CDRW/DVD-ROM runs at minimum speed when set to max.

I have a 48x/32x/48x/16x CDRW/DVD-ROM combo drive which i use to rip music from CD-R's. When i place the CD in the drive it revs up to full speed (You can hear it doing this) and i begin ripping the CD. However after about 20 seconds the drive slows right down and the ripping speed almost grinds to a halt. I am using WMP to rip and it set to use Maximum drive speed. The DVD drive properties also say that it will use maximum speed. This is clearly not happening though. Is there anything i'm doing wrong or is the drive just buggered?

Alex

 

Hi Alex,

Have you checked to see what processes are running to see whether or not you have some process that is using CPU time? Try killing all processes except what is needed and see if that helps.

You might have a process that is running all the time and eating up CPU time. I had a runaway print spooler that was running 99% of the time and made my system run so poorly.

George

 

There are no CPU eating programs. The ripping slows right down when the CD drive stops spinning as fast. Would there be any compatibility problems with Iamge software such as Nero image drive or Daemon drive?

 

Do you have McShield.exe running? When I downloaded files that McAfee hadn't checked over yet, it only ate about 25% CPU but then the process grew from 18Mb of RAM to well over 300MB when I downloaded a 700MB file. So if you do have McAfee, turn it off when scanning very large files, like a whole CD.

Also, you should close down any extranneaus programs that are running. For some reason, when reading a CD, iexplore.exe grows from 20MB of RAM to well over 70MB.

You might also want to check the drive's manufacturer for firmware fixes/updates. it could be that there is a bug or incompatibility that has been patched.

 

Your drive probably has "underrun protection ", this may be causing the slowing down of the reading. This is to stop buffer underruns and what you may know as "coasters ". Try reading at a lower speed (I set reading at the lowest or second lowest speed).

WMP uses a version of EasyCD, if you have other versions of CD burning programs installed they may be "clashing ". Check (do a Google search) for ripping/burning programs, you may find one or two "freebies" that will do the job just as well.

Matt

 

Well i found the problem. Selecting maximum speed on WMP actually slowed the drive right down. I found 32x is best. I guess it was the buffer underrun problem then. Thanks everyone.