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October 13
editRipping old DVDs
editDisc rot has set in in my collection of older DVDs. So, I've started backing them up using MakeMKV. In some cases, MakeMKV is able to work around minor problem areas and rip the disc, but in other cases entire tracks are just unreadable. I'm just kind of accepting I started too late; MakeMKV is supposedly great at this, so I don't expect another program to do much better. But where I am hoping for other options is that MakeMKV only rips the files, it doesn't re-encode them, so my projects take up an enormous amount of space. I'm then transcoding with HandBrake, which is powerful, but intimidating to learn. Is there a more hand-holding paid program that does more of the steps by itself and is also good at working around a few rotted sectors? If it can run by itself, it's okay if it works slowly (e.g. over night); my current work flow requires my involvement multiple times with large time gaps between which is annoying. Matt Deres (talk) 13:46, 13 October 2025 (UTC)
- Is it MakeMKV, or HandBrake, that requires interaction? Is the interaction necessitated by the bad sectors? Is it always the same interaction? You're on Windows, aren't you, and people often use AutoHotkey for quick and cheesy scripting of gui-based tasks like this. Card Zero (talk) 13:55, 16 October 2025 (UTC)
- Both sides require some interaction; (I think) the bad sectors don't directly add to the number of interactions, but they do increase the gaps between them, which is the pain point. MakeMKV requires a couple of interactions. I'm probably messing up the terminology, but it needs to read the disc first, in a detailed way, so that it knows the layout, which tracks to skip, and the whole business of overcoming the bad sectors. Even discs that read in my BD player okay still have a few bad sectors so I don't know what the baseline is, but this step takes several minutes. Then it does the ripping, which takes a long time. I then switch to HandBrake which, even with presets, requires checking and hand-holding before the file can be encoded or put into a queue for encoding later. I appreciate the mention of AutoHotkey and I'll consider it, but my hope is to reduce the number of programs, not increase it. :-) Matt Deres (talk) 14:29, 16 October 2025 (UTC)
- I was trying to avoid saying that you should use command line MakeMKV, and FFmpeg (which is what's inside HandBrake), and write a script. But I don't know what the script would have to react to, anyway. What I'm imagining is: first MakeMKV quietly turns the bad DVD into a good-ish MKV, without troubling you for guidance. Then a script reacts to it completing this task, and triggers FFmpeg to run on the output, again without asking any questions. But it sounds like MakeMKV in fact presents you with details of the good and bad sectors and requires you to select the good ones and confirm, or something like that. Maybe there's a "do the obvious thing without asking" setting? Then FFmpeg might similarly have "shut up and do it anyway" command line switches for the case of whatever it is you say it has to check. That's why I was asking exactly what causes the demands for your further instructions.
- I searched and found many people recommending the use of MakeMKV and Handbrake in combination, but no mention of a unified interface to integrate them, or any alternative that does both tasks together. Card Zero (talk) 15:08, 16 October 2025 (UTC)
- That was my result as well; I was hoping I had just overlooked something. MakeMKV doesn't require me to make sector-by-sector decisions, but it does seem to require some amount of oversight between the reading action and the ripping action. I may be wrong; I've only used it a few times and may be overthinking the steps because they're unfamiliar. I used ChatGPT to help me create a working preset for HandBrake, but it seems like some choices simply aren't part of the preset and always need someone to check/select them. Again, this could just be my unfamiliarity, but it sure seems like the audio tracks and subtitle choices need checking each time. Matt Deres (talk) 18:08, 16 October 2025 (UTC)
- It seems Handbrake has default settings for audio tracks and subtitles, which are separate from the "preset". You might have it set to "Track Selection Behaviour: None". Card Zero (talk) 13:19, 17 October 2025 (UTC)
