Conflow

Richard, Thanks for your re-explaination:- Its got nothing to do with the PTE.Program but everything to do with your Image & File Names...And how you Manage your Software. (provided the Burner is not U/S) Let me explain:- When you start the 'Burner Program' it starts a sequence of events first checking the overall File Size to see will it fit on a CD-Disc. Then it checks the File contents to see "What File Types" you are burning. Then it check the File Names to see if they are ISO Compatible to 8 character lenght, if not, it converts the File Names to ISO Standard, it then looks for 'Non-Standard File' and converts these also. It also checks for Copyright ~ it does an awful lot more that that. So, unknown to you:- EVERYTHING going to the Disc is to the ISO STANDARD so it can be Re-Played on STANDARD PLAYERS. Get the idea ?... During the preparation process it creates a 'Temporary ISO Cache File' from which it works during the 'burn-process' Finally it does a Verification against the Cache File, and if all is OK it spits out the Disc. Now it ask's, Do you wish to Save the ISO File if you don't - it can't burn a 2nd Disc because you are telling it to "dump its Cache File" and if you do that, it thinks you want to burn a 'Different Disc' from different source materials before you finally quit the Program...So what do you expect it to do ? Finally,if you intend doing a serious amount of CD Burning (CD or DVD) you are better off purchasing a 'Multiple Copy Burner' as Ronnie Boothwest suggested - so much less hastle for you. Hope this simply explains whats going on.. Brian.Conflow.

Kenny, Try E-Bay Germany, we buy many Computers from Reputable Dealers in Germany and the Laptops are virtually always top of the rang. One of the top makers is "Acer". Brian.Conflow.

Richard, You have me somewhat confused ~ Firstly,you Burnt a DVD....On what Drive and with what Software ? Secondly, you inserted a Blank Disk...Into what Drive ? and this time you used Roxio Software. Am I correct in saying that you attempted to Burn 2 Discs (simultaneously) in different Drives but used the Roxio Program to drive both Burners simultaneously ? Now, neither Burner will operate correctly !!....is this the case ? Brian.Conflow.

John, This is important to me, may I ask ~ did you run the Disc Cleaner ? ~ The reason I ask the question is that Disc Cleaner sometimes kicks the PC in the ass and gives it a good "enema" which literally unblocks things that are "hung-up" ~ indeed we have recovered many a lost Data File after using the Program. You will also find that the PC runs much smoother after a good scrub. We use the Program daily particularily after a Web Session.....the junk it throws out is unbelievable ! Tip:- Always use Disc Cleaner before you Burn a CD you will rarely if ever get a Burn failure. Brian.Conflow.

John & Lumenlux, Firstly, Kens Link to the 'Batch Renamer 1-4a' is worth a trial, its a nice little Program. Secondly I'm under pressure here, so my Post will be terse and to the point:- Do as follows:- Open Windows Explorer, select-->Tools Tab-->Folder Options-->View Tab-->and in the 'Advanced Settings Window', select-->Show Hidden Files & Folders. Now activate your 'Remote Drive' double click its Icon and all should be revealed. DO NOT TOUCH FILES THAT ARE GREYED-OUT. Have a look around, now take a 'Snap-Shot' and get the hell out of there. Now do me a favour ~ download this particular Program 'Disc-Cleaner' ~ I did say particular. Guide it to the 'Remote Drive' and let it scan the Drive. You are going to be surprised with the amount of 'rubbish' it will find. Clean the 'Remote Drive' (its only after debris) now do a second Scan and take a 'Snap-Shot'. I'm looking to see if there are any 'Temporary.System Files' in there, these can amount to many Megabytes and are supposed to be cleaned out on 'Drive Boot-Up' mostly they are not. The 'Cleaner' will not remove Temp.System Files because Windows won't allow it. Temp.System Files are the PCs "get-out clause" where it creates these Files from remnants of 'Installation Routines' and Exes together with Zip and Pdf remnants and 'Misplaced Files' and generally anything it doesn't understand. Your lost Files might be there shown with a $xxxx suffix, I doubt it thought. The only way of getting rid of Temp.System Files is...(1) Use a really good Reg.Cleaner,then...(2) Defrag the Drive,then...(3) A few PC Cold Re-Boots (Mains On/Mains Off at least twice). What's left is misplaced Operating System Files, and your're stuck with those. Bye the way,most people don't realise that you need to 'Defrag' Remote Drives particularily those that are used to Store...Exe's, Zips, Pdfs, Web-Links, EMails, Word-Documents' and any Files that are dynamically Active. Cleaner Link:- http://www.diskcleaner.nl Best of Luck, Brian.Conflow. P.S When you see the 'Disc Cleaner Preview Window' Click on it for a larger Picture ~ It explains all.

