my experience with roxio easycd creator 5 and xp.

[modemfreak]

Hi all,

I finally got everything to work correctly. (including DirectCD 5)

This is what i have.

CD-Burner: Lite-On LTR-24102B (24/10/40) (with latest firmware 5S5A)

Operating System: Windows XP Professional (not SP1)

CD-Burning Software:

Roxio EasyCD Creator 5 (install first - without rebooting) - then install the latest update "Updates Easy CD Creator 5.0x Platinum to version 5.3.2 - ecdc_v5.3.2.34_plt_enu.exe"

The CDRW I used for packet-writting is: 700MB (80Min), CMC Magnetics 10X CDRW (16X read, 10X write)

-after format with directcd 5.3.2.34 (size is 573MB - sounds correct)


Nero Burning Rom 5.5.8.2 (and most importantly - InCD 3.4.00 (newest))


Regular installation applied here - nero first, then incd.

-packet writing works like a charm.
-all other burning functions are working fine too.



Note:

Before this try, I have never really get DirectCD 5 and InCD to work on XP Pro. (my other pc with EasyCD Creator 4 - which came with the pc worked so well, i end up burning there almost all the time - before this new discovery of course)

*I felt, the firmware update for my Lite-On Drive made "some" significant difference, and more CDRW medias are compatible with my drive now.

Since both burning softwares are working flawlessly, I am not complaining.

I just want to share my experience, so if people with similar setup, can maybe try what i did for installation, and hope for the best.



Dave.

[dodecahedron]

CD-Burning Software:

Roxio EasyCD Creator 5 (install first - without rebooting) - then install the latest update "Updates Easy CD Creator 5.0x Platinum to version 5.3.2 - ecdc_v5.3.2.34_plt_enu.exe"

The CDRW I used for packet-writting is: 700MB (80Min), CMC Magnetics 10X CDRW (16X read, 10X write)

-after format with directcd 5.3.2.34 (size is 573MB - sounds correct)


Nero Burning Rom 5.5.8.2 (and most importantly - InCD 3.4.00 (newest))


Regular installation applied here - nero first, then incd.

-packet writing works like a charm.
-all other burning functions are working fine too.



Note:

Before this try, I have never really get DirectCD 5 and InCD to work on XP Pro. (my other pc with EasyCD Creator 4 - which came with the pc worked so well, i end up burning there almost all the time - before this new discovery of course)

*I felt, the firmware update for my Lite-On Drive made "some" significant difference, and more CDRW medias are compatible with my drive now.

Since both burning softwares are working flawlessly, I am not complaining.

????????????????
do you have DirectCD and InCD both installed and working concurrently on your system? and things are working fine?
i've read many many posts (from people far more experienced than me in burning matters) that said that having both packet-writing programs on the system simultaneously is bad, they don't coexist. burns don't work, system becomes unstable.

can you clarify?

[modemfreak]

what happened in sequence if it matter is that.
i had

1. Nero 5.5.8.2 installed first.
2. then InCD 3.4.0.0 (lastest)
3. then Roxio EasyCD Creator 5 (with the latest update 5.3.2.34)
-which included DirectCD 5 *also updated to 5.3.2.34


So now, yes, I do have both incd and DirectCD5 on my xp pro box.
-both of them work just fine.
-recognition of CDRW after format for packet-writing is flawless.
-both format works (directCD or incd)
-and drag-drop burning works flawless too.

-my pc is so stable. (no shutdown problems. no fail startups)
-no burning program crashed (not even once)

my pc hasn't even crash for 3 months already.




Dave.

[Inertia]

Very interesting. There must be some WinXP magic involved. I just tried loading InCD 3.40 on a Win98 system that already had the latest Easy CD Creator and Nero software along with DirectCD.

No surprises. After bootup, as expected a message came up which stated that DirectCD could find no supported drives. The InCD tray icon was there, and although I didn't try it, I will assume that it worked. I didn't try it because it seemed (as expected) that InCD had caused a problem for DirectCD. InCD 3.40 doesn't cause a blue screen type of conflict because it simply renames five Roxio device driver files in C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\IOSUBSYS and changes them from VXD virtual device drivers to inactive BAK files. These files are ABCHLPR, CDR4VSD, CDRALVSD, CDUDF, and CDUDFRW. This totally deactivates DirectCD so that it can't be opened.

modemfreak, your report is really amazing. I wonder what unknow powers exist in WinXP to allow you to use DirectCD and InCD simultaneously without conflict (not to mention disabling the DirectCD drivers). Since you say they are both operating, when you drag & drop how do you know which program is working? Or do you think they are both working at the same time?

After uninstalling InCD 3.40 and renaming the five Roxio files to their VXD file extension, after rebooting DirectCD again works normally.

In fairness, since I didn't load the software in the order that you used, I installed InCD 3.40 again and renamed the Roxio files back to the correct VXD extension so that both would be active. There was no blue screen on bootup, and it was possible to have both the DirectCD and InCD icons in the system tray. I first tried to format a CD-RW in Mt. Rainier. The format was fast and seemed successful and seemed to be recognized by InCD. I then tried to access the file in Explorer, but it showed up as a blank disc (unwritable). It was also recognized as a blank disc by DirectCD. When the disc was formatted in DirectCD (EasyWrite), the format took longer but when it was finished the system recognized it. InCD recognized it as well. Based on these results, at least with Mt. Rainier (EasyWrite), it appears that both programs do not actually work together (at least in Win98SE with Mt. Rainier). Although both programs seem active, it appears that DirectCD takes precedence for controlling the recognized format and writing properties.

