Virtual CD technology

[charles.monteiro]

hi, I have the occassional need for a virtual cd, i.e. something which will look and behave as a physical CD to the rest of the system. Specifically, I need to be able to burn to said virtual cd and eventually to either rip from said virtual cd or actually burn that virtual cd onto a CD-R.

There's actually something called Virtual CD

see:

http://www.virtualcd-online.com/vcd/.../home.cfm?lg=0

not sure if it accomplishes what I need. Anybody have any experience with this?

Also are there any other alternatives? especially open-source and with a decent user community?

thanks in advance

[Justin]

There's also daemon-tools I think... which works pretty well

[charles.monteiro]

thanks justin, I had forgotten about these guys I had tried them way back, although I don't think I actually cared about burning onto the virtual drive.

Anyhow, unfortunately I'm having issues installing it and the adware thing that it comes with, something about can't add "device 41" and the Visual C++ runtime just kills their seach tool bar app.

Maybe I don't have an updated C++ runtime ? although I guess if that is the case it probably would affect Reaper and it doesn't.

Again, thanks I'll get on their forum and see if I can figure out my install issue.

[maa]

Originally Posted by charles.monteiro

something which will look and behave as a physical CD to the rest of the system................I need to be able to burn to said virtual cd

Sounds like my search for a virtual burner a while back.
I found no such thing, only the method of mounting an image which needs creating beforehand.


Cheers

M

[Art Evans]

Is this what the Nero ImageDrive does?

[charles.monteiro]

Originally Posted by maa

Sounds like my search for a virtual burner a while back.
I found no such thing, only the method of mounting an image which needs creating beforehand.


Cheers

M

not good, that's exactly what I am looking for. I'll look into ImageDrive, I do seem to be having issues with the Visual C++ runtime now, maybe one of my latest installs corrupted the runtime.

[charles.monteiro]

re: ImageDrive

I can't tell, this is what Nero says it does:

Nero ImageDrive – Virtual Drive Setup
Main features

* Supports CD and DVD ROM drive emulation
* Supports up to two image drives simultaneously
* Mount image after boot of PC
* Seamless integration into Windows Explorer
* Ultra fast drive emulation
* Supports *.nrg and *.iso file format

So can I use the Nero burner to burn on to an "ImageDrive" or does this mean just that it can mount an image?

I'm surprised this does not seem to be available.

[charles.monteiro]

ask and ye shall receive, check out:

http://www.networkworld.com/columnis...rc=rss-columns

[Art Evans]

Yes, you can burn to Nero's Image Drive, but I think only from Nero???

[maa]

Originally Posted by Art Evans

Yes, you can burn to Nero's Image Drive, but I think only from Nero???

You sure of that ART ?

A virtual CD burner must of course apear as hardware to windows applications!

Originally Posted by charles.monteiro

ask and ye shall receive, check out:

http://www.networkworld.com/columnis...rc=rss-columns

Now that is fantastic news !!

Cheers

M

Ok - I just checked out Nero again - put it this way:
Its a virtual CD player - not a virtual CD writer.

One's easilly misslead by the nomenclature which is the reason I never would have looked at 'Virtual CD'. To me that doesn't suggest a virtual burner.

BTW - there is no link in the article so ite here:
http://www.virtualcd-online.com

[Billoon]

I use Daemon Tools for this, if you use v3.47 theres no adware/toolbar guff...(probably only need v4 for game CDs).

http://www.disc-tools.com/download/daemon347+md5sum

Write the CD to bin/cue(from within REAPER) and mount the cue file with DTools. You can later burn the bin/cue with CDRWin(my fav), Nero, CDRecord etc.

Maybe we could get an option to burn a bin/cue from within REAPER(seperate from the render process)...so you can render to bin/cue, mount it and check it...then go back into REAPER to burn it???

Neros Imagedrive does the same thing except only Nero can write/burn the *.img file it creates....but DTools can mount it.

[maa]

Originally Posted by Billoon

I use Daemon Tools for this,

Sorry but you missed the whole point of the thread.

[Billoon]

Originally Posted by maa

Sorry but you missed the whole point of the thread.

Nah, i just presented a partial solution.

Sure, you cant "burn" to Dtools...but you can use a bunch of programs to render to bin/cue and mount the bin/cue with DTools.

You can then rip from the mounted bin/cue as if it was a hardware CD.

Another possible solution is to burn to CD-RW, then rip/mount an image from that.

Any "Virtual Drive" is gonna have to "burn" to some sort of image file anyway...so, to me, theres no difference doing it this way...and the advantage is this method is virtually free.

Anyway...this might do the trick, havet tried it but its got a free trial.

Original CD Emulator.... http://www.ztekware.com/

[maa]

Originally Posted by Billoon

Sure, you cant "burn" to Dtools...but you can use a bunch of programs to render to bin/cue and mount the bin/cue with DTools.

You can then rip from the mounted bin/cue as if it was a hardware CD.

