EAC and Nero StartSmart

[Pentastone]

Is their a difference between the two? Is one better than the other.

Thank you.

[pmonk]

For ripping - EAC (best program bar none)!!! Make sure you get the right offset correction for your drive (very important)

http://users.pandora.be/satcp/eacoffsets03.htm

For burning - I prefer Nero but EAC is also good as well as burrrn http://www.burrrn.net/temp/

[Pentastone]

I notice when burning on Nero the slowest it will go is 4x

Is that still OK or should I try something else?

Thanks for the info!

Sorry for the dumb question but what is the difference between burning and ripping?

[Five]

burning is when you make a cdr.

ripping is when you take the audio from an "audio cd". An audio cd is the kind that can play in your boombox or car player.

You need to configure EAC, then it is best for reading and writing audio cds/cdrs (see link in my signature).

For data a lot of ppl like Nero, it came with my drive so I use it all the time for that.

[Pentastone]

I only have been burning from cdr to cdr using Nero. It already came installed on my PC. Is that sufficient for the "pro" traders out there? I noticed when using Nero I can burn no slower than 4x. I sometimes see on trading rules that they want them burned at 2x or less. Which led me to believe I might try something else.

Thanks!

[Five]

things have changed for the better...

around 5 years ago everybody was doing audio cdr trades. when you copy cdr to cdr with nero the copy is not identical (this has been proven). you also can't verify like with a data cdr (altho there are ways to verify nero doesn't provide them). So each audio cdr copy adds a generation just like a cassette. It is generally a lot more perfect than an analog generation it still can add errors. Skips, clicks, even tracks that won't play all the way thru (or at all). I know firsthand because I collected a couple hundred audio cdrs back then and a bunch of them have the problems I listed above. So since I don't like getting music with glitches, I do my utmost to avoid making imperfect copies.

etree.org invented a system of keeping music bit-perfect and set the standards for trading perfect copies of audio. All the "trading" sites adopted their system with little variations reflecting the personalities of each site admin & staff.

step one is very simple, start using EAC (offsets corrected) to copy shows. Follow the EAC link in my signature for all the info because you need to configure EAC. Once you get a few more FLAC sets you'll see how we do it not just at this site but also many others.

[Pentastone]

Great! So I begin with this on your link?


*new* EAC & LAME Quickstart Manual - Get EAC and LAME up 'n running in 10 minutes

[Five]

You will want to extract to .wav. Generate a .log file and save that, too!

these are the important ones for getting started:
http://users.pandora.be/satcp/eac01.htm#-
http://users.pandora.be/satcp/eac02.htm#-
http://users.pandora.be/satcp/eac03.htm#-
http://users.pandora.be/satcp/eac07.htm#-

then these are the super-important ones explaining what offsets are and how to configure EAC for 100% accuracy:
http://users.pandora.be/satcp/eacoffsets00.htm#-
http://users.pandora.be/satcp/eacoffsets02.htm#-
http://users.pandora.be/satcp/eacoffsets03.htm#-

It takes a couple hours but it is absolutely worth it.

[Pentastone]

On the EAC options general tab it is recommended to disable power down computer and restart computer. The general tab isn't allowing me to do so. It's either I pick power down computer or restart computer. Which one do I pick?

Thanks!!!

[Ted]

I believe that only refers to "when" you use the power down/restart option. I haven't used EAC yet, but I'm thinking somewhere in there for the rip or burn process (or both), it'll ask you if you want to enable the program to either shut down or restart after the burn/rip process is finished. The choice you have in the General tab is probably to tell the program, when the shut down/restartfeature enabled, exactly what you want the program to do.

I hope that makes sense. I don't currently have a CD drive installed to check it out.

[Pentastone]

Mmmm... kinda. I'm still not sure as to leave the power down computer enabled or the restart computer enabled. The way it's set up it has to be one or the other. I have Eject CD after extraction disabled.

[Ted]

Go through the steps to do a test rip or burn and see if you have the option to enable/disable shut down/restart. If you do, then the two options on the General tab refer to when that burn/rip option is enabled. I hope that made it more clear. I've seen simliar set-ups before, it's just that I can't explain it clearly - especially when you're unfamiliar with the program and I can't check it out because I don't have the drive installed. EAC won't let me "go through the motions" without a drive.

I noticed on the Tools/Write-CDR menu option, when you click it, there is an "Options" button. It may be there that the option box I refer to is located. The "Options" box is grayed out for me, as well as most of the menu choices, so I can't give more info than that.

