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Topic: EAC slows to 0.2 X reading speed (Read 11292 times) previous topic - next topic
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EAC slows to 0.2 X reading speed

(I'm sure this is a known issue, but haven't found any proper discussion on this..)

I always rip CDs with "accurate" settings. Some CDs will be ripped in 5 minutes, while some others will, at a certain point, slow down to 0.2X or 0.3X reading speed and will take 3 hours to extract, and EAC will sometimes not be responding.

Why does this happen?


I can understand if the reading speed lowers to read a section more accurately, but then it should go up again..

EAC slows to 0.2 X reading speed

Reply #1 –
You should be ripping in burst mode with AccurateRip for verification.

EAC slows to 0.2 X reading speed

Reply #2 –
Quote from: pdq on
You should be ripping in burst mode with AccurateRip for verification.

AccurateRip verification is often not available for my CDs, so I'm not counting on that.

And for burst mode, I read that it's not as reliable as the secure mode.

My priority is accurate rips.


I just wonder why some CDs take that long. (CDs in perfect condition, BTW. Some scratched ones can get ripped much faster.)

EAC slows to 0.2 X reading speed

Reply #3 –
Quote from: Brand on
And for burst mode, I read that it's not as reliable as the secure mode.

Not strictly true. Burst mode Test and Copy ensuring matching CRCs is a good methodology to use.

See also this post.
daefeatures.co.uk

EAC slows to 0.2 X reading speed

Reply #4 –
I found out that my question is answered in the EAC FAQ:
Quote
If you have selected “Allow Speed Reduction” and the speed box also shows different possible speeds, then the problem lies within the reader. It could help to use the cool down feature (let it cool down every 15-30 min for several minutes, perhaps this already solves it). Otherwise don’t use the flag “Allow Speed Reduction”, but of course then it won’t read anymore that accurate on bad sectors.


It's not the solution I was looking for, but I guess I'll try cooling the drive for now.


Quote from: evereux on
Quote from: Brand on
And for burst mode, I read that it's not as reliable as the secure mode.

Not strictly true. Burst mode Test and Copy ensuring matching CRCs is a good methodology to use.

See also this post.

I've read a bit of posts on those methods. Seems like Burst T&C is only as good as secure on CDs which aren't scratched. I don't really know what qualifies as a scratched CD, since pretty much all the CDs I saw in my life were at least a tiny little bit scratched. Even the brand new ones, probably.

Whatever the method, I'd like to stay on the safe side with ripping. I wouldn't want to regret this down the road, finding a damaged song from a rip when the CD is long gone.

EAC slows to 0.2 X reading speed

Reply #5 –
If your disc is scratched to the point where the drive cannot give consistent results then your CRCs won't match.  If they do match, then there won't be some "down the road" scenario to be concerned with.

There is the issue with errors being consistent, however.  Unfortunately because of the way EAC works, the chances of errors being concealed by matching checksums are increased by using secure mode over burst mode.

EAC slows to 0.2 X reading speed

Reply #6 –
I now ripped a CD (secure mode, the one EAC offered me for accuracy in the wizard) and got the "Read CRC" values for each track. I then tested one track. The "Read CRC" value of the track changed (it is the same as the "Test CRC" and it says OK). Is this normal?

EAC slows to 0.2 X reading speed

Reply #7 –
I’ve pretty much given up on EAC for DEA (a Plaster PX-W4012A and a Lite-On 5239V). It may start out at high speed but very frequently gets very slow (down to 0.1X), in burst mode, when other programs work at high speed on the same CD. These have often been new CDs in the first read ever. While I don’t know if the data comes off bit perfect from the other programs (mostly Plextor’s Audio Capture 2000), I do know that there is nothing wrong to be heard when I listen to it.

EAC slows to 0.2 X reading speed

Reply #8 –
Back to the original question.

These are my findings:

1. The slowdown almost always (90%) happens on track no. 2 with all CDs. It once happened on track 1 and once on track 3, but never later than that.

2. I think I can predict when the slowdown will occur.. that is, when the drive is noisier before starting the rip (when it spins faster).

3. To fix it and to rip the CD at normal speed it's enough to restart EAC (or to open and close the CD tray - using both seems to be the definitive fix).


From all of the above, I'm not sure the cause is the overheating. It probably has something to do with the hardware part, the drive itself. Or maybe just a bug in the reader's driver or the way EAC communicates with it.

It also seems to happen with both secure and burst modes. The burst mode will still be faster, but often hovering at just around 2X, so - just like with secure mode - the rip will be more than 10X slower than normal.

