cd burn unknown error (-50) cancelling cd burning

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Level 1

8 points

cd burn unknown error (-50) cancelling cd burning

i am currently running itunes 12.1.2. i have a macbook pro (retina) 2012, 8gb ram, 256gb storage, intel i5 2.5ghz running the latest mac os mavericks (10.9.?)

i am trying to burn a playlist to cd. i am well under the 80 minutes which my cdr says it is capable of. currently it is at 1 hour 8 minutes. as my laptop does not have its own optical drive i am using an external drive (Samsung Ultra Slim Retail External DVD Writer) to do this. i insert the disc and burn the playlist to disc. i have settings for it to do the burn as fast as possible as an audio cd and for there to be a one second gap between each song. itunes proceeds to analyse and prepare the disc for burning but once that completes, itunes cancels the disc burn and this dialogue box pops up: unknown error (-50) disc burn cancelled.

i have tried reinstalling itunes. turning my macbook off and then back on. i have changed the playlist here and there. i have changed the speed settings of the burn as well as having no gaps in between songs but to no avail.

anyone have any ideas what this error is???

MacBook Pro with Retina display, OS X Mavericks (10.9)

Posted on May 14, 2015 2:09 AM

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Answer 1

thunderzzz

Level 6

8,452 points

May 14, 2015 2:16 AM in response to ahsanulislam

Hi. I assume these articles will be helpful in this situation: iTunes Store: "Error (-50)" when downloading purchased content - Apple Support

iTunes: Possible iTunes Store errors - Apple Support

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Answer 2

ahsanulislam Author

Level 1

8 points

May 14, 2015 2:22 AM in response to thunderzzz

nope, no help at all!

itunes store error -50 is for when itunes cant connect to the internet to complete a transaction/download. thats what i remember.

what i am doing are all offline actions. no need to connect to the internet. its an unknown error. this is actually what pops up inside the dialogue box: unknown error (-50).

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Answer 3

Limnos

Level 10

411,259 points

May 14, 2015 5:48 AM in response to ahsanulislam

http://forums.macosxhints.com/archive/index.php/t-31161.html

Error code -50 is a generic code meaning there's some sort of communication difficulty. I know that isn't very helpful. I have seen others mention it in cases where there was a dying drive but you're not using a hard drive. It is still possible that it is an issue with the drive since from your description the burn isn't actually starting. I'm purely guessing here but maybe once it comes time to actually turn on the burn laser it isn't working?

Since the burn is progressing this far it is unlikely it is an OSX or iTunes issue directly. One of the few things you can change is burn speed settings. Try reducing it a bit. You could also try a different brand of media.

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Answer 4

ahsanulislam Author

Level 1

8 points

May 14, 2015 6:01 AM in response to Limnos

thank you for the really helpful information. the error was generic but your information wasn't, so i thank you for this. i've hardly used my external drive so i will try and see if it is somehow functioning?!

i guess i'll try again on the slowest setting and let you know how i get on!

i will see if i can borrow someone elses external drive and maybe use a different brand of cdr (currently using maxell cdrs, which i assume are of good quality - they look it)

thanks again!

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Answer 5

ahsanulislam Author

Level 1

8 points

May 21, 2015 1:31 AM in response to ahsanulislam

just an update to my testing. i used a different app (burn) to publish my cd and it worked. speed was rather fast as it burned my cd in almost 2 mins flat. definitely an unknown error with itunes. will contact apple care for their insight.

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