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Posts posted by Brendon

  1. Hi Mark,


    Perhaps that's one of the reasons Easy CD Creator is NOT supported by Roxio in a server environment. I don't know.


    If you can't uninstall it the regular way the Roxio brute-force uninstaller, Roxizap, should do it for you. I believe there's a link to Roxizap in Lynn's 'frequently asked questions' post at the start of this forum.

  2. Hi Terry and guys,


    I've sent that file re-named to *.EX to Dave, so it should get through. A lot of those mail systems don't like "naked" executable files.





    There are no popups and no word "promotion" associated with either of the links for that file. It is a utility, not an update.


    Now we have to see if it solves Dave's problem with that AVG thing.

    Thanks everyone.

  3. Hi, I'm back. Sorry to have been away from this for so long.



    Yes, that's the file I spoke of. It's version 4_53_71, and it's 188,406 bytes.


    DrBsr1: if you want to try this file and can't get it down off the server (it took me six tries to get it down to compare) I can email it.


    It's not that AVG thinks the old file is a virus - it actually identifies it - it's just AVG has problems with it.


    Send me a personal message (PM) mentioning that file and an email address I can send it to, and I'll do that for you. Please to pop back here afterwards and let us know how it goes.

  4. Hi Steve,


    I just read my Direct CD 3.05 test disc when using Easy Media Creator 7.5's "Drag to Disc", and it read fine.

    Drag to Disc (D2D) is the equivalent of the earlier Direct CD.


    I think that D2D did an unauthorized write to the disc when I ejected it though, as it told me to wait while it prepared the disc for ejection and now the disc reads whether D2D is running or not.


    Pah! Now I have to install version 3 again to make another test disc. I didn't need that.


    eBay has always been a good source of genuine discs from owners who are upgrading and want to sell their old version. I think you're unlikely to get genuine Version 8 discs from there as it's the latest version, although I have seen some members saying they're going back to 7.x until 8's teething problems get fixed. I think if you can find a genuine 7.5 there it should be worth getting. There are also a lot of good discount deals going out there.


    I think you should be aware, once you get access to your photos again, that storing them on a rewriteable disc is NOT a good idea since CDRWs lose data quite quickly. Neither is storing them on formatted discs because of reliability and interchangeability issues.


    For reliability and universal access, store precious stuff on CD-Rs written as a standard CDROM by Creator Classic.

  5. Crazycomputer,


    It looks as though you're using Direct CD and writing on a formatted disc, especially if you can read the disc on your machine while others can't read it on theirs.


    Direct CD when it is working properly will lock a disc in the drive because there are things it should do to a disc before it is ejected. You shouldn't try to manually eject it with the drive button, but should go into the Direct CD formatting wizard and eject it through the software.


    Your best path to preserve your family pictures is to read them all off that CD onto the hard drive. Once they're safely there, burn them to a CD-R disc with CD Creator's data project. DON'T use Direct CD to format the disc, but write a data project to an unformatted disc.


    That will produce a standard CDROM disc which can be read by any PC. If the pictures are precious, make another copy of the CD and keep is safely somewhere else in case you damage the first one.


    In summary, don't use a formatted disc because it will give the problems you've already found. Don't use a re-writeable disc (CD-RW) because they aren't stable and will fade quite quickly.



    Now, if my guess about you using a formatted disc is wrong, please come back here because something is quite wrong in your system.

  6. Hi Cody,


    I think that's more likely to be a hardware problem than software. Drives which sold in the time of ECDC4 are reaching the end of their expected service life.


    When you insert a disc in a drive the drive spins up and reads the disc. After a successful read it reports to the computer what sort of disc it has, and sets itself ready to operate. The drive decides what disc it has, not the software.


    The laser unit on CD/DVD drives normally faces up, so you see the label of the disc as it goes into the machine. This is handy, but it also means that dust, fibers, and other garbage can settle on the lens over time. This can cause read and write errors. If the dust isn't firmly stuck on the lens it can move, giving sporadic errors.


    I think it would be worth getting a lens cleaning disc and cleaning the laser lens. Cleaning kits aren't expensive and are a good investment. There's a good chance this will improve the read so your drive no longer mistakes what sort of discs you've fed it.


    There is always an outside chance that parts of the drive are failing and cleaning won't help, but it's certainly a good thing to try first.

  7. Hello Brad,


    There are two ways ECDC4 can write to CDs.

    1) Using Direct CD, and writing single files or bunches of files to a FORMATTED CD.

    2) Using CD Creator and writing either a whole CD or at least a "session" to an UNFORMATTED CD.


    Method 1 can be handy for local or short-term use, but the discs are unreadable on another machine unless you're running Direct CD on that machine too. Often they're unreadable unless you have the exact same environment as when you wrote them. Handy, but not over-practical or safe. Since you're having trouble I assume that you were using this method.


