Copyright: © 2000-2002 by H+H Software GmbH
Citation: © 2000-2002 by H+H Software GmbH


Overview
 – Overview

The Virtual CD Image Wizard can run in one of two different modes:

•	In the Expert Copy Mode, the Image Wizard prompts you to enter the all of the required information for creating each virtual CD. Which dialog pages are opened depends on the types of track (data and/or audio tracks) on the source CD.

•	In the Easy Copy Mode, the Image Wizard configures the required settings automatically and shows only the dialog pages necessary.

The first time you start the Image Wizard, you are prompted to select one of the two modes. You can switch modes at any time by selecting the desired option on the Creating Virtual CDs page of the Settings dialog.

In addition to the option for creating a 1 : 1 image of a CD, some of the dialog pages in the Image Wizard open the Virtual CD Editor, where you can collect the audio tracks you wish to include on customized or modified virtual CDs.

Once the required information has been entered in the Image Wizard, the Image Writer starts automatically and completes the process of creating the virtual CD.

The dialog pages opened by the Image Wizard cover the following topics:

Selecting the Source CD

Results of Source-CD Analysis

Editing Audio Tracks

Settings for Audio Tracks

Settings for Data Tracks

Settings for the Editor

File Name and Path

Properties of the Virtual CD

The following symbols, shown in the title bar of the dialog page, indicate whether the page is shown when working in the Expert Copy Mode or the Easy Copy Mode:

	Page shown in Easy Copy Mode
	Page shown in Expert Copy Mode


Selecting the Source CD
 – Selecting the Source CD

The dialog for selecting the source CD shows a list of all CDs and DVDs available. If the desired source CD is not in this list, place the CD in a drive and wait a few moments for Windows to detect it. Once detected, it is automatically added to the list of available CDs.

	This dialog is shown only if there are more than one CD or DVD available for use as source CDs.

From here you can go to the following page(s):

Next >	Results of source-CD analysis


Results of Source-CD Analysis
 – Results of Source-CD Analysis

The dialog showing the results of source CD analysis lets you double-check which source CD was selected. Click on the Explorer... button to view the CD contents in detail in your Windows Explorer.

The CD label is the designation displayed next to the drive letter when the virtual CD is shown in your Windows Explorer. The CD label can have up to 16 characters and can include letters, numbers, spaces and hyphens ('dash' or minus sign).

	If you change the label of a software CD, there is a chance that the CD application will be unable to find the CD at runtime, and thus won't work. This is why the field for entering a label cannot be edited—unless you change the corresponding setting on the Creating Virtual CDs page of the Settings dialog.

In the Description field, enter a description from which the CD in question can be easily identified. The Description constitutes the internal name of the virtual CD, shown in all Virtual CD programs.

The default description is the CD label, or, if it is an audio CD and you have access to CDDB, the artist name and album title.

Before this page is shown, the selected source CD is analyzed for potential problems (such as defective sectors) by Virtual CD v4's powerful analysis module. Results of the source-CD analysis shows the information detected. The symbol displayed (see below) clearly indicates whether the virtual CD can be created without difficulties.

	No potential source of problems detected. Virtual CD will use the default settings for creating the virtual CD.
	Some potential source of difficulty detected. Virtual CD will change the settings to compensate for this. Keep in mind that, in this case, it may take anywhere up to a number of hours to create the virtual CD.
	If a CD is found to be problematic for use as a source CD, the Virtual CD program will attempt to compensate by changing the settings. Even so, there may be further problems that Virtual CD has trouble detecting. In this case, we recommend deactivating the Easy Copy Mode on the Creating Virtual CDs page of the Settings dialog, so you can define the settings yourself.

From here you can go to the following page(s):

< Back	Selecting the source CD
Next >	Editing audio tracks (in the Expert Copy Mode, if the source is an audio CD)
Next >	Settings for data tracks (in the Expert Copy Mode, if the source is not an audio CD)
Next >	Settings for the Editor (in the Expert Copy Mode, if you have selected the option to open the dialog page for Editor configuration)
Next >	File name and path (in the Easy Copy Mode, if the space available in the selected target directory is not sufficient)
Finish	Closes the Image Wizard and starts the Image Writer, to create the virtual CD (in the Easy Copy Mode)


Editing Audio Tracks
 – Editing Audio Tracks

The page for Editing audio tracks lists all of the tracks on the source CD, with title, time and number, and lets you exclude specific tracks and/or change the track sequence. How this page is displayed depends on whether you use the CDDB server to determine audio CD information (see below).

