Plextor 4PS-3 User Manual

---- CHAPTER 10 ----

Using CD-ROM Discs

and Caddies

YOUR TASK: Learn how to use a caddy and how to handle and

care for your discs.

YOUR OBJECTIVE: Protect your discs. Insert and eject caddies properly

so your drive operates without interruption.

YOUR METHOD:

Plextor’s CD-ROM drives use an industry-standard disc caddy to protect the disc from
scratches and contamination. A standard caddy is made of plastic and has a metal
shutter on its bottom which slides open and shut. Use of a non-standard caddy (e.g.,
one which lacks a metal shutter on its bottom) is not recommended. For their protection,
CD-ROM discs should be stored in their original packaging or in a caddy.

Practice loading discs into caddies, and caddies
into drives.

Inserting the Disc into a Caddy

1) To open the lid of the caddy,
press the tabs at the side
as shown.

2) Place the disc into the caddy
with the label facing UP.
Be sure to place the disc
beneath the edge of the
caddy under the arrow mark.
Handle the disc by the sides.
Don’t touch its surface.

46 PX-43CE/PX-45CE OPERATION MANUAL

CHAPTER 10 ---- Using CD-ROM Discs and Caddies

3) Close the lid firmly. But not too hard.

Caution: If the caddy appears defective (e.g., warped, cracked, or bent) do not

insert it into the drive. A defective caddy can become stuck inside the
drive, requiring the drive’s return to your dealer for service. If your caddy
appears defective, promptly replace it with a new one.

Handle the caddy as you would any precision component.

✗ Allow moisture or dust/contamination either in or on the caddy.
✗ Store the caddy in a location subject to direct sunlight, high temperature, or

high humidity.

✗ Drop the caddy or subject it to shock.
✗ Open the shutter manually. The caddy’s shutter opens automatically when

the caddy is inserted into the CD-ROM drive.

Do not:

Loading the Caddy into the Drive

1. Open the drive’s door.

2. Carefully insert the caddy in
the direction shown, with
the arrow mark facing the drive.

3. Push the caddy into the drive
until the caddy drops into place.

Hint:

You need use only one hand to
insert the caddy into the drive. This
is easily accomplished by placing

Arrow Mark

the front portion of the caddy on
top of the lip of the drive’s door. You can press down lightly to open the
drive’s door, then slide the caddy into the drive.

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47

CHAPTER 10 ---- Using CD-ROM Discs and Caddies

Removing the Caddy from the Drive

1) Push the Eject button. The caddy will eject from the drive in 2--3 seconds.

2) Pull the caddy straight out of the drive.

3) If the caddy will not eject from the drive after pushing the Eject button, you
should be able to remove the caddy from the drive by using the Emergency
Eject button. Turn off power to the drive. Insert a paper clip into the
Emergency Eject hole. The caddy should now eject from the drive. Please
contact Plextor’s Technical Support Department before attempting to rein­sert the caddy into the drive.

Cleaning the Disc

If the disc is merely dusty, you may use a commercially available dust removal spray
such as Dust-Off or Vari-Air to blow dust particles off the disc.

After removing the dust particles, you may wipe the disc using a clean, soft cotton
cloth. Use a straight-line motion, wiping
in a circular motion.

from the center out. Do not wipe the disc

If a disc becomes dirty or soiled with grease or other contaminants not removable by
wiping, you may clean the disc with a CD-ROM disc cleaner available at most
computer dealers. Follow the directions packaged with the cleaner.

Hint:

Keeping your CD-ROM disc in a caddy at all times will prevent the
disc from becoming dirty or damaged.

48 PX-43CE/PX-45CE OPERATION MANUAL

---- CHAPTER 11 ----

How to Play Audio CDs

on Your Drive

YOUR TASK: Learn how to use your CD-ROM drive so that it can

also play audio CDs.

YOUR OBJECTIVE: Increase functionality of your drive. Provide

musical accompaniment for presentations. Goof off
at work.

YOUR METHOD:

A variety exists for you to choose from. You can use
anything from front panel controls or very basic,
bare bones audio CD software utilities up to
software utilities which rival or surpass the
capabilities of the CD player attached to your stereo
system.

1) The most basic method is to use the 4PleX Plus front panel audio controls.
No special drivers are needed to operate this feature.

