MakeCD FAQ

Table of Contents

Frequently Asked Questions

Please carefully read through the FAQ before attempting to contact the authors for support - you may find the answer in the FAQ.

Questions regarding support/registration

Question (A question ...):
I have a question for you...
Answer:
Sure, but please make sure you have the following details:
Serial number
The serial number can be found in the About window. This is not the number that you type in for registration! We reserve the right to help registered customers only.
Version number
You can also find the version number of MakeCD-FAQ in the About window.
Hardware configuration
This includes in particular the exact version numbers for your SCSI host adapter and CD burner.
Software configuration
This includes all the programs you have stated before encountering a problem with MakeCD-FAQ, as well as programs in `SYS:WBStartup' and `S:User-Startup'.

Question (Hi authors, I'm stuck):
I purchased MakeCD-FAQ from company XYZ and have the following problem: ...
Answer:
Please direct your question to XYZ or to the support address under @xref{MSUPP, Support, Support}. Please do not try to contact the authors of MakeCD-FAQ directly, since this takes up time that could otherwise be spent improving MakeCD-FAQ.

Question (Registration number cannot be saved):
I have typed in my registration number and address and saved. But when I next run MakeCD-FAQ, I'm asked for the registration number again. Why?
Answer:
You are probably trying to register MakeCD-FAQ on a partition with AFS (AMIGA File Safe) and are using a version of AFS that is older than 16.16. Update the AFS and the registration should work.

Question (Mailing lists):
Is there a mailing list for MakeCD-FAQ?
Answer:
Yes. You can read more about this under @xref{SMLLS, Mailing lists, Mailing Lists}.

Question (High serial number):
Wow! I have just registered and noticed how high the serial number is. You have a lot of registered users!
Answer:
Appearances can be deceptive. We don't want our rivals to know how many (or how few) registered users we have, so the registration number is designed to hide this.

Question (Latest version of MakeCD-FAQ):
I am a registered user of MakeCD-FAQ and would like the latest version. Where can I get it from?
Answer:
If you have Internet access, simply visit our home page: http://makecd.core.de/. If you do not have Internet access, please contact the company that supplied you with MakeCD-FAQ. If you registered MakeCD-FAQ directly from the authors, you can use the registration form to order a free demo version (you pay the postage and packaging only -- 5 DM within Europe, 10 DM outside Europe). This offer is limited to one floppy per letter. Enter your registration number in this demo version to turn it into a new, registered version. If you are not telling us which version you are actualy using, you will get the actual version. If you tell us which version you have, we will make sure not to send you the same version again. You can save yourself time by paying for updates in advance. For example, if you would like to be sent the next three updates, please send us three times the postage and packaging fee (in this case 15 DM within Europe, 30 DM outside Europe) with a covering letter stating that you would like to be sent the next three updates. Please don't take this to excesses - there may not be as many updates as you pay for! Incidentally, you do not have to be registered to order the demo version. The offer is open to all unregistered users too, who perhaps are using old versions of MakeCD-FAQ and are interested to see what the latest version offers.

Problems with specific CD-burners

Question (Philips CDD 2600 reads incorrect data):
I have a Philips CDD 2600 and when reading audio CDs with this burner many errors occur -- especially when I try to read the outer regions of a music CD. Has this anything to do with the firmware version? I am still using the original firmware version 1.07.
Answer:
This is the official response from Philips:

Tests have shown that the CDD2600 is not 100% reliable when reading audio CDs or packet written CDs at 6x speed. This problem is caused by the hardware and can *not* be solved via a firmware upgrade.

You can get round the problem by reducing the speed for audio CDs in the settings to single or double speed.

With MakeCD-FAQ you are able to get round this problem be setting the speed for audio CDs down to single or double speed in its preferences.

Question (Burner does not read short data tracks):
My HP_Burner (presumably a Philips) will not read pressed CDs with just one track (a short data track).
Answer:
This is the official response from HP:

HP is aware of an issue reading certain pressed CD-ROM disks with a single track. The most important factor relating to this problem is the data size of the disk. Disks with more than 27MB are likely not to have this problem. The less data on the disc, the bigger the chance the CD cannot be read.

Only a very small percentage of CD-ROM disks fall in this category. However there are two CD-R specific applications which may be affected:

  1. Adaptec Easy CD Pro
  2. Seagate Backup.

Analysis of the issue is almost complete as of mid-April. Due to component level work that needs to occur, a delivery date for the fix in not yet available. An exchange will ultimately need to occur when the fix is available.

Communication has gone out to small application developers and should minimize the issue in the long term. Updates will be communicated via the WWW at http://www.hp.com/isgsupport/cdr/ as to when the fix will be made available.

While work is being completed by HP and its partners to fix the issue, it is recommended that the disc be read by a standard CD-ROM in the system.

Thank You
Debbie
SureStore Support

Question (Write append error):
I frequently operate my HP 4020 CD-burner (or Philips CDD 2000, Grundig, or similar) in test mode and everything runs perfectly. But if I turn off the test mode, after a while the CD-Rs are trashed. MakeCD-FAQ responds with: "write append error". This has never happened in test mode, but is very frequent when test mode is off. My friend has the same CD-burner. He did not have this problem when the burner was new, but now, some time later, he is getting the same problems. What has gone wrong?
Answer:
You most probably have a faulty CD-burner. You burner needs to be repaired. A new firmware or a new version of MakeCD-FAQ will not help in this case. A user claimed on Internet that HP expressed surprise that a user managed to burn 200 blanks using a SureStore 4020 before this error occurred. Alexander Becker <alex@enjoy.regio.net> reported in <5eu67r$1q0@enjoy.regio.net> on 25.2.1997 that HP sent him new blanks without objection after he called them and faxed in the bill - he also claimed that he was even refunded the cost of the burner. Other users have even exchanged their burners two or three times --- without long term success -- and have eventually been refunded. One of the beta testers for MakeCD-FAQ has told us that the following firm has good support for defect burners: Repair 2000 Hardware Service GmbH
Werkstrasse 5
22844 Norderstedt
Deutschland
Tel.: 040 5225031 (ask for Mr. Peter and describe the problem)
Fax: 040 5264811 If you are dexterous, you may be able to resolve the problem by thoroughly cleaning the burner yourself (remove any dust, and oil the carriage with a suitable lubricant). Any repair that you attempt is at your own risk and we cannot and will not offer you further advice on repairing units yourself.