With active CDDB access:

Without CDDB access:

If you do not have access to the CDDB server, you can edit track titles by clicking on Edit or double-clicking on a track title.

	This page is shown only if the source CD uses one of the following formats: audio CD, CD-Text, CD-Extra or Mixed-mode.

From here you can go to the following page(s):

< Back	Results of source CD analysis
Next >	Settings for audio tracks (if the virtual CD will include audio tracks from the source CD)
Next >	Settings for data tracks (if no audio tracks will be included from the source CD)


Settings for Audio Tracks
 – Settings for Audio Tracks

There are two choices for creating virtual CD audio tracks: as sound files (analog) or as data files (digital).

If you select sound files, the tracks are stored as individual audio tracks on your hard disk (this was the method used in the earlier Virtual CD v2 and v3 versions). With this option, you can also select the audio compression method (ACM) used.

The audio formats available on your PC form a subgroup under 'ACM'. The standard setting uses a method that creates 1 : 1 images in audio CD quality (PCM, 44.100Hz, 16-bit, stereo).

	"The better the sound quality, the more disk space required" .

This is a general rule to keep in mind when selecting the audio format: the better the sound quality, the more space used up on your hard disk by the virtual CD you create. The standard CODEC (compression-decompression) module integrated in Windows is MS ADPCM, which offers a good compromise between the sound quality achieved and the disk space required. Other CODECs, such as MP3 and VQF, for example, use better compression and provide a sound quality approaching that of the original CD.

When you create music tracks as sound files, you can define whether the source data is read using a digital or an analog technique. Almost all CD-ROMs used today (8x and up) support the function for reading audio tracks digitally. This option offers better sound quality than the analog technique. Even so, there may be some audible interference. If this is the case, select the analog option. With this setting, the audio data is played from the original CD and recorded by your sound card. You can use the Test option, with both the digital and the analog techniques, to check the recording quality and volume.

	Currently only ACM compression is available. Other methods are in testing and will be released for use with Virtual CD shortly.

If you select the data files option, the audio data is not treated as audio files by Virtual CD, compressed using audio coding/compression methods, but rather the raw data is read digitally and stored as data tracks. The compression method used, if selected, is for data compression. This compression method does not have the error tolerance that audio compression does, and is less efficient for audio tracks than the audio compression methods, which are designed especially for use with music files.

From here you can go to the following page(s):

< Back	Editing audio tracks
Next >	File name and path (if audio tracks are created as sound files and there are no data tracks to be included on the virtual CD)
Next >	Settings for data tracks (if the audio tracks are to be created as data tracks or if a data track from the original CD is to be included on the virtual CD)


Settings for Data Tracks
 – Settings for Data Tracks

In the settings for data tracks you can precisely define the method used for reading the source data. These are the most important options for creating your virtual CD!

When you insert the source CD, Virtual CD analyzes the performance of its CD-ROM drive and the structure of the source-CD data and suggests a "conservative" choice of settings. You can change these settings as desired.

The first select list offers a range of data readout configurations. You can change the individual settings to adapt the configuration to your needs.

•	Fast sector read: The sectors are read out in blocks, rather than individually. With this option selected, the reading process is generally faster, but if a defective sector is found in a given block, then the other sectors in that block must be read again individually. Using the fast-read option is generally recommended, but if the resulting virtual CD doesn't work, deselect this option and try again.

•	Correct bad sectors: Some copy-protection methods are based on the use of defective sectors, which disrupt the reading process. With this option selected, Virtual CD simply reproduces any bad sectors found. Because it takes time to detect defective sectors, however, creating a virtual CD with this setting can take up to a number of hours. Still, this option is recommended for use with certain CDs, such as "home-made" CDs, for example, because CD-writing software often creates bad sectors. This option is not necessary for audio CDs.

•	Fast detection of bad sectors: With this option selected, each sector is read individually and defects are reproduced only if a test routine shows an error. Without this option, each sector is read repeatedly until the exact same data is read several times. If the resulting virtual CD doesn't work, deactivate this option and try again. The reading process takes longer if this option is not active.

