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Here's how to Set-up your Computer, so that you get the very best Performance from your CD-Recorder
{ This may have subject matter that Refers to making Proper PlayStation Back-ups, However this really applies to Copying ANY CD,
It doesn't matter if you are trying to Burn Music, PSX, PC etc, please follow this simple walkthrough. It will make a world of Difference }
Help! I just got a PlayStation and a Chip. The chip works I think, but it wont play my Back-ups very well, or at all. What can I do?
@Mostly this is a Problem you will have when dealing with older Model PlayStations, 100x, 300x, 500, & sometimes 550x.
Look at the Bottom of your PSX and you can find the Model #. Flip it upside down and you'll see: SCPH-(and a Number) If it’s a Japanese PSX you will see the # end with 0, if it’s a USA PSX the # will end in 1, if it’s a European PSX the # will end in 2.
Example.
SCPH-1000, 1001, 1002.
We use "x" to include all Origins of that particular Model.
Old PSX's like quality CDR Media, like TDK, Verbatim etc.
They also like slow read, and written CDR's.
So to be safe read at 1x, up to 8x, but no Faster to avoid errors.
Write onto the Blank CDR at 1x or 2x, no Faster.
Don’t use a separate CD-ROM Drive to Transfer the Info to the CD-Recorder Drive.
This is also called "on the fly" mode.
Burn the Image to your Hard Drive with only your CD-Recorder. This means putting he game to be backed-up into the CD-Recorder. Read it untill the Drive opens prompting you to insert a Blank CDR.
Take out the PSX CD and put in a Blank CDR. Close the Drive and let it Copy.
This will insure the CD was copied to the fullest. CD-ROMs sometimes do sort of a Blind Read of the Info, or Read the Disc at such High speeds that Info is lost and the Copy will be bad. Either way save the CD-ROM for Data CD's and VCD's.
Symptoms of a Bad CD-ROM Back-up, or High-Speed Burn:
1. Wont boot, or Boots sometimes. Or it only boots when the PSX is upside down.
2. Skipping FMV (Full Motion Video), or Music.
3. Plays but Locks-up sometimes when: loading, showing FMV, or just plain game-play.
(Most of the Time this is a BAD Laser in the PlayStation)
Help! I did that but I keep getting "Buffer Underun" or "Error" Messages when burning.
@ Make sure your Computer is doing nothing but burning the game. Turn OFF all running Programs such as: Virus Scanners, and Screen Savers.
Don't be on the Internet, Drawing Pictures, or playing PC Games etc.
The best way is to start the burning process, then click off your screen. Go watch Jerry Springer, Teletubbies or whatever your fancy. Come back later and Put in the blank CDR.
When you go to school or work toss in another CD to be read. Come home, & toss in a Blank CDR.
Before you go to bed, toss in a CD to be read and when you wake-up toss in the blank CDR. You get the picture.
I have done all this, and now the games copy all the way and I make a Back-up containing the same MB's & Tracks, so I know I made a good copy. I did it all slow, and used Quality CDRs However the game wont boot at all in my PSX, However it works on my friends Modified PSX, Why?
@Your old PSX Laser is dead, and cannot read CDR anymore. Buy a new Model PSX.
As they have better Laser Units.
DISABLE AUTO INSERT NOTIFICATION
On your Desktop you will see a Icon called "My Computer".
Scroll your Mouse on Top of the Icon, and then Click the Right Button on your Mouse.
You will see a Menu, at the Bottom will be the word "Properties" Please select that.
A Window will open. This is the "System Properties" Menu.
There should be 4 Tabs at the Top: General, Device Manager, Hardware Profiles, & Performance.
Tap the Device Manager Tab. You will see a List of all the Hardware your Computer has, Monitor, Disc Drives, CD-ROM/Recorder,Modem, Keyboard and many more depending what you have Installed in it.
Tap the [+] Box next to the CDROM icon.
It will show your CD-Recorder(s), and and CD-ROM Drive(s) you might have.
In my case it says 'YAMAHA CRW8424E'
Double Click on your Burner.
A new Window will open with your Drives Name, then the word 'Properties' after it.
There will be 3 Taps up Top: General, Settings, & Driver.
Click "Settings".
In the Middle will be a Section that Says "Options".
