Customer Reviews

Easy CD Creator 5 Platinum [Old Version]

5 star:		(78)
4 star:		(44)
3 star:		(26)
2 star:		(29)
1 star:		(210)

 

 

After I installed Windows XP Home Edition on my Dell 8200, I decided to update my 5.0 Basic edition to the Platinum edition. It appears to be working well after I installed it and its patches. However, do not restart the computer after installing the main program and after each patch as Roxio suggests or the program will not work. First install the main program, then xp_up_platinum.exe, then ecdc_v502c_up.exe. Finally, restart the computer.

WARNING

If you try and load Easy CD Creator 5.0 Platinum edition on a computer (running Windows 2000 professional and boots from a SCSI hard drive using an Adaptec Controller card) put your (money) back into your pocket and step away from the product.

Here is my horror story. I had been running Easy CD creator 4.0 and was interested in version 5.0 for some features that would help me in transferring my old LP collection to CD. I tried to get an update, but I guess the fact that I had 4.0 registered on line was not sufficient to qualify. The ongoing emails were not worth the cost savings, so I decided just to shell out the (money) and get a full retail version. Since Version 4.0 was purchased when it was part of Adaptec (and now is was Roxio), I guess computer registration information doesn't translate between companies.

On Saturday I was in (a local store) and decided to purchase the full version. It would have been less painful for me to just burn the (money) instead of going through the events of the following week. I want to point out the packaging clearly states this product works with Windows 2000. The only disclaimer is that it won't work on Windows 2000 server. I went to upgrade from version 4.0 to version 5.0. Most well written software, from the same vendor, knows how to handle an upgrade from one version to another. Not in this case, after the reboot the screen put up an error message stating no supportable CD/RW device was detected. After further investigation, the event log reported errors that DCOM could not find specified file. I then read the installation instructions that said to uninstall version 4.0 first. With that information I knew I needed to uninstall version 5.0. First it told me it could not uninstall because it did not have rights to delete a registry key that the installation process created. I had to go into the registry to change the rights on the KEY so I could manually delete it. Now, I could complete uninstalling version 5.0. Then I removed version 4.0 with out any problems. I rebooted the computer and tried to install Version 5.0 and got the same results it did not work.

I then visited Roxio's WEB site and downloaded the patches that were posted. I uninstalled version 5.0 and had the same rights issue with the registry. Now I tried to install version 5.0 using the instructions from the WEB. The instructions say to apply both patches before doing the reboot of the computer. The first patch loaded fine. The update patch said no valid version of Roxio product was detected on this machine or something to that effect. I rebooted thinking maybe the registry needed to be refreshed and tried to load the update and got the same error message.

I am now into Sunday with this problem. I decided that since the computer has been running for over a year with no major problems that maybe the registry has some corruption. So, I reload the Windows 2000 operating system. Same result as before, version 5.0 still does not load correctly.

Now my weekend is gone, and I am at work Monday morning. I decide to call Roxio's tech support line. The line is not toll free. I was on hold for one hour before a technician came onto the line. I tell him the problem and the configuration of my computer. He tells me he has heard of this before, and said the fix is to uninstall the Adaptec SCSI card and load the software. He also says that I need to go into the registry and delete any key that makes reference to Adaptec. This sent shivers down my spine!
My problem is I have no IDE drive and boot from the SCSI subsystem. At the technician's suggestion, I removed the Adaptec drivers replaced, them with the generic drivers, hacked the registry, and loaded version 5.0. I rebooted the computer and got the same error messages. Now I have a new problem. The computer detects the Adaptec card and wants to load the appropriate drivers. So, I do. Every time I reboot the computer it detects the Adaptec controller and wants to load the drives. This obviously was a result of hacking at the registry. To fix this problem, I had to reload Windows 2000.

Monday night I decided to go to Roxio's WEB site and post the problem on line. I can't afford an hour of long distant charges to their tech support. I recap the problems and ask for a document that would allow me to take this product back to (the store) and get my money back. (The store) will not take back software they will only exchange software with bad media for same software.) This is not bad media, just bad programming. Wednesday I get e-mail from tech support suggesting something else to try. There is no mention of me getting my money back. I try the suggestions, same results. I went back to the WEB site, posted the results. It's been almost a week now and all I have for my (money) is a shiny box the software came in, an hour of long distant phone charges and an unstable computer from trying to load Easy CD Creator 5.0. I have a feeling, the ploy at this point, is to keep running suggestions to me until the free support runs out so they can charge me more money. I am not that stupid Roxio.

Save yourself and stay far, far, far, far away from Easy CD Creator 5.0. At this point I will not even install Easy CD creator 4.0. I am researching other CD burning software solutions.

Rick Shope

This is without a doubt the worst software upgrade in the history of CD software, from a software company whose cred was shaky to start with.

