CD Burn hangs mid track - help!

[wobbley24]

Hi,

I am trying to burn some audio CDs of mp3s that I own.

I keep on getting the same problem which is repeatable on different burning software (WindowsMediaPlayer, CDBurnerXP) and different tracks.

 

I create the cue file and start the burn with no problems. Then part way through a track the drive stops spinning and nothing happens apart from the counter going up. I can't then abort the burn. Imgburn just does nothing. I can still use other programs on the computer but to close Imgburn I have to restart the computer and disconnect the DVD drive.

What's the problem here? I know it's not specific to Imgburn but I would love a pointer to be able to sort the problem and burn the cds.

Any help greatly appreciated!

 

Media: Philips High capacity CD-R

Drive: Asus ZenDrive SDRW-08U9M-U

Computer: Dell XPS 13 9360 laptop 

OS: Windows 10 Home, Version: 20H2

 

Imgburn Log file:

I 12:25:05 Operation Started!

I 12:25:05 Source File: C:\Users\Diana\Music\Vivaldi - The Four Seasons mp3\Vivaldi - The Four Seasons - Autumn.cue

I 12:25:05 Source File Sectors: 54,618 (AUDIO/2352)

I 12:25:05 Source File Size: 128,461,536 bytes

I 12:25:05 Source File Volume Identifier: Adrian Chandler/La Serenissima - Vivaldi: The Four Seasons

I 12:25:05 Source File File System(s): None

I 12:25:05 Destination Device: [0:0:0] ASUS SDRW-08U9M-U B201 (D:) (USB)

I 12:25:05 Destination Media Type: CD-R (Disc ID: 97m26s66f, CMC Magnetics Corp.)

I 12:25:05 Destination Media Supported Write Speeds: 10x, 16x, 20x, 24x

I 12:25:05 Destination Media Sectors: 359,847

I 12:25:06 Write Mode: CD

I 12:25:06 Write Type: SAO

I 12:25:06 Write Speed: 12x

I 12:25:06 Lock Volume: Yes

I 12:25:06 Test Mode: No

I 12:25:06 OPC: No

I 12:25:06 BURN-Proof: Enabled

W 12:25:06 Write Speed Miscompare! - Wanted: 2,117 KB/s (12x), Got: 1,765 KB/s (10x)

W 12:25:06 The drive only supports writing these discs at 10x, 16x, 20x, 24x.

I 12:25:06 Filling Buffer... (80 MiB)

I 12:25:10 Writing LeadIn... (CD-TEXT)

I 12:25:34 Writing Session 1 of 1... (3 Tracks, LBA: 0 - 54617)

I 12:25:34 Writing Track 1 of 3... (AUDIO/2352, MP3, LBA: 0 - 25207)

I 12:26:07 Writing Track 2 of 3... (AUDIO/2352, MP3, LBA: 25208 - 38478)

I 12:26:24 Writing Track 3 of 3... (AUDIO/2352, MP3, LBA: 38479 - 54617)

I 18:46:51 Abort Request Acknowledged

 

[dbminter]

Just as I thought.  It's probably this:

I 12:25:05 Destination Media Type: CD-R (Disc ID: 97m26s66f, CMC Magnetics Corp.)

 

CMC Magnetics makes the cheapest discs out there.  Over 50 percent of the problems on this board are caused by CMC cheap discs.  When people switch away from the cheap media, the problem generally disappears.

 

Try the Verbatim DataLife Plus/AZO CD-R.  NOT the Verbatim Life Series you find in brick and mortar stores.  Those are CMC.  You can generally only find the Verbatim DataLife Plus/AZO CD-R in online stores like Amazon.com.

[wobbley24]

Thanks for the quick reply.

I have ordered some Verbatim AZO CD-Rs and will have another go when they are delivered.

 

I didn't realise I was using cheap Media. The Philips branded CD-Rs I was using were not cheap and Philips are a well known brand. I mean, they invented the CD didn't they?!

 

Thanks for educating me regarding blank CD-Rs. So are almost all the CD-Rs made by the same company? Is there a difference between all the HP, Philips, Maxell, TDK discs out there or is it just branding?

[dbminter]

Companies often times slap high prices on the cheap CMC media to maximize profits.

