Updated: 05-29-10 | Written by: CloudStalker | Reviewed by trusted members from the Digital-Inn forums.
CONCERNING FIREWALL WARNINGS. Due to lowering revenue by advertisers on the official "www.exactaudiocopy.de" website, the author has decided to add the option to install an eBay icon to the desktop and quick launch bar during the installation of Exact Audio Copy; and this may cause some persons' firewall to issue warnings upon download. Please note that Exact Audio Copy is completely free of adware/spyware/malware and the installation of this icon can easily be avoided by deselecting the "eBay Icon".
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1. Installation
Download and install Exact Audio Copy and run it.
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- Configuration Wizard
Proceed through windows 1-4.
- (5th window) Feature Results.
Your drive must support Accurate stream ("Yes") otherwise it will not be possible to make exact copies of your audio CDs.
If your drive uses Audio cache ("Yes") then it will take a considerably longer time to rip your audio CDs (Alternative discussed under 3. Ripping the Audio CD posted below). If your drive does not use Audio cache ("No") then your audio CDs will be ripped at normal speeds.
If your drive uses C2 error information ("Yes") then EAC will rely on your drive to report this information (this is not always accurate on some drives). If "No", then EAC will report this information if it occurs.
Proceed through windows 6-7.
(8th Window) Encoder Detection.
Select "FLAC [around 6MB/minute]".
Proceed through window 9.
(10th Window) freedb Configuration.
Type 'fake @ email.com' (remove spaces) and freedb should activate.
Proceed through window 11.
(12th Window) Done.
Select "I am an expert, let me use the full potential of EAC".
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2. Configuration
Configure AccurateRip, EAC Options and Drive Options.
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- AccurateRip
At this point, you should be prompted to configure AccurateRip. A window like the one shown below should appear. If it does not appear, try inserting different audio CDs until it does. Press the "Configure" button and follow whatever instructions are given.
Still can't find a CD that works? Check here on "www.accuraterip.com/keydiscs.htm" for a list of CDs that can be used to configure AccurateRip.
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EAC Options
Press F10 or go to the menu bar and navigate to EAC > EAC Options.
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- Extraction [tab]
- No use of null samples with CRC calculations - DESELECT
- Extraction and compression priority - OPTIONAL
For multi-core processors, set to "High". For slow processors, set to "Idle". For anything in between, leave at "Normal".- Error recovery quality - MEDIUM
- Tools [tab]
- Retrieve UPC / ISRC codes in CUE sheet generation - SELECT
- Automatically write status report after extraction - SELECT
- Do not open external compressor window - SELECT
- Activate beginner mode, disable all advanced features - DESELECT
Press "OK" to save your settings.
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Drive Options
Press F11 or go to the menu bar and navigate to EAC > Drive Options.
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- Drive [tab]
If there's an audio CD in the drive, press the "Autodetect read command now" button.
- Offset / Speed [tab]
- Overread into Lead-in and Lead-out - DESELECT
- Allow speed reduction during extraction - SELECT
- CD-Text Read capable drive - SELECT
- Use AccurateRip with this drive - SELECT
If this box is grayed-out, make sure you've properly configured AccurateRip as shown at the beginning of this quote.
- Gap Detection [tab]
- Gap/Index retrieval method - SELECT "Detection method A"
- Detection accuracy - SELECT "Secure"
Press "OK" to save your settings.
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3. Ripping the Audio CD
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- For drives that have Audio cache enabled. If your drive uses Audio cache (discussed at the beginning of this tutorial), it may take a longer time then normal to rip the audio CD. If you really mind the wait, you can try using "Burst mode" as an alternative (Press F10 or go to the menu bar and navigate to EAC > Drive Options > Extraction Method and select "Burst mode"). Although not as thorough as "Secure mode", "Burst mode" will read the CD at a normal speed and it can have the same level of accuracy as "Secure mode" given that the CD being ripped is in perfect condition (no scratches, dust, ect).
Selecting the action: "Test & Copy...", as described in the 2 methods below, is highly recommended, especially when using "Burst mode". This will allow you to more easily check for inconsistencies in the log file (discussed in the 4. Quick Inspection section below) after the CD has been ripped.
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CD Ripping Instructions.
(1) Insert the audio CD that you want to rip.
Method 1: Disc Image Rip
This method will create a single track containing all of the audio data from the CD. If you prefer this method then disregard "Method 2: Multi-track rip".
(1) Go to the the menu bar and navigate to Action > Test & Copy Image & Create CUE Sheet > Compressed.
Method 2: Multi-track Rip
This method will create individual tracks based on the number of tracks on the CD.
(1) Go to the menu bar and navigate to Action > Append Gaps to Previous Track (default) and make sure there's a check sign next to it.