Question (Problems with Phase 5 host adapter):
I have a Phase 5 SCSI host adapter and CD burning simply doesn't work for me. What can I do?
Answer:
Make sure that you are using at least version 8.1 of your SCSI driver. For example, type version full 1230scsi.device (you may have to replace 1230scsi.device with another name) and check if you have version 8.1 or higher. If not, obtain an update from Phase 5.

Question (All sorts of problems):
I am having all sorts of problems with my CD-burner. Sometimes fixing fails, sometimes the written data cannot be read, sometimes the wrong directory is shown, sometimes a silly error report crops up, or the burner hangs. I am totally dissatisfied. What can I do?
Answer:
There have been several people with one or more of the above problems. It is difficult to find the cause from a distance, although we have been able to help some people.
  1. Use quality media only. If you have problems, try a few media of another brand. You can read about the experience of other MakeCD-FAQ users with regards to certain blank brands in `doc/Compatibility'. Try those media reported as the most reliable.
  2. Check your cabling and the termination of you SCSI chain. Try to shorten the SCSI chain to its minimum. Only use thick SCSI cables with good shielding. Please avoid cheap cables!
  3. Boot with a virgin OS installation and without additional tools, then try MakeCD-FAQ. Hacks sometimes cause programs to malfunction.
  4. Do you smoke in the vicinity of your CD-burner? If yes, you should certainly try cleaning the lense of your CD-burner. A user who smokes has told us that he has burnt the first half of a CD with a dirty lense and the second half with a cleaned lense. The difference on the CD-R was clearly visible -- and CD-Rs burnt with the cleaned lense worked suddendly properly again. Similar problems can also be experienced by non-smokers -- e.g. through candles or dust.
  5. Try connecting your CD-burner to another power supply unit. One user has enormous problems with his brand new Yamaha CDR 200, used with an (AMIGA and a PC. Fixing often failed and the written tracks could not be read in many drives. He was using a PC mains adapter for the CD-burner. He tried the burner with the A3000 mains adapter, and suddenly everything started working perfectly --- similar to a cleaned lense (see above). There was presumably a defect with his PC mains adapter. A similar fault is also imaginable if the mains adapter is overloaded. The nasty thing about this was that it was not obvious that the mains adapter was faulty - the burner was obviously getting power and was even burning. So this is always worth bearing in mind.
  6. Put your CD-burner into its own SCSI case. Some CD-burners do not like operating at warm temperatures and can produce the most bizarre results when installed in a SCSI tower. Giving a burner its own external case with a good fan can work wonders.
  7. You can clean your burner at your own risk. Dust clusters can sometimes block the mechanism so that the laser can no longer move freely on the carriage. This can produce peculiar results. Cleaning (and perhaps after oiling the mechanism with a suitable lubricant) often helps. The authors of MakeCD-FAQ have never tried this and are unable to help. Do not try this if you are unsure, and remember, it is at your own risk.

Question (CD-R "cannot be written to"):
I have a Yamaha CDR100 and write a track to the second session in test mode. I then try to write for real, and the burner suddenly reports that the inserted medium cannot be written to?!
Answer:
Yamaha CDR100/102s sometimes appear to have problems with the update after writing in test mode. Existing tracks are no longer listed, and the CD-R is no longer seen as a CD-R, but as a normal CD. This was reproduced several times, and each time the output in the target CDR window was different. In this case all you can do is take out the CD-R and insert it again. Unfortunately, this means that the automatic "Write after test" is no longer possible.

Question (Ricoh loses tracks):
I have a Ricoh 1420C V1.6x. With some CDs, including my own CDs, the last track in the track list is swallowed and the Target CDR Window claims that writing was interrupted. Repeated updates of the contents does not help. Can anything be done?
Answer:
This seems to be a SCSI problem. Some people have no problems and others even have SCSI hangs. A tester has told us that he solved exactly the same problem by turning off reselection for the burner, turning off synchronous transfer mode for his hard drive, and resetting the SCSI bus. He was using the CyberSCSI controller.

Question (JVC problems):
I am using a JVC-burner and have several problems. When will there be a driver that works properly?
Answer:
The problem is not so much the driver, but rather the defective firmware of the JVC XR-W2010 V1.51. You can read more about this under: `doc/Compatibility'. The major problems are:
Reading transfers defective data without error report. If
you have a Meeting Pearls III or IV, register your JVC burner as a CD-ROM drive, insert the Meeting Pearls and click on English. An amigaguide document should appear with a link which can be used to check the CD. Try checking the CD! If faulty files are shown without a read/write error, your JVC burner is most probably transferring defective data without error reports!
Rejection of write commands
Under certain conditions some JVC CD burners apparently reject write or fix commands with ILLEGAL COMMAND. This can sometimes be solved by shortening the SCSI bus (as Patrick found) or by using another, better medium (as we were told by JVC). Try both! Also, a heat problem was reported (the burner was getting to warm in a casing with a poor fan). In one case the casing had been tightened so much that the burner was slightly warped and developed a mechanical problem.
Other errors
Please see the JVC section in `doc/Compatibility'.

Question (JVC problems with audio CDs):
I am having problems with my JVC XR-W2010 CD-burner, especially with audio CDs. What can I do about this?
Answer:
Make sure you are using the latest firmware version (V1.51 or higher). Older versions have a lot of problems with audio CDs.

Question (JVC: Medium Error):
When burning with the JVC XR-W2010, the burner reports "Medium Error: WRITE ERROR". What shall I do?
Answer:
One user experienced this error report only when writing at double speed. It was fine at single speed, although this could depend on the medium used.

SCSI problems, hanging SCSI bus

Question (SCSI problems):
I have a big problem. Nothing seems to work. MakeCD-FAQ or the SCSI bus keep hanging. What can I do about this?
Answer:
Your CD-burner and/or your SCSI host adapter is faulty. Sorry, but we are unable to help you in this instance. Please check our compatibility list -- perhaps you will find a user there with a similar configuration who has managed to resolve the problem. If this doesn't help, try the following -- in test mode!

