a type recommended elsewhere in this forum (LG, Pioneer, Optiac...?), install that or those in this enclosure, and then connect the enclosure to a USB slot in a PC or laptop? But how complicated is installing an internal drive in one of these enclosures? (given I've never installed one in a PC or laptop)? Many thanks. EDIT: This is something similar that is available: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Icybox-External-Enclosure-Blu-Ray-Drives/dp/B0083RBVRS/ref=pd_rhf_dp_p_t_3 Well, I've lined that up to buy plus an LG drive that gets a clear 5 stars plus some SATA cables. I guess I may need some fixing screws, unless the enclosure comes with those. But apart from that, does this seem a reasonable combo? I'd be using this in a desktop environment (i.e. I'm not worried about portability, although it will actually be plugged into a laptop). Am I right in thinking you can get enclosures for multiple drives? Not spotted any so far. Thanks in advance.
  5. Belatedly thanks again. The WMP plugin worked fine. Have now confirmed that I can create CUE files from downloaded MP3s, and also from WAV files that I have generated myself (e.g. from recorded internet radio), which ultimately generate the desired CD-TEXT. (With MP3s I use the tags; with the WAV files, I use the filename, then change to custom and type in the performer. That feature is quite neat). Yes, have now figured out how to configure EAC (when reading a commercially produced CD) to use CD Text (and/or UPC/ISRC) to generate a CUE sheet, and also how to get freedb info for the CD. I am not sure if it combines info from all these sources to generate the CUE sheet. However, I have noticed that some commercial CDs either do not have CD-TEXT or it is not complete. However, if I tell it to get info from freedb (as well as having the CD-TEXT/UPC/ISRC options all enabled, the resulting CUE has all the necessary information, so that's all fine (however it does it...). Thanks again.
  6. WMP & database: Ah, ok, I see what you mean. So tags/ID3 are distinct from CD-text then. I hadn't appreciated that. Thanks for the WMP plugin download. Am about to try that. (Then again, EAC is supposed to match up CDs from whatever internet database, and it apparently couldn't, for this commercially recorded CD I just tried; It's also supposed to read CD-text when creating CUE files. I read somewhere that commercial CDs are supposed to come with CD-text, but maybe that isn't the case, or always the case. Either way, it hasn't so far produced anything meaningful from the commercial CDs I've tried it with. Not your problem obviously though). I'll see what the plugin does. Thanks again.
  7. Thanks for the quick reply. However, the same WMP (same computer) _does_ display song titles (as well as album title, and performer) for commercially recorded audio CDs. So there must be a difference between those, and what I am producing. (By the way, I just repeated the create CUE file part of the exercise, to re-refresh my memory, and its only when I highlight the session (or was it disk?) line that the "filename" button is blanked out. When I highlight a song title, all buttons are visible. (If I then click on filename, it retains the song title, but omits the performer). Seems like "tag" is the most useful option, which is why it is the default I suppose. I assume that the "tag" is some special property of the audio file. (I just tried creating a CUE file using EAC, from a commercially recorded audio CD, and the resulting CUE file hadn't picked up the CD title, performer, or song titles. Just wondering if WMP is doing something special. Sorry if this is a complete red herring). Thanks, M.
  8. I am impressed by IMGBURN's ability to create conventional audio CDs from MP3s stored on the PC hard drive. I usually do this by creating the CUE file from within imgburn, and making use of the "direct to write queue" facility. The only problem is that so far I have been unable to propagate the names of the songs (which in this case are the same as the MP3 filenames), such that, for example, they would be visible when playing the resulting CD on the computer with Windows Media Player (which they are for commercially recorded CDs), and presumably, would be visible when played on a modern CD player which displays this information (I only have an older one which does not, but of course, may upgrade one day. I also give away CDs I have burned to other people from time to time). I have tried various things when creating the CUE file without success. What fields do I need to set to pick up the song titles from the filenames automatically? I just tried this again to refresh my memory. I used "write image to disc", then "create CUE file". I opened a folder with the required MP3s in, and selected them all, let them be analysed, then saved the CUE file. Before I saved the file, I tried selecting a few songs, and it displayed (in grey), the names of the songs in the CD text box. I didn't seem to be able to select the "filename" button (I thought in the past I had been able to, but I can't remember how). Anyway, I thought the fact that it showed the filenames, even if greyed out, might mean it would be ok. This is the beginning of the CUE file: TITLE "Plays Bach" PERFORMER "Jacques Loussier" FILE "01 - Fugue No. 5 In D Major.mp3" MP3 REM FILE-DECODED-SIZE 04:31:04 TRACK 01 AUDIO TITLE "Fugue No. 5 In D Major" PERFORMER "Jacques Loussier" INDEX 01 00:00:00 ....and so on. I have just noticed the attach this file option, so I've attached the whole CUE file. Thoughts/suggestions? Thank you. Jacques Loussier - Plays Bach.cue
  9. Thanks folks. Yes, I am feeling suitably chastened for not looking at the recommendations more carefully at the critical buying time Regards, M.
