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NutmegCT

NutmegCT

Great Pumpkin
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So last night I decide I want to burn some audio files from HD to CD.

On my Mac, I just drag the files onto the desktop icon of the blank CD-R and click File/Burn to Audio CD. Takes about 5 minutes to fill the entire CD.

So I inserted the blank CD-R in the Mac's CD burner drive. No disk showed on desktop. After some diagnostics, I determined the drive itself had died.

So I trundled upstairs and cranked up my WinXP desktop. After logging in, I got "important updates have been made - you must restart".

I restarted.

Went to Firefox and got "Firefox has updated - you must restart". Restarted FF and got "AdBlocker has updated - you must restart FF".

So *now* I can download those audio files (again) and burn 'em. Yeah right.

Went to the website (it's a free "white noise" file set) and saw "Your browser is not compatible with certain Java applications on this website. Please go to https://www.java.com and get the latest version".

Did that, and of course, restarted the computer after installation of the updates.

OK - now I can get those white noise files. Managed to download the files, then inserted the blank CD-R in the CD writer drive.

Opened up RealPlayer which I have always used for CD burning on the Windows box. Chose the files to burn, then got "no writable disk detected - please insert writable disk".

Hmm - ejected the disk and re-inserted. Same message. Ejected the disk, then inserted another brand new out of the box disk. Same message.

Closed down RealPlayer and started Roxio. Same message about "no disk inserted".

Did some googling, and found that one of the MicroSoft CD writer "services" needs to load manually, not automatically. Went to Admin, loaded the service, then restarted Roxio. Same "no disk inserted" message.

OK - it's now been over an hour and still no files on the disk. So I closed down Roxio, and used CD Burner XP Pro, which I've used before to make bootable ISO disks.

Yes! It finds the disk and allows me to burn the files. As it's doing a "test" burn first, it will take about an hour, and as it's 11pm I just let it run and go to bed.

Get up this morning and .. tada! There's a message on the screen: CDBurnerPro is not compatible with your Java app (or something like that). Please restart CDBurnerPro.

So after a few colorful verbal expressions, I restarted and set it to "don't use Java". Burn actually started immediately, but after about two minutes, I kept getting "Windows has updated and must be restarted". It's one of those wonderful Windows messages with the countdown button - if you don't keep clicking "restart later" it will automatically shut down and restart the system. And of course kick out the CD burn which is in progress.

Oh joy.

So after clicking Restart Later every 60 seconds for 30 minutes, I finally got my CD burned.

Does this happen to you guys too? Man, with the Mac, I just drag the files to the desktop icon and click Burn to Audio CD.

But with Windows ... oy. Bill Gates is retiring. Bill, we're gonna miss ya:

https://youtube.com/watch?v=5NoGbLI3ePA

Tom
 
How old is that computer? Takes me about 4 minutes to burn a full CD.
 
I agree, there's something seriously wrong with that computer. All "services" are loaded automatically unless manually turned off or set to manual start. If you have to load IMAP manually to burn a CD then something is screwed up in your settings.

A few other thoughts about what might be going on...

Your first mistake was using Real Player. It's a horrible, invasive program that causes nothing but problems. If you must view Real content, use a free viewer, not the Real Player suite.

Second mistake was not keeping up on your updates! Windows is the most commonly used operating system in the world, so it's very important to keep it updated for security.

You don't need a million different applications to burn a CD. I find the built-in "drag and drop" style limiting so I use Nero instead. Drag the files into the application, click burn, and a few minutes later I have a CD.

Do your long overdue updates, including antivirus software and definitions, and run an Ad Aware scan to make sure nothing slipped onto the system while it was vulnerable!
 
/bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/iagree.gif
On the Real Player Program, It`s Horrible for spreading it`s tennacles through out your system and very hard to completely remove once it`s there, I also Use Nero for burning cd`s, I find it very reliable and easy to use. Although I still use win 98 myself I have four other P.C.`s here that have xp and vista, that bieng said we have had very simular problems of which you speak with each and every one of them. Returning to a restore point may help somewhat. On occasion I have even had to resort to a complete op sys re-instal to rid xp and vista both of seemingly incurable problems. I rather doubt that your cd rom is defective, I rather think it is a program or programs conflicts causing the problems. {I`m no P.C. Guru tho}.
 
