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Easy CD Creator saga continues
Fix posted but questions unanswered
The creators of the Easy CD Creator software, Roxio, have posted a fix for its latest version on its Web site and a media alert (with a US helpline) on the compatibility problems between the CD recording software and Windows 2000. An official statement is expected tomorrow.
However, we have since learned that an almost identical problem was found in the previous version of the software - version 4. Roxio faces harsh questions over how a newer version could be released with such a significant bug still within it, and why the company did so little to advertise the problem before the media raised the issue.
We reported on Friday how large numbers of people risked losing their entire systems to version 5 of the software - released on 26 February this year. Those with Windows 2000 machines were finding their CD drives completely wiped out. On rebooting, up came the Blue Screen of Death. Many have had to rebuild their machines from scratch.
Since that story we have received hundreds of emails thanking us for covering the issue before they tried to install it. And despite Roxio's claims that only a small number of people have been affected, we have had at least 30 people write in to say that the software completely wiped out their machine.
More disturbing though is a number of reports that version 4 of Easy CD Creator had exactly the same effect on Windows 2000 machines when that was released. That time, Roxio suggested an upgrade - costing £50 - but that failed to work too in many cases. One reseller told us he had upgraded twice with no effect.
On top of this, attempting to uninstall version 5 appears to only compound the problem. Instead, if you have version 5 installed, you should download the fix and then contact Roxio if you wish to uninstall the software.
As far we understand it, the problem is due to interaction between Windows 2000 Professional, Take Two (a component of Easy CD Creator), and system software for Zip drives. Roxio claims this has been resolved in the new fix. We will update the story as we learn more.
For those of you who do not wish to use Easy CD Creator at the moment but need CD recording software, a number of readers have suggested either Nero or Gear Pro. ®
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