starlifter
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- Jun 17, 2001
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We all know you can make lovely music with Civ 2... but how can you listen to Civ 2 music from your CD anytime?
Problem: Civ 2 MGE is a mixed-mode CD. Some may know what that means & can instantly deal with it. Many do not. Here is what you do to get your music so you can listen to it via alternate means, like Media Player Classic or WinAmp. This process can be used on any CD you own, mixed mode or not, and in America, it is legal and free, if you own the program. Check your local laws if you want to be sure, especially in Finland.
Note 1: This thread contains 7 screenshots, all in .PNG format, totaling 178 KB.
Note 2: This thread is linked to a question, here.
1. Prepare. Get your Civ 2 CD. Know all the drive letters and devices on your system, including the brand/type of any virtual drives, removable drives, and CD/DVD drives.
2. Download a CD-ripper. I have used Audiograbber for years. Since 2004, it is released as FREEWARE. It is located here. Get it.
3. Rip the tracks. You must get the 11 tracks of music off the CD, so you can play them in your favorite player. I will assume you use Audiograbber to do this.
4. Start Audiograbber. Click the Audoigrabber icon, which you just installed.
5. File directory. Select place to put the files which Audiograbber creates (see #6 for screenshot).
6. Select CD drive. In practice, most DVD drives of today are also CD drives (combos). The drive is selected in an 'unusual' place. Start with the Pull-down menu:
Settings --> General Settings --> CD-ROM Unit
Screenshot #1: Select directory & CD drive.
7. The CD. Here is your program & music on the Civ 2 MGE disk.
Screenshot #2: Program & music files.
8. Track Names. This is optional; you need an internet connection, or the full Freedb on your machine. Track names are not stored on audio disks. But you can get them automatically from Freedb, or name them yourself... or just rip them with generic "Track 01..." naming (& rename the files later if you want).
Screenshot #2: Getting track names automatically.
9. Select Tracks. Ensure the tracks you want to rip are checked. Also, make sure the MP3 box inside the MP3 button on the toolbar is checked.
Screenshot #4: Ensure a checkmark is in each box next to the tracks, plus MP3 button.
10. MP3 settings. Make your MP3 settings. Naturally, if you know audio stuff already, you can of course make your own choices, or even make OGGs, etc. My general recommendations for newbies:
- Direct Rip and Encode to MP3 file
- Internal Recorder
- LAME Encoder (its the best quality encoder and 100% free; included in AG)
- Constant Bitrate
- 128 kbps
- Joint Stereo
- Normal
Screenshot #5: MP3 option settings.
11. Ripping. In progress. This is CD track #6, which is Audio file #5 (Mongol Horde). Remember this is a mixed mode CD, right? You can't "listen" to a computer program, which is track #1. Plus, it is actually written differently in the CD structure. Ergo, unless your player or software "knows" about mixed-mode CDs (and older players in particular may not), then the disk can look like it has no music when you attempt to "play" it in a home, car, portable, etc. system. ADDED (thanks to Mercator's question): some players may even try to "play" the data track (Track #1) as audio, which can potentially damage the speakers/hardware. Most newer CD players should not have a problem anymore; buggy firmware and/or olders ones seem to choke the most.
Technical Note: The CD player should "skip" over track one (which is stored in CD Yellow Book format) and start playing the CD Red Book audio tracks. Most players that do this incorrectly will in fact just play silence; but a few players will try to play the data as audio bits, which can cause loud noised or even possible damage. A mixed-mode CD is written in a single track, and is not the same as CD-Extra (which places the program at the end). As recently as last month, a US Patent for dealing with this mixed-mode data structure in firmware was filed, even though the "Industry" generally does not use mixed-mode anymore.
Screenshot #6: Ripping in progress.
12. Done. About 23:04 (~23 minutes) of music in 11 tracks, encoded at 128 kbps with LAME, for a 21.1 MB total compressed filesize. You can write these to a backup archive disk with Nero (my recommended CD burning software).
Screenshot #7: Done.
