Audio CD not playing at all

Hi,
I'm trying to play an audio CD but no sound at all.
I followed some instructions regarding using cdcontrol it shows the track list but it seems there's a weird behavior with this tool.
cdcontrol status shows
Audio status = 21<void>, current track = 1, current position = 0:03.67
Media catalog is active, number "0000000000000\000\017"
Left volume = 255, right volume = 255

cdcontrol info
Starting track = 1, ending track = 8, TOC size = 74 bytes
track start duration block length type
-------------------------------------------------
1 0:02.00 3:29.65 0 15740 audio
2 3:31.65 5:48.50 15740 26150 audio
3 9:20.40 3:00.57 41890 13557 audio
4 12:21.22 4:25.30 55447 19905 audio
5 16:46.52 3:28.05 75352 15605 audio
6 20:14.57 6:16.63 90957 28263 audio
7 26:31.45 3:20.62 119220 15062 audio
8 29:52.32 4:40.13 134282 21013 audio
170 34:32.45 - 155295 - -

when II try to play a track
cdcontrol play track1
cdcontrol: invalid command arguments
most of play command arguments are returning
cdcontrol: invalid command arguments
but this one
cdcontrol play #1 seems to work, at least no error is shown... but still no sound.
the CD does not seem to be spinning too.

So I think I need some help with this.
Is is even possible to play music here?

Thanks.
 
but this one
cdcontrol play #1 seems to work, at least no error is shown... but still no sound.
I assume this utility just instructs the drive to play ... and this means, the drive acts like any other CD player and outputs the (analog) sound signal. For this to be audible, the respective pins of the drive must be wired to some input pins of your sound card (or sound chip). That's why mixers often show a knob for "CD" or "CDROM", although I'm unsure this is still a thing on more modern hardware...
I was able to do it with VLC!
VLC, like many other programs, instead "rips" the CD-audio data from the drive and plays it through the normal PCM functionality of your sound card ... no extra wiring needed.
 
Do you have such a cable in your computer? Does your CD driver has a connector for it? What about the soundcard / motherboard?
If not, then cdcontrol can't help you. It's only for playing audio CDs in that old fashioned way (which seems to be completely obsolete now).
 
you still can plug your headphones / amplifier in the cd drives' front jack even if the internal spdif? cable is missing
this is valid for classic drives may some slim driver do not have a front jack
 
Do you have such a cable in your computer? Does your CD driver has a connector for it? What about the soundcard / motherboard?
If not, then cdcontrol can't help you. It's only for playing audio CDs in that old fashioned way (which seems to be completely obsolete now).
To be honest, I never expected this behavior. But of course you are absolutely right. Good to know ;)
 
you still can plug your headphones / amplifier in the cd drives' front jack
I guess these front jacks are just as obsolete as the rest of this "drive plays audio-cd itself" concept. At least, my bluray-drive (standard 5.25" half-height) doesn't have any.
even if the internal spdif?
+v please. Were there really drives with a digital output? I've never seen any :-D
 
im not sure if the inernal 4 wire cable that usually connected the cdrom drive to the sound card carried analog or digital signal
like these ones
 
covacat all these look kind of familiar and remind me of the old days 🙈
I think the "SPDIF" in the title is just a stupid lie, but of course I'm not sure. I remember there were 4pin-connectors. Well, looks like none of these cables actually connects all 4. And a third one could just be some additional shielding (ground).
 
It's an old laptop integrated DVD drive so it's plugged in the board by SATA.
It got resolved with VLC application.
 
I guess these front jacks are just as obsolete as the rest of this "drive plays audio-cd itself" concept. At least, my bluray-drive (standard 5.25" half-height) doesn't have any.
Indeed, I haven't seen one in a long time and completely forgot this was once standard (along with a volume control wheel on the drive and sometimes a play/forward button too). It seems that the last drives of that kind were made around 2004.
 
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