Once an AUDIO CD is inserted into the drive, simply push the button to
begin AUDIO play. Once the AUDIO is playing, push the play button once
for track advance, or hold down the button for more than 1 second to begin
a fast forward search (ffwd). To eject the caddy from the drive, press the
Stop/Eject button once to stop AUDIO play and a second time to eject the
CD.

While in audio CD play mode, you can read a CD-ROM data disc by simply
removing the audio CD and inserting a data CD into your CD-ROM drive.

2) If you are a PC owner running Windows, you can use the Media Player
found in the Accessories group. To do so you must first load the [MCI] CD
Audio driver. Find the disks on which you received Windows, then follow
these steps:

a) Insert an audio CD into your CD-ROM drive.
b) In Windows, select ‘‘Program Manager.’’
c) In ‘‘Program Manager,’’ select the ‘‘Main’’ group.
d) In the ‘‘Main’’ group, select ‘‘Control Panel.’’
e) In ‘‘Control Panel,’’ select ‘‘Drivers.’’

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CHAPTER 11 ---- How to Play Audio CDs on Your Drive

f) Select ‘‘Add. . . ’’
g) Move the highlight bar down to ‘‘[MCI] CD Audio.’’
h) Select ‘‘OK.’’

You will then be instructed to insert one of your Windows disks into your
floppy drive. After loading the proper device driver, Windows should send
you the message, ‘‘One CD-ROM drive detected. Installation complete.’’ If
this step fails, verify that the CD-ROM drive is operating properly.

Once the driver is successfully loaded, you can run Media Player in your
Accessories group. Select Media Player, then pull down the menu under the

DEVICE heading and select ‘‘CD Audio.’’ You now can use Media Player’s

basic controls to play music CDs on your CD-ROM drive.

3) If you are a PC owner and want greater functionality than what Media Player
can provide, you can use a program such as Animotion’s MCS CDMaster
(which usually comes bundled with Future Domain SCSI interface boards),
CD Player (which usually comes bundled with Adaptec SCSI interface
boards), or CD Audio (which is part of the CorelSCSI software package).
These utilities allow you to control your CD-ROM drive much like a fully
featured audio CD player (e.g., you can program tracks, fast-forward, see
the length of each track in minutes and seconds, etc.).

4) Mac users can run a program such as CDT Remote (which typically is
included with FWB’s CD-ROM device driver) or Music Box (which typically
is included with Trantor’s CD-ROM device driver).

In order to hear the audio CD your drive is playing, you can plug a pair of stereo
headphones or self-powered speakers into the headphone jack on the drive’s front
panel. You also can connect your drive to an audio amplifier as shown on the next
page. The audio cables shown are available at most computer and audio supply stores.

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CHAPTER 11 ---- How to Play Audio CDs on Your Drive

PLEASE
NOTE:

The volume control wheel on the front panel of your drive adjusts only
the sound level of the headphone jack. It has no impact on the volume
level of the rear panel audio outputs.

PX-43CE or PX-45CE

Stereo Mini-Plug

(To Headphone Jack)

PX-45CE

Audio Amplifier

Audio Input

RCA-Type Plugs

(To Audio Out)

Audio Amplifier

Audio Input

RCA-Type Plugs

PX-43CE/PX45-CE OPERATION MANUAL 51

---- CHAPTER 12 ----

Troubleshooting

YOUR TASK: Review some of the common problems you may

encounter when installing or operating your 4PleX
Plus drive.

YOUR OBJECTIVE: Gain a better understanding of how your drive

operates. Attempt to prevent problems before they
occur. Quickly fix, on your own, many simple
problems rather than wait for assistance from a
Plextor representative.

YOUR METHOD:

Read this entire section. Many of the problems
discussed happen only rarely. Many may seem
as if they do not pertain to you. However, if you
are familiar with the variety of problems that
occur, you will be better prepared to deal with
them if they happen to you.

If you experience trouble with your 4PleX Plus drive, follow these guidelines:

PC Users:

1) Most SCSI interface boards can sense when a problem has occurred and will
generate an error message on your computer. Take note of this message. Then,
run the test (diagnostic) program that probably is included with the device drivers
for your SCSI interface board. Follow the instructions given in the SCSI interface
board’s manual. If the information provided by the error message and test
program is not sufficient for you to fix the problem, proceed to step #2.

2) If your problem occurs during or immediately after the drive’s installation,
read Section 12.1 -- PC Compatibles: Initial Installation. If your problem
occurs after you had run the drive successfully for an extended period, read
Section 12.2 -- PC Compatibles: Existing Installations.