    Method 2 is not so easy for dropping the odd file onto a CD, but it makes STANDARD CDROMs which can be read on any PC and many other machines.


    Both methods can be used on either CD-R (write-once) or CD-RW (re-writeable) discs


    If you want to archive precious stuff, use method 2 and write it onto a CD-R not a rewriteable CD. For very precious stuff write two CDs and store them in different places. Never trust your only copy of a precious file to a packet-written (formatted) disc.


    Nero has similar systems. Their "InCD" is the equivalent of method 1, and the regular Nero writer uses method 2. Their StartSmart is a menu system, and Data CD should take you to the safe method 2.


    - - - - -


    Right, that was how to archive them. Now, how to recover them from your old discs.


    Various claims have been made about reading old Direct CD discs on new versions of the software, but the results (if any) have been patchy. They seem to rely on a combination of the new system, the new software, the new CD/DVD drive, and the way you hold your mouth.


    I believe that your most reliable and least expensive solution is to get a recovery program such as CD Roller (www.cdroller.com) or ISO Buster (www.isobuster.com). These programs allow a trial so that you can see what files they can recover, though you need the paid version to actually do the recovery. Our forum members have recommended both of these recovery programs.


    I wish you success.

  8. Jim,


    My great regrets, I put you wrong earlier. It was version 5 where the CDkey was split from the TSID, not 4. One thousand apologies.


    In version 4 the TSID serves both installation and support functions (while the program was still supported). During installation the number is stored in several different locations. I did a mimimal install of Creator; the menu system; and JCC; and the number was stored in 4 different sub-keys.



    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Adaptec\Easy CD Creator 4\4.0\Registration

    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Adaptec\Easy CD Engine\1.0\Registration

    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Adaptec\Jewel Case Creator\4.0\Registration


    If your uninstalling didn't remove those keys they may still be there. Run REGEDIT.EXE and either navigate to the Adaptec section of HKLM or else search for "Registration" to see if you can find one still intact.

  9. You don't need a TSID to install Easy CD Creator 4, you need a CD Key.


    You can't get past that.


    You say "reinstall". If it has been previously installed on THAT machine with that operating system and the registry hasn't been damaged, it may be possible to locate the CD key in the registry.


    Is that the case, or is it a new install in this system?

  10. Jim,


    If you have the original drive that the OEM software came with, it should work WITHOUT UPDATES being necessary.


    If it isn't working (and the drive's still okay) then the software has been broken by something or hasn't been installed successfully.


    Tell us more about your operating system, the drive, the machine, and the software history, so we can see where it broke.

  11. How do I post a question to the board. I am logged it, and it lets me ask a question, and then I send it, but I don't know where it is being sent to and what my answers are from anyone. Where is the board? I just got used of the old board.



    That's a good paradox, Judy.


    If you see my reply there was no need for it, because you found where your question was going to and where the answers were.


    If you don't see my reply, how can I tell you where to look?

  12. Dave said :"I'm really reluctant to do this to my machine because it is used for business purposes and I don't want to take a chance on screwing it up, so I'd like to find another solution. That solution apparently is to update the Roxio applet in MP9, which brings me back to my original question: How can I get an engine update from Roxio?"


    I have an idea that this was a conflict with the CDR4 module in WMP9, CDR4 being a Roxio module and one of the reasons why Windows Media Player conflicted with earlier versions of CD Creator.


    Roxio put out a fix file, UPDATECDR4_53_71.EXE which was 188,406 bytes, and I think this was to fix that problem.


    I haven't been able to find that file available from the Roxio site when I had a look just before, but I do have a copy of it from about a year ago. If you need, I can experiment on my Version 5 and see what that file does.

  13. There are two types of 4, Standard and DeLuxe. If you get a "file not found" error it's usually because you have the wrong sort of updater and it's testing for the presence of a file which your version doesn't have.


    [pssst! just quietly, there's no version 4.5 - the highest reached was 4.05 ]

  14. John,


    There are two main methods of writing CDs used by the Easy CD Creator suite.


    1) Direct CD, where you format a disc and drag 'n' drop files onto it. This is a proprietory format meant for local use, and it won't be readable by most other systems.


    2) CD Creator which writes a STANDARD CD ROM onto an unformatted CD.


    You should use method 2 if you want to produce CDs which can be reliably read by other people or even yourself if your system changes.

  15. Well, it isn't that the OEM version supports one of those drives while the others don't.


    Brad doesn't say which drive he's having problems with, but the LTR-16102C has been supported since ECDC version 4.03a, and the DVR-105 since


    As long as your ECDC is 5.3.1 or better you don't need to go all the way up to 5.3.5, and the DriveUp add-on is quite pointless.


    Brad, I can't advise further as "caused my OEM software to stop working" is pretty nebulous. You haven't even said which software has stopped, let alone what is happening.


    Have a read of Lynn's "Frequent answers" and you'll see the sort of information we need if we're to help you.