Converting from .cda not going well

[sarajane]

I'm completely new to this so pardon my ignorance but I am trying to download a CD into my itunes library. I got this CD off someone who recorded it and won't likely be able to get a new one - so requesting a new one is not an option.

Tried going through itunes and converting there from .cda to .mp3 and when it asked if I wanted to import files all of the info and track times appeared. Import seemed to work, then when I clicked on the tracks in itunes they were there but had no track time and nothing would play.

Tried using a few other ripping free software ([edited] and FairStars CD Ripper). [edited] would not recognize it and FairStars would act like it was converting, and when I clicked on the converted file it would have a track time but the only thing I would hear would be a clicking noise in the background, nothing else. Then tried converting to WAV instead of MP3 and had the same issue. Have tried playing it on multiple different apps (itunes, windows media, VLC) and all have the same results. I tried playing the CD in an older CD player and in the computer in itunes before downloading and it would not play - is this an issue with the CD being damaged or do I not have the right software and/or knowledge to be able to play these files?

Also if the CD is damaged is there a way of fixing this and recovering these files or am I at a loss?

[Anupam]

Welcome to the forum.

Since you say that the CD is not playing either on the computer or in a CD player, it indicates that the CD itself might not be working.

Apart from playing in iTunes on computer, did you try playing CD from another media player, like VLC or any other player, directly from the CD itself? I am talking about playing the CD directly, and not the ripped music.

What is the CD size shown, when you put it in the computer?

[sarajane]

Originally Posted by Anupam

Welcome to the forum.

Since you say that the CD is not playing either on the computer or in a CD player, it indicates that the CD itself might not be working.

Apart from playing in iTunes on computer, did you try playing CD from another media player, like VLC or any other player, directly from the CD itself? I am talking about playing the CD directly, and not the ripped music.

What is the CD size shown, when you put it in the computer?

Yes I have tried multiple different media players for both the original and ripped tracks. And the only indication of CD size shown is when I look at it under my PC and it says "0 bytes free of 0 bytes". I could not find any other information when I clicked on the properties of the CD

[MidnightCowboy]

Originally Posted by sarajane

Yes I have tried multiple different media players for both the original and ripped tracks. And the only indication of CD size shown is when I look at it under my PC and it says "0 bytes free of 0 bytes". I could not find any other information when I clicked on the properties of the CD

As far as I'm aware this is just how Windows displays the track data irrespective of the actual size.

Maybe this is relevant to how the original recording was made.

https://www.techsupportalert.com/how..._cda_files.htm

[torres-no-tan-magnifico]

If the CD won't play on your PC or on a CD player then it is not a hardware issue: the fact that the CD shows 0 bytes probably means it has no audio data on the CD ie it is a blank CD!

HTH

[trainman261]

Originally Posted by torres-no-tan-magnifico

If the CD won't play on your PC or on a CD player then it is not a hardware issue: the fact that the CD shows 0 bytes probably means it has no audio data on the CD ie it is a blank CD!

HTH

That's what I would figure as well, but somehow it has the track length in there...
One thing I've noticed with damaged CDs is that every drive reads them differently. I remember ripping one CD and hearing clicking in a certain part of the track. I tried ripping it with another CD drive (back in the days when it wasn't unusual for a tower to have multiple CD/DVD drives), and sure enough, the clicking disappeared. I also later tried it with a CD that had significant damage (skipping etc.) and it definitely made a difference which drive it was in - every drive in every computer in the house played it differently. So that might be one idea worth a shot. Also you could try to clean the CD (but be very careful with that - read up about it before you do anything) in the case that dirt might be causing problems.