[Update: Audiobook Builder 1.5.4 is now available for Mac App Store users at the Mac App Store and for Splasm Store users at http://www.splasm.com/audiobookbuilder/update.html.]

Hello, dear OS X El Capitan users! Audiobook Builder 1.5.4 Final Candidate 13is now available and will launch properly on El Capitan. It’sstable and ready to use. Your preferences should carry over automatically, and you can even use this build in place of the Mac App Store version until the official release (now in review) is available there. We’ve loaded this release with fixes and adjustments, and we’d appreciate your feedback if you see anything out of place. Would you send any issuestosupport@splasm.com?Thanks!

To install Audiobook Builder 1.5.4 Final Candidate 3

1. Click this link:Audiobook Builder 1.5.4 Final Candidate3
2. Click theFindericon on yourDock
3. Go to theGomenu at the top of your screen, above all open windows, and click theDownloadsmenu item
4. Look for a file namedAudiobook Builder 1.5.4fc3.zipand double-click it. A new file namedAudiobook Builder.appwith the familiar Audiobook Builder icon will appear.
5. Drag the Audiobook Builder.app file from your Downloads folder to theApplicationsfolder. If your Mac tells you a file of the same name already exists, tell it toreplacethe existing file.
6. Drag the Audiobook Builder 1.5.4fc3.zip file from your Downloads folder to theTrash

Audiobook Builder 1.5.4 Final Candidate 3works for all Audiobook Builder 1.5.3 users with Mac OS X 10.6 or later,even if you purchased from the Mac App Store(butonly if you’ve used 1.5.3recentlyin the same OS X user account).If it asks for a serial number, get in touch at support@splasm.com and we’ll help out.

Enjoy!

If you’ve installed the OS X 10.11 “El Capitan” public beta you’ll want to grab Audiobook Builder 1.5.4b5, a stable pre-release build of the next version of Audiobook Builder. It makes sure the app can finish launching so you can continue using it while you test Apple’s latest and greatest – and it comes with several fixes that we’ve been working on. Your preferences should carry over automatically,and you can even use thisbuild in place of the Mac App Store version until the “official” release is available there. So what’re you waiting for?

To install Audiobook Builder 1.5.4b5

• Click here to download the new build.
• Click the Finder icon in your Dock, then go to the Go menu at the top of your screen and click the Downloads folder menu item. Your Downloads folder will appear.
• Look for a file named Audiobook Builder 1.5.4b5.zip. Double-click it and a new file will appear, named Audiobook Builder.app, with the familiar Audiobook Builder icon.
• Use the new build from your Downloads folder, or you can drag it to your Applications folder and use it from there. If you do the latter, you may be asked to replace an older item. It’s safe to replace it.
• If you encounter a message stating the application can’t be opened because it was not downloaded from the Mac App Store, please visithttps://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202491 for help setting Gatekeeper to allow applications from identified developers to open.

You can use this build until the official release. If you purchased from the Mac App Store, when the official release is available it will replace this build. If you purchased directly from our website, the official release will replace this build when you drag it to your Applications folder.

Enjoy!

We updated this post for Audiobook Builder 2 at https://www.splasmata.com/?p=3619. Keep reading for Audiobook Builder 1.5.7 and earlier.

If you see a message ending in “File error: -128” while importing from an audio CD, that’s a sure sign that your Mac detected a hardware error while reading data from the disc. You can usually confirm this by opening /Applications/Utilities/Console.app, clicking the system.log item in the list of logs on the left, then using the Filter field at the top right of the window to find terms like “I/O“,”SAM Multimedia“, or “underrun“. Each term is bad juju when interacting with a CD/DVD drive. Even if you don’t see these in your logs, keep reading for ideas on how to zero in on why this error appears:

1. The disc you’re importing may be dirty or damaged. Eject it and, if it’s not obviously scratched, give it a cleaning with a soft cloth – making sure you wipe in light, straight strokes from the center hole to the outer edge. Do not wipe in a circular motion. If the disc still doesn’t work, it may be damaged in a way you can’t see with the naked eye. Do other discs work? If so, it’s probably just this disc. The next step might work. If none of your discs are working, though, you might have a hardware issue, like failing cabling or even a bum CD/DVD drive on your hands.
2. Try importing into iTunes with error correction enabled. Open iTunes, go to the iTunes menu at the top left of your screen and click the Preferences… menu item, click the General button at the top of the window, then click the Import Settings… button near the bottom right of the window. Make sure there’s a checkmark next to “Use error correction” and click the OK button. Try importing the disc and, if it works, drag the imported tracks over to your Audiobook Builder Project. If it doesn’t, you’ve either got a bum disc or a piece of bum hardware.
3. Last ditch – see what happens when you go to the Finder and try to drag all the tracks from the disc to your Desktop. Do you get an error? If so, the disc is in question. Try the same thing with several others. If they copy over just fine, you’re back to looking at the CD/DVD drive or your Mac’s connection to it.

Importing from a flaky audio CD or witha questionable piece of hardware is tricky business – and it can get confusingbecause, darn those moving parts and analog to digital conversions, sometimes things work and sometimes they don’t. Heck, the discs might evenplay just fine – but reading each track’s data, bit for bit, is a much more intense process. Remember, we’re talking about tiny light rays expected to reflect just-so while two or more motors – the CD/DVD drive itself and at least one cooling fan – are vibrating your Mac. Throw in the potential for some small issue with the way the disc was made or scratches (lovingly?) applied by others, and you’ve got a recipe for inconsistent results. A troublesome setup might appear to work just fine a few timeswith the same disc, then fail a few times, then seem to work again. That’s because the hardware might trymore than once to read data from a particular part of the disc and succeed sometimes and fail other times, and that’s why it’s critical to both observe behaviorand dig deeper by examining your system logs, where you’ll see whetheryour Mac experienced any actual errors even while it seemed to be performing just fine. Don’t draw a conclusion until you’ve tested several discs. If more than one fails and you see errors in your system log, it’s probably time to schedule some quality time with an Apple-certified technician.