(2) Press Ctrl+A to select all tracks and then press F4 or go to the menu bar and navigate to Action > Detect Gaps. If this is not working as expected, refer to the + Troubleshooting portion of this tutorial posted below.
(3) Press Shift+F6 or go to the menu bar and navigate to Action > Test & Copy Selected Tracks > Compressed.
(4) Once the CD has finished copying, go the the menu bar and navigate to Action > Create CUE Sheet > Multiple WAV Files With Gaps (Noncompliant) and save it in the same folder where you ripped the CD.
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4. Quick Inspection
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- Log File
(1) Open the directory where you ripped your CD and open the log file (text document).
(2) Scroll to the bottom of that text file and you should see some massages that say "'No errors occurred" and "Accurately ripped...". If you spot any of the following messages: "There were errors", "Suspicious position...", "Some tracks could not be verified as being accurate..." then refer to the + Troubleshooting portion of this tutorial posted below.
If there are any tracks that are 'not present in the AccurateRip database', check to see if the Test CRC and Copy CRC for those tracks match each other.
Here are some examples of what a proper log file should look like: Disc Image Rip Log File | Multi-track Rip Log File.
Some settings like: "Defeat audio cache", "Make use of C2 pointers", "Read offset correction" and "Overread into Lead-In and Lead-Out" may vary depending on the DVD/CD-ROM drive you're using.
CUE Sheet
(1) Make sure that the CUE sheet is included in the folder with the CD rip.
(2) You can view the CUE sheet in Notepad and check if the ISRC codes, if at all present, contain alphanumerical characters, for example: JPE100901350. If the ISRC codes contain characters like "#" or "&" then your drive does not support this feature.
- End of tutorial
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+ FAQ
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- Q: What's the purpose of using Exact Audio Copy? Why can't I just use Windows Media Player or Nero?
A: Exact Audio Copy allows users to make several adjustments that can result in an exact, bit-identical copy of the original CD. Also, when setup to do so, EAC can automatically generate a detailed log file which contains information about the ripping process and reveals to the user any possible errors.
Q: Why do I need to use this tutorial? Why can't EAC automatically setup everything for me?
A: Many of the settings in EAC can not automatically be adjusted because these settings depend on the type of drive that you're using, therefore, user input is necessary. This tutorial shows the basics of what needs to be enabled, disabled or readjusted to result in a bit-identical copy of the CD.
Q: Can I use Exact Audio Copy to encode to other lossless formats or Mp3 (LAME) instead of FLAC?
A: Yes. You can find a whole host of EAC compression guides here. Reasons for using FLAC in this tutorial are: (1) FLAC is a lossless codec that will retain all of the original CD quality, (2) FLAC can be setup to install and configure itself automatically, and (3) it has great software and hardware support.
I hope you found this tutorial to be useful. If you have any questions, leave a comment I'll try to get back to you.=====================================================================================
+ Troubleshooting
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- Q: When I press F4 to Detect Gaps, it takes a really long time or completely stalls, what's the problem?
A: It usually takes 1-2 seconds to detect a gap for each track, if it takes much longer or stalls then press F10 or navigate to EAC > Drive Option. Click on the 'Gap Detection' tab and change the 'Gap/Index retrieval method' to either 'Detection method B' or 'Detection method C'. Press 'OK' to exit that window and press 'F4' again to Detect Gaps.
Q: The Track quality / Range quality is under 100.00%, does this mean that some data is missing?
A: No. Under Secure mode, EAC will attempt to re-read a certain portion of the disc when it was not able to retrieve all of the data on the first read, as a result, the Track quality / Range quality will be below 100.00% but this does not mean that the data was not fully extracted after it was re-read. If the Test CRC and Copy CRC for that track match each other and/or the track is 'accurately ripped', then the track is okay.
Q: The log file reports a mismatched Test and Copy CRC but the track is 'accurately ripped', what does this mean?
A: The track is okay if it's confirmed to be 'accurately ripped'. A possible reason for the mismatched test and copy CRC is that during the test pass, EAC was not able to properly retrieve all of the data, but during the copy pass, where data is extracted from the CD and stored on the hard drive, EAC was able to retrieve the correct data and AccurateRip confirmed this.
Q: The log file reports a 'Suspicious position' on the last track, what's the problem?
A: If the CD has no scratches or dust on it, it's most likely an incorrect setting in EAC. Open EAC and press F10 or navigate to: EAC > Drive Option. Click on the 'Speed / Offset' tab and, if enabled, disable 'Overread into Lead-in and Lead-out'. Try to rip the CD again and see if the log file reports any errors.
Many thanks to greynol of the Digital-Inn forums for his review and critiquing of this tutorial.
If aLtgLasS and others check back at the top, aLtgLasS and others may notice that it's completely different. Why would CloudStalker make another update some may wonder? That's an excellent question and CloudStalker will be happy to answer it once he figures out why himself. 
Why? Why not? :p