Re: CD problem: hardware or software?
On (29/07/05 08:55), Daniel Ramaley wrote:
> On Friday 29 July 2005 08:26 am, Hendrik Boom wrote:
> >On Fri, Jul 29, 2005 at 08:16:06AM -0500, Daniel Ramaley wrote:
> >> I'm running testing on a PowerPC (a Mac Mini to be precise). I have
> >> an external CD drive that i am using to rip my CD collection (i'm
> >> using an external to avoid wear and tear on the more expensive
> >> internal drive). The problem is that after bootup i can rip CDs for
> >> a little while (where "a little while" ranges from 1/2 of a disc to
> >> 10 discs, usually towards the lower end of the range), but then
> >> errors start showing up in dmesg and on the console. The only way to
> >> resume ripping is to reboot the computer; detaching the CD drive,
> >> power cycling the CD, and reconnecting it to the computer doesn't
> >> fix the problem. If i reboot the computer and power cycle the CD
> >> drive, the problem is fixed and i can resume ripping right where i
> >> left off (which implies to me that the problem isn't with the discs
> >> i've been ripping).
> >
> >Could something be overheating? You could perhaps try putting the
> >external drive in the refrigerator for a few minutes, but not long
> > enough that condensation can become a problem. Then take it out and
> > see if it works any longer. It is an external disk, after all.
> >
> >Of course it could be another part overheating, such as the USB
> > interface inside the computer, which is harder to refrigerate.
> >
> >I had problems like this with a video card a while ago. It turned out
> >that one of the cooling fans was clogged with dust and not turning.
>
> Thanks for the quick response. I'll look into cooling issues with the
> drive, though i suspect that isn't the problem. The external enclosure
> that the drive is in is very new. The cooling fan runs great and isn't
> clogged with dust yet. I can try running it with the lid off to see if
> that makes a difference. The drive itself is a few years old; it is a
> 36x that i pulled from a machine at work that we were sending to
> recycling.
>
> I was actually having the same problem on a different machine running
> the same software, using the same external drive. The other machine was
> a G3 iMac, which shouldn't have heating issues with the USB or Firewire
> interfaces since there is more room for air circulation. So i suspect
> that the problem is either with the external drive or with the
> software.
It may be unrelated but I tried 'grip' on an AMD64 laptop but found
after 4 or 5 tracks, the machine vibrated badly and then shut itself
down. It had become really hot and took a while to recover but seems
fine now.
Needless to say I uninstalled grip and decided to only rip on a 'cool'
machine.
As Hendrik says, your problem sounds heat related.
Regards
Clive
--
www.clivemenzies.co.uk ...
...strategies for business
Reply to: