UnrealMiniMe
October 8th, 2009, 01:39 AM
So, I'm sitting here ripping one of my brand new audio cd's in RubyRipper. The first song has 73 chunks of 1000 bytes that did not match up after 2 reads, and after a whopping 71 reads (and counting), I STILL have 2 chunks that I can't get to match up 3 times. Basically, after reading these two chunks 71 times, I haven't gotten the same answer on any 3 of the attempts, and possibly not even any 2.
Of course, people who rip a lot of audio CD's expect minor read errors like this, and that's why secure ripping software exists in the first place, like RubyRipper, EAC, dbPowerAmp, etc.
Still, a really sobering thought just occurred to me:
If it's SO HARD to guarantee an accurate CD read for audio, what does this imply about data CD's and DVD's where bit-for-bit integrity is not just "nice to have" but totally essential? For instance, most Windows software is actually printed onto discs and sold on store shelves. The same applies to all console games. If I cannot accurately read a brand spanking new audio CD in 71 tries (it's up to 75 now with no improvement), how the heck do computers and consoles cope with trying to quickly read EXECUTABLES from similar discs in one try? I mean, a single error in an executable can spell disaster, mayhem, and doom, right?
Am I missing something, or are the executables floating around on CD's/DVD's being constantly read in with random errors where they'll occasionally execute the wrong instruction, read to or write from the wrong register, etc.? Obviously checksums can provide verification, but I doubt they're checked on every read...and if they don't match, they must be going ignored, considering how many read errors I'm getting on brand new audio CD's.
:eek:
Of course, people who rip a lot of audio CD's expect minor read errors like this, and that's why secure ripping software exists in the first place, like RubyRipper, EAC, dbPowerAmp, etc.
Still, a really sobering thought just occurred to me:
If it's SO HARD to guarantee an accurate CD read for audio, what does this imply about data CD's and DVD's where bit-for-bit integrity is not just "nice to have" but totally essential? For instance, most Windows software is actually printed onto discs and sold on store shelves. The same applies to all console games. If I cannot accurately read a brand spanking new audio CD in 71 tries (it's up to 75 now with no improvement), how the heck do computers and consoles cope with trying to quickly read EXECUTABLES from similar discs in one try? I mean, a single error in an executable can spell disaster, mayhem, and doom, right?
Am I missing something, or are the executables floating around on CD's/DVD's being constantly read in with random errors where they'll occasionally execute the wrong instruction, read to or write from the wrong register, etc.? Obviously checksums can provide verification, but I doubt they're checked on every read...and if they don't match, they must be going ignored, considering how many read errors I'm getting on brand new audio CD's.
:eek: