CD Writer making blanks

[petriburg]

I've been having some trouble with the CD writer! Operating as instructed in the Readme file to record from mp3 files on my hard drive , what happens is everything appears to be progressing normally until the progress box shows the writing is 99% complete. It sits there for some seconds, then a "red cross" notice box appears, which says "CD Drive Error 'Invalid command field' Audio disc has not been written." There is a button below this which just says "OK". This has happened four times in a row, after first re-checking all settings, giving me four blank CDs. Immediately before these attempts, and again, immediately after the failed attempts with dBwriter, I successfully burnt a CD using Easy CD Creator, to prove that my burner (Sony CD-RW 143E) is working OK. Can you please throw some light on this problem? I basically like the application, and will use it for sure once it is working without glitches.
My system is WinXP Pro, (no SP1), 800MHz CPU, 640MB RAM

[Spoon]

Sounds like you have a CD writer that is not supported, some older CD writers need specific writing commands. Sorry about that.

[MasterOfPuppets]

I had the same exact problem, except it didn't wait until 99%, it stopped at about 3%. I was running beta 2 of the cd writer at that time. Right when beta 3 came out, I ran out of CD-Rs, so I got new CD-Rs made by a different company. Somehow upgrading to the next beta or switching CD-Rs fixed the problem.

What I would do is try a different make of CD-Rs (doing that has fixed many of my problems with cd writers in the past, not just dbpoweramp). If that doesn't work (and I don't know how much this'll help you because you're using the official release), I might suggest downgrading to the beta (I would try the different CD-R solution first).

Hope ya get it fixed.

[petriburg]

Well done, Master of Puppets! Your suggestion posed a small problem - where to get another brand of CDR on Christmas Day?
Luckily for me, dinner with my daughter and son-in-law allowed me to "borrow" a couple of blanks, and hey presto, a completed CD this morning.
[COLOR=red]Question for da man, Mr Spoon[/COLOR] Does this mean that I have to limit my CDR purchases to compatible makes if I retain my present burner? Alternatively, if I replace my CD burner for a newer model, will it be less concerned about what CDs it eats?

[Spoon]

Possibly that is true, but even the CD drive manufaturer could not tell you, the only way is the try and see.

[Spoon]

Thanks, I will update the FAQ

[petriburg]

Thanks again for your help, everyone! I have now purchased and installed a Lite On 48/24/48 unit. The installation went without a hitch, and on an initial test, I successfully recorded an 80min CD from my mp3 files on a 'Laser' CDR (the same sort that my previous unit wouldn't write with dBamp CD writer). So, Spoon, your initial assessment was correct. I could, of course, have continued with the old unit and restricted my CDR purchases to those which it would write, but these Laser discs have been reliable in the past, and can be bought very reasonably in bulk packs - an important consideration for me!

[MasterOfPuppets]

It's interesting how the CD-R, the burning program and the burner itself all have to be compatible, or else you get blank discs. I've always had the same burner, but throughout the years I've used different burning programs and different CD-Rs, and have got different results (its all down to trial and error anyway )