Hi John, At least you had them backed up on DVD. That 'esorteric' problem is not unusual with PCs and can happen for a number of reasons,viz:- 1) Renaming Folders within Folders with a similar title such as 'Images 123' and again 'Images 345' etc;... Note the blank space between...Images[blank]123 ~ this is looking for trouble. The correct title should be Images_123 or alternatively Images-123, there are no blank spaces. 2) When a Title is more than 8 Characters (Non-Iso titles) other strange things can happen particularily with Burner Software. (Too long to describe here). 3) Another is the 'False-Duplicate Title' within another Folder one such is 'Accessories' or another is 'Network' and another is 'New' or 'My Pictures' ~ Creating Folders with these names conflict with those embedded in the Operating System are are extremely difficult to remove, sometimes impossible, sometimes destructive. 4) Computers just love Numbers or Numerics, although we humans tend to favour Alpha-Numerics such as Image-123 whereas the PC would much prefer if you named things in Numeric-Alphas such as 01-Image, 02-Image, 03-Image and so on. Never use 1, 2, 3, 4 the proper count is 01, 02, 03, 04 which is 'decadic' and the PC understands that. John I won't go on because it would bore the socks of most ~ just try to put Count first, Title second and you will never loose a File ~ Unfortunately that goes against the grain with most people, but if you are into Data Recording like we are, thats the 'de-facto' unambigious method of naming Files. Brian.Conflow.

Al, Many thanks for that info ~ I was actually looking for Microsoft Green for another job. Brian.

Ken, I hope you didn't pick me up wrong ~ If so I apologise ~ I was alluding to your remark about Igor making Messages in 'Accessibility Options' ie:- My comment was ~ that's some wish (joke) Thanks to Ronnie for bringing that to my attention.... Brian.

Ken, Your're impossible, there must be Irish in you somewhere ? that's some wish... Brian.

Bruce and Ron Hello Guys, The Images are purely 'off-the cuff' quick examples ~ the Green I was looking for was the 'Old 95 Green' used by the Microsoft 95 Op.System. The simple reason being, that its part and parcel of all Win Op.Systems just as the Grey colour is used by Microsoft and PTE and many others. It was just a suggestion, so the User could determine which Routine the Beta.5xx had selected on PC System Test. Brian.

Hey Guys, You are "reading too much" into my Posting ~ Below is what I suggested ~ Ken, Green is Clinically proven to be the most 'visible colour' even for Colourblind people and I,m not throwing a spanner in the Works I'm simply trying to avoid confusion when PTE.5 is finally released and I think Igor appreciated that suggestion ! Brian.Conflow. Igor, That might be the most 'practical idea' because at that stage the 'User' has already 'Previewed' his Show and would know what gives the best results ~ then its up to him. It seemed that there is some 'misconception' about my suggestion so I posted an Example below. Brian.

