Problems with monkey's audio files

[das[ITA]]

I have

CODEC decompression error for 'F:\Musica\Track02.ape'

How can I solve this problem?

[LtData]

Have you downloaded the Monkey's Audio Codec from Codec Central (http://www.dbpoweramp.com/codec-central.htm) ?

[drspy00]

I had a similar problem to this before I went overseas when I was trying to convert my entire collection to .ape then to mp3. i'm not sure how I overcome the problem but I think I just tried again and it worked or I might have just not added the problem tracks to the CD.

[neilthecellist]

er.....it's been many days and the guy who posted this thread has not responded.......

oh well.

[das[ITA]]

I'm here
And I have the problem

please help me to solve it

[LtData]

Your trying to decode a Monkey's file, right? Can you play the .ape file in a media player? Did you try to test-convert the file? What is the bits (24 or 16) and frequenzy (44100Hz, 48000Hz, etc.) of the file?

[neilthecellist]

Dude, you gotta tell us if you downloaded the Monkey's Audio codec or not..... That way we know if you're doing something or not...

[das[ITA]]

When I try to test convert the file, it says
CODEC decompression error for 'F:MusicaTrack02.ape'

I converted other Monkey's files and I had no problem

How can I know the bits and frequency of the file?

(thank you LtData)

[LtData]

Right-click on the file and click Properties, then click the "ID Tag" tab. Does it tell you the bits and frequency of the file?

If you don't see the "ID Tag" tab, open up your dMC Configuration (Start --> Programs --> dbPowerAmp Music Converter --> Configuration --> dMC Configuration) and click the "Explorer ID Tag Property Pages" checkbox and click OK. Now go back to the properties of the file and click the "ID Tag" tab.

[neilthecellist]

....or you can simply hover your mouse over the ape file for 1-2 seconds and the stats should pop up.

[Spoon]

Install the latest dBpowerAMP Monkeys Codec.

[neilthecellist]

speaking of which, what version of Monkey's do you have?

[brandonjp]

i just started having this problem tonight...
I use dMC several several times everyday and have never had this problem until today. The APE file I was converting today was rather large [250mb] but even so, I've converted larger before without problems. I'm running everything up to date, but no luck. I'm still trying, so let me know if anyone has ideas
--bp

[LtData]

i just started having this problem tonight...
I use dMC several several times everyday and have never had this problem until today. The APE file I was converting today was rather large [250mb] but even so, I've converted larger before without problems. I'm running everything up to date, but no luck. I'm still trying, so let me know if anyone has ideas
--bp
What was the error?
How many channels did the Ape file have that you were converting?
What were you converting to?
Source and destination frequency?

[brandonjp]

converting from an 118 minute long, 16-bit, 2-channel, 44.1-kHz ape file made with monkey's audio version 3.97 @ Extra High compression

converting to 16-bit, 2-channel, 44.1-kHz wav
it usually takes around 2 min 10 sec to get 38% completed then gives this error:
"CODEC decompression error for 'D:\0-TRADES\BURN_AUDIO\lar at the pc.ape'"

[Spoon]

You could try the mac.exe (monkeys audio official decoder), if that does not work then the file could be corrupted.

[MikeCerm]

Ditto on what Spoon said, it's probably corrupted. Monkey's Audio is great lossless compression. It's so great that with it's internal CRC's, MAC can tell you whether or not a file is corrupted. Unfortunately, there's absolutely no way to recover the corrupted data, or even the uncorrupted parts. A few times I've wished that I could just output the corrupted file with some pops or clicks, but if an APE file is corrupted, it's dead and gone. If you've got precious files that you're archiving in APE format, always keep a back-up.

[brandonjp]

If you've got precious files that you're archiving in APE format, always keep a back-up.

which is more than frustrating since my ape file WERE the backups

I can get the first 38% recovered with dMC...i've not tried the actual MAC converter, but it's worth a shot

should i basically just starting keep everything in WAV instead?

[MikeCerm]

which is more than frustrating since my ape file WERE the backups

I can get the first 38% recovered with dMC...i've not tried the actual MAC converter, but it's worth a shot

should i basically just starting keep everything in WAV instead?

Well, depending upon how safe you want your data, WAV isn't a bad idea. I don't know how your APE back-ups got corrupted, but what I would strongly suggest is that you keep back-ups in a hard format. Always make "safety" CDs, or you can burn a bunch of APEs to DVD. Hard-disks are just not totally safe for long term data-storage or vital data, especially something like APE files that can be totally ruined by just a few messed up bytes. Hard-drives are always making copies of your data, even if you don't always realize it. If you defragment a hard-drive, your data will be better organized, but you do run the risk of dropping a few bytes here or there.

Seriously though, I could go on and on about backing stuff up, and everybody knows that they should, but nobody backs up anything enough. Mostly because it seems like a waste of time. I've been using Monkey's Audio for more than 5 years, and I've only ever had a couple of corrupted files. To be as safe as possible, just don't keep important stuff on your hard-drive. Also, think about how cheap DVDs are. You can back-up 100 gigs of uncompressed WAV's for maybe around $12. If you use Monkey's Audio, you can store the same amount of stuff for about $8. It's all about how safe you want your data, and what price will you are willing to pay.