 

Very few companies actually make any recordable media anymore.  Most were bought up by CMC, including Verbatim and Taiyo Yuden.  For NOW, Verbatim still makes their cheap junk but also still makes the higher quality stuff Verbatim and TY used to make.  Mitsubishi, I think, still makes the higher quality recordable DVD's, like the DataLife Plus/AZO, for Verbatim.  Fewer companies whose name is on the package actually made the items inside.  It's mostly CMC or CMC owned subsidiaries, Mitsubishi, and Panasonic who make the media.

 

There can be differences, depending on what the manufacturer is willing to spend.  Most just go with cheap CMC media and price it high because most people don't know the difference.  And, when they do learn, CMC, has, at least, made one sale before they learned differently.  Maxell and TDK used to make higher quality media, but I haven't used them in years.  TDK used to make the only CD-R's I trusted in before I found Verbatim DataLife Plus/AZO and TY's.  However, that was over a decade ago, so I've no idea whether they sold out to CMC or not.  I knew Phillips was using CMC 5 years ago because I used to find DVD-R 2 for a buck at Dollar Tree.  I decided to plunk down the dollar, most likely knowing I was getting CMC crap.  But, if I can't use them, I'm only out a buck, and you never know until you try.  Of course... I was out the buck... 

[wobbley24]

Okay,

So , the problem wasn't my cheapo CMC magnetics disks.

I bought a load of Verbatim AZO CD-Rs and tried to burn this audio cd again with the better quality media.

Exactly the same thing happened and it froze in exactly the same place on the 3rd track. 

Any idea what it could be? Log below;

 

I 15:43:36 ImgBurn Version 2.5.8.0 started!
I 15:43:36 Microsoft Windows 8 Core x64 Edition (6.2, Build 9200)
I 15:43:36 Total Physical Memory: 16,498,184 KiB  -  Available: 11,195,232 KiB
I 15:43:36 Initialising SPTI...
I 15:43:36 Searching for SCSI / ATAPI devices...
I 15:43:36 -> Drive 1 - Info: ASUS SDRW-08U9M-U B201 (D:) (USB 2.0)
I 15:43:36 Found 1 DVD±RW!
I 15:44:16 Operation Started!
I 15:44:16 Source File: C:\Users\Diana\Music\Vivaldi - The Four Seasons mp3\Vivaldi - The Four Seasons - Autumn.cue
I 15:44:16 Source File Sectors: 54,618 (AUDIO/2352)
I 15:44:16 Source File Size: 128,461,536 bytes
I 15:44:16 Source File Volume Identifier: Adrian Chandler/La Serenissima - Vivaldi: The Four Seasons
I 15:44:17 Source File File System(s): None
I 15:44:17 Destination Device: [0:0:0] ASUS SDRW-08U9M-U B201 (D:) (USB)
I 15:44:17 Destination Media Type: CD-R (Disc ID: 97m34s23f, Mitsubishi Chemical Corp.)
I 15:44:17 Destination Media Supported Write Speeds: 10x, 16x, 20x, 24x
I 15:44:17 Destination Media Sectors: 359,846
I 15:44:17 Write Mode: CD
I 15:44:17 Write Type: SAO
I 15:44:17 Write Speed: 10x
I 15:44:17 Lock Volume: Yes
I 15:44:17 Test Mode: No
I 15:44:17 OPC: No
I 15:44:17 BURN-Proof: Enabled
I 15:44:17 Write Speed Successfully Set! - Effective: 1,765 KB/s (10x)
I 15:44:17 Filling Buffer... (80 MiB)
I 15:44:21 Writing LeadIn... (CD-TEXT)
I 15:44:44 Writing Session 1 of 1... (3 Tracks, LBA: 0 - 54617)
I 15:44:44 Writing Track 1 of 3... (AUDIO/2352, MP3, LBA: 0 - 25207)
I 15:45:17 Writing Track 2 of 3... (AUDIO/2352, MP3, LBA: 25208 - 38478)
I 15:45:35 Writing Track 3 of 3... (AUDIO/2352, MP3, LBA: 38479 - 54617)
 

[dbminter]

Oh, are you burning your own custom made CUE file you created with ImgBurn and a bunch of MP3 or other type of audio container files?  Or is this a CUE file made as an image of a preexisting Audio CD?  If you're creating your own custom made CUE file, then whatever file Track 3 is might be problematic for conversion.  If you are creating your own CUE files, I'd try taking whatever Track 3's file is and use a freeware piece of software to convert it to another file type and create a new custom .CUE file with this new converted file and try burning again.

