ripping DVD's, Windows XP Pro & the ASPI Layer

jadedcritic · Post by **jadedcritic** » Sun Jun 08, 2003 9:23 am

If I might ask for some advice, the last time I attempted to learn the basics of ripping; with intent of eventually doing an AMV, I ended up jacking myself up somewhat. Read, I was unable to get smartripper to work properly without an ASPI layer (apparently XP doesn't support one); I eventually installed one, but lost my ability to burn CD's in the process and ended up having to do a format-reload. Lately, I've been getting the pang to learn again; but I'd like to try and avoid the same mistake.

This seemed like a good place to come and ask for advice. Has anyone had troubles ripping in XP? What are the suggestions? Possibilities?

kmv · Post by **kmv** » Sun Jun 08, 2003 11:13 am

XP does in fact come with an implementation of ASPI however it is only a partial implementation (it only has what the cut down version of Roxio that is integrated into XP needs to get by) and is not sufficient for the needs of most rippers.

Ahead's Nero also comes with a version ASPI, but this version is also incomplete and not sufficient for the needs of most rippers. If you have installed Nero then it probably means that you have two versions of ASPI installed - which can also cause problems for rippers.

So the first thing you have to do is replace it ASPI - at least all the versions that are in the Windows directory tree with a full implementation.

Adaptec (the creators ASPI) do have an updated XP version (4.71.2 is the current one) which they give away for free, but I recommend that you NOT install it. Instead I strongly urge you to install 4.60 which works fine with XP and works with all the ASPI tools and utilities that I have encountered thus far.

The catch is that v4.60 is no longer available from Adaptec, but because it is so popular it can be found from a number of places on the net under the guise of "ForceASPI v1.7". Google for it, you will find it.

ForceASPI comes with a script (a batch file) that will find and delete all other copies of ASPI on your system, and a script that will install the ASPI drivers it comes with for you. A reboot will be needed.

Next you need to test that the new ASPI drivers are working. If you have Nero then start the Nero InfoTool and look at the version info on the ASPI tab. If you don't have Nero I recommend DirveInfo (search for "driveinfo11.exe" on Google), if all is OK then DirveInfo will give you the region info from your DVD drive, if everything is not OK it will give you an error.

Finally you should probably clean your registry out afterwards so that any lingering registry keys to old (now deleted) ASPI drivers are removed. There are a bunch of utilities that will do this (Norton has one for example) but I like an old tool that Microsoft created for Win95 called RegClean. Microsoft are no longer distributing it but you can still get it from places like download.com

As for the actual DVD ripping software, well most people here are quite fond of SmartRipper, although personally I like CloneAD but it really boils down to personal preference.

Arigatomina · Post by **Arigatomina** » Sun Jun 08, 2003 11:14 am

I have XP, and I had a little trouble with the ForceASPI layer step, but it went through without affecting my CD-burner. I assume you're following the guide, and did the instructions, complete with an ASPI-check? Because of a virus problem, I *did* have to do a system recovery not too long ago, and then had to redo the ASPI layer. It worked fine. If you're worried about another error, try creating a bookmark in your system recovery to just before you try forcing the layer. You should be able to do that in your startup.

Of course, I use DVDdecrypter rather than Smartripper, you might try that one instead.

jadedcritic · Post by **jadedcritic** » Sun Jun 08, 2003 5:59 pm

Hey, thanks for the guidance fellas. I could be jinxing myself, but it honestly appears to have gone in pretty much smoother then $$%&^ this time. Huh. I wonder what I could have done the first time then made things go so far south.... Anyway, thanks for the jump start. One thing down, bout a million more things to learn.

the Black Monarch · Post by **the Black Monarch** » Mon Jun 09, 2003 6:07 am

I dunno what all that ForceASPI crap was for. Playing the DVD with any normal player should make Smartripper shut up and do what it's told.

kmv · Post by **kmv** » Mon Jun 09, 2003 6:40 am

the Black Monarch wrote:Playing the DVD with any normal player should make Smartripper shut up and do what it's told.

I have WinDVD and it didn't for me

the Black Monarch · Post by **the Black Monarch** » Mon Jun 09, 2003 6:53 am

Really?

Are you sure WinDVD was playing when you started up Smartripper?

kmv · Post by **kmv** » Mon Jun 09, 2003 8:48 am

the Black Monarch wrote:Are you sure WinDVD was playing when you started up Smartripper?

Ah. Now I get what you mean.

That trick is actually for the getting around the region authentication on the DVD. When a DVD player has authenticated a DVD and "opened" it, other software can take advantage of this until the disk is "closed" again. This is an oversimplification of the actual process but you get the idea.

Raw access to the disk via the ASPI layer is different.

the Black Monarch · Post by **the Black Monarch** » Mon Jun 09, 2003 5:42 pm

Whatever. I was just offering a solution that uses what a person already has on their computer instead of involving Google searches and downloading more stuff that might have viruses.

It's all preference, I suppose.