Question (Reselection):
I keep hearing about reselection, the buffer, and so on. What are these?
Answer:
Read the introduction for the chapter on the buffer in the MakeCD-FAQ instructions.

Questions (Oktagon hangs):
My Oktagon hangs when I read or write audio or mode2 tracks. Will a newer version of the oktagon device help?
Answer:
This problem affects all currently available Oktagon versions ((i. e. up to and including version 6.12). You must turn off reselection for the unit of the CD-burner or CD-ROM drive using the program OktagonPrefs, otherwise the data transfer will only work for tracks with a minimum block size of 2048 bytes. Other sources recommend turning off reselection and synchronous for all devices attached to the Oktagon and setting the chunk size to 256KB. In addition, you should set softXC???oktagon.device as the device driver in place of oktagon.device.

Question (SCSI problems):
I keep getting "buffer underruns" or the SCSI bus hangs. What can I do about this?
Answer (from John Hendrikx <john@globalxs.nl>):
I have experimented with Buffer Underruns with reselection for my CD-burner turned off. The result was that the hard drive could do nothing while the CD-burner used the bus (which can be quite a long time). Turning on selection for my CD-burner and hard drive sometimes led to SCSI errors. However, everything was fine with reselection on for the CD-burner only and not for the hard drive. This hardly affected the speed, since the hard drive (for which reselection has been turned off) does not use the bus for very long anyway. I have successfully burnt CDs at quad speed using the Yamaha CD-burner, although I have an 030 system with 22MHz and only 8MB FastRAM. The data came from an IDE hard drive (I believe that the additional IDE controller simplified the matter somewhat. I was close to the limit using this configuration: one day I had a buffer run - it turned out that I had to run ReOrg over the source drive to make it fast enough again :-) Anyway, a few tips: Turning off reselection for your hard drive can actually improve the speed (at least if only one is in use). I measured an almost 20% speed increase with my Seagate hard drive when turning off reselection (it has problems with reselect turned on anyhow -- that was the cause of my hanging SCSI chain, as I eventually found out, not my Yamaha CD-burner.

Questions about audio CDs

Question (Audio file formats):
Which audio file formats are supported by MakeCD?
Answer:
MakeCD only supports audio data at a frequency of 44.1 khz in 16 bit stereo. With MakeCD 2.4 this data must exist in pure form without additional information (sometimes termed CDDA format) or as AIFF. If the additional information is missing, the settings for byte order (i.e. Motorola or Intel) and the file length (multiple of the block length or any) are used. This does not apply to the AIFF format, since it does contain additional information.

Question (AIFF length incorrect):
I have converted sound data into AIFF, but when I select the file, MakeCD reports the AIFF file length as incorrect. Why doesn't adjusting the audio length help? Answer: The exact error message is presumably as follows:

Source file �filename� has wrong type �wrong AIFF� or wrong size 0. Track 1 requires �Audio (normal)� with block size 2352.

This error occurs not because of the size, but because of the file format. It is admittedly an AIFF file, but does not contain audio data that can be burnt directly to the CD (see the question on supported audio formats). The audio length settings are only used for data without additional information, and are therefore not used with AIFF.

Question (Audio data variation):
I have read an audio track several times, written to various files, and then compared the files. Unfortunately I notice that the files are completely different, although the audio data sounds fine. Surely this is not normal - I thought that the data is stored digitally -- the files ought to be identical!
Answer:
It is true that the data is stored in digital form. Even so, it is difficult for your CD player, your CD-ROM drive and your CD-burner to control an audio track with exact precision. Even the better CD-ROM drives do not always begin reading an audio track at exactly the same byte. The result is that the bytes in the two image files are slightly out of synch (for example, the TEAC CD516S V1.0D tends to vary between 20 to 100 bytes). A byte comparison of such image files will leave the impression that the files differ greatly from one another - in reality, there are merely slightly out of synch by a small number of bytes. One second of music corresponds to 176400 bytes. So, if the drive starts reading 100 bytes to late, you are actually loosing a mere 0.0006 seconds of music. Since there are on error reports and correction for audio data, it is certainly possible that differing data is transferred from time to time, especially if the medium is not of the highest quality. Whether these disturbances are extreme or not very much depends on your CD-ROM drive. Some CD-ROM drives are very good at reading scratched CDs, while others will transfer corrupted data.

Question (Start of song missing):
When reading audio data I notice that some songs are missing the start of a track -- perhaps half a second. This is not noticeable with some songs, but is very annoying with others.
Answer:
The problem lies with your CD-ROM drive or CD-burner. Some CD-burners (e.g. Yamaha CDR 100/102 and Philips CDD 2600) start reading audio data in the wrong place if the pregap of the first track has an unusually high value. You can recognize this if the first track does not begin at block 0, but, for example, block 33. Drives which exhibit this problem start reading the first block too late (and will continue reading a little beyond the last block). You can get round this problem by modifying the start block for audio data in the MakeCD-FAQ settings. Enter the number of the first block of the first track on the audio CD and you should get the full song. So, if the first track starts at block 32, enter 32. Please bear in mind that this change will only affect those tracks that you select after changing the settings. If you have already selected the tracks, you need to select them all over again, since the block numbers are automatically corrected when choosing the tracks and not when the tracks are first read.

Question (Cyclic cracking in audio data):
I have burnt an audio CD but can hear a cyclic cracking in the music. I have checked the image files, and the cracking is present there too. What is causing this?
Answer:
Some CD-ROM file systems regularly check to see if a CD is in the drive. The method used by AsimCDFS can corrupt audio data. MakeCD-FAQ tries to deny such accesses by file systems, but technical limitations mean that the problem can still arise. Turning off the CD-ROM file system normally resolves the problem.

Question (Errors in audio data):
I have read audio data from a music CD and there are detectable errors at random positions. What's going wrong?
Answer:
Somebody has reported such a problem, which arose as soon as a Zip drive was attached to the same SCSI bus. As soon as he removed the Zip drive, the phenomenon disappeared. Another person reported that more noise was generated with reselection turned on than with reselection turned off. You best bet is to save the data to RAM or to use a huge buffer. We have also been told that you should check the termination of the SCSI bus in this case.