It will have a Few Boxes. I will only list the 3 Here you should be Messing with.
[x] Disconnect (Have this Checked)
[x] Sync data transfer (Have this Checked)
[ ] Auto insert notification (Have this Un-checked)
Auto insert Notification automatically starts-up a CD when you Insert it in your Drive.
Example: If you put in a Music CD, it would Automatically begin playing it with your Default Media Player.
If you put in a Program, like Win 98 etc, it would Automatically Begin the Install Process, without you having to tinker about, and run the disc manually.
This is handy if you are Lazy etc. But for burning CD's this Sucks! & it will fuck up 40% of the CD's you try to burn. So make sure it is OFF!
I would advise doing the same to any other Drive you have, if you are doing Drive 2 Drive Copies.
(Although I don't recommend doing drive to drive, but hey it's your $0.75 CDR Buddy)
Usually you are prompted to restart your Computer after that, so the Changes take Effect.
DISABLE YOUR SCREENSAVER & OTHER PROGRAMS
(Open My Computer on your desktop, select Control Panel, then Display. Click the Screen Saver tab in the aplet and set Screen Saver to None.)
Click and hold Ctrl+Alt+Delete. this will bring up a menu that will show you everything that is running on your computer. Highlight, & click end-task on any program that you dont need running: Music/Video players, browsers, virus scanners, etc. Your computer will need to have some programs running, and disabling them might cause your computer to lock-up until you re-boot. after a few times, you will recognize what programs you need running to burn, and what programs just waste resources your burner needs.
TURN OFF MONITOR STANDY
(Under Win98, go to Start/Settings/Control panel/ Power Management/Settings for Always On Power Schemes. Be sure "Never" is selected for each option.)
EMPTY YOUR RECYCLE BIN
(Right-click the Recycle Bin icon on your desktop and select 'Empty'. If you have Norton Protection on the bin also select 'Empty Norton Protected Files'.. you'd be amazed hom much disk space these files take up.)
DEFRAGMENT YOUR HARD DRIVE(S)
(Do this after emptying your recycle bin. Defragmenting will ensure a nice clean flow of data to the burner and reduce the problem of the dreaded BUFFER OVERRUNS! In case you don't know it use Disc Defragmenter in the system tools folder in the start menu. If you have Norton Utilities installed use the Speed Disk tool... it's much better. Before you do this, click and use the Scan Disc program. Click the "Standard" Button, not the thorough button. and click the 'Correct Errors' box. If you don't do this before hand, you may have your Disc Defrager lock-up after a bit because of system errors.)
SCAN DISC
Click on the Start Icon located on your Taskbar, Then go to Programs, At the top will be Accessories, go there. You will now come upon a Folder Called System Tools , Scroll to it,… Ahh Ha! We are there. You will find Scan Disc, and Disc Defragmentor at your disposal.
Scan Disc is fast, only taking 5-15 Minutes to run through, Disc Defragmentor can take hours. It is smart to Ctrl+Alt+Delete away unnecessary Programs, before running either. As it will cause slowdowns, and possibly make Disc Defragmentor & Scan Disc quit in the middle.
Making you have to run them all over again.
RESTART YOUR COMPUTER
(Restarting will clean out your memory and give you a 'clean start'. It's also a good idea to look in the System Tray of Win 95/98 and right-click any icons you have there and exit each program. This just gets more unnecessary rubbish out of memory.)
When you are ready, find this on your computer "My Computer".
It should be on your Desktop. If not you can easily find it in your explorer menu.
Once you find it, right mouse click it.
You will get a menu.
select the 'Properties' from this.
A window will appear.
then click Performance.
You should have 85% or more free Resources if you are going to burn a Disc. I have 97% free.
you should have freed up alot by ending un-needed running programs w/ Ctrl+Alt+Delete, & defragging!
Now hit the "Virtual Memory" Button.
it will show you how much MB space your computer has on it.
You might need 750MB of Free Space to burn a PSX game, because most programs add MB's when making a Image.
The game might be only 650 MB or less after its done burning. But the Image on your Hard Drive will be much larger! No PlayStation Game is over 650 MB's once burned to CD.
Please Read Page 1, It shows you what equipment is necessary to burn CD's