In any event, in spite of the entertaining experiment, I still feel that trying to use these two programs together is a bad idea.

[modemfreak]

hi INERTIA.

thanks for the reply.

to be even more clear about my actual "experience"

1.) during xp startup (NOW), directcd 5 doesn't autostart, only INCD.
2.) therefore, directcd 5 can still be opened after INCD. (don't know about vice versa - i will check this to be sure - reply tomorrow)

3.) but i do remember, because it DIDN'T work for me until NOW.
- i know what the startup/shutdown problem that DirectCD 5 and EasyCD Creator can bring.
-this is WHY i tell people to install the updates first (before rebooting)
-meaning: no reboot until the easycd creator setup and updating process are both completed.

4.) Yes, i am not sure which one is at work, during the drag-and-drop burning. (but i know how to find it out. - i will reply tomorrow)

*one thing for certain. they CANNOT be both working at the same time.

5.) The formatting process right now if for sure, SEPARATE.
-InCD 3.4.0.0 INDEED formats faster than DirectCD5.


6.) Yes, DirectCD seems to pickup (mount) the formatted CDRW faster than InCD. but both of them do recognize the Formatted CDRW, and EVEN before formatting.

*Actually, when I insert a new CDRW (not formatted) --> InCD actually picks it up faster than DirectCD5 *intersting, isn't??



*Personally, I can understand your point of view, people can CERTAINLY avoid a lot of problems by not installing too many softwares, and too many different softwares for the same functionality.

As Long As It Works, WHY try to make it better, or WHY fix it?





But this is still simply an amazing experience, nontheless.

*I really hope my experience can HELP people with similar setup,
or help people to COME UP with a fool-proof procedure to install these two popular cd-burning (packet-writing in this case) softwares,

and to use both of them at will.




Dave.

[Inertia]

Hi, modemfreak

After thinking about this overnight, I decided to replicate your experiment. I did a fresh install in WinXP Pro SP1 of Nero 5.5.9.17 and InCD 3.40. I then installed Easy CD Creator 5.3.2.34.

The reason I did this is because the Win98SE experiment didn't have the same conditions, and especially because WinXP doesn't use the VXD virtual device driver files that Win98/ME installs. Since WinXP addresses the programs in a different way, I wanted to see how it would handle the simultaneous operation of both.

All program installations loaded without incident, and again both tray icons were available for both InCD and DirectCD. My first experiment was to use InCD to reformat a CD-RW previously formatted by DirectCD. The format appeared to proceed properly and renamed the disc to "InCD", closing by stating that disc was now formatted and ready to use. When the disc was checked in DirectCD and Explorer, it was identified as "EasyWrite_1", which was the name given by the original DirectCD format. Even InCD could find only "EasyWrite_1", and the "InCD" name for the disc had disappeared. This supposed InCD format did not overwrite the name given by the previous DirectCD format, but the disc still retained a format usable by both programs. The name change can easily be done manually in InCD Properties if desired.

I then erased the disc and formatted the blank disc again with InCD. This time the "InCD" name stuck and the disc was recognized with that name by DirectCD. It is also writeable with DirectCD, so your previous statement that a disc can be formatted with either program in WinXP is true, especially if it is a blank disc to start with.

As far as your comments:

1.) during xp startup (NOW), directcd 5 doesn't autostart, only INCD.
2.) therefore, directcd 5 can still be opened after INCD. (don't know about vice versa - i will check this to be sure - reply tomorrow)

Both InCD and DirectCD are active at WinXP startup. The only difference is that the InCD tray icon is installed by default and can't be disabled by software. In contrast, the DirectCD tray icon is not available by default, but must be selected in the DirectCD format utility | Options | Show Icon in System Tray. Whether or not the DirectCD icon shows in the tray or not is irrelevant to the operation of the program. It is still active all of the time.

InCD does indeed format faster, but in my opinion this is because DirectCD is more stringent in verifying structures and generally more conservative in checking the disc reliability before releasing it for writing.

This is indeed an interesting experiment, and shows that major progress has been made in packet writing software compatibility, at least in WinXP.

[modemfreak]

hi Inertia,

we are really making some progress here aren't we. (thanks to your confirmational experiment - appreciate it)
(now we know Windows XP Pro SP1 works with such unique setup - not that is required or anything)


1. Yes, you were correct about directcd.exe and incd.exe being loaded on xp pro startup. (i just didn't look carefully enough yesterday)

2. As for which software is actually doing the burning of files after format.
- I am not 100% sure which one (directcd or incd) is doing the burning.
-but I did find one thing, the cpu usage (in %) of Explorer.exe increases during the burn.

but directcd and incd stayed the same.

*can this be indicative that explorer.exe has taken over the burning??


3. I saw your post at the other thread: "I started with a clean install of EZCD 5.02, which does not recognize my burner. I disregarded the nonrecognition message and did not select the option to reboot. Instead, I immediately installed the update to v.5.3.2.34 and then rebooted."

One thing you reminded me is that. I also have the EZCD 5.02b version for Windows XP Pro. and I also went through EXACTLY the same procedure as you. (This might be crucial of a step after all)
Bypass the reboot process (even thou CDRW drive NOT recognized (same for me)) and then install updates, then reboot.


*see if we can get more people to do this. more confirmation the better.


But I really do hope this sequence of experiments can help people with packet-writing. (hate seeing tonnes of people with CDRWs and CD-Burners but can only burn as CDRs.)




Dave.