Playing Newer CDs vs. Older CDs on Windows 2000 Computer

[Steven O.]

I am using Windows 2000 and Windows Media player. I don't usually
play my CDs on my computer, but I recently purchased Green Day's
American Idiot, and wanted to listen while working at the computer.
To my surprise, it would not play. (It plays fine on my stand-alone
audio DVD player.) I went and double-checked with my other CDs. My
Beatles CDs, all purchased some years back, play just fine. But Sarah
McLachlin's Surfacing CD does not.

Has there been some change in audio formats in recent years, maybe
something to do with copy protection or something, that prevents newer
CDs from playing on PCs? Or is there some sort of Codec I'm supposed
to download from someplace to play the newer CDs? Or do I need
another kind of media player software altogether? (I went to the
Microsoft site to download the latest version of Windows Media Player
9, the last version that runs under Windows 2000. Didn't help.)

Any hints or tips would be appreciated.

Steve O.


"Spying On The College Of Your Choice" -- How to pick the college that is the Best Match for a high school student's needs.
www.SpyingOnTheCollegeOfYourChoice.com

 

[Dan Seur]

CDs and DVDs look alike but are totally incompatible technologies. Are
you possibly trying to play DVDs on your PC's CD drive? That won't work.

I am using Windows 2000 and Windows Media player. I don't usually
play my CDs on my computer, but I recently purchased Green Day's
American Idiot, and wanted to listen while working at the computer.
To my surprise, it would not play. (It plays fine on my stand-alone
audio DVD player.) I went and double-checked with my other CDs. My
Beatles CDs, all purchased some years back, play just fine. But Sarah
McLachlin's Surfacing CD does not.

Has there been some change in audio formats in recent years, maybe
something to do with copy protection or something, that prevents newer
CDs from playing on PCs? Or is there some sort of Codec I'm supposed
to download from someplace to play the newer CDs? Or do I need
another kind of media player software altogether? (I went to the
Microsoft site to download the latest version of Windows Media Player
9, the last version that runs under Windows 2000. Didn't help.)

Any hints or tips would be appreciated.

Steve O.


"Spying On The College Of Your Choice" -- How to pick the college that is the Best Match for a high school student's needs.
www.SpyingOnTheCollegeOfYourChoice.com


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[DH]

I am using Windows 2000 and Windows Media player. I don't usually
play my CDs on my computer, but I recently purchased Green Day's
American Idiot, and wanted to listen while working at the computer.
To my surprise, it would not play. (It plays fine on my stand-alone
audio DVD player.) I went and double-checked with my other CDs. My
Beatles CDs, all purchased some years back, play just fine. But Sarah
McLachlin's Surfacing CD does not.

Has there been some change in audio formats in recent years, maybe
something to do with copy protection or something, that prevents newer
CDs from playing on PCs? Or is there some sort of Codec I'm supposed
to download from someplace to play the newer CDs? Or do I need
another kind of media player software altogether? (I went to the
Microsoft site to download the latest version of Windows Media Player
9, the last version that runs under Windows 2000. Didn't help.)

Any hints or tips would be appreciated.

Steve O.

Yes, there have been changes to media formats of late, including "copy protected"
CDs which generally do not play on Windows PCs.

Check the CD for any sign on a notice proclaiming it as such.

EMI and Sony appear to be the big usewrs of the technology right now.

Ive had a quick look at both non playing CDs in Amazon but there is no mention on CP.

hth

DH

 

[ppp]

Looking at Amazon.com, it appears that this is an 'Enhanced CD'. Which
means it contains CD-audio as well as other data (typically photos,
music videos etc.). Such CDs are meant to play on 'all' CD players.
However some older CD ROM drives may have trouble. See Microsoft
Technical article acknowledging this issue:
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=225083.

Unfortunately there is no fix for this. Upgrade your CD-ROM drive (they
are pretty cheap) or avoid enhanced/hybrid CDs.

 

[paulmd]

Looking at Amazon.com, it appears that this is an 'Enhanced CD'. Which
means it contains CD-audio as well as other data (typically photos,
music videos etc.). Such CDs are meant to play on 'all' CD players.
However some older CD ROM drives may have trouble. See Microsoft
Technical article acknowledging this issue:
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=225083.

Unfortunately there is no fix for this. Upgrade your CD-ROM drive (they
are pretty cheap) or avoid enhanced/hybrid CDs.

You are *occasionaly* able to update the firmware of your CDROM to
allow it to play newer formats. This is much more common with burners,
and dvd-players, however. For instance it may let a 4x dvd burner write
16x media (but only at 4x).

You will have to check the manufactorer's website. Make sure you have
the EXACT model of the drive. You may be out of luck with a
particularly old drive, as manufactors will drop downloads for older
products. And third party firmware is a HUGE risk.

There is also a small risk of rendering the drive inoperable if a flash
fails.