Question (CD-ROM drive too slow with audio CDs):
If I copy an audio CD, the data stream breaks off after a while. My 8x CD-ROM drive is evidently not fast enough, even though my burner writes at double speed only. What is going on here?
Answer:
Many CD-ROM drives reads CDDA data at single speed only. When copying an audio track, you should set your CD-burner back to single speed --- or use temporary files. Some SCSI host adapters (e.g. Oktagon2008 v6.8) cannot transfer certain block sizes at full speed ((e. g. block sizes that are not to the power of 2 or are not a multiple of 256 bytes). Oktagon informed us that it would only transfer at about 230 KB/s. A CD-ROM drive that reads at double speed needs the audio data to arrive at about 345 KB/s. The future ROM update for the host adapter may remedy the problem -- or, of course, another SCSI host adapter.

Question (Audio tracks missing when using CD player):
I tested MakeCD-FAQ by writing a single audio track. I then fixed the session and inserted the CD in my CD player. Worked perfectly! Then I wrote another track, but this was only recognized by my CD-ROM drive, and not by my CD player. Why?
Answer:
CD players recognize only those tracks contained in the first session. You should not have fixed after the first track, but only then, when all tracks had been written. But the CD is not totally unusable. Simply write a data image to the remaining space! Then all you need is a file system that supports multisession CDs in order to access your freshly burnt data CD.

Question (Philips -- Audio problems):
I would like to read some audio tracks with my Philips CDD 2600 CD-burner. The inner tracks can be read without problem, but I get errors with the outer tracks. What can I do about this?
Answer:
This is a typical problem with the Philips CDD 2600 and HP SureStore 6020 (and similar drives). Reduce the read speed for audio data using the settings window to single or double speed. This usually helps.

Question (toshiba -- audio problems):
I am using a Toshiba CD-ROM drive, CD-ROM XM-3701TA. It will not read audio data correctly. My firmware version is 3055 (12/25/95). Please can you support this drive too?
Answer:
You are using a defective and outdated firmware version. Obtain the latest firmware version from the Toshiba BBS: +49 2131/158123. The file that you require is tosh-up.zip. One user has told us that he could not read CDDA data at all. After he obtained the update, everything was fine. Perhaps this will help with similar problems involving Toshiba drives.

Question (Ricoh -- audio problems):
My Ricoh 1420 CD-burner, firmware 1.6x, reads audio data, but the quality is very poor. What can I do about this?
Answer:
We have heard that the Ricoh 1.6x firmware reads with multiple speed but with a loss in quality. Try adjusting the speed in the MakeCD-FAQ program settings to single or double speed, or try using firmware 1.4x. You require another digit in place of the "x" depending on whether you are using the 512 KB, 1 MB or 2 MB Ricoh.

Question (pause between audio tracks):
How can I change the pause length between the tracks?
Answer:
MakeCD-FAQcurrently uses Track-At-Once-Mode only, i. e. it always transfers the raw data for a single track and leaves it to the burner to create checksums and write the pauses and contents. This has the advantage that the writing between the tracks can be interrupted for any length of time and multisession is possible. Only the Disc-At-Once-Mode would permit you to determine the pause lengths. MakeCD-FAQ will support this mode as soon as possible.

Question (Noise instead of music):
I have burnt an audio CD, but the CD does not contain the audio tracks selected, merely noise. What have I done wrong?
Answer:
Presumably the audio data byte sequence is incorrect. MakeCD-FAQ can create and use data in either the Motorola format (MSF) or the Intel format (LSF). You can select this in the settings. There is no method for MakeCD-FAQ to find out which format audio data has been saved under, so you must enter the correct value. The audio format that you select will then be used both for reading and writing audio data.

Questions about data CDs

Question (Drive shows wrong session):
I have a CD-R containing several sessions, but my drive shows the wrong session. It should show the last session written, but it always shows the previous or last but two session. How can I access the data I have just burnt?
Answer:
There are two possibilities: either your CD-ROM file system is not working properly (try a different CD-ROM file system), or your drive has a problem with multisession CDs containing too many sessions. These drives stop reading the CD from a certain session. Unfortunately there is little we can recommend here -- aside from purchasing a new drive, We have got on well with the TEAC CD516: the Teac recognized and correctly read all sessions on a CD-R that has problems when used with a Toshiba drive or CD-burner.

Question (Multivolume):
I would like to make a multivolume CD by copying the data tracks from several fairly empty CDs onto a single CD-R. I have tried this by reading the tracks from the source CDs and then copying them one after the other to the CD-R, fixing the session each time -- anyway, I have tried twice without success - both times, only the first track can be read. What am I doing wrong?
Answer:
Each multisession track or multivolume track that is not the very first track on the CD-R must be specially made since the data track is different -- according to which block the track starts at on the CD-R. Tracks set to base block 0 cannot be written to another position on the CD-R. MakeCD-FAQ warns about this from V2.0 or higher - previous versions gave no warning (base blocks were not even supported then).

Question (Multivolume confusion):
I have just made a multivolume CD and experimented with a few file systems, but I can only see either the first or the last volume. Where are the other volumes?
Answer:
Unfortunately, many file systems do not support multivolume yet. At the time of writing, we are aware of just one file system with multivolume support: CacheCDFS from the IDEfix '97 pack. We expect that multivolume will be supported in future versions of AmiCDFS and AsimCDFS.

Question (Creating multisession CDs):
How do I go about burning a multisession CD?
Answer:
First read the instructions, then follow the instructions!

Question (Multisession Confusion):
I have made a multisession CD. The first session contains about 200 MB of data and in the second session I have about another 100 MB of data. Workbench displays just 100 MB - surely this should be 300 MB? I have tried fixing the CD-R, but that doesn't help.
Answer:
This is not a problem. Although the new track in the new session shows only the number of bytes contained in this track, all the data is there. Try it and see!