3) Attempt to match the problem you are having with the entries listed beneath
SYMPTOMS. Then narrow your search by checking to see if the ADDI­TIONAL SYMPTOMS apply to you as well. Because different SCSI interface
boards generate differently worded error messages, the messages displayed
by your computer may differ from those shown on the following pages.

can

52 PX-43CE/PX-45CE OPERATION MANUAL

CHAPTER 12 ---- Troubleshooting

Apple Computer Users:

Read Section 12.3 ---- Apple Computers

Technical Support

If you still cannot solve your problem after reviewing the relevant sections of this
chapter, please contact Plextor’s Technical Support Department. See Chapter 13 for
information on how to prepare for, and then make contact with, Plextor’s technical
support staff.

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CHAPTER 12 ---- Troubleshooting

12.1 PC Compatibles: Initial Installation

Symptoms Additional Symptom

• No sound when running a
CD-ROM program

Possible Causes and Solutions

Application Does Not Use CD-Audio

There are two types of audio you may encounter when using CD-ROMs:

1) Sound Card Audio:
This comes from data (e.g., .WAV or .MID files) which is transferred from

your CD-ROM disc, into your computer, and is translated by your sound­board into sound. If you do not have a soundboard, you will not be able to
hear this form of audio.

2) CD Audio:
This comes from audio discs (like the ones used by your home stereo) that

are translated directly by your CD-ROM drive into sound. You do not need
a soundboard to hear this audio. You can hear this audio by plugging a set
of headphones or powered speakers into the headphone jack on the front
of your drive.

One reason, then, that you might not hear sound when playing a CD-ROM disc is
that a soundboard is required. These discs use only sound card audio, not CD audio.

To help you determine if you are having a soundboard problem, or a CD Audio
problem, try playing an audio CD in your CD-ROM drive. If you can hear music
(through headphones or speakers connected to the headphone jack on the front of
your drive), the CD-ROM disc you are playing may require the use of a soundboard
in order to hear sound. If possible, check the manual that came with the CD-ROM
disc and see if the use of a soundboard is recommended or required.

If you have a soundboard and can hear an audio CD when it is played, but cannot
hear sound when you play a CD-ROM disc, you may have configured your sound­board incorrectly. Check the troubleshooting section of your soundboard manual for
further advice. If you have a soundboard but you cannot hear an audio CD when it
is played, check the following points:

No sound when playing an audio CD

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CHAPTER 12 ---- Troubleshooting

Improper/Missing Audio Cable

If you use a soundboard, you must connect the soundboard to your CD-ROM drive
with an audio cable. See page 33 to ensure you have properly installed this audio
cable. If you have a soundboard and CD-ROM drive, but lack an audio cable, contact
one of the companies listed on page 69, or Plextor’s Technical Support Department,
for information on where a cable can be purchased.

Device Drivers Need to be Updated

If you can hear an audio CD in your CD-ROM drive when it is in Audio CD play mode
(see Chapter 11), but you cannot hear an audio CD with another music CD utility
(e.g., Animotion’s MCS CDMaster, Trantor’s MusicBox, CorelCD), your device drivers
may need to be updated. Contact Plextor Technical Support for assistance.

Soundboard Volume Low

If, when playing an audio CD, you do not hear sound even though everything appears
to be functioning normally (busy light on drive flickers, the time counter on your audio
CD utility is advancing), you may have the mixer settings for your soundboard set too
low. Each soundboard has different settings for each input source, including one for
CD Audio. Run your soundboard’s mixer program and verify that the volume is turned
up.

Bad Soundboard Audio Cable

If you have verified that you have made the proper cable connections between your
4PleX Plus drive and soundboard, and you have the correct device drivers installed
but you still do not hear sound when playing an audio CD, the problem may rest with
your audio cable. It may be defective and need to be replaced.

You can check to see if this is the case by doing the following: unplug the audio cable
from the rear of your 4PleX Plus drive. Plug a set of headphones or speakers that you
know are good into the jack on the front of the drive. Try to play an audio CD. If you
can now hear music, you may conclude that you do, in fact, have a bad audio cable.

Symptoms

• Cannot view Photo CD discs

• Can read only first session of a multisession disc

• Receive error messages while reading Photo CD images

Your 4PleX Plus drive is capable of reading Kodak Photo CD multisession discs if you
use the appropriate device drivers, and you run a Photo CD viewing program (e.g.,
Magic Lantern, Kodak’s Photo CD Access).

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55