Hoster not reading CDGs - Required updating Hoster for Win7

[FRadspinner]

I made all the Windows7 changes and installed Hoster. I have a Optiarc DVD+RW AD-7747H 100A Drive. When I open Hoster and attempt to import karaoke songs from the CDG disk, Windows Media player opens it instead. So I close Windows Media Player and click on "Search Online Database" then I get this message from Hoster: CD/DVD drive not ready. Please insert a disk and try again. It will not load the disk. The CD drive is working as it reads music disks. In the Windows7 change I did do Change #3 - Disable CDRom Auto Play Option. Any ideas on why it is not working?

[Roy Dennis]

Go to control panel, depending which view you have set in control panel either select Hardware & sound/then Auto Play or From the other view go straight to Auto Play.
In the dialog that opens you should see a tick box top left, untick it.
There are also drop down arrows to select the action windows takes with various types of disc, if you want to experiment with these set the drop down boxes to "Take no action" for the items that you don't want auto play and whatever action you want for others.
If you want to use these selected items you would then have to tick the top left box but MTU recommends not allowing any.

As far as the not recognizing the drive, if this a plug in usb drive I assume you plug it in before starting Hoster, when you open Hoster go to Tools CD/DVD drives. Do you see the drive there, if so does it show Good.
Click the retest button any way then in the bottom where it reads "Default Read Drive" use the drop down arrow to select the drive and press save. It should now work, What might happen if you start Hoster with it disconnected then the default drive might change if you want try to read a disc in Hoster without it connected.

[FRadspinner]

I did exactly what you stated above -however, it still has the same message. However, I noticed that when I retested the Optiarc DVD+RW in Hoster, the Status still says Good for the drive, but the Green Retest button has a little blinking to it. I've never seen this blinking before when I tested the drive in Hoster in the past.

If I play a music CD in Media player, it will play which leads me to believe the the drive is functional. Hoster seems to not recognize that a disc is in the drive. The message that comes up is a message from HosterL and still says "CD/DVD drive not ready. Please insert a disk and try again?

Thanks for your help.

[Roy Dennis]

Have you tried rebooting the computer with the drive connected since doing the previous changes. ?

[FRadspinner]

I just rebooted it. I get the same message.

[Roy Dennis]

I take it this is a standard CD+G disc and not a cd with mp3+G tracks on it like you would get from the Sound choice gem series ?

If you go to Start/Computer right click on cd/dvd drive and select open does it show the list of files as example: Track01.cda ?

Have you tried more than one disc ?

[FRadspinner]

Yes, it is a standard CDG disk. I've tried more than one. And, yes, when I open up the drive with the disk in it in My computer, it shows the tracks. Thanks.

[Roy Dennis]

I can't think of anything else, the main thing to make it see that drive is what I stated at the end of my original post "then in the bottom where it reads "Default Read Drive" use the drop down arrow to select the drive and press save" so if you have done that and the right drive is selected and your still not reading I should put in a support ticket from the support page. http://www.mtu.com/support/customer-support.htm

Still look here in the mean time in case someone comes up with the answer.

Did what I stated for auto play stop it selecting Windows Media player ?

[FRadspinner]

Yes. That worked.
I put in a ticket earlier.

I contacted MTU before I bought this laptop and asked them if the Optiarc DVD+RW drive would work with Hoster. They said "Yes" and also said that the Optiarc DVD+RW drive is the one they are currently putting in their systems! I'm a little worried. I cannot imagine why it is not working.

[Lonman]

Was the drive on a Win 7 computer before? Could be an out of date driver issue perhaps.

[FRadspinner]

It is a brand new laptop. I was just moving Hoster over from my old laptop.
I did try updating the driver but got a message that it was the most recent driver installed. Do you think I should still try and update the driver by going to the Manufacturer's site?

[Roy Dennis]

Is this the internal Drive of the new laptop or is it an older usb cd/dvd drive that you plug in ?
I tried to look up some info on Optiarc DVD+RW AD-7747H 100A but couldn't find that exact model, I was wondering if it was an old usb model and might require a firmware update but as I couldn't google it had to leave it.

[ddouglass]

Originally Posted by FRadspinner

It is a brand new laptop. I was just moving Hoster over from my old laptop.
I did try updating the driver but got a message that it was the most recent driver installed. Do you think I should still try and update the driver by going to the Manufacturer's site?

One thing to note is that you should always use the manufacturer's site for any driver updates on hardware. The Microsoft updates for hardware are more generic and not always the latest drivers.

[FRadspinner]

I'd like to record the outcome of this. I connected an external drive that I bought from MTU years ago so I know it reads CDG and Hoster 4.11 worked well. But my Microstudio wouldn't play the CDGs from this external drive. So I ended up upgrading both Microstudio and Hoster to the current version. MTU told me that the versions I had of Hoster and Microstudio did not work at all with Windows7! (If only I'd known this from the beginning!) So the problem was not with my laptop, I just needed to upgrade. They must make changes (when they upgrade) regarding the CDG burners or something. That is interesting that Hoster 4.11 worked with a CDG drive that I know for sure read CDG.

However, the Hoster Upgrade didn't work still when I installed it. It would not even open!

I had to delete all the old Hoster files that were on my laptop first and then install it again and then it worked. What an ordeal! But I'm glad I got it working!!

[ddouglass]

Originally Posted by FRadspinner

I'd like to record the outcome of this. I connected an external drive that I bought from MTU years ago so I know it reads CDG and Hoster 4.11 worked well. But my Microstudio wouldn't play the CDGs from this external drive. So I ended up upgrading both Microstudio and Hoster to the current version. MTU told me that the versions I had of Hoster and Microstudio did not work at all with Windows7! (If only I'd known this from the beginning!) So the problem was not with my laptop, I just needed to upgrade. They must make changes (when they upgrade) regarding the CDG burners or something. That is interesting that Hoster 4.11 worked with a CDG drive that I know for sure read CDG.

However, the Hoster Upgrade didn't work still when I installed it. It would not even open!

I had to delete all the old Hoster files that were on my laptop first and then install it again and then it worked. What an ordeal! But I'm glad I got it working!!

I am glad you got it working.
One thing to keep in mind though is that as CD drives age, the laser in them loses strength. Eventually it will get to the point where it is not strong enough to read the more complex formats.
Windows 7 changed the way lots of things work and that is one reason MTU had to upgrade the programs to reflect the changes in the way Windows 7 handles the drives, playback, and many other items that directly effected Hoster and Microstudio as well as the other programs.

[FRadspinner]

That is great to know about the aging lazer eye of the CDG drive. I wasn't aware of that. Although, now that I've upgraded, the Optiarc drive on the laptop itself is working. Windows7 sure changed a lot of things! Thanks for all your help!