 

If you can get some, try using CD-RW so you don't waste discs.  You can write to CD-RW's multiple times.

 

Another possibility is your DVD drive.  I checked on the SDRW-08U9M-U model and it's a slim model drive.  Slim model drives are notorious for being problematic.  You may want to try finding a half height model USB drive and see if the problem persists.  If it does, then it may be something in the image file itself.  You've already isolated the discs aren't the problem, causing the same error at the same spot in 2 different kinds of discs including the quality media.  If you use a different burner and it still happens, then the problem could be in the image itself.  You could also try using different USB ports and try changing USB cables to isolate if it's a USB hardware error.

 

One last thing you could try, though it probably won't work, is to check for a firmware update to your drive.  USB drives generally don't have firmware updates available, but it's not always the case.  And firmware updates often times don't help problems, but they sometimes do.

[wobbley24]

Hi, 

I am burning a custom created CUE file created with Imgburn from a bunch of high bit rate (320kbps) mp3s I bought recently online.

I was having the same problem with a bunch of FLAC music tracks I bought. I thought the problem might be the conversion from FLAC so I bought the same track as an mp3 as I assumed the mp3 to cd audio conversion was easier than FLAC to cd audio conversion. However, the problem persisted.

I am a bit of a noob when it comes to burning cds and different audio formats. What format or file type should I convert my mp3s/FLACs into pre burn to try and get rid of the problem?

Also, any suggestions for a piece of reliable freeware to do the conversion?

If the conversion to a different file type doesn't work I will try a different drive...

Thanks again for all the help. I will grab a couple of CD-RW to stop wasting CD-Rs. Good tip!

[dbminter]

Since you tried both FLAC and MP3, it might not work, but there is the chance whoever you bought them from online didn't do any different processing between the two file types.

 

I use something called freac, Free Audio Converter.  So, I'd try first converting from FLAC to FLAC again.  The conversion process might change the files into compatible ones.  If that doesn't work, try converting the MP3 to FLAC.  And then try converting the FLAC to MP3.

 

Generally when I'm creating Audio CD's from containers and there's a failure of some kind, it's usually as a result of an improperly formatted input file.  So, I try converting from one file type to another first.  Sometimes, converting from the same format to the same also solves the problem so nothing is lost from FLAC.

 

If the CD-RW are CMC, it doesn't really matter, probably.  They're rewritable so you're not out anything.  Of course, you should avoid CMC discs even if they are rewritable to circumvent any CMC incompatibilities.

[LIGHTNING UK!]

It sounds like your I/O is getting hung up. That's why ImgBurn can't be closed and you're having to reboot.

When it gets stuck, try just unplugging the drive and see if anything returns to normal - and 'normal' in this situation would mean you get an error message.

As to why it's running into issues... who knows. It could be a bad usb cable, outdated drivers, bad usb chipset/drive enclosure chipset combo etc.

[wobbley24]

Lighting UK and DBminter Thank you!

Problem solved!

So I tried as Lightning suggested to unplug the drive to see what happens. As you predicted, I got a bunch of error messages and could close Imgburn. So the problem was with the I/O.

I tried a different cable, no joy. But then I tried another different cable into a different USB port.. and it worked!

I had been using a Type c cable into a USB 3.1 port (data transfer should have been faster). So to change it up I used a (normal) type a cable into a USB 3.0 port and it worked with no problems.

I am stupidly pleased about solving this as the fact that I couldn't do a really basic thing like burn a cd with a few mp3s on it had been really bothering me!

Thanks again so much. Without the help from this forum I wouldn't have been able to solve the problem and would have probably just ended up buying another drive.

You've saved me ~£50. Thanks so much.

[dbminter]

Technically, I believe there's no difference between USB 3.1 and USB 3.0 other than a name change.  I believe they operate at both the same speed.  And Type A or Type C also doesn't make a speed difference.  They just created Type C ports to save on materials and thus cost to manufacture but can claim to charge MORE because it's named something different, thus "must" be different and justify the price.