Howard Davis Posted September 17, 2019 Share Posted September 17, 2019 Running Windows 7 OS. I cannot play any audio CD (.cda files) with Windows Media Player. I cannot open Windows Media Player and do not know if it is functioning. I downloaded Adobe Flash Player for possible use, but somehow cannot find it in my computer! Going to the DVD RW drive (D:) Audio CD, I get a list of all tracks on the CD. All show only a 1KB file size. Double clicking on a track, or right clicking and clicking on the "play" option or the "open" option all get me a very briefly visible unreadable window. Going to "properties" shows all .cda files on the disk to be 44 bytes, size on the disk 2K. Nothing can be played. I am looking to take the individual tracks for processing with Oceanaudio software and burning to CD in the desired sequence. Link to comment https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/1387159-cannot-play-audio-cds/ Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandon H Supervisor Posted September 17, 2019 Supervisor Share Posted September 17, 2019 Hello To start Flash Player is not a media player; it's an extension for web content in browsers. As for WMP though I'd recommend running an 'sfc /scannow' in an admin command prompt as it sounds like there may be some corruption causing it not to run. Alternatively you could install a different media player like VLC, Foobar2000, WinAmp, or similar. Link to comment https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/1387159-cannot-play-audio-cds/#findComment-598483412 Share on other sites More sharing options...
xMorpheousx416 Posted September 17, 2019 Share Posted September 17, 2019 (edited) As Brandon mentioned, Flash Player isn't an audio app. It's for playing content based on apps built using Flash such as online apps like games or videos. Once installed, the only access you'll get to it, is thru the Control Panel applet that let's you adjust some settings. Not sure why your WMP isn't working, but my guess is that you've installed something previously that is conflicting with it. CD/DVD burning software is notorious for causing conflicts with optical drives and filters. Also, any time in the past when I've run into issues with an optical drive not playing discs or even recognizing them, I always fell back on removing the Upper and Lower filters in the registry. It's possible to verify this in Device Manager if there's an error code associated with the drive (yellow triangle). Follow these steps to back up the registry key (which is a simple right click the key, choose Export, and save it to your desktop).. and then remove the Upper/Lower filters. Restart PC when done. https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/929461/the-cd-drive-or-the-dvd-drive-does-not-work-as-expected-on-a-computer Link to comment https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/1387159-cannot-play-audio-cds/#findComment-598483418 Share on other sites More sharing options...
techbeck Posted September 17, 2019 Share Posted September 17, 2019 Use a different audio player like already suggested. I have had issues with WMP over the years and now, it is just out dated and antiquated. Link to comment https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/1387159-cannot-play-audio-cds/#findComment-598483421 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandon H Supervisor Posted September 17, 2019 Supervisor Share Posted September 17, 2019 I'd also highly recommend upgrading to windows 10 if you're able; that will also solve any corruption issues. The free upgrades are still supported, you'll install without a key and choose Activate after the install and it should pull/use the Windows 7 retail/oem key already on the device https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10 Link to comment https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/1387159-cannot-play-audio-cds/#findComment-598483423 Share on other sites More sharing options...
goretsky Supervisor Posted September 18, 2019 Supervisor Share Posted September 18, 2019 Hello, From looking at the .CDA file description on Wikipedia, it appears these do not contain the actual audio, but are rather short 44-byte long files automatically generated by the operating system to tell Windows the starting and stopping locations for reading each track of audio from the CD. I would imagine that if you are working with commercial (stamped) audio CDs that they should play as normal in Windows when you open the This Computer or My Computer view in Windows File Explorer, select the CD, and then choose the option to open or play it. Regards, Aryeh Goretsky Link to comment https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/1387159-cannot-play-audio-cds/#findComment-598483485 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Howard Davis Posted September 18, 2019 Author Share Posted September 18, 2019 I can't thank you experts enough for your generous support! It's a privilege to be here among you. Running scf/scannow found no problems ("integrity violations"). There are no yellow triangle error indications shown for any device in Device Manager. I have considered upgrading to Win 10, but have been advised it could be problematic to do so. I agree, and as I have Malwarebytes and Avast antivirus I believe it will be safe enough to continue using Win 7 after support ends. I will try installing a different media player. Link to comment https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/1387159-cannot-play-audio-cds/#findComment-598483694 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Howard Davis Posted September 18, 2019 Author Share Posted September 18, 2019 I installed the VLC Media Player. Attempting to play a CD track still cannot be done via DVD RW drive (D:) Audio CD; the same issue as before exists. I find no way to make VLC the default player and disable the Windows Media Player that is probably at the root of the problem. Drag/drop of specific files from the CD file list (on DVD RW drive (D:) Audio CD) into VLC do list in VLC as track01.cda, track02.cda, etc, but The VLC player can ONLY be made to play a track by going to open disc > set track number > play. It does NOT play by simply double clicking on the listed track or hitting "play." Drag and drop of the same files into Oceanaudio requires me to enter "raw sound format" information I do not have: PCM information, sample rate, etc. If I could transfer usable files to Oceanaudio, chances are I could work around the problems to achieve what I want - the processing of CD tracks with Oceanaudio software and burning to CD in the desired sequence. Advice would be greatly appreciated! Link to comment https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/1387159-cannot-play-audio-cds/#findComment-598483724 Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Warwagon MVC Posted September 18, 2019 MVC Share Posted September 18, 2019 1 hour ago, Howard Davis said: I agree, and as I have Malwarebytes and Avast antivirus I believe it will be safe enough to continue using Win 7 after support ends. I will try installing a different media player. knowing what I know, I would not put a computer on the internet if the operating system it's running will no longer be receiving security updates. Link to comment https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/1387159-cannot-play-audio-cds/#findComment-598483731 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandon H Supervisor Posted September 18, 2019 Supervisor Share Posted September 18, 2019 2 minutes ago, warwagon said: knowing what I know, I would not put a computer on the internet if the operating system it's running will no longer be receiving security updates. agreed AV can only handle/catch so much if known exploits remain unpatched. @OP are you able to play normal MP3s or other discs? sounds like you have some weird corruption going on with your install. I'd ignore the people that bash windows 10; upgrading to it is very unlikely to cause issue as people tend to tell you and if there is trouble Windows 10 gives the option in settings to roll back to the old OS as long as the windows.old folder isn't deleted. I'd still recommend upgrading to see if that helps your situation; if you have a spare HDD/SSD you could install on there to keep your 7 install intact as well. Link to comment https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/1387159-cannot-play-audio-cds/#findComment-598483736 Share on other sites More sharing options...