	Fast detection of bad sectors is available only if the Correct bad sectors option is selected.
•	Read RAW sectors: RAW sectors contain information in addition to the desired user data. If the copy-protection technique used on the source CD evaluates this data, it must be read in order to create the virtual CD. For example, reading RAW sectors is required to create virtual video CDs, CD-Extra CDs or audio CDs. The disadvantage is that the resulting virtual CD takes up more disk space, as additional files are included in the container.

•	Read sub-channel data: Sub-channels also contain additional information which is often required for the CD, especially for newer audio CDs. Again, the disadvantage is that the virtual CD takes up more disk space.

	To find out whether your CD-ROM drive can read RAW data and sub-channel data, check the properties of the physical drive in the Management program.
•	Dynamic error correction: The degree of precision with which a CD drive can read data depends how fast data is read. This is especially relevant when defective sectors are found. With this option selected, the read speed is reduced to approximately 4x when errors are detected, to improve accuracy. If no errors are found, the maximum speed is used throughout the process.

	When this option is active, the read speed of the source drive can no longer be changed.
•	Number of repeat reads for each sector: Readout quality can be improved—especially for older CD-ROM drives—by reading each sector repeatedly. If a lot of errors are detected, the number of repeat reads should be set to 2 or 3. This slows down the overall read speed, however.

•	Source drive read speed: With some CD-ROM drives, the readout quality can be improved by decreasing the speed. This can also reduce noise, as the source CD rotates more slowly.

	Some CD-ROM drives do not let you determine their read speed. When this is the case, this option is not available. Other drives support the function, but return incorrect (and unrealistic!) values. If this is the case, do not select a value higher than that specified for your CD drive. If the read speed can be determined, the select list shows only the speeds that the CD drive can actually use.
•	Compression: You can switch off data compression, or choose one of three compression levels. The higher the compression level you choose, the longer it takes to create the virtual CD and the more CPU time is used when you run the CD. On the other hand, the lower the compression, the more hard-disk space is taken up by the resulting virtual CD.

From here you can go to the following page(s):

< Back	Settings for audio tracks (if audio tracks are included from the source CD)
< Back	Results of source CD analysis (if no audio tracks are included from the source CD)
Next >	File name and path


Settings for the Editor
 – Settings for the Editor

In this dialog you can set the Compression to be used when creating a virtual CD in the Editor program. You can turn the compression off, or choose from three compression levels. The higher the compression level, the longer it takes to create the virtual CD and the heavier the load on the processor when you run the virtual CD. On the other hand, of course, the virtual CD takes up less disk space.

From here you can go to the following page(s):

< Back	Results of Source-CD Analysis
Next >	File Name and Path


File Name and Path
 – File Name and Path

The file name is the full name, including the path in which the virtual CD will be stored on your hard disk. The default name suggested by Virtual CD consists of the default path, defined on the Global page of the Settings dialog, together with the CD label or description as file name. You can edit this field as desired.

	The full name must not contain more than 254 characters.

Generally, the path shown here is selected (white letters on a dark blue background) when this dialog opens. When you enter characters, the entire default name is replaced by what you type. All you need to enter, however, is a name for the file itself, as Virtual CD automatically adds the default path (see above) and the.vc4 file name extension.

If you work with virtual CDs stored on the network as well as with locally stored virtual CDs, you can define whether a given CD is displayed in one or both of the following views:

•	Local view: The virtual CD is available only on the computer on which it is stored.

•	Network view: The virtual CD is stored on the network and is available to all workstations that use the same global configuration path.

	This setting defines only where the virtual CD is visible, and not where it is stored. For example, a virtual CD stored on a UNC path in the network can be assigned to a local view for testing before adding it to the "Network view". You can use 'drag-and-drop' to add a virtual CD to the Network view.
	If you use only locally stored virtual CDs or only CDs stored on the network, this configuration option is not available. The virtual CD is automatically added to the correct View.

Click on Hard disk info... for a quick view of the available disk space on your hard disk(s).

Select the option Automatically create a folder for the virtual CD/DVD if you want Virtual CD to create a separate folder for the container files that make up your virtual CD. Since each virtual CD consists of several files, it can be difficult to tell later which files belong to which virtual CD. This is why we recommend leaving this option active for every virtual CD you create.