I just upgraded to XP and subsequently had to upgrade to Roxio's Sleazy CD Destroyer 5 (Easy CD Creator 5) from version 4. While 4 has been *OK* for the past few years I have been running it, I can't say enough bad things about version 5 with XP. The software doesn't work... the patches for XP don't work... MS still won't put their seal of approval on it for good reason. It blew up numerous times for no apparent reason, it has no new functionality over v4, locks your system up repeatedly and slows it down to excruiciating levels, AND the UI is more poorly designed than in version 4.

And you wonder why this product is 33% off retail?

Since there are a lot of heartaches involving Easy CD Creator 5 Platinum and its Windows XP non-compatibility, I want to make sure that everyone will choose the right product. So heed my warning first: THERE ARE TWO DIFFERENT VERSIONS OF THIS EASY CD CREATOR 5 PLATINUM, and on the outside they both look almost identical to each other, with a few minor differences.

Somehow, there are older versions of Easy CD Creator 5 still sitting out there on store shelves, and they are the ones that have been giving Windows XP users a lot of problems! Then there are the re-released 5.1 upgraded versions which has a blue-coloured top corner that says "Enhance your Windows XP burning experience" and does not list Take Two on the box as one of the products, and it doesn't require those cumbersome update patches.

At first I was confused regarding their almost-identical packaging, which is just plain stupid. Why on earth the re-released package still bear the same name as its older counterpart? Have they lost their common sense? Thank goodness I did a lot of research before buying the right version, but it took me a while before I found this out. Now I've installed it on my Windows XP without any problems, and producing mp3 or wav files have never been quicker and easier.

Anyhow make sure that you go over to Roxio's website first to check on any potential hardware incompatibilities. Please do this first! Afterward I guarantee it will install on Windows XP just fine.

If your CD writer came with the free version of Adaptec's EZ CD Creator 4.0 you really do want to upgrade to this package. Even if it didn't, this is one of the best back-up/writer software packages I've seen.

First of all, it works with an immense number of CD writers. I have tried several packages which have very limited lists of supported machines. This can be very frustrating. Adaptec is one of the most long-lived companies in the market place and Roxio is their new software branch. Lots of experience -- very reliable.

The backup software is quite sensible. It offers complete backup and restore facilities AND will write out the backup in appropriately size untis so that even if your CD writer is not directly supported you can parcel out the backup and then write the sub files out. Notice this means that it will also work with sip drives, jazz drives, etc.

My CD writer is a brand new Yamaha 2100EZ, which I absolutely love. One of it's nice features is that it can write CD's at 16x. However, the 4.0 version of EZ CD Writer didn't handle this speed very well. This new version does everything perfectly. I can write a CD in as little as 4 minutes (big grin). I am throwing out my erratic, cluncky, time consuming tape drive right now.

This software also comes with uncountable features for writing music CD's as well. It includes software for cleaning up audio input before writing the analog to disk. And there's a whole CD of free stuff as well.

If you want media writing facilities that make your system run it's best, this is well worth the price of admission.

We had several machines with Windows 2000 and Windows XP with EASY CD Creator 5.0. Only about 20% did not have problems. We installed every patch and upgrade Roxio recommended. Bought all types of approved CDR media. All the CDR/CDRW drives were fully approved and popular brands. Once we moved to other CDR burning software , the problems went away. Many of the problems included stability problems, un-reliable CD recording, and general crashing. Removed Roxio products all the problems are gone.

True to the software's name, making CD's with Easy CD Creator 5 truly is easy. I use Windows 2000 on my computer and unlike many other who say to stay away from it if you have Win 2000, I have had no problems with the software. The catch is, you have to go to Roxio's web site and obtain 2 patches and the instructions. They don't advertise this as well as they should and I do feel that is pathetic on their part, but if you follow the procedures (very simple) the software installs in under 10 minutes without any problems. The thing I like most about the software is the ease of use. For a CD burning amateur who has not learned the CD burning lingo yet, it was very easy for me to figure out how to make CDs. I love the DirectCD application. It's very cool how it can allow you to use your CD-RW drive like a floppy drive. I also like the music creation programs. I had some MP3 files I wanted to put on a CD to listen to on a car CD player and without having read the instructions I was able to quickly figure out how to do it; the CD worked on the first try. I think I'm going to love the Take2 application which allows you to create an image of your entire hard drive for disaster recovery, but I haven't had a chance to try it yet. So far, the only thing I do not like about the software is that it does not seem to have as many advanced configuration options as other programs such as Nero. I'm usually one of these control freaks who can't leave well enough alone. To be honest though, I downloaded Nero and I did not know what half of the configuration options meant. If you are looking for a program which is easy to use and you don't want to spend time learning CD burning lingo, technologies, etc, Easy CD Creator is definitely worth looking into.

