PgcEdit: Faster mkisofs.exe [Archive]

frank

23rd March 2006, 15:55

There is another compilation of mkisofs.exe 2.01 downloadable from the Göteborg University:

mkisofs 2.01-bootcd.ru (i686-pc-mingw32) 338k (http://fy.chalmers.se/~appro/linux/DVD+RW/tools/win32/mkisofs.exe)

It is compiled for Mingw32 and doesn't need the cygwin.dll!
Exchange it and you'll get a ~6 % faster ISO creation.
Tested on XP.

r0lZ

23rd March 2006, 23:51

Thanks very much for the information.

I think most of the current problems of the PgcEdit's Burn function are caused by cygwin1.dll. (For example, the filenames with foreign characters are not translated correctly.) This new build could "magically" fix this kind of problems.

After some testing, maybe I will even include it in the PgcEdit standalone executable.

FilipeAmadeuO

24th March 2006, 00:54

After some testing, maybe I will even include it in the PgcEdit standalone executable.

That would be great.

ron spencer

24th March 2006, 00:59

so to use this you would just copy and replace mkisofs with the new one and delete cygwin1.dll that comes with IMG Tool Classic? This correct ?

r0lZ

24th March 2006, 01:11

Should be OK.
Or you can copy it elsewhere, and change the config in PgcEdit.

Take care: this version requires Win2K or more. Doesn't work with Win9X.

ron spencer

24th March 2006, 02:51

what is the purpose of cygwin1.dll anyway?

r0lZ

24th March 2006, 11:33

Mkisofs is a Linux program. Mkisofs.exe is, of course, compiled for Windows. cygwin1.dll is the interface to convert the linux functions to windows equivalents.

frank

24th March 2006, 13:31

Sorry, post deleted...

I tested mkisofs.exe in the bin folder but the path has to be set to it.

r0lZ

24th March 2006, 15:26

Ah, yes, of course!

(I have also deleted my reply)

Wheelie4

25th March 2006, 19:27

rolz,

Still think this version is a good to use with PgcEdit over the precious version? I've been using the version that comes with ImgTool Classic on my WinXP system.

r0lZ

25th March 2006, 19:43

Well, I still don't know exactly which is the best one.
IMO, if you have no problem with the ImgTool version, keep it. It is tested and works well in most cases.
In the other hand, the faster version is... faster, and might be better in some aspects. But I have used it only to create one ISO so far, so I don't know for sure if it is as good as it seems.

Wheelie4

25th March 2006, 23:49

Ok thx, just curious. I still have Imgtool Classic at it's included mkisofs. I put the new one in it's own folder but haven't had any opertunity to try it. I only learned of it when I made my previous post. :)

blutach

26th March 2006, 21:05

So, we use this or not?

Regards

r0lZ

27th March 2006, 14:22

IMO, it's safe. But maybe there are some bugs in this version. It's difficult to be sure without trying!
Anyway, I have installed it, and I will use it to do my next burns. But I don't have any DVD to backup now!

frank

27th March 2006, 18:02

It's the same source! Only the win interface is Win32 optimized and compiled.

I have made DVD+R and Double Layer disks - works perfectly.

r0lZ

27th March 2006, 18:12

Great news.
But, even if the mkisofs source code is (almost) unmodified, the interface to Win32 is probably relatively different, and could be a source of new bugs... but also, it could fixes some tf the known bugs!

I've still not tried the new version with foreign characters in the filenames, but if that works, it will definitively be my preferred version! If might also fix the incredible "- -m" bug referenced in several other threads!

blutach

30th March 2006, 02:50

I must say r0lZ, as an original frustrated "-m bug user", that I have not run into it lately (using the old mkisofs).

Regards

Kisa_AG

6th April 2006, 16:34

Hello Frank!

Let me ask you a question about mkisofs.exe.
I need to create ISO disc of the folder with the following features:
1) A special order of files;
2) The first file inside ISO image should start with a special LBA-sector.

I can comply to the feature one with -sort option, but I cannot find the way to comply to the second featur (to define the first sector).
Please can you tell me if it possible to make with mkisofs.exe or not?

r0lZ

6th April 2006, 16:43

I don't think it's possible.

It should however be possible to create some empty dummy files to increase the number of sectors used by the file system, but it's not easy. You will have to experiment a lot to understand how it works. I think 2 sectors are used by file entry, but the number of sectors used by the directories is variable, and depends of the number of entries in the directory.

frank

6th April 2006, 19:52

Originally posted by Kisa_AG:
I need to create ISO disc of the folder with the following features:
1) A special order of files;
2) The first file inside ISO image should start with a special LBA-sector.As r0lZ said, it's not possible.

Your question sounds like you want to create a Video DVD.
This is fully solved by PgcEdit using mkisofs!

1) mkisofs Parameter -dvd-video generates DVD-Video compliant UDF file system by sorting the order of the appropriate files and by adding padding sectors between the files if needed.
2) PgcEdit modifys ifo parameters in such a manner that mkisofs shifts the Layer Break LBA to the requested position.

You cannot move the first file - VIDEO_TS.IFO - because the file system starts at a fixed LBA, but the remaining ones.
You may look into PgcEdit (sources) to understand how it works.

Kisa_AG

7th April 2006, 13:18

Your question sounds like you want to create a Video DVD.
This is fully solved by PgcEdit using mkisofs!