Question (Size of data on CD):
When I use Meeting Pearls II, Workbench says, for example: 650 MB used. But when I calculate the size in bytes using DirOpus, I do not get the anticipated 680,525,824 bytes, but about 50 MB less. What has happened to the missing 50 MB?
Answer:
A CD is written with a block size of 2048 bytes. This means that on average there are 1024 bytes waste for each file. So 50,000 files would account for a waste of about 50 MB. Well, how many files does DirOpus count for Meeting Pearls II? ;-) The system data (directory structure etc.) uses very little space under ISO9660 and RockRidge.

Question ( Protection bits cannot be seen):
I have read that MakeCD-FAQ can write AMIGA protection bits and file comments. I have written an image file and selected both RockRidge and AMIGA attributes -- but when I register the image file, all files have standard protection bits. The script bits are still missing. What has gone wrong here?
Answer:
You must use a file system that supports AMIGA protection bits. AmiCDFS2, which is freely-distributable, support AMIGA protection bits from V2.30. CacheCDFS (included in the IDEfix '97 pack) also has support for the Amiga protection bits, and, in addition, also has multivolume support. AsimCDFS supports Amiga protection bits from V3.7 (L:AsimCDFS contains an old version string! "AsimCDFS 3.6 (05.11.96)").

Question (File system for CD-burner):
I have an A3000 (scsi.device V40.12) and a Yamaha CDR 100. MakeCD-FAQ works brilliantly. I have no problems at all. The Yamaha seems to be a very good writer! However, my file system is unable to mount CDs on the CD-burner. MakeCD-FAQ can read the data track, but my file system (BabelCDROMFS) comes up with "not a DOS disk". The same CD works fine in my CD-ROM drive -- even with the strange file system. This seems weird!
Answer:
We tested the same configuration and experienced the same problem. The Yamaha CDR 100 is indeed a very good writer and is not to blame for this problem. The scsi.device has problems controlling the writer with the trackdisk command. It is possible that the same problem will arise with the A2091 and other Commodore host adapters. We were able to solve the problem on the A3000 by installing the new V34 scsi.device. If you do not want to install scsi.device V34, use a file system that employs SCSI-direct commands. AmiCDFS (shareware) would be a good choice. In any case, make sure that the file system uses SCSI commands (check the documentation of your file system). Then, everything should be fine.

Question (Checking data CDs):
How can I check that the data CDs I create really are okay?
Answer:
We check our data CDs using `brik'. Brik is included with some versions of MakeCD-FAQ. It can also be found on the Meeting Pearls III or IV CD-ROM, or on our home page. Brik generates CRC32 check sums for one or all files. You should generate the checksums for the data on your source partition. After burning, you can then check -- with the help of brik -- whether the data is identical to that on the source partition. The version of brik included with MakeCD-FAQ includes a short description file to assist you in using brik.

Question (Slow image generation):
I have tried to create an image file using MakeCD-FAQ. But regardless of whether I write it to the hard drive as an image, or send it directly to the CD-writer -- it is incredibly slow. Can't you optimize this a little? My processor is normally very fast and I have plenty of memory.
Answer:
MakeCD-FAQ is already extensively optimized. But we have heard of such cases in the past. These problems were traced back to a configuration error in the mask value of HDToolBox. Proceed as follows -- we accept no responsibility for any damage to your rigid disk block! You make all changes at your own risk! If you destroy your RDB, don't format the whole disk -- try taking a look at Angela's RDB-Salv first. (http://home.pages.de/~Angela/rdbsalv.html). RDB-Salv can save lost AmigaDOS partitions!
  1. Start HDToolBox
  2. Select the hard drive containing the partition that is to be used for creating the image.
  3. Click on Partition Drive.
  4. Click on Advanced Options.
  5. Now select the partition which you read the data from.
  6. Click on Change ....
  7. You should now see Mask. Your value is probably 0xfffff?, where f is often c, e, or f. Add two fs after the five fs (e. g. 0xfffffffc and then save.
  8. Exit HDToolBox and restart your AMIGA.
Now try creating another image using MakeCD-FAQ, storing it on the partition that you have just edited. If the process is much faster, change your other partitions in the same manner.

Question (ISO image contains MakeCD-FAQ):
I have created an ISO image which contains my data. But once I had burnt it to my CD-R, I noticed that MakeCD-FAQ was also recorded into the image. I am a registered user and do not find this amusing! Please help me stop this!
Answer:
We have not intentionally packed MakeCD-FAQ into your image. To be more precise, you have done this. ;-) When you were in the settings and set the path to be included in the image, you probably clicked on "New" too many times. This would generate empty entries in the list and cause MakeCD-FAQ to record the directory "" into the image. The directory "" usually contains MakeCD-FAQ. Please make sure that you do not create empty entries in this list and you should be okay.

Question (ISO 9660 directory levels):
Before I burn an AMIGA CD, I check all directories to ensure that I do not exceed eight directory levels, so that the image is not defective. When are you finally going to install the corresponding function?
Answer:
Don't worry about this -- even if you do exceed the eight directory levels, the image is by no means ruined. In fact, such images are can be read without any problems at all on the AMIGA. It is only on DOS machines that you are unable to access the deep directories. But this is not a problem for most AMIGA users. All the same, we will install a suitable function as soon as time permits.

Question (ISO 9660 directory levels):
Okay, so I now know that the restriction to eight levels does not apply to the AMIGA. But what, then, is the directory level restriction for CDs on the AMIGA?
Answer:
There is no such absolute limit on the AMIGA. However, directories become so unwieldy at a certain depth (very long paths etc.), that many AMIGA applications will probably crash or malfunction when presented with such directories. You should be able to burn as many AMIGA directory levels as you wish on the CD-R. At a certain depth (undefined - this can be different each time), the stack for MakeCD-FAQ will run out and the program will crash. But this should only happen at a very deep directory level.

Questions about copying CDs

Question (CD Back-up Copies):
How can I make a back-up copy of my diverse CDs (with several tracks to)?
Answer:
In the Audio section of the settings window you have to use as Start 0 blocks and Pause 152 blocks. Back in the main window you can add the entire CD via the menu. When required (if the performance is not sufficient), you can turn on temporary images and write the CD. You can use these settings to copy most, but not all, CDs successfully. Disk-At-Once is required for making 100% identical copies of CDs. This is planned for version 3.0 of MakeCD-FAQ. Even so, the above method often suffices.

