Creating CUE/BIN From Audio C.D.

[Ryan Paul Fialcowitz]

I would like to make cue/bin files from audio C.D.'s- and IMGBurn appears to do this but the resulting files won't read in either Windows or VLC. I would expect the cue file to load into either and act as an audio C.D. but it does literally nothing. What am I doing wrong?

[LIGHTNING UK!]

If you want it to make a BIN/CUE from your Audio CD and it's making a BIN/CUE, there's little more it can do.

 

Playback issues aren't really an ImgBurn issue, you'd have to take that up with the programs you're trying to use them with.

[Ryan Paul Fialcowitz]

If you want it to make a BIN/CUE from your Audio CD and it's making a BIN/CUE, there's little more it can do.

 

Playback issues aren't really an ImgBurn issue, you'd have to take that up with the programs you're trying to use them with.

It’s making bin/cue files that don’t work- not even in Windows. Or are they not supposed to be able to be mounted in Windows? Is there a specific precdure that needs to be followed? Unless I’m doing something wrong it would seem to be a problem with imgburn.

[LIGHTNING UK!]

No, Windows doesn't natively support BIN/CUE.

[Ryan Paul Fialcowitz]

Okay fair enough.

 

Is there a way to make it where there’s one bin file per track?

[LIGHTNING UK!]

No, sorry.

[dbminter]

BIN doesn't work that way, as far as I know.  BIN is for entire disc images.  What you probably want to is to create a container file by Ripping the individual tracks in Windows Media Player.

 

 

Or you could install VirtualClone Drive.  It will mount .CCD files that ImgBurn, I think, creates along with BIN/CUE.

Edited March 25, 2018 by dbminter

[Ryan Paul Fialcowitz]

BIN doesn't work that way, as far as I know. BIN is for entire disc images. What you probably want to is to create a container file by Ripping the individual tracks in Windows Media Player.

 

 

Or you could install VirtualClone Drive. It will mount .CCD files that ImgBurn, I think, creates along with BIN/CUE.

Thanks. The program I need to use the images in typically uses numbered bin files. I thought that maybe the singular bin file was causing my problems. Anyway I appreciate the help.

[dbminter]

What program is this?  I'm not aware of any application that can read BIN/CUE files natively and play them.  I know DVDShrink can read in ISO's of DVD Video movies to process.  And I think Media Player Classic Home Cinema can play DVD Video ISO's natively.  But, as I said, those aren't audio CD image files.

[Ryan Paul Fialcowitz]

RetroArch uses numbered bin files. The one created with imgburn is crashing it so I was hoping I was doing something wrong. But I will take the problem to their forum and see if I can work it out.

[dbminter]

Are you sure RetroArch plays audio CD's?  The only two hits I found for RetroArch aren't for playing audio CD's.  One for a video game emulator and one for the API that runs the emulator.  It sounds like RetroArch is only for playing game CD's.

[Ryan Paul Fialcowitz]

It's a front end of a series of emulators, which in themselves should be able to run an audio C.D.- but you're right I can't be certain. What would be the best way to test whether the image is good or not? I tested the C.D. which works fine.

[dbminter]

There are two ways to do that.  First, use ImgBurn to burn the CUE file's BIN file to a CD-R or CD-RW and see if that disc plays.  The second is to installing an optical disc emulator software like VirtualClone Drive or Alchol 120%.  Both are either freeware or have a free version.  You can then mount the CUE/CCD file, depending on the software you choose, and see if the mounted image plays.

[Ryan Paul Fialcowitz]

There are two ways to do that.  First, use ImgBurn to burn the CUE file's BIN file to a CD-R or CD-RW and see if that disc plays.  The second is to installing an optical disc emulator software like VirtualClone Drive or Alchol 120%.  Both are either freeware or have a free version.  You can then mount the CUE/CCD file, depending on the software you choose, and see if the mounted image plays.

 

Thank you, I'll give that a try- but as VLC won't play I'm not holding out much hope. I appreciate the help.

[dbminter]

As far as I know, no software player will natively read in BIN/CUE of audio CD's and play them.  Now, if you mounted the image with, say, VirtualClone Drive, VLC, if it supports playing audio CD's (I don't know.), would play the image file as a virtual drive, if the image file isn't corrupt.

[Ryan Paul Fialcowitz]

As far as I know, no software player will natively read in BIN/CUE of audio CD's and play them.  Now, if you mounted the image with, say, VirtualClone Drive, VLC, if it supports playing audio CD's (I don't know.), would play the image file as a virtual drive, if the image file isn't corrupt.

 

I wouldn't think it's corrupt, but VLC associates the cue file format. What other reason could there be but to play bin files? Unless cue files have another use? I know it can play iso files so it doesn't seem like a stretch.

[dbminter]

Well, I've no idea why VLC associates CUE with itself because it does not support playing audio CD's from CUE/IMG file sets.  I tried it just now.  VLC does not natively support playing CUE/IMG files.  I made an image file on a CD that VLC will play from (I tested it.) and VLC did not play the CUE file ImgBurn created.  I tested a 2nd image file I made years ago for testing purposes and the CUE does not play.

 

 

Now, it may work with BIN/CUE but without being able to create BIN/CUE to test, I can't say.

 

 

I mounted the CCD file ImgBurn created with the IMG/CUE in VirtualClone Drive and VLC will play a CCD mounted IMG/CCD/CDT/CUE file set created by ImgBurn.