EDIT: Maybe another way to put it would be: Somewhere on a page in EAC, there will be a check box that will say something to the effect of, "Check here if you want EAC to shut-down/restart after finishing the burn/rip process.

IF that check box is checked, EAC will do whatever it is that you chose on the General tab. If it is not checked, what you chose on the General tab will be irrelevent.

That's about the best I can explain how I "think" it works. Go through the motions, as I said, and read all options you get and look for something that seems to fit in with what I said. If it still doesn't make sense, maybe someone who knows will be by soon to help. I'm just trying to get you going sooner ;)

[AAR.oner]

IF that check box is checked, EAC will do whatever it is that you chose on the General tab. If it is not checked, what you chose on the General tab will be irrelevent.


:thumbsup
it doesn't really matter...i think mines set to "Power Down"...it only does this when you enable the power down option during extraction...

[Pentastone]

I just went ahead and left it on the "Power down" option.

Now on the "Interface" tab it is recommended that I enable "Installed external ASPI interface". Currently the "Native Win32 interface for Win NT & 2000" is enabled and it is not allowing me to enable the correct one. What should I do???

Thanks for everything!

[AAR.oner]

i think it says you can download the external ASPI from ??? website [should say on the tab]...try that first...

if not you might want to save all yer settings and then try re-installing EAC...i never had this problem, so i'm just surmising on this

[AAR.oner]

here it is:

http://www.adaptec.com/worldwide/support/drivers_by_product.jsp?sess=no&language=English+US&cat=%2FProduct%2FASPI-4.70&prodkey=ASPI-4.70

[Pentastone]

Great! Which one do I download though??? There is a bunch of them.

[Ted]

Probably the most recent one. It looks like there are a few associated with each operating system. Just look for your OS and then download the first one in the list.

Now keep in mind that some programs may work best (or require) a certain version ASPI. I'm not sure if EAC is one of them or not. It won't hurt to try the most recent one though.

[Pentastone]

Jesus! this is frustrating....

[Ted]

Did you find the correct ASPI? If not, what OS are you using?

[uhclem]

This is the external interface that I use: http://ww2.nero.com/enu/WNASPI32.DLL.html. But copy it to your EAC folder, not your Nero folder.

I love that 'slow burn' nonsense that some traders still request. It has been resoundingly debunked that a slower burn is better.

[AAR.oner]

Great! Which one do I download though??? There is a bunch of them.

the most recent version listed for your OS...most recent being v4.71.2

[Pentastone]

I have Microsoft Windows XP so I downloaded Windows ASPI drivers version v4.71.2


It worked!!!! Heavy duty thanks!!!

[Pentastone]

I now finished this one:

http://users.pandora.be/satcp/eac07.htm#-

Could somebody please tell me where do I go from here?

[AAR.oner]

you should detect yer drive features and figure out the correct offsets, if you haven't already.

http://users.pandora.be/satcp/eac08.htm#-

http://users.pandora.be/satcp/eacoffsets00.htm#-
http://users.pandora.be/satcp/eacoffsets02.htm#-
http://users.pandora.be/satcp/eacoffsets03.htm#-

[Pentastone]

On my pull down menu it only has:

_NEC DVD-RW ND_1300A ADAPTER: 3 ID: 0 LUN: 0

Do I just go ahead with this one?

[AAR.oner]

to set drive features, you select a drive from the main window's pull-down, and then EAC > Drive Options...follow the guide from there

since you only have one drive, you'll only have set features once...otherwise, you'd select the next drive, and repeat above...

[Pentastone]

Literally lost.

[AAR.oner]

select the drive you mentioned above {NEC...} in the pulldown...then click on "EAC" in top left, select "Drive Options"...follow this link's directions http://users.pandora.be/satcp/eac08.htm#-

[AAR.oner]

if this ^^^ isn't where yer lost...what part are you stuck on?

[Pentastone]

Back on track now!

[Pentastone]

Dead again. I said F**k it and threw everything in the garbage. I'm starting all over. Which version of EAC should I download:

Exact Audio Copy V0.95 beta 2 (without CDRDAO package)

or

Exact Audio Copy V0.95 beta 2 (including CDRDAO package)

or any of the other ones listed?

Thanks for everything fellas.

[AAR.oner]

sorry Pentastone...just got back to the comp...sorry you had to start over [i did the same when i first got EAC tho]...once you get it set, you'll see its worth it tho

i use v0.95b2 with CDRDAO...for extraction purposes, i'm pretty sure it doesn't matter which...