Cdr file hangs system up on a black screen

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Level 1

21 points

Cdr file hangs system up on a black screen

I am using an older (6 years) Total Training DVD set. To save wear and tear on my DVD drive, because of the constant starts and stops, I imported it as a disc image to operate from my hard drive. However, it hangs the system up on a black screen. It plays the first note of music in the menu, and then the cursor shows and moves, but the rest of the system is locked up. I've had to hard reboot five times. This also happened on an earlier DVD from the same set yesterday. The DVD plays fine.

Is this indicative of copy protection or an issue in my system? I'm running an older (about 2008) Macbook with OSX Leopard.

Thanks

Posted on Dec 3, 2012 7:09 PM

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Answer 1

BDAqua

Level 10

239,495 points

Dec 3, 2012 8:19 PM in response to Editgrrl1

Good isea, it could be copy protection, but...

Open Console in Utilities & see if there are any clues or repeating messages when this happens.

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Answer 2

Editgrrl1 Author

Level 1

21 points

Dec 3, 2012 9:57 PM in response to BDAqua

Heya BD.... how's it goin'?

Nothing in Console from before. However, it locks up completely and has to be restarted, so it would be impossible to check while it's going on.

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Answer 3

BDAqua

Level 10

239,495 points

Dec 3, 2012 11:04 PM in response to Editgrrl1

OK,

Open console in Applications>Utilities, check the system log for the date/time of the last problem & the Startup right after that for clues.

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Answer 4

Editgrrl1 Author

Level 1

21 points

Dec 4, 2012 7:58 AM in response to BDAqua

Thanks BD,

I did... it was full of old logs, back from around mid-2011. Nothing newer. So last night I cleared the log before reading your post.

Just for clarification, it's trying to open a CDR file that locks up my system, not opening Console.

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Answer 5

BDAqua

Level 10

239,495 points

Dec 4, 2012 10:03 AM in response to Editgrrl1

And Console shows no messages as you try to open a CDR file?

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Answer 6

Editgrrl1 Author

Level 1

21 points

Dec 5, 2012 7:51 AM in response to BDAqua

Opening these particular files immediately hangs up hte system on a black screen, so there's no way to check anything. It has to be hard rebooted.

I'm pretty sure at this point the problem is that the discs are copy-protected. I've tested the other CDR files and they play just fine.

I've tried several programs, but they either import the disc and I get a pixellation effect and it won't play, VLC plays it with a hang and a green screen, and a couple of other programs take an eternity to export the chapters to MP4s, but they only imported part of the track, and it doesn't finish the way it should. I haven't tried them all, though. And whatever I try has to support Leopard.

It's a legally purchased program, so I'm not trying to pirate software, and I am just making copies to watchi t without trashing my Superdrive. There are hours and hours of training on here, and the constant start/stop will be pretty rough on it. I've contacted the company, and since it's an older series (After Effects 6.5),the woman said they do not have it online or in digital copies.

This board will probably pull my post if the discussion turns to ways to get past the copy protection, I'm guessing?

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