3rd party software is responsible for 80% of all problems with Windows. Then again, 42.9% of all statistics are made up. /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smile.gif

Seriously though, I never install programs I don't need on any OS, whether Windows or OSX.
 
This is why I detest using my computer at work and my laptop; both are running Windows, both take forever to finish booting, and they tend to need updates applied frequently. My desktop at home running Linux has no such headaches of needing to reboot frequently, and yes, burning a CD is a drag and drop affair. The downside is I can't get my Garmin GPS software to run under Wine, so I still need Windows on my laptop to run that.
 
Thanks for all the suggestions.

Note that the hassle wasn't "overdue" updates - it was a series of updates of various programs that were mutually dependent. You don't get notice of an update due until you run the program. Then you do the required update and it causes a problem with another program. Yeesh.

By the way, the "no writable disk detected - please insert writable disk" problem exists for hundreds (thousands?) of folks regardless of which app is used to burn CD-Rs, including Windows's own CD Burning Wizard. Take a look at:

https://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=324129#

Unfortunately the hundreds of various online suggestions to fix this haven't worked, and of course, the problem is the mechanic's favorite kind: "frequent but not always".

Actually, I just posted this to see if any of you guys felt the same impatience I feel when you're slowed down by frequent updates and "interlocking" dependencies of various apps. Especially combined with the almost complete lack of such a hassle on a Mac.

Onward through the fog!

Tom
PS - anybody enjoy the YouTube clip?
 
NutmegCT said:
Especially combined with the almost complete lack of such a hassle on a Mac.
Click to expand...
A close friend of mine got a Ipod nano as a present this Christmas. She tried to load music on it and got a “you need to update iTunes” message. She downloaded the new iTunes and it wouldn’t install ‘cause she had OSX 10.39 and iTunes needed 10.41. So she BUYS 10.41 only to find out her 3-year-old computer won’t work with that version. Don’t even get me started on backward compatibility of the iPhone. /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/crazyeyes.gif
 
Greg - I hear you there. That's why I'm 101% sure to check "system requirements" before I buy any new hardware.

What burns me much more, is the Windows "automatic system updates" that keep spewing forth even when you don't get any new hardware at all. And they can cause conflicts with non-Microsoft apps.

argh.

Tom
 
I’d say a good majority of the updates are security related. You can turn automatic updates off quite easily. In XP click Start-Settings-Control Panel-Automatic Updates. Then turn it off. You can then go to Microsoft’s website and download only the updates you want.
 
I always disable automatic updates in Windows, but you have to remember to do it manually now and then to stay current with OS and web security. By clicking "custom" instead of "express" when prompted, you can choose which updates you want and which you don't.

I also don't allow any software applications to automatically update themselves. More often than not, application updates introduce new marketing techniques that create privacy issues. If I determine that there is a new version of a program that I use which doesn't look intrusive, then I will allow the update. A good example is Firefox. Software I never allow to update under any circumstances include instant messaging apps.

I've seen the "insert disc" error many times with the built-in IMAP software, but I rarely if ever use it. I've never had the issue with Nero.
 
CD/DVD burns are done here the same way as sparkydave. Toss in a blank, pick the tunes, burn the thing. Minutes.


What's an "update?" A better lookin' date than th' last one? /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/jester.gif
 
On all my "PCs" all I do is start Nero, tell it I'm making an audio CD (assuming that's what I want to do), drag my audio files (wav, mp3, I think aac too) to the disk, burn, and 2-4 minutes later it's done.

Like Steve said, I turn off automatic updates on almost everything. I look at the updates and decide if I want them or not, and if it's a major update I read up on it first to see how other people are doing with it - particularly if its dealing with an Apple-made device or application (strangely enough).
 
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