(This post is 4,657 characters long.)
EDIT: Added more detail in Step 11.
Problem: Civ 2 MGE is a mixed-mode CD. Some may know what that means & can instantly deal with it. Many do not. Here is what you do to get your music so you can listen to it via alternate means, like Media Player Classic or WinAmp. This process can be used on any CD you own, mixed mode or not, and in America, it is legal and free, if you own the program. Check your local laws if you want to be sure, especially in Finland.
Note 1: This thread contains 7 screenshots, all in .PNG format, totaling 178 KB.
Note 2: This thread is linked to a question, here.
1. Prepare. Get your Civ 2 CD. Know all the drive letters and devices on your system, including the brand/type of any virtual drives, removable drives, and CD/DVD drives.
2. Download a CD-ripper. I have used Audiograbber for years. Since 2004, it is released as FREEWARE. It is located here. Get it.
3. Rip the tracks. You must get the 11 tracks of music off the CD, so you can play them in your favorite player. I will assume you use Audiograbber to do this.
4. Start Audiograbber. Click the Audoigrabber icon, which you just installed.
5. File directory. Select place to put the files which Audiograbber creates (see #6 for screenshot).
6. Select CD drive. In practice, most DVD drives of today are also CD drives (combos). The drive is selected in an 'unusual' place. Start with the Pull-down menu:
Settings --> General Settings --> CD-ROM Unit
Screenshot #1: Select directory & CD drive.
7. The CD. Here is your program & music on the Civ 2 MGE disk.
Screenshot #2: Program & music files.
8. Track Names. This is optional; you need an internet connection, or the full Freedb on your machine. Track names are not stored on audio disks. But you can get them automatically from Freedb, or name them yourself... or just rip them with generic "Track 01..." naming (& rename the files later if you want).
Screenshot #2: Getting track names automatically.
9. Select Tracks. Ensure the tracks you want to rip are checked. Also, make sure the MP3 box inside the MP3 button on the toolbar is checked.
Screenshot #4: Ensure a checkmark is in each box next to the tracks, plus MP3 button.
10. MP3 settings. Make your MP3 settings. Naturally, if you know audio stuff already, you can of course make your own choices, or even make OGGs, etc. My general recommendations for newbies:
- Direct Rip and Encode to MP3 file
- Internal Recorder
- LAME Encoder (its the best quality encoder and 100% free; included in AG)
- Constant Bitrate
- 128 kbps
- Joint Stereo
- Normal
Screenshot #5: MP3 option settings.
11. Ripping. In progress. This is CD track #6, which is Audio file #5 (Mongol Horde). Remember this is a mixed mode CD, right? You can't "listen" to a computer program, which is track #1. Plus, it is actually written differently in the CD structure. Ergo, unless your player or software "knows" about mixed-mode CDs (and older players in particular may not), then the disk can look like it has no music when you attempt to "play" it in a home, car, portable, etc. system. ADDED (thanks to Mercator's question): some players may even try to "play" the data track (Track #1) as audio, which can potentially damage the speakers/hardware. Most newer CD players should not have a problem anymore; buggy firmware and/or olders ones seem to choke the most.
Technical Note: The CD player should "skip" over track one (which is stored in CD Yellow Book format) and start playing the CD Red Book audio tracks. Most players that do this incorrectly will in fact just play silence; but a few players will try to play the data as audio bits, which can cause loud noised or even possible damage. A mixed-mode CD is written in a single track, and is not the same as CD-Extra (which places the program at the end). As recently as last month, a US Patent for dealing with this mixed-mode data structure in firmware was filed, even though the "Industry" generally does not use mixed-mode anymore.
Screenshot #6: Ripping in progress.
12. Done. About 23:04 (~23 minutes) of music in 11 tracks, encoded at 128 kbps with LAME, for a 21.1 MB total compressed filesize. You can write these to a backup archive disk with Nero (my recommended CD burning software).
Screenshot #7: Done.
(This post is 4,657 characters long.)
EDIT: Added more detail in Step 11.