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Topic: Where is Plextools availiable online? (Read 15010 times) previous topic - next topic
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Where is Plextools availiable online?

I've read and been told here that Plextools would be great ripping software for my Plextor drive. 

I have been using this Plextor drive with EAC and find that it just does not work as well with EAC as my Sony drive.  In fact, it sometimes bogs down EAC altogether.  So I am curious to try Plextools with my Plextor drive and see if it works better. 

I probably got a basic version of Plextools with my drive when I bought it back in 2002 but I do not know where that CD is anymore.  I've looked online and it seems that Plextools is a program that is no longer supported by Plextor and is not available on their website.

If it matters, this older Plextor drive is model PX-W4012A flashed with the latest firmware 1.07.  It is an IDE drive that I am running on a Window 7 64bit system.  Would Plextools run on a Windows 7 64bit system?  I'll need to double check but when I put the PC together I'm pretty sure I set it to Master on the IDE and the Sony is the Slave.

edit: Found the CD that came with the drive.  There is no Plextools on this CD.  Just PlexManager 2000 (which it says not to install on XP), Easy CD Creator, STOMP, and LiquidPlayer

Where is Plextools availiable online?

Reply #1 –
Quote
PlexTools Professional LE and PlexTools Professional XL have been discontinued and is no longer supported. Please download and install PlexUtilities from the download section.


...PlexUtilities

I would make sure it is compatible with your drive. Also, you can find old versions of Plextools on the net, Brothersoft is one place - Google is your friend  BTW, that drive is great, I still have the 4824ta and it works just fine, so does my 708a.

Where is Plextools availiable online?

Reply #2 –
Does PlexUtilities include a version of Plextools, or something similar? 

I'm hesitant to just download Plextools off some random site.  But I'll search around about PlexUtilities and see what I come up with.  Thanks!

Where is Plextools availiable online?

Reply #3 –
I found this version searching the Plextor forum: http://www.plextor-europe.com/products/doc...re/PTPXL316.zip  Plextools Professional XL 3.16

So I installed it to see if it would run.  So far it is not working.  It appeared to install OK but when I run the program it appears to initially start-up, where in the initial start-up screen says it is gathering information from my drives, then just disappears.

Where is Plextools availiable online?

Reply #4 –
Have you checked system tray? I think it minimizes there.
TAPE LOADING ERROR

Where is Plextools availiable online?

Reply #6 –
Thanks hlloyge,  Sure enough it was minimized in the system tray on the lower left hidden in a sub menu.  But I have since been able to set it to maximize on startup.

I have also briefly tested it out by ripping a CD to .flac tracks with a cue and m3u.  I am amazed at how fast it rips the CD to .flac tracks.  About 3 minutes compared to 30 minutes with EAC. 

I do have a couple of questions.  After ripping to the flac tracks with a cue. I tried to use Foobar2000 to play the CD by directing it to the folder where I saved the rips and cue.  Foobar2000 would not show the album or any of the Tracks.  I will assume that Foobar2000 does not reconginze the CUE, M3u, or Tagging of Plextools Pro XL 3.16?

I did some searching here and it seems that most of the Plextools threads were years ago.  And really no mention of Plextools Pro XL 3.16.  I am wondering what version of the FLAC encoder is used with this version of Plextools and how much it matters.

Could I use Plextools to rip to FLAC tracks and then also use EAC to create a Noncompliant CUE Sheet?  So I could be consistent since I've ripped about 200 CD so far in this manner.  Or is there a better way to go about using Plextools?

I'm still not very knowledgeable of CUE Sheets and Tagging yet.  So far I've just been using EAC configured using the EAC Knowledgebase here and ripping to FLAC tracks and saving a Noncompliant CUE Sheet.

Where is Plextools availiable online?

Reply #7 –
Quote from: g725s on
About 3 minutes compared to 30 minutes with EAC.

Let's compare apples to apples, shall we???

I just ripped a disc with EAC in Secure mode with one of my Plextor drives which took less than two and a half minutes.

EAC is essentially no slower than Plextools when configured to use a comparable ripping method.

Where is Plextools availiable online?

Reply #8 –
EAC may even be faster since you can use burst mode with Accuraterip.

Where is Plextools availiable online?

Reply #10 –
Quote from: g725s on
Plextools Professional XL 3.16


I hope you have better luck with this software than I did.

I had nothing but trouble with it (crashes, etc) so I went back to the non-XL version of Plextools Pro which works fine.

