WAV file called invalid by Roxio.

[Craig Maier]

Do all of these files play through ok in .wav on Diamond Cut?

[Tone Deaf]

Yes - they sound great.

[Tone Deaf]

What I mean is that they sound great when played seperately. I didn't try to join then togrther there because it was easier to do so in Roxio and in Mentor.

[Craig Maier]

I do not really know what is going on there; sure does sound like corrupt files.

Here is a possible solution to clearing up the problem;

1. Launch two instances of Diamond Cut

2. Set up one as the player and the other as a recorder

3. Connect the line output of your soundcard to its line input.

4. While playing the file(s) with one instance of Diamond Cut, record these files with the other.

That process should yield uncorrupted files unless something else is broken.

[Craig Maier]

I know that this question is going to pop up - - - won't something be lost by using an analog process as recommended to recover the files?

Theoretically, the answer is yes. If you have a decent soundcard, and considering that the source material was Cassette tape, the practical answer is no.

Keep in mind that the Cassette format has a S/N of around 60 dB at best and produces a few percent Harmonic distortion.

Your soundcard, on the other hand, likely has a S/N around 90 dB and contribues less than 0.01% THD. And, distortions and noise do not linearly summate. The sum the square root of the sums of their squares, so the major impact is really the original and not the analog transfer or re-transfer.

As an example, take a tape having 3 % THD and run it into a soundcard having a THD spec of 0.01 %. The net resultant file will not have a distortion of 3.01% but only 3.00002%. I know - - - it sounds illogical and it is quite counter intuitive.

[Tone Deaf]

Mt sound card is listed this way:

ATI ALL-IN-WONDER 9800 PRO
128M AGP 8X
Radeon 9800 PRO VPU
128MB DDR memory
256-bit memory interface

I don?t know any of the other specs.

Unfortunately, I have to leave now. Hope to be back later tonight. If I can't get to it then, it will be next Wednesday before I can get to it again.

[Dan McDonald]

I have had trouble with all in wonder video files not working with other programs. I don't know if that is the problem or not. The all-in-wonder seemed to make video files that were not what they said they were. I have never tried making audio files with it, though. I thought it was just a video capture card.

[Tone Deaf]

Oops, you are right. (Shows how dangerous I am using this thing). Here is my sound card info:

SB Audgy 2 ZS Audio [DE80]

Maximum standard Sampling Bits 16-bit
Maximum Standard Sampling Rate 96KHz
Channels 65525

[Tone Deaf]

One more thing before I start:

As I understand the procedure, I am supposed to start DC6 (?A?) minimized and then start a second copy of it (?B?) running minimized.

Then I use ?A? to find the individual songs I worked up in the past and, one by one, copy them with ?A? and paste each one of them to a new unique file. Then, I use ?B? to open up each unique file and immediately close it (or work on it some more, if it needs it ? and then close it).) I do not use quantize during any of this procedure (or does it make a difference?)

Next, I open up Mentor pull the files in from wherever ?B? pasted them. I then sort them into the order that works best and then tell Mentor to make the CD.

I don?t fool with Roxio at all.

[liger]

Whoa, let me get this right. The wavs did record, the new burner & software were installed and now the wavs don't record but they still play. I'm leaning toward the new hardware/software as the problem. Have you burned other wavs? Maybe create a few new wavs directly from a CD with no editing at all and try burning those for a test. I can't imagine creating an invalid wav just by spliting tracks etc, but I have seen other equally weird things with other programs.

I gotta say my kids new Dell was giving me absolute fits getting that CD burner to work. It would seem to work but the result was always a coaster. Much laughable "help" from Dell ensued including updating the driver to the out-of-date version on the Dell site. Roxio was not much better but I looked in the message boards on the Roxio site and found a link to the exact driver I needed on the Roxio site. I've had plenty of clueless "support" before but that was one of the worst.

[Dan McDonald]

I agree with liger. I feel like we've lost the original problem. Do the original (unedited) wav files still burn to CD?

[Tone Deaf]

Here is where I am on this:

After getting back and unpacking, I read the new postings. Liger?s recommendation was something I could do in a hurry, so I tried it.

I used a CD I had previously made. When the new CD burning process (Mentor) started, it went through the step of loading the music onto the hard drive with no problem, but as soon as it started burning the CD, the system froze (92% completed). I decided to go downstairs, eat lunch and come back to see if an error message had been displayed.

When I came back, the screen had turned itself into a negative image. It was locked up and the only way I could turn the system off was to hold down the power button. I realized that I had left the screen saver on, so I tried it again with it off.

The same thing happened ? freezing at 92%. I waited for quite a few minutes and nothing happened. However, something distracted my looking at the screen for a moment. When I turned back, the message said ?completed? and the CD tray was sliding out of the PC.

Since I had already tried burning the new CD with as many programs cut off as possible without it working, I thought that maybe the memory (1 gig of Corsair) had gone bad. I ran Memory 86 testing software and it found no problems.

Should I add another gig of memory? That might be part of the problem. I haven?t tried burning the new stuff again.

By the way, the old CD was about twice as long as the new one I am trying to burn.

Any and every comment/suggestion is appreciated.

[Dan McDonald]

You shouldn't need more memory. I think Liger is right and it's the burner or drivers for the burner.

[Geebster]

This thread reminds me of trying to perform open heart surgery via the telephone!!! Ha Ha.

All joking aside... This is one subject that I do know a bit about, having owned my own Computer Store/Repair facility a few years ago.

Your explanation about what is happening during your 'burns' is a classic example of a drive that is failing. Of course, I can't be sure without actually looking at it and testing it. But, about every CDR burner that I have had ultimately acted similar to your situation as it was ending it's useful life.

Memory shouldn't be an issue.

One thing that might be worth investigating before you do anything drastic is search the web for a good testing software (free ones are available) that can simulate burns with your drive and give you a report of what is going on with the drive.

Locking up and incomplete burns can also be caused by a drive suffering from a buffer under run during burning, which may also be a factor.

Without actualy seeing your set-up, computer and drive it is very difficult to diagnose via this forum. I'm just giving you a few options that may help YOU solve the problem.

GB.

[Geebster]

?G: Plextor DVDR PX-760A (Power on reset or bus device reset occurred (06/29/99)?
and
?G: Plextor DVDR PX-760A (Command sequence error- Illegal request (05/29/00)?

Hi Tone---

I just re-read through this post and didn't notice these error messages before. The first one is a serious error.

Have you burned any discs successfully since installing the new drive? I ask, because usually if you see the first error, NO discs will be burned correctly until the cause of the "power on reset" failure is determined.

My plan of attack would be to delete ANY existing burning software (including Mentor) and use a utility such as CCleaner to remove all trace files that the normal "remove" routine does not get rid of. Lingering files from previous burning software packages can lead to all sorts of trouble with drives; so I would do that as a first step. Then, I would re-install just one of the burning packages (it really doesn't matter which one), and see if your problem persists.

If it does, I would then run a diagnostics software that generates a log. This log will show any errors within the drive. Since you have a Plextor drive, I know they used to provide a very good diagnostic tool on their website for diagnosing their drives.

Depending on what the error log says, will determine what steps need to be taken from there.

I don't want to sound like a gloomy gus, but most often times when you get a "power on reset" error, and it is consistent, it usually means a faulty drive.

I hope this helps you.

GB