Windows Media Player encrypting CD ripping

One thing worse than having nothing to say is having something to say but not wanting to write. *forces self*

So I’m still tweaking my desktop computer, trying to make it an evil stationary clone of my laptop. Tonight I wanted to rip some songs from a couple albums I’m getting rid of, and decided since I’m just ripping these songs for storage, not exactly something I want to add to any playlists, just to rip directly to my desktop (the storage comp., since it has 4x the space). But that plan grinded to a halt with

Windows Media Player cannot rip the track because a compatible MP3 encoder is not installed on your computer. Install a compatible MP3 encoder or choose a different format to rip to (such as Windows Media Audio).

showing up every time I tried ripping songs.

Backtrack a little. I don’t remember when I did this, just a few days ago I suppose. I downloaded LAME, RazorLAME, and Audacity, just because my laptop has them. Well not just, I do want to get some use out of them, even though I don’t really need them on my desktop.

The problem now is, I don’t remember how I got WMP (version 10) to rip CDs while LAME is on the comp. Did I turn LAME off somehow? Uninstall it and save it somewhere else? I copied all the settings from my laptop to my desktop. Still doesn’t work.

I downloaded CDEX along with (/after) Audacity, and that worked fine for that CD that I wanted. But tonight’s CD, ugh. It just wouldn’t work. I kept getting a … something about not being able to read from drive F. No shift, Sherlock, there’s nothing in the F drive, it’s in the E drive!

Meh, I’m thinking it was because there’s some “extra” on this CD that’s accessed on the computer. Of course, I could confirm or bust that theory by sticking in the other CD I wanted to rip. But at this point I am feeling WAY too lazy/aggravated/tired, take your pick. It’s also because of that reason that I haven’t tried out Exact Audio Copy yet.

<monku mode>
Solutions I have found on the internet for my problem:

  • upgrade to WMP 10 (that’s what I have, and despite what they say, it doesn’t encode mp3s)
  • encode in any bitrate other than 128kpbs (too bad that’s the first thing I did, before even realizing I had a problem; I like 192kpbs; besides, I can’t choose any 128kpbs option, it goes from 56 to 192, newer version?)
  • get an mp3 encoder (Microsoft’s solution; I don’t feel like paying!)
  • edit the registry to fix things (this is mostly for WMP 8 and 9, but I found a version for 10, and heck no, I’m not touching the registry!)
  • download a free ripping program (but I already have WMP, I don’t want more programs on my comp, why do I have to do all this work? *whine*)

</monku mode>

this is irritating (RAID and Adobe)

Activation problems with RAID configurations
When you activate an Adobe product, the product license data is stored on a secure location of the hard drive. The license data includes an identifier for the machine, which is constructed based on certain parameters of the hard drive. On certain RAID configurations, the license data or the machine identifier could be misconstrued. If you experience problems with activation and have a RAID configuration, call Customer Service and choose option 3.
~http://store.adobe.com/support/techdocs/331419.html

So now I have to call again and talk to someone about this?? (I installed Adobe CS2 by the way.)

I called twice. First time, I didn’t have the right activation number, and ended up talking to someone. (I wonder what this is that I wrote down.) Second time (“repairing” activation) I didn’t have to talk to anyone (after I hit the “repair” option instead of “activate” option, that is, ehehe).

I’ve never called services for computer help. I wonder how annoyed I’ll get. Oh well. I don’t feel like going through all this trouble at the moment. I’ll call later this week. Or the weekend. Or next week. Or …

program conundrum

At the moment Windows Media Player is annoying me. Why? I forget. *falls over* Um. I think it has to do with how much memory it uses up? A little while ago I had WMP 10, Photoshop 7, Firefox, Internet Explorer, and WS_FTP open, and my laptop was running a mite slowly. Pooh.

Or it could have something to do with how stupidly this version’s playlist editing is set up. (“Oh, to edit a playlist it needs to be in the Now Playing List. And if the playlist itself changes right along with the Now Playing List? No, those changes aren’t actually saved. You must do that yourself, despite the program showing the original playlist as changed!”) Blah.

Or, it could be that stupid “Let’s resize the columns every time the playlist is scrolled!” thing. Does Microsoft just love overloading programs with stupid features that slow down response time? Blah.