  10. Sorry to reply to myself, but I've just re-read the sticky above, and the recommendation to prefer 2.4 x to 8X is not all that old, as my faulty memory was telling me. Might it be worth my trying to upgrade my firmware? Probably worth trying on my newer laptop as well, I guess. I'd had problems finding the 2.4Xs, but will look again.
  11. Until recently, I had been using up the last of my old Riteks (bought long before I had seen the recommendations on this forum), which burned actually, mostly ok. Today I broke open my new pack of Verbatim +R DLs (8X), not expecting any problems (after all, if I can burn Riteks, Verbatims should be fine, was my thinking). Rather surprised to get a write error, which was repeated on my second try. I have not yet tried cleaning the lens which will be the next thing I try, but I don't feel that that's the problem. I did wonder if it could have anything to do with my choice of layer break address. I just chose the only "good" choice from those offered, same both times. Sorry, didn't write it down. Maybe it's obvious from the log. The other slightly odd thing here is that I was a little surprised to be needing a DL at all for this particular burn, since the source VIDEO_TS folder only shows up in Windows as 4.40 GB. However, the calculate function showed that a single layer DVD was not enough (by only a few hundred MB though, I think). Could it be to do with the fact that the second layer is going to be basically empty, and just padded out, or is this a genuine hardware error? ISTR that the recommendation at one time was only to use 2X (?), and these are 8X, so is that the problem? However, I had a feeling that was now outdated, and 8X should be ok. It's definitely an MKM though. Log follows: I 11:18:40 ImgBurn Version 2.4.4.0 started! I 11:18:40 Microsoft Windows XP Professional (5.1, Build 2600 : Service Pack 2) I 11:18:40 Total Physical Memory: 1,038,320 KB - Available: 392,076 KB I 11:18:51 Initialising SPTI... I 11:18:51 Searching for SCSI / ATAPI devices... I 11:18:51 Found 1 DVD
  12. Great effort LUK and Beta-testers. Thank you very much!
  13. Great. Many thanks LUK for clearing that up. Regards, M.
  14. Sorry if this is an obtuse question: I know that Verbatim are recommended for DVD and that Taiyo Yuden are recommended for CD. What I haven't got quite clear is whether Verbatim is equally good for CD, and if Taiyo Yuden is equally good for DVD. With thanks, M.
  15. Thanks LUK. Edit/Update: I was going to ask why it was necessary, but I have now found out why, with a search. Mea culpa: I should have searched before. Thanks for your time. Regards, M.
  16. Hi, Not totally a newbie to imgburn, but a newbie to the forum and to the newer versions of imgburn. I currently work exclusively on laptops, and as the program itself acknowledges, on laptops it can open the tray, but usually cannot close it again (never closes on my two laptops). I just wondered how essential this tray cycling was, and would it be possible to optionally avoid it (e.g. with a tick box)? It would be nice to be able to leave a burn to itself to both burn and verify (which I always do) to complete without having to be around to close the draw after the burn and before the verify. Regards, M.
  17. Hello forum members, This is just another vote of thanks to Lighting, and also to the beta-testers and documenters here. I had been using an old version that I got from somewhere, quite happily, for some time, but under the mistaken impression that it was no longer supported. I only recently discovered this site, found the much more recent version, plus documentation and a forum no less, which was very gratifying. I love the newer features. Fascinating that someone would do all this for free (with optional donations). I also heard about EAC here, which is another great product with the same ethos. In the past I've used a couple of very good shareware programs that have earned their authors some fame in their field ... not sure about fortune. I'll mention the ones I'm thinking of; there may be others: Ed Hamrick's Vuescan film-scan software, and Qimage, a program to get the best out of your PC's printer. For a modest fee, you get lifetime support. Anyway, I was pretty impressed by those two, but I've even more impressed by imgburn, and I am recommending it to people who are into this kind of thing. I'm guessing that the author is doing something that he is very good at and enjoys doing, and that's why he's doing it. I think that's the essence of the best kind of freeware and shareware, and the very opposite of the bloatware from some of the famous commercial names, not to mention any of them... In the past I've seen some small companies that were very good at producing one extremely good software package, and providing ace support, get take over by some mega-corporate giant, and after that, you may as well kiss decent support and development goodbye :-( I saw it many times when I worked in IT. I hope that users are as generous as I plan to be, once I improve my own financial situation from its slightly credit-crunchy present state Regards, M.
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