I recently upgraded from Windows Me to Windows Xp. Before this upgrade, I got to know that Xp wouldn't support ECDC 4.0 version that I had running on my computer. I uninstalled this version and then upgraded to Xp. I bought the new ECDC 5.0 version and tried to install it. Before doing that, I downloaded the Xp upgrade patch and the ECDC 5.03 upgrade patch. ECDC 5.0 install gave me an error message that it couldn't find any "supported drives". I went ahead with the installation anyway. Later, I tried to install the patches by following the instruction given on Roxio website. Both these patches failed to install. I tried un-installing & re-installing a couple of times but to no avail.

Then I found a document on Roxio support website to cleanly un-install & re-install the ECDC 5 software. This included booting into a "selective mode" and deleting Adaptec Keys in the registry. I followed the document faithfully but I still had the same problems. I wasn't able to install both the patches and ofcourse, the software wouldn't work.

I spent about 3-4 hours on hold, trying to reach the techsupport by phone. And after I reached them finally, they asked to do whatever I did all over again. I did everything they asked me to do and it it was no use. This time, I wrote an email to techsupport and haven't heard back from them for more than a week now. I have almost given up on Roxio techsupport.

I did try something different though. I installed ECDC 5.0 without the Direct CD & Take Two part. This time, I was able to install the Xp patch, though the 5.03 patch didn't work. So, I have the CD creator part working, minus Direct CD. Atleast I have something working now (without any help from Tech support). Lets see if they will ever reply back and help me out with the Direct CD part.

If people don't want to go through all this trouble, don't try this combination of upgrades to Windows Xp & ECDC 5.0

P.S> If you don't find the TSID on your box, don't worry. You can call Tech support with your purchase information and they will give it to you. But from my experience, Tech support is not useful anyway :(

Why!? Why take a perfectly good product like Adaptec Easy CD Creator 4 Deluxe and TRASH it with version 5 Platinum!? Astounding! I've been a big fan of versions 3 and 4 for years and I couldn't wait to upgrade to what I assumed would be an even more stable product with some nice (although minor) new features. Wrong!

This is by far the buggiest software I've tried to install in YEARS. Worse, I've lost the ability to burn data CDs. That's right ... I've got pricey CD-burning software that won't burn data CDs on my Dell PIII, 450mhz, 128mbs ram, with an HP 8100 burner, under Windows 98 SE. One colleague with a similar setup can't get the "CD Copier" module to copy a disc, and another complains of unacceptable "scratchy" noises at the beginning of each audio CD track she burns. All of us have downloaded Roxio's hastily prepared patch with no improvement.

But the news gets much worse: I recommended this software to my boss (before I tried it) and it trashed his Windows 2000 ... absolutely and completely! Not a good career move. We spent SIX HOURS recovering from that fiasco. A software package that trashes an operating system that's supposed to be trash-proof takes real programming skill. I emailed Roxio's technical support for help a week ago and have yet to hear back from them. They must be a very busy group indeed.

Something awful happened to this once-fine product when Adaptec spun off its software division and called it the "Roxio" flying circus. Branding is all about TRUST. And I once trusted the name Adaptec. Roxio was given the keys to the car with the responsibility of safeguarding and preserving its fourth-generation CD-burning engine. Instead, I suspect a new team of Chevy mechanics with no history of the software messed with the code and now can't get this Ferrari engine to fire properly. Years of hard-earned band-trust ruined overnight. My question is "Why?"

Stick with version 4, my friends, and count yourself lucky that you passed on this upgrade.

I just purchased this product and it works great. It has a very friendly user interface and within a few minutes you can be using the product.

The features include:
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1 - Make professional CDs of your favorite songs - Easy CD Creator, allows you to make a music CD that can typically hold up to 74 or 80 minutes of music and up to 99 tracks.

2 - Convert MP3s and burn them to standard audio CD - where you can listen to them in your CD player.

3 - Convert MP3 to WAV format

4 - Create CDs from old records and tapes and using the Spin Doctor (one of the utilities included in the product) eliminate audio imperfections.

5 - Create data CDs for backing up all of you important files. It is simple with the drag and drop feature of the product. A data CD can typically hold up to 650 MB of data if you have a blank 74-minute CD-R or CD-RW disc, and 700 MB of data if you have a blank 80-minute CD-R disc.

6 - Using the CD Copier allows you to make an exact copy of an existing music or data CD.

7 - Create and edit videos - There is the capability to add music and voice-overs and also effects like dissolving or fading between scenes.

8 - Create custom jewel cases and CD labels with the CD Labeler.

9 - Create a CD slide show using your favorite pictures and you can add music and sounds.

Requirements:
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1 - You must have a CD-Recorder or CD-Rewritable drive to use the software

2 - IBM PC or compatible 200 MHz or faster

3 - Windows 98/Me/NT4 Workstation/ 2000 Professional/XP Home/XP Professional

4 - 32 MB RAM (64 MB RAM recommended)

5 - 205 MB free hard disk space (at least 80MB of this space must reside on the system boot drive)

6 - CD-ROM drive that supports digital extraction (to make music CD from other music CDs)

7 - Blank CD-R or CD-RW discs

8 - 800 x 600 display, 16-bit color recommended