I'm sure you mean well but if I understood correctly that was Exactly what the original poster was trying to avoid.

The 'Original CD Emulator' seems to be able to emulate a burner so thanks for spotting that.


Cheers

M

[charles.monteiro]

Originally Posted by maa

You sure of that ART ?

A virtual CD burner must of course apear as hardware to windows applications!


Now that is fantastic news !!

Cheers

M

Ok - I just checked out Nero again - put it this way:
Its a virtual CD player - not a virtual CD writer.

One's easilly misslead by the nomenclature which is the reason I never would have looked at 'Virtual CD'. To me that doesn't suggest a virtual burner.

BTW - there is no link in the article so ite here:
http://www.virtualcd-online.com

I bumped into the article as I was looking for the various alternatives. I went ahead and purchased it i.e. its a reasonable value at $34.00. Unfortunately, something's wrong, its very slow some of the functionality seems to be missing and other issues. Frankly, I don't think its the app but rather I believe that somehow I must of clobbered some underlying common runtimes that all these apps would use. Its a C/C++ app as well.

If it does what it is advertised to do i.e. including what its help files state it does then this is the solution I have been looking for.

[Art Evans]

Ah yes - I'm thinking of the Nero Image Recorder - having burned the image you can then play it using the Image Drive.

[charles.monteiro]

hey, not that this is a windows user forum but I checked the driver that Virtual CD installs and although loaded it has issues and specifically states an error code 41 which apparently is a common issue related to the use of cd-roms , possibly registry related.

Anyhow, sort of a music/audio issue , perhaps somebody here has had to deal with it. I'd feel a lot better if I got some feedback from you all before attempting some of the strategies I encountered "googling" this.

tia

[charles.monteiro]

Originally Posted by maa

Sounds like my search for a virtual burner a while back.
I found no such thing, only the method of mounting an image which needs creating beforehand.


Cheers

M

BTW, I also bumped into this:

http://www.noteburner.com/

which is more specific and only handles one aspect of what I need. I do have about $200.00 worth of iTunes content which are just stuck in my hd since when my crappy iPod died on me I opted for a different solution i.e. a Cowan IAudio X5, very happy with it, great value. Obviously, it does not handle iTunes proprietary format so I am forced to spend countless hours burning my legit , paid w/ good money content into CD-R, just so that I can spend another set of countless hours ripping them so that I can later drop them on the X5.

But I also really would like virtual CDs, for quick accessibility to some key reference materials , on CD and DVD format, also for the option of burning to a virtual cd but having the luxury to defer burning to an actual CD-R.

[maa]

So have you found the problem with 'Virtual CD' ?


Cheers

M

[charles.monteiro]

both my research and a reply from the virtual cd support team points out to the use of "filter drivers"
whatever that may be

I was pointed here:

http://amazingtechs.com/index.php?showtopic=24518

However, I have not yet moved to make the changes suggested by the article because I need to furnish the virtual cd support team with my "diagnostics" , something that you run from within virtual cd.

I'll keep you all posted.

[maa]

Right - I tryed it too and the virtual burner works with a competition audio program but looses the CD Text on the way.
It does not work with CDRWIN or Burrrn or Feurio.
Shame cause I'd have bought it.

The Original CD Emulator.... http://www.ztekware.com/
causes 'devision by 0' and offers very little in comparrison to Virtual CD


Cheers

M

[JJJ]

Originally Posted by maa

You sure of that ART ?

A virtual CD burner must of course apear as hardware to windows applications!


Now that is fantastic news !!

Cheers

M

Ok - I just checked out Nero again - put it this way:
Its a virtual CD player - not a virtual CD writer.

One's easilly misslead by the nomenclature which is the reason I never would have looked at 'Virtual CD'. To me that doesn't suggest a virtual burner.

BTW - there is no link in the article so ite here:
http://www.virtualcd-online.com

In nero burning rom you can click on tne recorder menu/choose recorder/image recorder to create an .iso file which can be 'mounted" on a virtual cd/dvd drive (ie: nero image drive). Is this what you need to do?

JJJ

[maa]

Originally Posted by JJJ

Is this what you need to do?

Nope

Its the first line you quoted me as saying:

A virtual CD burner must of course apear as hardware to windows applications!

Garanteed to confuse everybody it seems.

Cheers

M

[JJJ]

Originally Posted by maa

Nope

Its the first line you quoted me as saying:





Garanteed to confuse everybody it seems.

Cheers

M

Well, the the drive appears in both the device manager and windows explorer. What I do is edit video-burn dvd to image (iso)-test in media player (acts just like a regular dvd) and if it's ok, use nero to burn regular dvd from iso (burn image).


JJJ

[maa]

Originally Posted by JJJ

Well, the the drive appears ....
JJJ

Drive = Burner ??????????


Anyone else confused ?

LOL

[JJJ]

Originally Posted by maa

Drive = Burner ??????????