	This page is shown when working in the Easy Copy Mode only if the default target directory does not have sufficient space available for the virtual CD. The Automatically create a folder for the virtual CD/DVD option is not available in the Easy Copy Mode.

From here you can go to the following page(s):

< Back	Results of source CD analysis (in the Easy Copy Mode)
< Back	Settings for audio tracks (in the Expert Copy Mode, if the audio tracks are to be created as sound files and no data tracks are to be included from the source CD)
< Back	Settings for data tracks (in the Expert Copy Mode, if the audio tracks are to be created as data tracks or if a data track from the original CD is to be included on the virtual CD)
< Back	Settings for the Editor (in the Expert Copy Mode, if you have selected the option to open the dialog page for Editor configuration)
Next >	Properties of the virtual CD (in the Expert Copy Mode)
Finish	Closes the Image Wizard and starts the Image Writer, to create the virtual CD (in the Easy Copy Mode)


Properties of the virtual CD
 – Properties of the Virtual CD

You can define the following properties for your virtual CD:

•	Password: You can assign a password to prevent unauthorized use of a given virtual CD. Once a password is assigned, it must be entered before the virtual CD can be inserted or ejected, or its properties edited. When you assign a password, you have to enter it twice to make sure it is entered correctly. We recommend using a password that is not too easy to guess. The longer the password, the more secure it is; combinations of numbers and letters are also more secure than simple words. The password is case sensitive (capitals are distinguished from lower-case letters), and can have up to 15 characters.

	The password merely protects the CD from unauthorized access; the CD data itself is not encrypted.
•	Start program and Working directory: You can define a start program for any virtual CD, which is then started automatically whenever that virtual CD is inserted in a virtual drive. Under "Working directory", enter the path in which the start program runs.

•	Hotkey: You can define a key combination, or 'hotkey', for automatically inserting the CD without running a Virtual CD program. If a start program has been defined for the CD, this is also started automatically.

•	Automatically insert the virtual CD into drive: Select this option and a drive letter to have the virtual CD inserted automatically as soon as it has been created.

•	Comment: Click on the Comment... button to enter additional information about the virtual CD.

	The properties of a virtual CD can also be edited at a later stage on the corresponding dialog page of the Management program.

From here you can go to the following page(s):

< Back	File name and path
Finish	Closes the Image Wizard and starts the Image Writer, to create the virtual CD


Selecting the Copy Mode
 – Selecting the Copy Mode

The copy mode you select determines which settings have to be configured in the Image Wizard for creating a virtual CD. You can choose either the Easy Copy Mode, in which almost all settings are configured automatically, or the Expert Copy Mode, in which you configure the settings yourself.

	This dialog is opened automatically only the first time the Image Wizard is started. You can also switch copy modes at any stage, on the Creating Virtual CDs page of the Settings dialog.


Editing Track Titles
 – Editing Track Titles

You can enter any text for the title of an audio track. Click on Edit... on the 'Audio track settings' page to open this dialog.

The track number is the number that the track had on the original CD. You can edit the track title in the input field; the new title is then used as the file name when the sound file is stored.


Entering a Comment
 – Entering a Comment

You can add a comment of up to 2047 characters. For example, you might use this field to pass on information, such as a serial number, required for running the application on the CD.


Testing the Audio Recording (Digital ACM)
 – Testing the Audio Recording (Digital ACM)

The recording test lets you check whether audio tracks are recorded correctly. To do this, select the title from which you would like to make a test recording and click on the Test... button. Once the recording is complete, click on Play. If the recording doesn't have the quality you want, click on Change audio format to select a different format.


Testing the Audio Recording (Analog ACM)
 – Testing the Audio Recording (Analog ACM)

The recording test lets you check whether audio tracks are recorded correctly. To do this, select the title from which you would like to make a test recording and click on the Test... button. Once the recording is complete, click on Play. If the recording doesn't have the quality you want, click on Change audio format to select a different format and try again.

If you don't hear anything when you start the test recording, check the volume setting for ".wav" files and the CD-audio recording settings. Both must be active for analog recording of audio tracks.


Hard Disk Information
 – Hard Disk Information

This dialog shows details on all the hard disks in your system, including the total disk space and available space on each, and whether or not it is a read-only (RO) drive. This can help you choose a suitable target directory for your virtual CDs.