Hello Frank!

I want to create DVD-Audio from AUDIO_TS folder. The problem is that the first sector of the first file on the disc stored inside AUDIO_PP.IFO. So I should either edit AUDIO_PP.IFO or create ISO image with the specified start sector of the first file.
Right now there is no IFO editor for DVD-Audio available, so the only way to make a compliant DVD-A is the second one.

r0lZ

7th April 2006, 13:59

Hum, I don't know the format of DVD-Audio, but I guess the sector pointer in AUDIO_PP.IFO is relative to the beginning of this file. Therefore, you don't have to know the absolute sector address.
But you need to write the files in the correct order. Not sure if the alphabetical order is good. (It is not suitable for DVD-Video.)
Also, I don't think mkisofs has an option to burn DVD-Audios. IMO, you will have to find and use a good burning program suitable for the DVD-Audio format.

frank

7th April 2006, 17:31

DVD-Audio... such titles are very very rare on the market.
I think this format will die. There are new competiting medias.
And nowbody knows any tools.

Gear http://www.gearsoftware.com (http://www.gearsoftware.com/) can import and burn DVD-Audio disc images. But no authoring. :(

Why not create a Video-DVD with still menus and audio tracks?? It's much easier.
There are tools for MP2 or AC3. Bitrates until 448 kbit/s or real 48 kHz PCM are possible.
Or create MP3 disk. Will be streamed by the most hardware DVD players without any authoring stress.

Who needs a quality higher than 48 kHz PCM?? Then you must own an excellent HiFi equipment with big and good speakers. From this viewpoint DTS (made for cinema) is already an useless track for the most users.
With your home devices you don't realize any difference.

blutach

8th April 2006, 09:29

Is there a final verdict on this new mkisofs? @r0lZ, are you going to package it in with the next PgcEdit (http://www.videohelp.com/~r0lZ/pgcedit/index.html) version?

Regards

FilipeAmadeuO

8th April 2006, 11:30

Is there a final verdict on this new mkisofs? @r0lZ, are you going to package it in with the next PgcEdit (http://www.videohelp.com/~r0lZ/pgcedit/index.html) version?

Regards

Hope So :D

r0lZ

8th April 2006, 14:51

Well, I have made several DVD-5 with this exe, and everything seems OK. And as far as I know, nobody have reported problems.
So, yes, I think I will include it in PgcEdit. The question is: should I remove the mkisofs path from the burn setup dialog, or leave it there, so that the user can select his preferred version?

[Tobi]

8th April 2006, 15:14

The question is: should I remove the mkisofs path from the burn setup dialog, or leave it there, so that the user can select his preferred version?

I would leave the path in the burn setup dialog.
So, everybody itself can decide which he wants to use.

blutach

8th April 2006, 21:45

Agrees with Tobi, however, to make things simpler for newbie users, you may decide otherwise.

Regards

r0lZ

9th April 2006, 00:16

FilipeAmadeuO

9th April 2006, 01:12

OK, I have just added a button to download the faster version in the burn setup dialog. Not sure it's useful to include the exe in the distribution, since the path must be set manually anyway. And it is probable that the user has already installed ImgTool Classic.

For me i think is better to be all configurated from the beginning. This new version is faster and until now no problems reported. My idea is to have the file included in PGCEdit with the path automaticaly configurated.

r0lZ

19th May 2006, 13:11

Unfortunately, I have discovered a bug in this faster mkisofs.
Unlike the standard version, this version doesn't set the error level when an error occur. PgcEdit needs this error code to discover if something went wrong, to display an error message, and abort the ISO creation process.

I have modified my code to check the error message instead of the error code, but this workaround works only during the first test. This first test is made to be sure the compilation is accepted by mkisofs, before anything else. It's probably sufficient to be sure that the DVD structure is correct, but runtime errors (like disc full during the creation of the ISO) are probably not trapped.

IMO, currently, it is best to use the standard mkisofs.exe program, provided with ImgTool Classic.

I'll try to contact the author of the faster mkisofs...

blutach

19th May 2006, 16:09

Thanks for letting us know r0lZ. Since the new faster mkisofs has been released, I have been using ISObuster to see if all looks fine (it always does).

Regards

r0lZ

19th May 2006, 17:46

It works fine. The problem is that if it encounters a problem, it doesn't propagate properly the error to PgcEdit, and the user might have the false impression that everything is OK, or PgcEdit may fail apparently without reason.

r0lZ

31st May 2006, 01:00

I was wrong!
The "faster" mkisofs.exe returns a non-zero code upon error. But the standard version returns a code > 0, while the faster version returns a code < 0. In PgcEdit, I tested if the return code is > 0, and therefore I was unable to discover if something went wrong with the faster version. I have changed the test in v7.1 (to be released soon) and everything is OK now.

Thanks to Andy Polyakov, the guy who compiled the faster mkisofs under MinGW for the explanation! :thanks:

BTW, Andy is also the author of growisofs. With growisofs, it should be possible to burn the DVD directly, without writing the ISO on hard disc first. If I have some time, I'll try to implement it in PgcEdit.

frank

31st May 2006, 10:04

Wow!! Good news! :D :D

A long time before Andy asked the author of mkisofs to integrate Layer Break setting, but he had no time. He worked on cdrtools.

Waiting for growisofs...