goretsky Supervisor Posted September 19, 2019 Supervisor Share Posted September 19, 2019 Hello, Are you trying to read an actual commercially-manufactured audio CD, or another kind of disc with CD audio on it, such as CD-ROMs, CD-Rs, CD-RW's, DVD's, DVD±RW's, DVD-RAM, etc.? Have you tried playing another CD, just in case the one you are using is bad? Have you tried booting the computer from a USB flash drive with a copy of Linux on it (Ubuntu, KNOPPIX, etc.) and then playing a CD in the computer, just to rule out it being a hardware problem? Regards, Aryeh Goretsky Link to comment https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/1387159-cannot-play-audio-cds/#findComment-598483840 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Howard Davis Posted September 19, 2019 Author Share Posted September 19, 2019 Thank you all again. I've attempted to play commercially produced CDs as well as ones made with my Sony CD-W500C player-recorder, and the result is the same for all. When I insert the CD and close the drive the computer takes no action. Upon going to My Computer and double clicking the drive, I get a very briefly visible, unreadable window and nothing else. Right clicking gives me among others the option to play with VLC Media Player. This works; I can play the tracks. I have not been able to drag and drop track files from VLC into Oceanaudio for processing, but unless blocked by the software problem I should be able to do so after studying the Oceanaudio documentation. Link to comment https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/1387159-cannot-play-audio-cds/#findComment-598483975 Share on other sites More sharing options...
redvamp128 Posted September 19, 2019 Share Posted September 19, 2019 You may not like this answer but if you pu a commercial one and it didn’t see it. I would say 1/3 of chance drive failure or driver issue . Potentially you could get a cheap usb DVD burner. Link to comment https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/1387159-cannot-play-audio-cds/#findComment-598483983 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Howard Davis Posted September 19, 2019 Author Share Posted September 19, 2019 SUCCESS! I downloaded the Express Rip CD ripper/file converter, and it gives me mp3 files importable by Oceanaudio. Looks like I'll be able to work around the issue and do what I want. Thanks again for all your advice. goretsky and Brandon H 2 Share Link to comment https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/1387159-cannot-play-audio-cds/#findComment-598483990 Share on other sites More sharing options...
phisher Posted October 7, 2019 Share Posted October 7, 2019 (edited) Didn't audio CD's require this extra cable (4 pins) attached from cd/dvd drive to audio_cd in plug either located in sound card or motherboard? I remember back in win95 era I had that cable but haven't been playing audio cd's on computer in like eternity, or not being sure if modern OS's still require this cable. Edited October 7, 2019 by phisher Link to comment https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/1387159-cannot-play-audio-cds/#findComment-598488802 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick Montage Posted October 7, 2019 Share Posted October 7, 2019 .cda is not an audio format. It does not contain the actual audio waveform of the audio. It's more of a placeholder. Link to comment https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/1387159-cannot-play-audio-cds/#findComment-598488806 Share on other sites More sharing options...
erpster3 Posted October 12, 2019 Share Posted October 12, 2019 (edited) On 10/7/2019 at 1:57 AM, phisher said: Didn't audio CD's require this extra cable (4 pins) attached from cd/dvd drive to audio_cd in plug either located in sound card or motherboard? I remember back in win95 era I had that cable but haven't been playing audio cd's on computer in like eternity, or not being sure if modern OS's still require this cable. this was only the case with win95 & 98 OSes. Win2000/XP & WinME and any later Windows version no longer depend nor require the extra cable as these OSes can handle digital cd audio via software Link to comment https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/1387159-cannot-play-audio-cds/#findComment-598490586 Share on other sites More sharing options...
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