Igor, That's good News that you have achieved an 'Engine Auto-Switch' in PTE.5xx although I note you said there will be 'No Message' to indicate which routine the PC will be using. My personal opinion is, thats going to create confusion and frustration like the 'User Key Code' problem which has rolled on for years. Thats the nature of all 'auto-selection' systems. Suggestion:- If there is 'No Message' surely it would be a simple matter to change the colour of the PTE.Main Program Window as follows,viz - Example:- Grey is the (old) 4x Routine Green is the (new) 5x Routine At least when a User switches between each routine its clearly indicated which one he/she is using. This would make life so much easier for your +3000 Forum Members and your Current Users and most important of all - your New Users, with no previous experience of PTE. To me that makes practical sense. Best regards, Brian.Conflow

Hi All, For some time past we have been developing an 'Archival Fast-Finder File System' for Data Recording capable of indexing up to 6.6 million Files (Data logging needs that capacity). I won't go into the details of this as it uses many Software elements one of which is a readily available program called "Image-Eye" which would be ideal for PTE.Users. 'Image-Eye' can create a powerful 'Indexing System' within your PC without ANY changes to your PC Setup. It also works with CDs/DVDs/and External HDs ~ It also accomodates virtually any File Format on your PC. It would take too long to explain here how the whole thing works so I have "Attached 4 Demo Images" which will show:- How it Works, How to Manage it, How it's Set-Up and a Demo Folder. Here is the Program link:- http://www.fmjsoft.com View "Attachments" in Full Screen. (Blue Icon is No.1 Screen) Brian Kelly. Conflow services.

Hi Ron, Come on now, be fair, that's your personal opinion ~ Look at the '400 odd Reader List' and you say there is no interest in this Topic ?. This forum is famous for good "old fashioned" open Debate, now don't tell me that this Forum hasn't helped you with your Web Site and helped me with my Interest's and helped many other's with their Work ? It's my personal opinion that this current Debate between You, Ken, Al, Gilbert, Lynn, myself and others has provided 'critical information' about PTE.File Storage which otherwise would not have seen the Light of Day. I might also add that this Forum has recently been "Pirated" by Members with special interests in 'PTE.5xxBeta' quite rightly so ~ Did you see any protests from some +2000 Users of PTE.4xx, no you didn't, because for all of us these things have quite steep Learning Curves in which we all share ~ Including PTE.File Storage. No offence intended my my remarks, just simply trying to put things into perspective, and along with AL, I also would like to know a little more about 'Archive Creator'. Brian.

Hi Steve, Yes I agree with you, because I have run into this problem, not once, but many times and it is terribly time-wasting to sort it out. Having said that it's been my experience that most (closed) 'Self-Executing Programs' simply don't check PC.Parameters before auto-execution and the rare ones that do, give a very terse message such as "Insufficient Memory" or "Unsupported Utility" or the like. In the case of PTE it would be rather difficult to implement because a PTE.Show is of 'variable duration' with 'variable memory demands' and what would work on one PC (given its limitations) would not necessarily work on another PC with different limitations. Then we have Graphic Card limitations never mind Direct-X and believe this or not, I have seen people run a PTE Show WITHOUT Sound because they never had a 'Desktop Stereo-Amplifier' connected to the PC and consequently never realised that the Show had a Soundtrack...stranger than fiction ! So you are asking PTE to check these resources:- Direct-X, Memory, Graphic Card, Colour Bits, Sound System and more... this would require a 'Resources Program' and let's be honest, those parameters are already laid down in the 'Help File' easily accessible from within the Program Folder. Problem is, Users don't read the Help File, and haven't we all committed that sin, so where does that leave us ? Brian.Conflow.