Question (Copying problems):
I have tried copying a CD to a CD-R. I read from the CD_ROM drive and wrote directly to the CD-burner, i.e. without using temporary files. My CD-ROM drive reads at 12x speed and my CD-burner writes at quad speed. Suddenly, the speed of the CD-ROM drive falls dramatically and the buffer empties out. Another saucer.:-( Please repair this.
Answer:
We cannot repair this. CD-ROM drives often reduce their speed when they encounter a scratched surface that has to be read. Once the scratch has been passed, many drives then move speed up again, while others stay at the reduced speed. The latter is probably what is happening in your case. You could try a firmware update for your drive that may correct this, or use temporary files for scratched CDs. It may also help to reduce the write speed.

Miscellaneous questions about burning CDs

Question (Screenshots as bug reports):
MakeCD-FAQ aborts with an error. I enclose a screenshot of the requester by E-mail.
Answer:
Please do not send us screenshots or error requesters! This burdens the Internet, and there are very few cases where a screenshot is required/helpful. Please use ASCII!

Question (Bug reports):
MakeCD-FAQ aborts with the error xyz. Any ideas?
Answer:
If you can reproduce the error, you can help us by activating DEBUG=<file> in the DEBUG=<file> tooltypes. Then, restart DEBUG=<file>, reproduce the error, and send us the debug info.

Question (Burning CDs bit by bit):
Is it possible to burn a CD bit by bit? For example, I would like to burn a few audio tracks today, a few more tomorrow, and then fix the CD on the following day. Am I able to remove the CD from the drive in the meantime. Is there something else I need to know?
Answer:
Yes, in Track-At-Once-Mode the burning process can be interrupted for any length of time after the burning of each track. In addition, you are also able to take the CD-R out of the drive. You can even finish the CD-R in a completely different CD-burner. MakeCD-FAQ automatically takes care of this for you. All the same, you should make sure that MakeCD-FAQ does not fix the session without your explicit wish, since a CD player will only find the audio tracks contained in the first session, which in this case would not be your intention. So, make sure that you turn off automatic fixing.

Question (CD-R Size):
Today I am standing in front of a shelf with various 74 minute CD-Rs. Should I purchase the CD-Rs with 780 MB or the CD-Rs with 650 Mb? Actually, I would like to pack as much information onto the CD as possible, but provided that 780 MB CD-Rs are at least as good as 650 MB CD-Rs. Can I buy the 780 MB CD-Rs with confidence?
Answer:
You have fallen for a marketing ploy. 74 minutes are 74 minutes, that cannot be disputed. Both CD-Rs, however, store about the same amount of data. You will, of course, ask why the MB statements do not agree. This is quite simple: 330,000 blocks fits on a 74 minute CD-R. If you write 330,000 blocks to the CD-R, you end up with 330,000*2.048 bytes, i.e. 681,984,000 bytes (650 MB). Some firms mark state the capacity as 680 MB for marketing reasons (where 'M' no longer stands for "mega", but "million". If you then fill the 330,00 blocks of the CD-R with music data, you end up with 330,000*2.352 bytes, i.e. 783,216,000 bytes (746 MB), since music data does not require bytes for the sector header, ECCs or EDCs. To work the figures as much as possible, some firms then state the capacity as 780 MB or 783 MB. In conclusion, one can say that 650 MB, 680 MB, 750 MB and 780 MB CD-Rs all have the same storage capacity.

Question (Target CD-R: inconsistent storage shown):
The space shown in the target CD-R window in not consistent. If I add the used and the available space together, this does not agree with the total size of the CD-R.
Answer:
This is a known problem and depends on your burner. Some CD-burners include the pause after the last track that has not yet been written, others count this as free space. This can lead to deviations of 2-3 seconds - just ignore this.

Question (Storage question):
How can I tell if all the files I select will fit onto a CD?
Answer:
MakeCD-FAQ is calculating since version 2.2 the amount of data to be written and is comparing this size with the amount of free space on the inserted media. If not enough space is available, a warning will be shown.

Question (Draco):
Shouldn't MakeCD-FAQ run on the Draco too? I am experiencing all manner of problems.
Answer:
You are presumably using more than one memory module with the Draco. Place a large memory module (32MB if possible) in the first connector and make sure that there is still memory free on this module before you start MakeCD-FAQ. MakeCD-FAQ is stable if you have all data necessary for SCSI transfer in this first module. The buffer, whose size can be selected in the settings, can be stored in the other memory modules, but the (small) IORequests and SCSI commands must be stored in the first module. Incidentally, this is a bug in the dracoscsi.device - there is nothing we can do about it. If you follow our instructions, you should be able to get around the problem.

Question (Hanging SCSI bus):
My burner frequently hangs after a while. The SCSI bus seems to be blocked. What can I do?
Answer:
Try turning off reselection and synchronous transfer mode. There is a tool, CTRLscsi (Archivname: HWGCTRLscsi.lha), for V39/V40 Commodore SCSI devices. This tool is included with most versions of MakeCD-FAQ and lets you turn reselection on and off for each unit. See also section SCSI problems, hanging SCSI bus

Question (Drive does not show all tracks):
I have a CD-R containing several tracks, but my drive does not show all tracks -- the last few tracks are always lost. This means that I am unable to use multisession or multivolume CDs as intended. What am I doing wrong?
Answer:
You have purchased a poor drive. Good drives show all sessions; bad drives can have problems and show only those tracks in the first few sessions.

Question (Corrupted data CD):
I have created a data CD using MakeCD-FAQ. No errors were shown, but the image must have been corrupted, since several icons burnt to the CD are missing on the Workbench, and numerous archives are corrupt. I have tried using another version of MakeCD-FAQ, resulting in another defect CD-R. Sometimes even the disk icon fails to appear, and sometimes the file system even crashes. My configuration is: A4000, Yamaha CDR 100, Toshiba 4101, Noname blank.
Answer:
Have you tested the CD on your Toshiba? Toshiba drives (and drives from other firms too) have always had problems with specific types of CD-R. The same blanks can be read without problem on other drives. Try this - your two apparently defect blanks can probably be read perfectly on another drive (e. g. TEAC). See the file `doc/Compatibility'. This contains details on some CD-Rs which we have found to be reliable.