 

 

What I don't understand is why ImgBurn is creating a BIN/CUE set when, for me, it created a CUE/IMG set of a CD.

[LIGHTNING UK!]

CCD files only work if the image is named *.img

 

So if the app is set to create them, it'll rename the *.bin to *.img

[dbminter]

Ah, that's what I did!  I set ImgBurn to create.CCD files because VirtualClone Drive didn't appear to support .CUE files when I tried it out.  But, it did mount .CCD (CloneCD) files because I think the same software company that makes VirutalClone Drive makes CloneCD.

 

 

Which may explain why my CUE file didn't play in VLC.  VLC may very well support BIN/CUE, but I only had IMG/CUE.

 

 

I turned off CCD creation so I'd get a BIN/CUE image file set of the same disc to test again.  VLC simply does not support playing CUE files.

Edited March 25, 2018 by dbminter

[Ryan Paul Fialcowitz]

I'm getting Unknown or corrupt image file! when I try to load the cue with WinCDEmu. I tried other cue's and iso's and they mounted fine. The C.D.'s I've tried play fine on their own, so what could I be doing wrong?

[dbminter]

Never heard of WinCDEmu, so I couldn't say.  As far as I know, ISO isn't for audio CD's or any CD format.  As for why it may be a corrupt image, well, the image is corrupt or it isn't recognized as a compatible image for WinCDEmu.  And that could either be a bad read or simply a bad disc.  Maybe it wasn't authored correctly.  Could be a lot of factors and my having no familiarity with WinCDEmu, I can't say.

[Ryan Paul Fialcowitz]

IMGBurn won't produce an audio C.D. image in the iso format- it'll change it to cue/bin.

 

I created the image by just selecting Create Image From Disk- is there more to it then that? Is IMGBurn not the best solution for this task?

[dbminter]

ImgBurn is fine for most disc reading, but certain instances and combinations of certain drives and discs aren't the best.  For instance, some PS1 games can't be read in on certain hardware because they apparently have gaps in the audio tracks.  Mega Man 8 is one of them that won't read in my Pioneer in ImgBurn but will in Alcohol 120%.  I use Alcohol 120% for those cases where ImgBurn won't read a PS1 game disc.  Other than that, I've never had a problem with other disc image formats.

 

 

You sure it's an audio CD and maybe not a mixed mode CD, combining an audio track with a data track?  Generally, those aren't a problem, but if it's a game disc instead, that might be a problem.

 

 

You're doing it right, but there could be a wide variety of issues at play here.  Your drive may be the issue.  The disc may not be authored correctly or is some weird form of disc.

 

 

Just to be sure you didn't get a bad read, try reading it again to a new set of BIN/CUE and attempt to mount again.

 

 

Since I'm only familiar with VirtualClone Drive and Alcohol 120% as virtual drives, I couldn't say why WinCDEmu doesn't like that image set.  You can't use BIN/CUE with VirtualClone Drive (Well, VCD will mount BIN files, but they don't play as audio CD's in VLC.  I tested that out.) so you'd have to enable CCD creation in ImgBurn and read to a new image file set to mount it in VCD.  I believe Alcohol 120% creates its own image file format, but it may support BIN/CUE already existent.

[Ryan Paul Fialcowitz]

ImgBurn is fine for most disc reading, but certain instances and combinations of certain drives and discs aren't the best.  For instance, some PS1 games can't be read in on certain hardware because they apparently have gaps in the audio tracks.  Mega Man 8 is one of them that won't read in my Pioneer in ImgBurn but will in Alcohol 120%.  I use Alcohol 120% for those cases where ImgBurn won't read a PS1 game disc.  Other than that, I've never had a problem with other disc image formats.

 

 

You sure it's an audio CD and maybe not a mixed mode CD, combining an audio track with a data track?  Generally, those aren't a problem, but if it's a game disc instead, that might be a problem.

 

 

You're doing it right, but there could be a wide variety of issues at play here.  Your drive may be the issue.  The disc may not be authored correctly or is some weird form of disc.

 

 

Just to be sure you didn't get a bad read, try reading it again to a new set of BIN/CUE and attempt to mount again.

 

 

Since I'm only familiar with VirtualClone Drive and Alcohol 120% as virtual drives, I couldn't say why WinCDEmu doesn't like that image set.  You can't use BIN/CUE with VirtualClone Drive (Well, VCD will mount BIN files, but they don't play as audio CD's in VLC.  I tested that out.) so you'd have to enable CCD creation in ImgBurn and read to a new image file set to mount it in VCD.  I believe Alcohol 120% creates its own image file format, but it may support BIN/CUE already existent.

 

Would it be possible for you to post one of your working audio C.D. images for me to test- it might help eliminate possible problems. If not, do you know of any such resources online? I can't imagine audio C.D. images are very popular online but I'm at my wit's end on this issue.

[dbminter]

I could whip up a single track, really small audio CD with ImgBurn, but I'd have to burn it to a CD-RW and image that, since none of the virtual CD writers I tested ever worked.  Which means my image files will be in CCD/IMG format, the only way I can test them with VirtualClone Drive.  Which means you'd have to install VirtualClone Drive.  And if you're going to do that, you might as well, before I do anything, read this disc to a new CCD/IMG format and test it in VCD yourself.

 

 

To enable CCD/IMG creation, go into Tools --> Settings --> Read and check the CCD box under Image Layout File Format.