Hi Ken, As I replied to Al..."it's all a matter of one's own criteria"...and I do agree that -DVD is a good economic choice for 'Archiving' for most people, but I would stop stone-dead at using ordinary CD-Discs. The thing's that pushed us over to using Memory-Stiks (Pens) and Compact Cards were as follows:- Last year we had to give 2 Engineering Presentations about failures in 'IGBT Motor-Controllers' for a Client. These Units cost about $175,000 each and we can repair them for a fraction of their cost. We prepared a 'PTE Project CD' and duplicate which were prior-tested, all was O.K. till we went on Site. The initial 'Demo' was O.K on our Laptop but "heck" would they work on their PC's ~ nada, no, not a peep ~ and boy was there 'Egg on our Faces' and we supposed to know about these things. This happened twice with different Technical Groups. Afterwards we found out what happened...Greasy Fingers..it was as simple as that. Over time we also had problems with 'micro-scratches' on CD's, so we abandoned "live" CD.Presentations in favour of the Compact Card and Memory-Stik, we never looked back. 1) They work with every PC that has a USB.Port whether thats USB.1 or USB.2 ~ as you well know. 2) No "CD-Burning" required ~ and no 'fussy' pre-preparation of the Media and they accept Non-Iso Files. 3) You can run directly off the Card or the 'Stik or download these to HD, well you know that also. 4) If the Host PC has no Card Program we load 'Flash Ranger Manager'(450kb) its on the Card and Stik. 5) We also us a few "25 Card Hub-Combo Readers" with 3.USB.Ports. They are powered from the PC/Laptop.USB or 5.Volt. 6) For the CD-Cards we use a 'Pluggable Card-Carrier' which gives great protection to the Card. 7) We don't have to leave Copy-Cd's with the Client ~ the Program is already on his PC. Here in our Workshops they are an absolute 'godsend' for transferring data between the PC's and our Laptops, some of these are old robust '98 Se.Machines which are proverbial work-horses for us. As you see we learnt the hard way - thankfully our Client was more forgiving than most. Brian.

Hi Al, Well as I said in my previous Post..."its all a matter of one's own criteria" whether one goes for Mechanical CD-Memory Media or the next alternative being Solid State Memory Media or the top end being Dat-Recorder Memory Media. Most Hotels and Legal Offices and Small Business who have their own Servers always use 'Dat-Tape Recorders' for Archiving - and there are millions of such enterprises - they can't all be wrong. I agree with you, that for the man in the Street, the -DVD Disc is the least expensive, but it's still Mechanical and very prone to 'usage-wear' like a standard CD, and not all Laptops like that Media. We at Conflow are moving away from CD & DVD Media Storage because its prone to 'logic-errors' and real world 'usage-wear' which causes inappropriate failures when we least want it ~ particularily in the middle of an Engineering Conference. We have no such problems with Memory-Stiks nor Compact Memory Cards. I guess Gilbert will have to experiment for himself as to which Archival Media and Portable Media best suits his needs... Best regards, Brian.

Hi Ken, Thanks for that Exchange Rate Calculator Link ~ Brian.

Al, What's your Canadian conversion rate to the Euro and the Pound Sterling ?...I have no idea ? Sure the CD is cheaper (even I know that) but that's not what I was talking about.... If you pop back to the beginning of this Thread where Gilbert had 2 problems:- 1) Reliable 'Archival Storage' and he certainly indicated 'Long Term' 2) Portable 'Temporary Storage' where he wanted to get away from CD's with Laptops (below). Quote Pasted I want to avoid the use of a CD for shows as it is quite fiddly with my laptop, and as I have reached an age where such things are important I am wondering the best way forward. Gilbert. Answer If he wants to avoid CD's then the 'Memory-Stik' is the answer ~ No Moving Parts ~ Plugs into USB No Power needed ~ Extremely Reliable ~ Can be downloaded hundreds of times ~ Does not suffer from 'usage-wear' like a CD ~ Avoids the CD-Burning process completely,and there's more... As to Long-Term 'Archival-Storage' I guess that debate will rage on forever. It all depends on one's own criteria, Whether to live with the CD or get completely away from Mechanical Systems and I'm afraid whether we like it or not, that's the way Technology is heading. Hope this explains things a little better. Brian.

Hey Ken, Come on be fair ~ Whats all this talk about "Hollywood" and bundles of expensive 'Compact Flash Cards' at $50 'bucks' a throw ??...Is it that you want to suppress New Technology because you have invested heavily in CD's...Well if you have, thats fair enough, but don't knock the other Guy because he brings in a new idea in 'Portable Data Storage' and good 'Archival Storage' at reasonable prices. If you add the Costs of your Storage Hard Drives + Your Cd's you can buy a hell of a lot of 'Compact Flash Cards' for what you have already paid out... I buy mine on E-Bay at about Euro.6 to Euro.15 a throw. See "Attachment" for recent Price Lists. I rest my case. Brian.Conflow. Expand Attachment to Full Screen.