Question (Read problems):
My CD-burner used to work perfectly will all types of CD (silver CDs, CD-Rs, etc.). For a while now, I have been able to read silver (pressed) CDs only. I experience problems trying to read CD-Rs - even those that I wrote a few months ago on this very CD-burner! What can I do about this?
Answer:
Somebody described exactly the same problem to us. After using a CD-cleaner, everything was fine again. Such problems are particularly common among smokers.

Question (Transfer rate):
The transfer rate for my CD-ROM drive is faster than it should be - or at least it appears to be. MakeCD-FAQ's write window shows a very high transfer rate for the drive. Why?
Answer:
MakeCD-FAQ the interval between sending a read request to the CD-ROM drive and receiving back the request together with the data. That is all. Some drives used intelligent buffer technology while MakeCD-FAQ is not using the drive to fill its buffer with data that it hopes will be requested on the next access to the drive. The drive often "guesses" correctly and the drive is able to send the data directly from the buffer to MakeCD-FAQ without even having to access the CD. This is why the drive appears to be so fast. Were it not for the small pauses, the value would be slower.

Question (CD- drives):
What are CD-RW drives? They have something to do with CD burning too, don't they?
Answer:
CD-RW drives are CD-burners which can also write to the new CD-RW media. CD-RW media are special CD-Rs which, although significantly more expensive than CD-Rs, can be written to up to 1000 times, although they can only be used with CD-RW drives. CD-RWs cannot be read using CD players or CD-ROM drives built prior to 1997. Only some drives built before 1997 can also read CD-RWs.

Question (Fixing the CD-R):
I am unable to fix my CD-R! I have fixed all the sessions and now I want to fix the CD, but I cannot!
Answer:
You can only fix the CD-R if you have written tracks to the last session. When you fix a session, a new session (without tracks is opened. This is why you cannot fix the CD-R, because you have not written further tracks since fixing the last session. When you fix a session, the lead-in for this session is written. This includes the track table of contents for this session required by the CD-ROM drive to find the tracks. This is why unfixed session cannot be read on CD-ROM drives. The lead-in also contains information about the start of the next session, even if this is empty. When you fix a CD-R, the principle is exactly the same, except that, instead of the information about where the next session begins, a marker indicates that there are no more sessions on the CD. Since a drive runs through all the sessions one by one when reading the tracks, it will stumble at the last session if the CD-R has not been fixed. This is because it encounters unreadable data when searching for the last session. This slows down the reading of the track's table of contents. For this reason it is best to fix the CD if you are sure that no further tracks need to be written.

Question (Safety measures when burning):
What do I need to turn off while I am burning a CD? I know that I should turn off my screen blanker as well as quit any programs running in the background. Is there anything else to worry about?
Answer:
To be honest, we, the authors, turn off absolutely nothing when burning a CD. Our screen blanker continues to run and does not interfere. Sometimes we type in texts during burning -- without any problems. It only becomes critical if a program crashes (so only use stable programs), or if a program takes up lots of processor time at a higher priority. We have been told that the switching of high resolution screens on graphics cards can cause a buffer underrun if the graphics card driver is set to a higher priority. We have not encountered problems using normal AMIGA-Screens.

Question (CD-burner recommendation):
CD-burners
Which CD-burner should I buy?
Answer:
We always recommend Yamaha CD-burners (CDR 100, CDR 102, CDR 200 and CDR 400), as well as the Ricoh MP6200S. It is well worth looking at the file `doc/Compatibility'.

Question (CD-ROM drive recommendation):
I am planing to buy a new CD-ROM drive. Any tips?
Answer:
Angela has a TEAC CD516S (SCSI), which also has an ATAPI version, and is very satisfied with it. The drive should theoretically read at 16 speed - on the A3000 we could only measure 12 speed. But the drive has a number of advantages: These tests were carried out with a TEAC CD516S, firmware version 1.0D. The firmware version 1.0g is reputedly even better and resolves a few problems. e.g. firmware version 1.0D swaps the audio channels of the TEAC, but this has been resolved in firmware version 1.0g. Therefore we heartily recommend updating to 1.0g.

Question (CD-burner support):
When are you going to support my CD-burner XYZ?
Answer:
It is not easy to support all the different makes of CD-burner, because there is no SCSI command set which has been implemented for all CD-burners. Try our MCC driver for modern CD-burners. If this driver doesn't work, try the other drivers. If none of the drivers work, we need the programming docs for your CD-burner and often a loan unit for this version. Check `doc/Compatibility' to see if support is already planned for your drive.

Question (Add entire CD or image file):
What is the difference between Add entire CD and Add image file?
Answer:
Add entire CD reads all the tracks from your read drive and adds them to the track list. Track types are set automatically. Add image file(s) opens a file selection window which you can use to select one or more image files to be added to the track list. For technical reasons, the track types cannot be recognized and set automatically -- you may need to set this yourself.

Question (Block medium):
What do I do about the block medium. Do I need to create a special partition for it?
Answer:
Actually, even a hard disk would be appropriate. It would then be very easy to mount a CD-ROM file system on this disk so that the image can be tested. This saves you having to use cdromemu.device. Also, you can send such disks to a press works. If you are not sure what you are doing, you are well advised to leave the block medium alone - if you make a mistake, you can destroy a lot of data. Should you nonetheless proceed and end up destroying the RDB, perhaps RDB-Salv can help you: http://home.pages.de/~Angela/rdbsalv.html

Question (Corrupt CD):
I have written a CD which seems to be defective. My CD-ROM drive cannot read it at all. :-(
Answer:
Fix the session or the CD-R so that you can access the CD using the CD-ROM drive. Make sure that you are not using a cracked version of MakeCD-FAQ. Many crackers are incompetent and often cause far more damage to the program than they realize. Please don't blame us for viruses on cracked versions. You should download a clean, slightly limited version from our home page.

Question (Root directory):
This is a nice feature, since you can use the name of the track as the name of the ISO image. This saves time as well. The files are always written to PROGDIR: -- except if you change the path by hand. This can be irritating. Please can you add a feature so that you can chose the default directory?
Answer:
You are referring to the Root directory gadget in the top left of the main window. Simply enter your work directory there.

