crackling, popping, fuzzy...

[songsdream]

When I burn a CD, it's all fuzzy, crackling, popping. It's driving me crazy!
If this continues I'm afraid I might do something I just might regret. (like smash my drive with a hammer and throw it out my third story window)

*takes breath the calm down*

So anyway I've tried turning DMA on the drives, burning it really slow, disk at once, track at once, bought brand name media... I don't know what else to do!! Is it just a bad burner? Did I get a lemon?

Thanks for anybody who can shed some lite-on this,
ave

I am using Nero 5.5.8.1
Optorite Lite-On CW4002
40x12x40

[burninfool]

Assuming you updated the firmware and ASPI,I would say the laser is dirty.

[songsdream]

What is "ASPI"?

Can old firmware cause a problem like this?

[songsdream]

how does one go about cleaning a laser? This thing is pretty new!

ave

[burninfool]

What is "ASPI"?

Can old firmware cause a problem like this?

ASPI=Advanced Scsi Programming Interface.It allows your drives to communicate with OS,go to www.adaptec.com and d/l latest.
If your drive is new the firmware should be o.k. but update is all else fails.
Lens cleaners can be bought at any record/computer store.
Update Nero: www.nero.com
If none of that helps then exchange drive,sometimes you get a lemon.

[songsdream]

should I still use ASPI even if I don't have a Scsi drive? (I have an internal IDE drive I think)

[Ian]

What drive are you using to read the audio CD? The Optorite? Are you burning on the fly from one drive to another?

[burninfool]

should I still use ASPI even if I don't have a Scsi drive? (I have an internal IDE drive I think)

You must have a ASPI layer installed for your drives(IDE or SCSI) to function.Go to www.adaptec.com and d/l aspichk.exe,it will tell you the status of your system.
Ian brought up a good point..I recommend CDex(free) to rip to HD first www.cdex.n3.net

[cfitz]

No, don't install and/or worry about ASPI. That is a red herring. Nero takes care of all that stuff itself.

Have you scanned the CD's with Nero's CD Speed scan disc function to see if there are errors on the discs? That is the first step.

cfitz

[CCampbell]

Yes, you should upgrade your ASPI layer even for IDE Recorders.

And make sure you do have the latest firmware for your model recorder, as this can defineately cause the symptoms you are seeing.

And try this. Place an Audio CD in your Recorder, and then use the CD Copy function in Nero to copy the CD, using your recorder as both source and destination. Does this produce a good CD?

And also try this: Place an audio CD in your Recorder, use Nero's Recorder>Save Tracks to extract 5 to 10 songs from the CD to your HD. Then play the songs on your HD to make sure you do not here any crackling or pops. If you do, then your recorder has issue. Either needs to have its firmware upgraded, or needs service. If the songs are fine, then go head and use Nero to burn these audio files back to CD using the Audio CD format. Do you have problems with this CD?

DO NOT USE ANY LENS CLEANER devices that you would use on a CDROM or DVDROM drive, as these will damage the optical head on your recorder. If the drive is in warranty, it's best to send the unit in for service. If it's out of warranty, and you wish to attempt to clean the optical head yourself, open the unit up and very very lightly dab at the optical head unit using an Anti-Static cloth to clean it. DO NOT USE ANY Alcohol products on the lens, as this will just make matters worse.


Regards,

Craig

[cfitz]

Yes, you should upgrade your ASPI layer even for IDE Recorders.

What? Ahead recommends installing system-level ASPI in lieu of the ASPI included with Nero? Craig, did you understand what they were talking about? They were discussing installing Adaptec's system-level ASPI layer. Every installation of Nero I have ever used has worked just fine without Adaptec ASPI installed, using just the Nero ASPI DLL included in the Program Files\Ahead\Nero directory. And that should already be up to date if the latest Nero is installed. Moreover, installing Adpatec's ASPI layer is known to cause problems for some people. Finally, neither XP nor 2000 require system-level installations ASPI for access to ATAPI devices.

Would you care to revise your advice, or is this a new policy of Ahead?

cfitz

[songsdream]

What drive are you using to read the audio CD? The Optorite? Are you burning on the fly from one drive to another?

I'm trying to burn Mp3s to a CD.

ave

[cfitz]

1. Upgrade Nero to the latest version.

2. Test the burned discs with CD Speed as I mentioned earlier.

3. Are you burning mp3 files to an ISO 9660 data disc, or converting them into CDA format and burning a CD Audio disc?

4. What drive are you using to play back the CDs?

5. Try playing the discs in a different drive.

6. Are the mp3 files clean when played directly from the hard disc?

7. No such thing as an Optorite LiteOn. You just have an Optorite. LiteOn never even made a 40x12x40 drive.

8. Do not install Adaptec ASPI layer. If you already have it installed and don't need it for another program, you might consider downloading ForceASPI and uninstalling the Adaptec ASPI layer.

cfitz

[CCampbell]

Hi cfitz,

Don't get me wrong, Nero does use the Nero ASPI located in the Nero directory. And only when this file is missing from the directory will it default to the System ASPI.

And we most defineately prefer customers to use our Nero ASPI with our Nero software.

But as you are aware, there are other programs that use the System ASPI so it's best to have the latest. Though it will not afect Nero directly.

Regards,

Craig

[cfitz]

Okay thanks. I was hoping you would confirm my statement that Nero does not require a system-level ASPI installation. Sometimes one post like your first, taken out of context and misunderstood, can spread on the Internet to create a lot of confusion. We don't want people incorrectly asserting "I read somewhere from an Ahead representative that you need Adaptec ASPI to run Nero." That, of course, is completely wrong. So I am glad you took the time to officially quash that possible misunderstanding.

cfitz

[CowboySlim]

Hey, I just got here myself, so I don't really know what's going on.

But it seems to me Dave may be trying to burn *.mp3 files to a CD-R to be used in a car stereo, boombox or other player that supports mp3.

Furthermore, I can't infer where he hears the "snapping". However, it seems reasonable that if one hears snapping on one player, it should be heard on all.

OTH, I've made what appear to be perfectly good CD-As they play OK on the PC, but then can't be read on my boombox or Jeep stereo.

Slim

[cfitz]

Hey, I just got here myself, so I don't really know what's going on.

But it seems to me Dave may be trying to burn *.mp3 files to a CD-R to be used in a car stereo, boombox or other player that supports mp3.

Unfortunately, you aren't the only one who doesn't know what is going on. Songsdream (Dave) didn't give enough information to allow anyone to know what is going on. For example, as you point out, it isn't even clear whether he is burning mp3 files to a data disc or making a CD audio disc. One of my earlier questions addressed just this issue, but songsdream hasn't yet replied. Until he does, there probably isn't much point in offering additional help. We are shooting blind, and don't even know if he is still interested. If he is still having problems and takes the initiative to help us help him, then we can try to address his problems.

OTH, I've made what appear to be perfectly good CD-As they play OK on the PC, but then can't be read on my boombox or Jeep stereo.

That is not an unheard of phenomenon. Audio CD players, particularly older ones, often have a hard time reading CD-R or CD-RW media since many weren't specifically designed to be able to. PC drives, though, are designed with CD-R and CD-RW media in mind.

cfitz