Maybe something about my system was weird but at the time I didn't feel like tracking it down.

Where is Plextools availiable online?

Reply #11 –
In this post it seems all you guys do is get jealous that EAC is way slower then Plextools with this particular drive.  I've not had good success with this Plextor drive and EAC. Go back search and look at other posts about Plextools being found faster by other users.  However, most of these posts are years old.  But I find it classic that is all you guys can pull out of my post is the speed issue.  And one guy starts talking about how Plextools XL crashes with no other very important info about OS,drives, setup, and version of XL.  For me EAC freezes with this particular Plextor drive.  My Sony drive runs fine with EAC.  Plextools Pro XL 3.16 has ran extremely fast for the 10 or so test rips I've tried, including using the highest DAE setting.  Are you guys using Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit with your Plextools?

Where is Plextools availiable online?

Reply #12 –
Quote from: twostar on
EAC may even be faster since you can use burst mode with Accuraterip.


Not with this particular Plextor drive that I have.  The fastest in Burst is about x3 if I'm lucky.  In Secure, when EAC runs without freezing that is, it is about x.2 to x1.4.

Since you guys seem to want to talk about EAC here..

Where is Plextools availiable online?

Reply #13 –
Quote from: g725s on
In this post it seems all you guys do is get jealous that EAC is way slower then Plextools with this particular drive.
Jealous?  Please!  I've used PlexTools and have had it on my system for years.  I rarely ever use it because I have two other ripping programs which are just as fast and at least as accurate (between either program for the vast majority of discs) and have AR support.

Quote from: g725s on
But I find it classic that is all you guys can pull out of my post is the speed issue.
I think people should be aware that despite your problems some of us are able to rip a disc in less than three minutes with EAC in secure mode. 

Quote from: g725s on
And one guy starts talking about how Plextools XL crashes with no other very important info about OS,drives, setup, and version of XL.
Kind of like your not providing us details when saying EAC takes 30 minutes to rip a disc, no?

Quote from: g725s on
For me EAC freezes with this particular Plextor drive.
Is it giving you trouble at the beginning of each track?  This happens to me occasionally.

Quote from: g725s on
Plextools Pro XL 3.16 has ran extremely fast for the 10 or so test rips I've tried, including using the highest DAE setting.
When there are no errors detected, of course; Plextools works solely on C2 pointers, regardless of the setting.

Where is Plextools availiable online?

Reply #14 –
Quote from: greynol on
Quote from: g725s on
And one guy starts talking about how Plextools XL crashes with no other very important info about OS,drives, setup, and version of XL.
Kind of like your not providing us details when saying EAC takes 30 minutes to rip a disc, no?

Quote from: g725s on
For me EAC freezes with this particular Plextor drive.
Is it giving you trouble at the beginning of each track?  This happens to me occasionally.g.



I have setup both drives using only the knowledgebase here at HA.  For some reason I just have had very bad performance with this Plextor drive and EAC.  I install Plextools and the thing takes off and is even faster than the Sony in Burst Mode in EAC.  Literally it takes less than 5 minutes with this Plextor drive and Plextools using what I believe are the highest error correcting settings.

However I am not sure about the way it tags and the CUE it makes.  I point Foobar2000 to the folder where I rip the tracks to and it does not see the album or tracks.  But again I know very little at this point about CUEs, Tags, and such as I have mentioned.  When I point Foobar2000 to the folder where I keep the EAC rips they are all there and Foobar2000 manages them great.

All I hear is how EAC should be as fast or faster than Plextools with this drive here.  How can I make EAC work with this Plextor drive?  My system is in my profile and has been, what more might you need?  I am using Caching but not C2.  The only thing I've not tried is not using Caching, but will now.

Where is Plextools availiable online?

Reply #15 –
Quote from: g725s on
All I hear is how EAC should be as fast or faster than Plextools with this drive here.  How can I make EAC work with this Plextor drive?  My system is in my profile and has been, what more might you need?  I am using Caching but not C2.  The only thing I've not tried is not using Caching, but will now.


Maybe using EAC's -usefua option, in Secure Mode w/ accurate stream and c2 checked, and chaching unchecked (-usefua flushes/empties the cache or something like that) will work to speed things up.  I don't know about the freezing, nor do I have any experience w/ Win7 or 64 bit.

To run EAC with -usefua enabled you could make a new shortcut to EAC, change that shortcut's properties (rt. click), and put -usefua at the end of the Target line.
I want NBC's Ed on DVD/Blu-ray!

