Adaptec's burner software has a reputation for being reliable and easy to use û unfortunately, not all users have shared this experience. The frustration has not been helped by a support site that can be very confusing. Some common issues with the software are the slow startup of Easy CD Creator, General Protection Faults and hardware that is not supported. The important fixes are spread across two patches û and the simplest way to update your software is to apply them in the following order:

First, install the Easy CD Creator Update 3.5c (5.0MB). This will upgrade the core components of any 3.x release to version 3.5c and can be applied to the Standard or Deluxe versions, but they must be the English release. Version 3.5c has a number of fixes that will add increased hardware support. It also builds in a new safety feature that prevents users from ejecting the CD while the TOC (table of contents) is being written û an error that will potentially corrupt CD media. You must also have version 3.5c if you are going to install the Recorder 1.05 update.

After applying the 3.5c update and rebooting your machine, install the DirectCD and Easy CD Creator Recorder Support Update 1.05 (1.4MB). This smaller update corrects some annoyances including the slow startup of Easy CD Creator 3.5c, an eject problem with certain DVD-ROM drives and additional support for some new CD recorders. Reboot again to ensure the updates are completed.

Both patches are available on our cover CD or on Adaptec's site. To keep up to date, Adaptec has a bulletin service and Version 4 of its software comes with an automatic updating program called Web-check. If it is too difficult to locate the latest patch on the Adaptec site, then head to www.softwarepatch.com where they simplify the process and list only the significant updates.

-- Scott Mendham