Author Topic: Hardware advice: externally powered CD ripper?  (Read 8868 times)

Edward Janusz

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Some of the music I want in my .flac collection is only available on CD, so occasionally I still have to rip some (most recently a 30-disc set!).

My latest PC is fairly well set for processor power (Intel Core i7-7700T CPU @ 2.90GHz, 64 GB installed RAM) but CDs rip very slowly compared to an older computer I had last year. This one is air-cooled - no fans - and I believe  the power supply may be a bit underpowered for external accessories such as my otherwise sturdy portable CD tray. I don't have the exact rating, but fanless computers generally have less power draw than their counterparts with fans. My previous computer was no more powerful in processor or RAM, but it was somewhat more "industrial" (and louder), probably made to be loaded, so I wonder if that is the difference.

There used to be CD trays that had separate power supplies and didn't need to draw their power from the PC via USB. I haven't been able to find any; that may be search-engine incompetence, but does anybody here know if they still exist? And if so, who makes them and where can I get one? (I'm in the US, if that makes any difference.)

More generally, does this sound like a problem I should worry about?

Thanks.

Edward Janusz

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Maybe I should add that I've been using dbPowerAmp for several years to rip compact discs. It seems well-maintained and has never given me any problems, at least none that I know about.

sveakul

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There used to be CD trays that had separate power supplies and didn't need to draw their power from the PC via USB. I haven't been able to find any; that may be search-engine incompetence, but does anybody here know if they still exist? And if so, who makes them and where can I get one? (I'm in the US, if that makes any difference.)
This needs to be moved to General or Beyond MusicBee.  But yes, there are burner/players with separate power supplies, e.g. https://www.buffalotech.com/products/mediastation-16x-desktop-bdxl-blu-ray-writer .

There are also powered docks that allow you to use an internal SATA CDROM with a USB-3 connection and external PS.  A bay-less cheap one that works for me is https://www.amazon.com/Vantec-SATA-IDE-Adapter-CB-ISA225-U3/dp/B01E7EPKUO/ref=sr_1_5?dchild=1&keywords=vantec+cdrom+dock&qid=1625246993&sr=8-5 .  I hardly ever do any CD work on a PC anymore so it's fine for the few times I need to and I can use one of my old drives from past builds.

phred

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This needs to be moved to General or Beyond MusicBee.
That was done before you replied. :-)
Download the latest MusicBee v3.5 or 3.6 patch from here.
Unzip into your MusicBee directory and overwrite existing files.

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hiccup

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Are you saying you have a portable cd-burner that is self-powered over usb?
Then as a guess it wouldn't consume more than maybe some 10 watts.
(what model is it?)
Your new pc should be able to handle that without a problem.

Maybe there is an issue with the usb port you are using, or perhaps check the device drivers for your usb controler(s)?

Edward Janusz

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I'm sorry to take so long to get back here. Daily life happens.

hiccup, you were headed in the right direction. I could find nothing wrong with the drivers, but the USB port that I was using for the external CD tray was right next to a USB port that had a Bluetooth device that I use for headphone listening. I moved the CD tray to another port and things seem to be working well now. I've switched ports between various devices before and I don't know why this should have made such a difference, but everything is working fine. I know that Bluetooth and its devices can be strange. After that, I don't know nothin'.

Thanks!

hiccup

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I've switched ports between various devices before and I don't know why this should have made such a difference, but everything is working fine.
Great, thanks for reporting back.