But I don’t want to use Winamp solely. That’s because it’s a bit too simplistic. I like having all my music listed in one place and all my playlists being one or two clicks away. Other than that … I have no complaints, really.

The other program conundrum I have is with my blogging software. Right now I’m using pMachine free. But the company doesn’t offer that on their website anymore. It’s just pMachine Pro, or their new software that they’re really trying to push, ExpressEngine. I don’t particularly like using software that is no longer … the focus? Or something. It’s just been pushed aside. That’s how it seems to me. I was waiting for a new release to fix the comment spam thing, but I think the release for the pro version won’t be coming out for a while … and I can assume the free version will come out um, never.

I was trying to ignore all that and just continue using pMachine. I don’t really mind too much, since I don’t use my blog too much anymore. ^_^;; But it still irks me. Yesterday, I downloaded WordPress. Or, actually, checking their site just now, I guess I did it before then … there’s a new version out now. Gee, outdated before I even start … heh.

Okay so the only two problems I have are that I like this pMachine, despite not knowing completely how to edit the templates … and I don’t know if I’ll like WordPress; and the other problem is what the heck do I do with the pM entries I have now? I already have extraneous GM archives hanging around and shiz. I guess I should try their import feature, I’m just afraid of how badly that’ll go. hah. Trying out WordPress would possibly solve both problems, actually. *snark*

(If, when I post this entry, there is “1 comment” already, I’m definitely trying WordPress.)

(2:26 Yup, I’m trying WordPress. *glare*)

The Haunting of Hill House

I was going to go to bed and read more of The Haunting of Hill House, but then I remembered I have to make an entry here. hah. Uh. Last night we lost internet connection, I don’t know why, then this morning, or afternoon really (when we got back home) Daddy told us the router was busted and he put back the old one. ack. Now my laptop won’t connect anymore. arrrrgh.

Last night I went to bed about … I don’t know, 11:30, 12? Read THoHH for a while … it was freaking me out even though Mickey was awake in his room. ^_^;; Then he went to bed and then it was really freaking me out. eek! I turned out the light and pulled the blankets over my head. hahaha. Uh. When I woke up I was still freaked out! The heater turned on and I don’t know if it was that or if I was half-dreaming, but I thought I heard someone say “[Jei]” in my ear. O.O Freaky!

aim name; connection

Dangit. I think someone stole one of my aim names. I tried signing on but got a message saying I couldn’t sign on for a number of reasons. The ones I remember being: being underage (according to the profile); having been an AOL member and ending the service; and violating the terms of service. I tried checking my profile for my age but I couldn’t sign in with the password I had, so then I tried to get my password e-mailed to me, and I never got it. I’m pretty sure it’s signed up under my jmrh@y.com addy. (Not that I actually use that address for anything, I’m just too lazy to change it. ahaha) I’ve never been an AOL user (I’ve only ever used dial-up a loooong time ago at Noelle’s house; 100% cable spoiled, baby). Lastly, I couldn’t have violated anything, I didn’t even use that name for the longestestest time.

Not that it really matters or anything, ’cause only Hidek knew about it … but still. I like that name. It makes me sad. And really paranoid. >_> I think the person changed the e-mail address, too … ’cause I tried to resest the password three times and I never got the e-mail. (I did it three times to bug whoever changed it. ^^;;) The only really bad part about it is that I had everyone’s usernames on the buddy list. >.> Hopefully no one was bugged by someone who pretended to know them.

I want my name back. :(

Oh yeah! Daddy bought a new router last weekend. Even though Daddy’s computer still gets moments of no internet connection, it’s not as bad as it used to be. Hidek’s, I don’t know, I haven’t used his comp lately. Or at least, not long enough to tell if it’s connected all the time (he keeps kicking me off). Aaand … my laptop is connected all the time now! XD Except for yesterday, because some option was turned off on the router, and it wouldn’t connect at all. I think, though … that I have a slow connection. But I don’t know if that’s just Livejournal/Greatestjournal. Oh well. Yay! ^_^

I still want my name back though.

… I think I forgot to end Daylight Savings Time here. Oops. Oh well.