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I'm using R17.7 registered, on a Windows 7 Dell desktop with an ATAPI iHAS124F disk drive.
After using the ripper for about two months I am extremely pleased with it. However I have been frustrated by my inability to automatically load meta data from Discogs. The manual URL copy workaround is slow and prone to error. Having many hundreds of CDs to rip, I began looking for a better way. I may have found one, see what you think.
[SIZE=3]Please Test This Fix:[/SIZE]
You should soon see meta data from Discogs without any further actions by you.
So far this fix appears to be permanent, meaning that the nine-step procedure above has to be done only once. However, I have not tested on earlier versions of the ripper or on other versions of Windows.
[SIZE=3]But Wait, There's More![/SIZE]
Most of us want to see meta data from more than one provider. No problem, because once you have gotten Discogs to work automatically as described above (i.e., as the sole selected provider), it continues to work, even after you re-enable (restore) the other providers in that dialog.
This result astonished me and I cannot explain it. So far my providers are working fine, even after several reboots of the PC. Below is my current lineup:
During your testing, you may want to disable the "dBpoweramp Cache" option in the Providers list. Otherwise it's easy to be fooled by local cache entries. But any time that you want to confirm that the displayed data really does come from Discogs, you can choose Discogs from the "Retrieve Metadata From" dialog. That will reload the data using only Discogs.
[SIZE=3]The Unsolved Mystery:[/SIZE]
So how can it be that my fix makes lasting changes? Perhaps the registry holds a clue. This is how my "Active Providers" key looks now, after restoring the default selections:
[SIZE=3]HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Illustrate\dBpowerAMP
CDripMetaActive1 = Discogs GD3 MusicBrainz freedb dBpoweramp Cache[/SIZE]
Unfortunately, I did not backup this key before testing my fix. That means that I do not have the original entry to compare with. Perhaps someone would post it here? Of course there may be other registry keys involved, ones that I do not know about. The point is that perhaps this fix could be implemented by a registry import file or files, rather than by my long procedure above. I will leave it to others here to research this possibility.
So is my fix too good to be true? Am I hallucinating? I don't know folks, but please give it a try and report your findings in this thread. If my fix works only for me then I promise I will drive myself straight to the loony bin....
After using the ripper for about two months I am extremely pleased with it. However I have been frustrated by my inability to automatically load meta data from Discogs. The manual URL copy workaround is slow and prone to error. Having many hundreds of CDs to rip, I began looking for a better way. I may have found one, see what you think.
[SIZE=3]Please Test This Fix:[/SIZE]
- Pick a CD that you know has data in Discogs.
- Do not insert the CD into your drive at this time. The drive must be empty for now.
- Do not copy the Discogs URL to the Windows clipboard.
- Open the CD ripper application, click the green menu icon, and choose "Active Providers".
- In that dialog verify that Discogs shows a check mark.
- Now remove the check marks from ALL of the other providers.
This is tedious as only one provider at a time can be deselected.
At this point only Discogs should remain selected (see image below).
- Close the Providers dialog by clicking outside of it.
- Now load the drive with the CD you selected in step one and close the drive tray.
- Touch nothing and wait for the results. The fix is in!
You should soon see meta data from Discogs without any further actions by you.
So far this fix appears to be permanent, meaning that the nine-step procedure above has to be done only once. However, I have not tested on earlier versions of the ripper or on other versions of Windows.
[SIZE=3]But Wait, There's More![/SIZE]
Most of us want to see meta data from more than one provider. No problem, because once you have gotten Discogs to work automatically as described above (i.e., as the sole selected provider), it continues to work, even after you re-enable (restore) the other providers in that dialog.
This result astonished me and I cannot explain it. So far my providers are working fine, even after several reboots of the PC. Below is my current lineup:
During your testing, you may want to disable the "dBpoweramp Cache" option in the Providers list. Otherwise it's easy to be fooled by local cache entries. But any time that you want to confirm that the displayed data really does come from Discogs, you can choose Discogs from the "Retrieve Metadata From" dialog. That will reload the data using only Discogs.
[SIZE=3]The Unsolved Mystery:[/SIZE]
So how can it be that my fix makes lasting changes? Perhaps the registry holds a clue. This is how my "Active Providers" key looks now, after restoring the default selections:
[SIZE=3]HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Illustrate\dBpowerAMP
CDripMetaActive1 = Discogs GD3 MusicBrainz freedb dBpoweramp Cache[/SIZE]
Unfortunately, I did not backup this key before testing my fix. That means that I do not have the original entry to compare with. Perhaps someone would post it here? Of course there may be other registry keys involved, ones that I do not know about. The point is that perhaps this fix could be implemented by a registry import file or files, rather than by my long procedure above. I will leave it to others here to research this possibility.
So is my fix too good to be true? Am I hallucinating? I don't know folks, but please give it a try and report your findings in this thread. If my fix works only for me then I promise I will drive myself straight to the loony bin....
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