- That was my result as well; I was hoping I had just overlooked something. MakeMKV doesn't require me to make sector-by-sector decisions, but it does seem to require some amount of oversight between the reading action and the ripping action. I may be wrong; I've only used it a few times and may be overthinking the steps because they're unfamiliar. I used ChatGPT to help me create a working preset for HandBrake, but it seems like some choices simply aren't part of the preset and always need someone to check/select them. Again, this could just be my unfamiliarity, but it sure seems like the audio tracks and subtitle choices need checking each time. Matt Deres (talk) 18:08, 16 October 2025 (UTC)
- Both sides require some interaction; (I think) the bad sectors don't directly add to the number of interactions, but they do increase the gaps between them, which is the pain point. MakeMKV requires a couple of interactions. I'm probably messing up the terminology, but it needs to read the disc first, in a detailed way, so that it knows the layout, which tracks to skip, and the whole business of overcoming the bad sectors. Even discs that read in my BD player okay still have a few bad sectors so I don't know what the baseline is, but this step takes several minutes. Then it does the ripping, which takes a long time. I then switch to HandBrake which, even with presets, requires checking and hand-holding before the file can be encoded or put into a queue for encoding later. I appreciate the mention of AutoHotkey and I'll consider it, but my hope is to reduce the number of programs, not increase it. :-) Matt Deres (talk) 14:29, 16 October 2025 (UTC)
October 16
edit554 6.6.0 Error Sending Report of Spam
editI was trying to send a report of a spam that I received to the ISP that transmitted it and to the businesses that have been joe-jobbed, and was trying to send the raw text of the body of the spam and a copy of the Internet header. When I tried to send the report using Outlook, I would get an error message listing all of the recipients, of the form: The following recipient(s) cannot be reached:
'abuse@microsoft.com' on 10/16/2025 2:10 PM 554 6.6.0 Error sending message for delivery. 'abuse@vrbo.com' on 10/16/2025 2:10 PM 554 6.6.0 Error sending message for delivery. 'abuse@paypal.com' on 10/16/2025 2:10 PM 554 6.6.0 Error sending message for delivery.
I was able, as a test, to send the body of the spam to myself, but if I tried to send the header of the spam to myself, I got the 554 6.6.0 error. Then I sent the spam report with both the body and the header using a web mail client, and I got a copy delivered to myself and a boilerplate reply from paypal. That is, web mail sent it successfully, while an Outlook client on my computer became confused and returned 554 6.6.0 errors. So: Does anyone have any ideas as to what in the Internet header of a spam would make Outlook choke? Robert McClenon (talk) 23:28, 16 October 2025 (UTC)
- Perhaps a spam filter on outgoing messages that signals a spam-related address in the header? (Just guessing.) ‑‑Lambiam 06:20, 17 October 2025 (UTC)
- It looks like Outlook indeed has filters for outgoing spam.[1][2] (That doesn't necessarily mean that that is what happened in this case.) Long is the way (talk) 10:08, 17 October 2025 (UTC)
- No, it doesn't mean that is what happened, but that would explain what happened. Technical measures to stop the sending of spam may be perversely impeding the reporting of spam. Thank you, sort of. Robert McClenon (talk) 15:27, 17 October 2025 (UTC)
- It looks like Outlook indeed has filters for outgoing spam.[1][2] (That doesn't necessarily mean that that is what happened in this case.) Long is the way (talk) 10:08, 17 October 2025 (UTC)
October 18
editYoutube bug
editLately Youtube often says all content is "unavailable" until I sign out; then I can see it all (but, of course, cannot rate or comment). Have you seen this? Any idea what causes it? —Tamfang (talk) 21:06, 18 October 2025 (UTC)
- Firefox on Mac, before someone asks —Tamfang (talk) 00:03, 19 October 2025 (UTC)
- I see the same in the last week or so. A refresh or two fixes it. Don't know why. Maybe another attempt to fight adblock? Firefox on Windows if that matters. Just saying you are not alone. 85.76.119.124 (talk) 16:20, 19 October 2025 (UTC)
- Could it be preparing for age verification to prevent children using social media?
Sleigh (talk) 05:52, 22 October 2025 (UTC)