Adobe One, You don't indicate what version of PTE you are using ? 1) Did you 'Auto-Synchronise' the Music to the Slides before you added the Transitions? 2) I made that mistake once, where the 'Total Slide Times' -plus- the 'Transition Times' exceeded the Music Playing Time, where after the Program just locked me out. 3) If this is the case go to the 'Music Tab' in the Main Program Window and delete the Music File entry. Then complete your Transitions and everything else, 'Time your Show' and select a Music Track to slightly overlap that 'Timing period'. This may help.... Brian.Conflow.

Hey Ken, Wait up a moment ~ the life-data they give out are 'hypothetical' Lifespans based on the degradation of the Laser Dyes where CD's are stored under 'ideal conditions' which are simply not-practical in the modern Home ~ unless you want to install a Temperature & Humidity controlled Room with non-UV Lighting ?. Then again we must examine the CD-Drive which operates in a very warm and dusty athmosphere within a PC ? So the Laser could be reading Data from a dusty Disc..it happens all the time, because the Disc creates 'static' from rotation. Also you know how hard it is to keep a CD clean and how hard it is to prevent micro-scratches. Its worse than maintaining and storing LP.Vinyl Records but these as 'Archival Media' have stood the test of Time, will the CD ??. Then we have "iffy" Laptop-Drives which seem to let us down when we least need that!! ~ do we really need all that agro, when we know in our heart and soul that the CD is nearly obselete ~ need I say more ?. The practical facts of the matter are that 'Home-Made CD-Discs' do deteriorate over relatively short periods of time compared to a Vinyl LP and in that 'era' we were led to believe that the CD-Discs had a much superior lifespan...So now where is this claimed 50-250 year life?...rubbish, sales 'blurb' is fictitious, it always was and we still believe it ! Not withstanding that, the CD-Disc does provide a 'mid-term life' solution provided they are maintained...but as a long-term Archival Media solution,thats debatable ! I do appreciate your point about the.. "80.year old Man and his New Roof" (thats a good one)...but you are missing the point, Archives are meant to be refered to in dire circumstances where you want to retrieve good Data without erosion effects. I rest my case, the hunt is still on for a reliable, stable, Archival Media suitable for Home use that doesn't become obselete and doesn't erode. Thats why we have gone for 'Compact Flash Disc' ~ it's pure Digital Data on a Chip, no moving parts, and so far the Computer Industry has proved to me that 'User Memory Ram' is ultra-reliable as are Earoms and Earams in my Industry the fore-runners of the 'Flash Disc and Memory-Stiks' at least you can retrieve the Data off these things if they are not physically damaged and in my opinion they are going to be around for a very,very, long time unless some Einstein comes up with a replacement for the 'Silicon Chip Industry' ~ so lets see ! It still amazes me that IBM and Professsional Studios & TV.Stations worldwide are still using 'Streaming Tape Storage Media' for Archives...instead of the more compact CD-Disc. They must know something we don't ? Brian.Conflow.

Ron, Please read my Post in 'detail' ~ I said that we had SOME CD-Disc failures and I certainly did not infer that there were 'Global Failures' with this method of Archiving excepting that under certain circumstances a number of Disc's failed to 'Boot-Up' and indeed some became impossible to open at all. It all depends on the CD Quality and which way you 'burn' them and is the Burn-Software good enough ?? Don't tell me you never had this problem, because most people have experienced this at one time or another ! I was specifically talking about "Archiving" ~ Thats an non-erosion method of retaining Data and from our experiences the 'Home-Made CD-Disc' leaves a lot to be desired compared to its Commercial counterpart particularily if one wants to Archive non-replaceable Data. Consequently we have moved over to Compact Flash Cards which we have found to be surprisingly reliable. In Gilberts situation the 'Memory Stik' or 'Memory Pen' would provide an ideal stable solution for 'Portable Storage Media'. So much better than a 'fussy' CD-Disc and temperamental Laptop-Drives. The 'Flash-Card or Memory-Stik' is more reliable and much faster to load into any Windows.PC fitted with a USB.1 or USB.2 Port and can be 'downloaded' hundreds of times ~ Try that with a CD-Disc where the slightest scratch makes it 'unservicable' and OUCH that hurts !! It's also the reason that the Worlds Photographic Industry is moving towards this Technology and as I write this there are 'Industrial Grade Laptops' out there with 'Solid-State Hard Drives' ~ No moving parts ~ there must be a reason for that ? My intent was to help Gilbert in the context of 'Archiving Data' with the knowledge of New Technology thats currently available. So let a little light be cast upon advancements in Technology....nothing stands still, neither did PTE ! Brian.Conflow. P.S Unknown to me as I was writing this Post, I just read a Post from Al Robinson who more or less simply vindicated what I was saying although I was trying to be more explicit in detail...Thank you Al.