Anyone else confused ?

LOL

You, apparently

LOL indeed.

"""***BURN*** dvd to image (iso)-test in media player (acts just like a regular dvd) and if it's ok, use nero to burn regular dvd from iso (burn image)."""

[maa]

Oh dear - JJJ you're not getting it are you.

Of the many programs offering virtual drives (probably 30 or more) out there - Nero is one. Well done for spotting that. Cool. Nero makes images - *.nrg - fantastic you got that.

Read the whole thread again before answering.

If you still want to prove you have a virtual burner then put up a screenshot, lets say the dialog when you call it from Burrrn or CDRWIN or BurnXP or any other program that can write to a burner, virtual or otherwise.

I'd be the first to rejoyce if Nero actually had a virtual burner
............

[charles.monteiro]

Originally Posted by maa

Oh dear - JJJ you're not getting it are you.

Of the many programs offering virtual drives (probably 30 or more) out there - Nero is one. Well done for spotting that. Cool. Nero makes images - *.nrg - fantastic you got that.

Read the whole thread again before answering.

If you still want to prove you have a virtual burner then put up a screenshot, lets say the dialog when you call it from Burrrn or CDRWIN or BurnXP or any other program that can write to a burner, virtual or otherwise.

I'd be the first to rejoyce if Nero actually had a virtual burner
............

UPDATE:

I'm starting to think that the virtual cd/burner technology is just too brittle and subject to too many external factors. Virtual CD which apparently seems to be one of the oldest in the game are apparently not capable of handling certain issues. I still have the same error as when I started and after having gone thru some of their recommendations. What bothers me is that I don't think I have a very atypical setup. Two DVD/CD roms and about 4 apps that can burn i.e. sounds common place.

Whatever you do , try the trial of anything before you buy. This was the type of thing that if a company stated that they could do I had no reason to doubt i.e. either you can mimic a hardware device or you can't.

Its looking bleak , I'm told that they don't have any idea what's going on. We'll see what the weekend has to show.

[maa]

Originally Posted by charles.monteiro

Its looking bleak

Yeah shame - I already had a row with the developer because instead of him testing Burrrn - he said my system was full of foul drivers which is nuts - BS. Shame - Samplitude burns to their Virtual burner but without CDtext - he says thats too difficult.
Unless he fixes that - I wont be buying the program either.....

Cheers

M

[charles.monteiro]

Originally Posted by maa

Yeah shame - I already had a row with the developer because instead of him testing Burrrn - he said my system was full of foul drivers which is nuts - BS. Shame - Samplitude burns to their Virtual burner but without CDtext - he says thats too difficult.
Unless he fixes that - I wont be buying the program either.....

Cheers

M

yet another update:

I have been somewhat successful in that I gave up trying to install VC9 on my new Core2 Duo system but instead I installed it on my old notebook which is at least 3 years old, a Pentium IV 3.2 ghz on WinXP service pack 2. The notebook comes with one CD RW, it has a ton of CD burning apps and other multimedia apps.

VC9 installed quickly and fine and I was able to burn to the virtual burner. So it seems to me that the issue may be more related to newer hardware and bios.

This solution unfortunately is less than ideal and actually probably not viable for me. My objectives is to be able to quickly burn both CD and DVD and quickly be able to evaluate the end result which is why the notion of a virtual DVD/CD rom is perfect and something that would greatly facilitate my workflow. My pro audio/video apps are on my main PC i.e. not on the notebook, therefore its imperative that I be able to burn from my main PC somehow but unfortunately so far I am only able to install VC9 on my notebook.

As far as VC9 support I have even offered to run a debug version of their app but I basically got the "its not our app that's messing up" brush off. Obviously, their app does work but not in all circumstances and they don't have an actual grip of what all those circumstances are. Then again, its my fault for not taking the time to test their evaluation version. I basically paid out $40.00 to learn my lesson well.

[pop_n_fresh]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Categor...mage_emulators

Thought that could be of help to you.

I'm just wondering why you need one? I've never even heard of a virtual CD before, but I'm not very computer savvy, is this a common practice in digital recording or are you using it for a different application.

[charles.monteiro]

Originally Posted by pop_n_fresh

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Categor...mage_emulators

Thought that could be of help to you.

I'm just wondering why you need one? I've never even heard of a virtual CD before, but I'm not very computer savvy, is this a common practice in digital recording or are you using it for a different application.

suppose you wanted to check out what your project would look like once in CD/DVD form but did not want to waste CD-RW or for that matter waste the added time time it takes.

suppose you wanted a master disk to burn individual copies on-demand

suppose you had a number of CD / DVD reference type materials but would rather had them virtual since , well you don't have to look for them nor do you want to take the time to rip their contents to whatever necessary formats

the fact that you can buy a 500 gb SATA drive nowadays for about $125.00 , makes the prospect of virtualizing much of one's CD-R , DVD assets interesting.