Question (Read error):
I want to read a CD with data and audio tracks. At the end of a data track, MakeCD-FAQ reports a read error!?
Answer
The table of contents (TOC) of a CD only saves the positions where the CD tracks begin, not where they stop or how long they are. On reading a CDs table of contents (TOC), MakeCD-FAQ attempts to strip the pause after a track from the length of the track. For technical reasons, this only works if the pause after the data track is not unusually long and if the CD shows no read errors at the end of the track (e. g. through scratches). If the method used to determine the track length fails, you can either reduce the track length before reading, or ignore the error by selecting "Use File" in the error requester.

Question (Problems not concerning data tracks):
Reading and writing is fine with data tracks, even with disconnect, but I get problems with other track types. Why?
Answer:
Some SCSI host adapters increase their performance if you e. g. make assumptions about the block size, z. B. that the block size is a power of 2 or a multiple of x bytes (x = 32, 64, ...). These assumptions are wrong for unusual block sizes such as 2352 bytes (audio tracks) and that will cause the host adapter to fail.

Question (Repairing CD-Rs):
Which burners can I use in conjunction with the repair option in the Target CDR window? What will be repaired?
Answer:
If the writing was interrupted by a power failure, the Philips burners and compatibles offer a command so that a defective CD-R can be used again -- but only if the CD-R was not removed from the drive! This is the feature used by the MakeCD-FAQ Philips drivers. The Yamaha CDR100/102 and compatibles do not support repair. The Sony 926S, Yamaha CDR200 and Yamaha CDR400 have a very powerful repair command which can even cope with defective CD-Rs that are not recognized at all on other drives. Most devices finish the last track automatically should the data stream be interrupted and the burner is still running. The track is then too short, but at least further tracks can be written to the CD-R.

Question (CD-R label):
I have removed a small label from the CD-R. I have accidentally removed a some of the golden surface at the same time (now stuck to the label). There is now a small hole in the middle of the CD which can be seen through. Can I paint over the hole? I have already tried putting the label back, but the CD still cannot be read.
Answer:
No, I'm afraid that the disk is damaged beyond repair. Unfortunately, removing the label often damages the reflective surface, destroying the CD.

Questions concerning the GUI

Question (MUI):
When will MakeCD-FAQ have a MUI user-interface? I have already registered for MUI and don't want to register for Triton too!
Answer:
We currently have no plans for a MakeCD-FAQ MUI user-interface. If someone would like to program a MUI interface, s/he should contact Patrick. Triton allows the integration of gadtools gadgets into a program and saves us time calculating the gadget positions ourselves. From the user's perspective, the difference between gadtools and Triton is scarcely noticeable.

Question (Online help):
The online help causes problems with CycleToMenu and MagicCX. What can I do about this?
Answer:
You should not install hacks. Well, you supposedly don't want to remove these hacks. So we recommend that you turn off the online help once you are familiar with MakeCD-FAQ. Please bear in mind that the bubble help comes from triton.library - we cannot change the way it works.

Question (Save window sizes and public screen):
I want to save window sizes or have MakeCD-FAQ run on a public screen. Is this possible?
Answer
The windows come from triton.library, so you can use the triton Preferences editor for both. You do not have to register triton for this --- although Stefan Zeiger would not complain :-) You can find the complete triton system including the preferences editor on Stefan Zeiger's home page http://home.pages.de/~szeiger/. For further information, please see `doc/Triton.readme'. Here is a section from the trition manual:

If you want to register, please send DM20, US$15 or an equal amount in any other valid currency to me. See Support, for addresses.

Send money by EuroCheque (only in German Marks (DM)!), postal(!) money order or cash! It's impossible for me to cash in foreign cheques, even if the amount is in DM.

EMail:
triton-support@laren.rhein-main.de
Mail:
Stefan Zeiger
Seligenst�dter Weg 24
D-63796 Kahl
Germany
Voice:
+49-6188-900712

Questions about the settings

Question (Device selection window crashes):
MakeCD-FAQ crashes if I try to change my burner in the device selection window. This happens occasionally for one of my friends - another friend has never had this problem.
Answer:
We haven't been able to find a bug in MakeCD-FAQ that could cause this. We have attached the Plextor burner to an A3000 and run HDToolBox. The program crashed while HDToolBox was scanning the SCSI bus. We have occasionally experienced this with the Yamaha CDR 100 and JVC XR-W2010, although we were able to solve the problem by changing the order of the devices in the SCSI chain. MakeCD-FAQ tries to select trackdisk compatible device drivers with the help of NSD. Device drivers containing bugs can cause crashes. Please use NSDPatch from Heinz Wrobels and NSDQuery to find out which device driver caused the crash. Please inform us which driver caused the crash, not forgetting the version number. Simply type in NSDQuery CHECKALL. Please try to send us a copy of the driver itself too. NSDPatch will allow you to edit the device driver without restricting its functionality so that it no longer causes crashes. Please turn on DEBUG in the MakeCD-FAQ tooltypes and send us the output generated by MakeCD-FAQ leading up to the crash. If you are unable to adjust the device using the device selection window, activate the MakeCD-FAQ program icon, select "Information" from the Workbench menu, and edit the tooltypes by hand. Set WRITE_DEVICE, WRITE_UNIT, WRITE_DRIVER, READ_DEVICE, READ_UNIT and READ_DRIVER as required. The extension .driver must not be declared for the #?_DRIVER tooltypes.

Question (Parallel Read/Write):
What is the difference between sequential and parallel read/write? Which should I use?
Answer:
MakeCD-FAQ 1.0 always uses the parallel method: two independent processes write and read simultaneously. In sequential mode, buffers of the same size are read and written alternatively. The parallel method places higher reliability demands. It only works well if disconnect is properly supported and is turned on for the burner. The sequential method can avoid possible errors in the controller, but has the following disadvantage: the next write process cannot begin if the preceding read process is delayed, even if the buffer is not empty. i. e. the buffer cannot compensate short-term fluctuations in the read performance.

This document was generated on 26 January 1998 using the texi2html translator version 1.51.