Enhanced CDs on a PC?

February 18, 2005 4:44 PM

I need help figuring out how to get my Windows PC with iTunes to recognize and read an 'enhanced' music CD. The CD plays fine in a CD player and I can see the 'extra' files with one particular PC, but no song files. iTunes thinks its blank. I've updated iTunes and my CD drive drivers and I even flashed my BIOS. No help. Anyone have any ideas? I really want to listen to this new CD on my iPod...
posted by kittyoneil to Computers & Internet (9 answers total)

If the files are visible via "My Computer", have you tried adding files manually? (iTunes -> File -> Add to Library...)
posted by AlexReynolds at 4:52 PM on February 18, 2005

Why not rip the CD using any number of other programs, like CDex, and just import the resulting mp3s?
posted by thewittyname at 4:54 PM on February 18, 2005

Exact Audio Copy or CDex would be my suggestion as well. Alternatively... someone else has almost certainly already figured out how to rip those tracks. Just download a copy with Soulseek and don't lose any sleep over it.
posted by kindall at 4:58 PM on February 18, 2005

I've had no problem using EAC to rip enhanced CDs. But that might not be the problem, it might just be copy protected. Which CD is it?
posted by smackfu at 5:27 PM on February 18, 2005

If it's from a major label, the CD might have that newfangled "copy protection" on it. If it does, simply turn off Autorun and that should keep the "copy protection" from activating.
posted by neckro23 at 5:30 PM on February 18, 2005

I had a friend who recently asked me to make a (completely legitimate and fair-use) copy of a CD for her. It was Sarah McLachlan's Afterglow Live CD. Winamp, CDEX, EAC, etc all produced nothing but garbage. Holding down the shift key prevented the CD's autorun application from starting up, but the audio still came out all garbled.

I ended up being able to rip it after installing a trial copy of AnyDVD. AnyDVD sits in your system tray and just transparently removes the copy-protection, allowing all the other applications (Winamp, CDEX, EAC, etc) to do what they're supposed to do.
posted by llamateur at 7:24 AM on February 19, 2005

Response by poster: The particular CD in question is the newest release from Leftover Salmon on Compendia Records. I'm not familiar with the ripping ware you've all mentioned, so I'll start my research now...

Thanks a bunch for some ideas.
posted by kittyoneil at 8:06 PM on February 19, 2005

Response by poster: SWEEEET!! It appears that EAC is working... more later.
posted by kittyoneil at 9:06 PM on February 19, 2005

Response by poster: Wow. Lots of back and forth, re-encoding, converting etc. but I've got it figured out and done.
Thanks to all for your help. I used EAC and CDex, ripped WAV files (which were way too huge) from the enhanced CD then ultimately converted the files to AAC for my iPod. EAC could 'see' the files when iTunes and Windows could not.
Thanks again.
posted by kittyoneil at 10:30 AM on February 20, 2005