Windows Media Player 10 3

[LFI]

Hey, all. This may not be the right forum, but since I'm using Windows XP Pro, I thought I would ask. Feel free to direct me elsewhere...

I'm a sound designer for local theatre companies here and I'm used to using Windows Media Player (V.10) to rip tracks off CDs and make MP3's out of them. All has been going swimmingly for a long time.

All of the sudden, the MP3's started having a LOT of static in them, repeating regularly through the recording like: Cha-Cha-Cha-Cha...

I tried cleaning the disc (I have some solution and a hand-crank-style cleaner from Radio Shack) and the CD-drive (using a CD that has these tiny little brushed on them). Neither seemed to work.

Is this the sign of the imminent death of that drive or is there something I'm missing? I looked for Media Player updates and XP Pro updates and I'm current on all of that.

Any ideas on what might be causing this? I'm prepared to believe that my efforts to clean the disc and the drive were both unsatisfactory and that I need a better cleaner or a new drive, but if there's any possibility of an XP-Pro-related answer, I'd like to investigate that first.

Thanks!

Dave


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O Time, Strength, Cash, and Patience!

 

[Sympology]

Is it just one disc? Could be no good. Recordable discs are much more delicate than manufactured discs. Try it in another pc or even a modern DVD / CD player

Only the truly stupid believe they know everything.
Stu.. 2004

 

[LFI]

Thanks, Stu.

The disc played fine in my car and this has happened with more than one disc.

I think I encountered a situation last night where the disc played fine, then I tried to make the MP3 of the track, heard the cha-cha-cha, and then the disc didn't play fine anymore. [I say "I think" because I didn't continue to test if I could re-create this... I was reeeeally tired by this point and gave up for the night]. If I'm right, though, this sounds like dirt moving on and off of the lens, so I'm inclined to believe it might be a hardware cleaning or disc cleaning issue. I've posted in the PC Hardware-General forum for their input. Still, I wanted to cover all bases, ergo my post here.

Thanks again.

Dave


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O Time, Strength, Cash, and Patience!

 

[BadBigBen]

1.) DOUBLE POSTINGS are not looked upon favorable here...

2.) try Compressed air to blow out the drive...

3.) could be a Protection scheme...

4.) like Stu mentioned TRY another Drive, heck they are so cheap nowadays, just go out and buy a brand new one...

Ben

"If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer..."

 

[LFI]

Thanks, Ben. I will try the compressed air and, yes, I guess just buying a new drive might get me there faster than all the troubleshooting I need to do (and, to me, faster is better)!

I am with you on "double posting," but I don't believe this IS a double-post. I'm inexperienced with the details of Operating Systems AND Hardware (other than to install), so I asked the XP Pro experts if this could be an XP Pro problem and the Hardware experts if it could be a hardware problem.

I will grant that my original post sounded more hardware-related and based on the answers I'm getting here, it sounds more like a hardware issue, so that is the avenue I will pursue.

Thanks for your time.

Dave


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O Time, Strength, Cash, and Patience!

 

[SimonDavies]

Silly question, have you tried installing any new codec's recently? Sometimes it could be linked to codec problems rather than physical issues with devices or discs.

SimonD.

The real world is not about exam scores, it's about ability.

 

[LFI]

SimonD,

I don't believe that I have. Is that something that might have been done automatically? How would I trouble-shoot that problem? ...and is this the right forum for me to ask that?

Thanks again!

Dave


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O Time, Strength, Cash, and Patience!

 

[LFI]

Just closing out this thread. It seems like this is DEFINITELY a hardware issue. I haven't totally solved this, but it's looking more and more like my CD drive is the source of the error.

If you've found this thread in your search for a similar solution, go to thread602-1179763. I am updating that as I learn more about my hardware problem.

Thanks Stu, Ben, and SimonD for your input. SimonD, I'm still interested in an expansion on the codecs issue you describe... for my edification.

Dave


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O Time, Strength, Cash, and Patience!

 

[Purd]

Do a search for BonkEnc and try that for converting instead of WMP. It is free and I have no trouble with it.