Where is Plextools availiable online?

Reply #16 –
Quote from: redsandvb on
Quote from: g725s on
All I hear is how EAC should be as fast or faster than Plextools with this drive here.  How can I make EAC work with this Plextor drive?  My system is in my profile and has been, what more might you need?  I am using Caching but not C2.  The only thing I've not tried is not using Caching, but will now.


Maybe using EAC's -usefua option, in Secure Mode w/ accurate stream and c2 checked, and chaching unchecked (-usefua flushes/empties the cache or something like that) will work to speed things up.  I don't know about the freezing, nor do I have any experience w/ Win7 or 64 bit.

To run EAC with -usefua enabled you could make a new shortcut to EAC, change that shortcut's properties (rt. click), and put -usefua at the end of the Target line.



Thanks for the info.  greynol mentioned usefua in another post to me before, but I was hesitant to ask what this meant since it is customary around here to tell people to just go search.  I did search after his mention of usefua and read quite a few posts and none mentioned how it was actually implemented. Much of this stuff is hidden in posts that you have to read through a lot of useless info and sometime don't really come out with the knowledge you are seeking.

But I did make the shortcut on my desktop and put the target line as "C:\Exact Audio Copy\EAC.exe" -usefua  I started EAC with this shortcut and unchecked caching and checked C2.

Well I am happy to say the difference was pretty drastic.  The same CD I ripped with Plextools which tool roughly 5 minutes took about 6 minutes with EAC in Secure Mode, not T&C just Copy.  Track Progress speed was up to 35x and Total Progress was about 22x.

The log reported a good rip.

edit: Spoke too soon.  Just had it freeze again on second CD while making Noncompliant CUE Sheet. Tried twice same thing :-(

Where is Plextools availiable online?

Reply #17 –
Quote from: g725s on
Just had it freeze again on second CD while making Noncompliant CUE Sheet.

Have you tried to change the "gap detection method" from drive options? Note that some CD's work better with other det. methods. For example, I've 1, only one CD, out of ~600 CD's that I couldn't rip with the selected det. method in EAC. Changing the method temporarily worked. Of course the drive also has an effect on this issue, so YMMV.

Where is Plextools availiable online?

Reply #18 –
it could be that he needs to change Read command to MMC1 (or to something else) - I had trouble with my Plextor DVD drive.
TAPE LOADING ERROR

Where is Plextools availiable online?

Reply #19 –
As it is now using usefua setup that hlloyge showed me how to configure.  I just can't seem to make the noncompliant cue sheet it always freezes at Track 2 and won't go anywhere, and sometimes just vanishes.  I think I was having the cue sheet problem before with this Plextor though, but also problems ripping as well.  But can rip now it seems at good speed. So I did that with about 20 CD since my last post.  I just use my Sony drive to do the CUE sheet.

I have always had the read command set to Autodetect Read Command, but if run the wizard I get D8 to always come up as the suggested command. But I've left the box in the Autodetect setting.

As far as Gap Detection Method I've always had that set to Detection Method A, and Detection Accuracy as Secure

Where is Plextools availiable online?

Reply #20 –
Quote from: hlloyge on
it could be that he needs to change Read command to MMC1 (or to something else) - I had trouble with my Plextor DVD drive.



Quote from: g725s on
As it is now using usefua setup that hlloyge showed me how to configure.  I just can't seem to make the noncompliant cue sheet it always freezes at Track 2 and won't go anywhere, and sometimes just vanishes.  I think I was having the cue sheet problem before with this Plextor though, but also problems ripping as well.  But can rip now it seems at good speed. So I did that with about 20 CD since my last post.  I just use my Sony drive to do the CUE sheet.

I have always had the read command set to Autodetect Read Command, but if run the wizard I get D8 to always come up as the suggested command. But I've left the box in the Autodetect setting.

As far as Gap Detection Method I've always had that set to Detection Method A, and Detection Accuracy as Secure

I've set my Plextors to D8 (if that's what it told me), A and Accurate.  Maybe trying a different combination might help...?
I want NBC's Ed on DVD/Blu-ray!

Where is Plextools availiable online?

Reply #21 –
In the past, I used to buy Plextor products.
Many SCSI controlers, cd-roms, Capture device.
Until one day...
Suddenly, three years before, they asked me to pay the licence for Plextools.
I did pay!
The most funny?
After some days I had to format my PC and they asked me to pay again for a new licence.

I don't use plextor producsts anymore and I don't suggest them!