Plextor Problem

[Daniel4]

The only problem I have with my Plextor right now is that I can't seem to burn a music CD at 12x. My CD-ROM is 52x, so that can't be the problem. Anyone know how to fix this?

 

[Dameon]

Usually can't. The speed that matters on your CD drive is NOT the X rating, but DAE rating, or Digital Audio Extraction.

 

[Daniel4]

Ok, so you mean that most can't burn at that speed? And the problem is with my CD-ROM, not my Plextor?

 

[Muadib]

It still could be the CD Rom. What make is it?

 

[Dameon]

Yeppers, try ripping them to WAV files on the hard disk, and use CD Creator or whatever to burn from hard disk to verify this.

But MOST of the time, espeically on generic CDROM drives, DAE speed is nowhere near the X rating of the drive itself, especially for the beginning of the media compared to the end. Unless you have a high-quality CD Drive known to have very good DAE speeds, 12x burn needs data faster than the CDROM can give it.

 

[GustySoul]

Are you trying to copy a CD on-the-fly? Try ripping the audio from the CD first, then
writing to the CD-R. It sounds like writing at 12X might not be the problem, just that the CD-ROM cant extract the audio and transfer it to the CD-RW fast enough to keep up.

obispo21

 

[Daniel4]

That's one of my problems, I have know idea who made it. I had this computer built for me. And I forgot to tell what CD-ROM I wanted, so I think I might have got a cheap one

 

[Daniel4]

Yes, I'm trying to copy a CD on-the-fly...

 

[Daniel4]

Now it can't even copy on the fly at 8x, it only works at 4x.

 

[Zucchini]

52x sounds like a cheap or atleast not that special cdrom drive. It probably can't do a sustained audio/data rip from a disk. The 52x is only for reading data and files the regular way. If you want to copy of the fly at 12x, your reading drive needs to be able to rip atleast 1.5x faster to be safe.. and that you'll only find in another plextor drive There maybe others, but you get what you pay for. Accuracy of the rip is another problem too.

 

[Sir Fredrick]

I'm in agreement with the other posters, sounds like it's not a plextor problem but a CDROM problem, don't burn on the fly and I bet you'll be able to hit 12X

 

[Daniel4]

You're right, I can copy from my HD at 12x. But I want to be able to copy on the fly, it's so much faster, even at 8x. Now though, it seems that I can copy on the fly at 8x; but not on all CDs. When it says "error reading CD" is that some kind of copy right protection? Also, what does it mean when it says "buffer underrun"?

 

[Hard_Boiled]

Sounds like you got some problems. Just copy to the hard drive first, only takes a little longer and it will work. But if you really want to copy on the fly get a faster/higher quality cd-rom drive. Get a Plextor Ultraplex 32x or 40x and a cheap SCSI card and go nuts if you really want to do alot of on the fly copying.

Oh yeah, and when it says error reading from cd, is this still a music cd? If so, it's probably just scratched or your cd-rom is having trouble reading it. And a buffer underrun means that the cd didn't burn right and you're screwed. What kind of Plextor 12x burner is it?

 

[Zucchini]

Most writers need a constant stream of data, if it is interrupted long enough, then you get a buffer underun and your disk is ruined. i'm not sure, but rips could also slow when they hit a bad spot. If you really want to copy at 12x, buy a plextor reader You need atleast 16x minimum raw rip speed. Remember that drives read the inner tracks slower then the outer tracks. Quality of rips between drives also differs.

 

[Daniel4]

This also happends when I try to burn a data CD, now I've noticed that it works fine at burning older data CD-ROMS at 8x, but on most newer ones it gives me an error reading cd. Is this some copy protection?

 

[Hard_Boiled]

Save yourself some trouble and copy it to the hard drive first. Sounds like your reader is holding you back, so just check the box that says copy to hard drive first or something, and then burn it at 12x. Or burn it on the fly at 8X if it works, whatever floats your boat.

And yes newer games and programs have copy protection, that could be the cause of the "error reading cd" message. Also, it has been my experience that lesser quality cd-roms have alot of trouble reading burned cd's, especially older models. Take that into consideration if you're ever having trouble reading a burned cd.

 

[Daniel4]

Ok, thanks for everyones help

 

[Sir Fredrick]

Daniel, if you do opt to copy to HD first, you may get faster results if you use the burner for ripping the audio CD, plextors are great for DAE

 

[Zucchini]

Yup, rip quality over speed Try using a program called exact audio copy, it rips slowly because it checks for errors..but its very good.