Help! Can't play or rip CDs on my PC.

[aquart]

Since I replaced my hard drive and re-installed everything, so I thought...neither Windows Media nor Real Player can recognize my cds. Well, they can tell me what's on them, they just can't play them or put them in My Music.

What have I done to displease them?

Oh, Real Player said I needed a new driver and installed something which did nothing.

Brilliantly, I failed to back up My Music before the hard drive change because I thought it would be simple to re-install the music. Sigh.

[CK_John]

1. Several things need to be checked. I'm going to assume IDE HD and IDE CD/DVD,

1) Check the jumper setting on new HD. Example link:

<http://wdc.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/wdc.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=84&p_created=1005005461&p_sid=_F4fAzHi&p_accessibility=0&p_redirect=&p_lva=&p_sp=cF9zcmNoPSZwX3NvcnRfYnk9JnBfZ3JpZHNvcnQ9JnBfcm93X2NudD05NTAsOTUwJnBfcHJvZHM9JnBfY2F0cz0mcF9wdj0mcF9jdj0mcF9zZWFyY2hfdHlwZT1hbnN3ZXJzLnNlYXJjaF9mbmwmcF9wYWdlPTE*&p_li=&p_topview=1>

2) Check the jumper setting on DVD/CD.

3) Check ribbon cables, blue in motherboard black in device.

4) Go device manager and check proprieties of DVDs, be sure they are set to region 1 and enable digital cd music box is checked.

[aquart]

2. You mean open it up and look inside?????

Oh, this is going to be bad. I know the Region 1 is okay. It plays dvds with no problem. Just won't play my music cds even though it knows exactly which album is in there.

[CK_John]

3. Check the digitial music box in properities tab. Right click on drive letter(D or E) in explorer.

Next since it reads DVD, bring up device manager and check sound tab for audio codecs and update driver(let windows go on web if it request it).

[aquart]

12. Where do I look for Digital Music Box? Did not see it on right click.

[CK_John]

13. Several ways to get to it. To me this is easiest. 1) right click My Computer->properties->hardware

tab select device manager. 2)Device manager loads, expand dvd/cd rom drives. Right click drive name and select proprieties. You should now see a tabbed panel(general,properties,DVD region,volume,drivers,details). Select properties tab and you will see CD volume and digital play box.

[canetoad]

4. Try this

As you say you can see the content of your CDs, that seems to indicate that the computer is seeing the drive OK.

Open My Computer, right click on your CD drive and select Properties. Then go to the second tab; AutoPlay. In the top box select music files then choose your player in the bottom box after checking 'Select an Action to Perform'.

If you have a standard installation, you should see Windows Media player here.

Another thing, Real Player is a Real Bastard. If you download the K-lite Mega Codec pack http://www.codecguide.com/download_mega.htm
as well as getting a heap of codecs that will enable you to watch and listen to virtually everything you find on the net, there are two niftly little freebies - Media Player Classic and Real Alternative. All safe, I've been using this for years with no problems.

[aquart]

5. I installed it.

I think I installed everything. I have no idea what I installed. I hate the assumption that if you are downloading a product, you know what every single thing in it does.

However, my Windows Media Player now plays a very choppy Frank Sinatra. (It was doing this before I installed the codecs. I came here to mention it and found your post.) This is not the way to hear Begin the Beguine. It's actually painful. Why is the sound just fine on the DVD movies and so crappy on the CDs????

[aquart]

6. Tried CDs on Media Classic Player. Still choppy.

[canetoad]

8. Check this out then

it's a bit involved.

Right click my computer, select properties. Then go to Hardware/Device Manager.

Click + sign next to IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers and there should be a number of sub-items.

The next bit may be trial and error, but you need to right click on each of these (if any of them are called Parallel ATA Controller, try this one first) and look in the Secondary Channel tab until you find your CD/DVD drive.

For example, I right click on NVIDIA nForce Parellel ATA Controller and in the Secondary Channel tab it shows Master Drive as SONY DVD RW DRU-840A.

Below this is a box for 'Transfer mode'.

This box need to have DMA (or Ultra DMA 4, or 5) showing - not PIO. You may need to uncheck the box 'Let BIOS select transfer mode' before you can change it.

[Dead_Parrot]

7. I had something similar with VLC...

...it was a quirk of the drive speed & caching that was emptying the buffer a fraction of a second before the next chunk was ready - resulting in a little skip in the tune every second or so. I've no idea where the cache size is set for MP or RP, so if anyone else can chip in...

While you're waiting, check in Control Panel -> System -> Hardware -> Device Manager -> IDE/Atapi -> Primary IDE channel right-click + Properties -> Advanced, that the CD hasn't dropped into PIO mode which might stuff things up: It should be set to 'Auto detection' & 'DMA if availible'. If you've got SATA drives this will either not be an option or will make no difference, but there's no harm in checking. :)

There's a troubleshooting guide for MP over at http://support.microsoft.com/kb/306317 but if RP is stuffed as well I'm not sure how helpful it will be: Worth trying, I guess...

[canetoad]

9. Oi!

Who is channelling who? :rofl:

[Dead_Parrot]

10. lol. Great minds think alike...

Err, or something.

[aquart]

11. I checked. The settings are correct.

So it's not that, but thank you. That's a place I would never have thought to look.

[Dead_Parrot]

14. Hmm. Did you run throught the MP troubleshooting guide? nt