Hi Gilbert, It seems to me that you have 2 problems,viz:- 1) Archival Storage Problem. Where one 'archives' an item for posterity not intended for retrieval except in dire circumstances. 2) Library Access Problem. Like a real Library you find an item by 'index' - borrow it - use it - return it to an 'indexed' location. Here at Conflow Services we have struggled with these problems for some years because we have to 'Archive' Digital Data (as well as PTE) whilst making available, working 'Libraries' which we can access on daily demand. For Archive purposes we have used CD's and DVD's but we have found that the mechanical stability of these over time has not been the best. We have some discs where after a years' storage simply did not work on demand. We were surprised and started to research the problem and got on to various Manufacturers and found out that Commercial Copy CD's are manufactured by (layered) Laser Printing and not by 'burning' but they did advise if you are 'burning' for archival purposes, always keep the 'burn-speed' below 16x preferably 12x for images and 4x for Sound. The fact being the slower the speed the deeper the burn,the better the archive. Not really trusting this Technology any longer we are now switching over to 'Memory Cards' and 'Memory Sticks' and simple 'USB.2 Hub Devices' to record to the Cards and read from them into any USB.Port on any PC or Laptop with very simple software. Available in Compact Flash Cards and XD-Cards and variants these will soon replace Hard Drives within a few years.They are available from 128.Mb all the way up to 8.0.Gb starting at $5 to $150. 8.0Gb will hold a lot of PTE Shows, but to be realistic the cheap 1.0Gb or 2.0Gb Card is more than ideal for 'Indexing'. These are much faster, cleaner and less prone to essoterics than CD's as there are no moving Mechanical parts and so far we can't fault them. For serious hard work we use the 'Compact Falsh Card' its larger than the XD.Card and easier to handle. Als 'Indexer' would be appropraite for your work. Hope this gives you some ideas.... Brian.Conflow.

Hi Joe, When I look back in 'hindsight' ~ when I started to use PTE ~ I also had the same criticism of PTE as you now have....lack of a comprehensive 'Instruction Manual'..supplied with the Program from WnSoft and of course you are correct in your analysis. Now if I attempted to Manufacture & Supply a product within the English speaking World, I would be told what to do with it...if it's support Manuals were non-existant and I being an english speaking person ! Then again I would have a major problem if I attempted to sell a product into an Arab State or to Russia....I simply don't know their Language's neither is my Computer set-up to generate the Font Types & Character and cross-assemblers for these Languages ...it's not an easy job. To be fair to PTE, its a Russian Program as are the Developers, and they do supply a 'Short-Form Manual' in 22 Languages and additional 8 Slavic/Coptic Keyboard Command Sets. Open the PTE Folder and see for yourself. This does not in any way reflect on the wonderful 'Manuals' created by Al Robinson and others who have unstintingly contributed their time and efforts in bringing to us those in-depth PTE.Manuals.... Joe I appreciate the point you made, but in consideration of other factors one must be considerate of the limitations imposed on 'non-english' speaking Developers and Igors' English is improving daily, I wonder could the same be said of us if we were to import into his Country ? Brian.Conflow.