I'm using Windows 7 64bit, BTW. The drive is a Samsung SH-S223C.

EAC slows to 0.2 X reading speed

Reply #9 –
Quote from: Brand on
the way EAC communicates with it.
This would be my guess.

Quote from: Brand on
It also seems to happen with both secure and burst modes.
That's too bad, I was hoping the problem would at least go away in burst mode.

Have you tried ripping as a single file image?

EAC slows to 0.2 X reading speed

Reply #10 –
Quote from: greynol on
Have you tried ripping as a single file image?

I just did now and the same slowdown/unresponsiveness started to happen at around the position of track 2 (5.5% with this CD).


I guess something happens at the end of first track(/beginning of second) that triggers this sometimes.. But I didn't find a way to reproduce this consistently.

EAC slows to 0.2 X reading speed

Reply #11 –
Have you tried various read commands (MMC, MMC 1, ...2, ...3 etc)?

Have you tried telling the drive to spin-up before extraction (though I'm guessing this particular suggestion will only make it worse)?

EAC slows to 0.2 X reading speed

Reply #12 –
Quote from: greynol on
Have you tried telling the drive to spin-up before extraction (though I'm guessing this particular suggestion will only make it worse)?

I enabled that and now EAC very often freezes (not responding), especially at the beginning of the first few tracks on a CD (it gets better with the last tracks). And ripping the CD takes a bit longer with the spin up (since it's applied to every track separately).

But OTOH, I didn't encounter a slowdown in reading speed, yet (tried 7 CDs). Maybe it's just coincidence, but it could actually be a workaround.


I haven't tried any other read commands, yet.

EAC slows to 0.2 X reading speed

Reply #13 –
When I was an EAC user I'd rip using Cue/Image for problem discs which completely eliminates the need to "spin up disc" before ripping since EAC has to get the gaps anyway.

Of course your issues can be solely drive related and some drives are just finicky with some discs, so if you have another drive try ripping problem discs in it. Also your solution may be to try a different ripping software, and then listen to your rips for verification that they're alright.

EAC slows to 0.2 X reading speed

Reply #14 –
Quote from: Brand on
I'm using Windows 7 64bit, BTW. The drive is a Samsung SH-S223C.


What motherboard are you using? I had an issue with Windows 7 64-bit as well. I had to update my chipset drivers (in my case, JMB363) before EAC would rip properly. I'm thinking you might have the same issue.

EAC slows to 0.2 X reading speed

Reply #15 –
Quote from: Orbit on
Quote from: Brand on
I'm using Windows 7 64bit, BTW. The drive is a Samsung SH-S223C.


What motherboard are you using? I had an issue with Windows 7 64-bit as well. I had to update my chipset drivers (in my case, JMB363) before EAC would rip properly. I'm thinking you might have the same issue.

Asrock ALiveNF6G-VSTA. I don't see anything useful there, but I don't know.. let me know if you have an idea.


Quote from: Andavari on
When I was an EAC user I'd rip using Cue/Image for problem discs which completely eliminates the need to "spin up disc" before ripping since EAC has to get the gaps anyway.

Of course your issues can be solely drive related and some drives are just finicky with some discs, so if you have another drive try ripping problem discs in it. Also your solution may be to try a different ripping software, and then listen to your rips for verification that they're alright.

It doesn't seem to be about problem discs. A CD can rip perfectly once and then be problematic the next time. It's about the drive, EAC or drivers/Windows.
I might try using Foobar or something for ripping and see..

EAC slows to 0.2 X reading speed

Reply #16 –
Quote from: Brand on
Asrock ALiveNF6G-VSTA. I don't see anything useful there, but I don't know.. let me know if you have an idea.


Well you are using the nForce 430 chipset (drivers: http://www.nvidia.com/object/nforce_vista_...bit_15.49.html). I would make sure you are using those drivers at the link there instead of the ones that Microsoft automatically uses by default. With Windows 7, Microsoft has "default" drivers available for the hardware, so everything seems to work, but those drivers don't always appear to be the best drivers available.

Try those and see if they make a difference. If not, I would always suggest trying a different SATA cable as well. It may be superstition, but I always like to change cables and see if it helps.
 

EAC slows to 0.2 X reading speed

Reply #17 –
Just FYI: I've updated the chipset and also the drive's firmware. So far no problems, but I've ripped too few CDs to make a definitive conclusion.

I'll let you know of any further developments.