This is a personal set of recommendations on starting with your new CD Recorder. The fundamental idea is K.I.S.S. - Keep It Simple, Stupid.
1. Install your system - follow instructions.
No, you don't have to do it this way. You can hang the drive wherever
convenient on the bus, run other software, terminate in ways that are not
recommended. And all of that may work. But just for the heck of it,
start off by following the instructions. Then, if it doesn't work, you call up
the manufacturer and get useful information on fixing it.
2. Prepare your system to burn a CD-R.
If the software that comes with your drive does not run in your preferred OS,
don't run it there. Clear out enough space on your HD to be sure you can burn a
CD-R. To be certain, use a drive (IDE or SCSI/AV) with 1,000 MB free. Ideally,
use a separate drive from that on which your temporary files are stored. Make
certain that all drives that may be used are fully defragmented.
3. Burn a simple data disc first.
Even though you will ultimately be doing much more difficult things, start out
with the easy case: All data, Mode 1, files on the hard drive. For example,
back up all of your C: drive files that will fit and that are not open while
you burn. That means, exclude your CD-writing software folder/directory and the
Windows and system directories. It's useful to have that backup disc anyway,
but the main reason for this is to be sure that you can burn a disc.
While you're at it, make that first disc Disk At Once (DAO). Again, when you can do that, you can use Track At Once (TAO) and multiple sessions to see what they do. Try Digital Audio Extraction (DAE) from your CD-ROM reader or from your CD-R; play with copying a CD-ROM, then a CD; make an ISO file on the HD and burn that; and otherwise check the bells and whistles. But do those one at a time, after you know that the basic setup works.
4. One at a time, add functions and modify configuration to make the
system work as you wish.
You will probably be able to run a SCSI CD-R on the same adapter that manages
your other devices, even those (Jaz drive, HD, CD-ROM) that will be in use with
your CD-R. You probably will succeed with various positions on the chain for
the reader and with various terminations. But to attempt a complex installation
first would mean that any error messages you get will be unique to your system
- and none of the manufacturers involved will be willing or able to help you
solve the problem. If you make the system work in the manufacturer's
configuration, then move one step at a time, you can find out why one of them
fails and fix it. If you do three at a time ... forget it!
The same rule holds with other modes, mixed formats, audio files compiled from multiple sources and the other sources of flexibility you will ultimately want for full exploitation of your hardware. Going one step at a time will cost you a few blanks, but will save you endless hours of frustration and save the people who are willing to help you even more.
5. Don't use untried shortcuts.
It would be wonderful if your 12x IDE CD reader fed digital data to your CD-R,
but it probably won't. You will want a good CD-ROM to do extract digital audio
quickly and cleanly instead of beating your head against an uncooperative
manufacturer's wall of stubbornness. Or use your CD-R as a reader and make an
image. Sure, it takes a little longer, but it works. And if you're going to
write at 4x, it doesn't matter whether your reader will run at 8x or 48x - it
won't read files any faster than they can be written. (Note, too, that the fact
that your reader will work at high speed for other functions does not mean that
it can do DAE comparably quickly. An 8x reader may not be able to extract
digital audio at all; if it does, it may only do so at 2x, or even at 1x. If
you must do high-speed DAE, ask around to find a reader that may do it,
optimize your system - and hope.)
The same rule applies to your hard drive. It may well be possible to use a single, multi-gigabyte drive for CD-R and the rest of the things you want of your system, but why? A second drive will set you back $100 or so, and that's a bargain. So is getting enough RAM.
Without buffer-underrun protection, the fundamental requirement for a successful burn on a CD-R is maintaining a steady flow of data. Anything that interrupts that flow will create a coaster instead of a usable disc. If you are getting coasters, turn off anything you can on your computer that is not needed to burn the disc: screen savers, AV monitors, fax receivers. A defragged hard drive won't waste time while the heads seek the next data item. If you're copying a lot of small files, you will want to make an ISO file for the same reason. Again, you may get away with violating those rules, but until you know your system and its capabilities, don't take the chance.
E-mail me at cdrecording@mrichter.com
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