What do I do if I couldn't download my album within 72 hours?
If you have technical difficulties downloading all the files within 72 hours of the time you started to download, please contact Customer Service.

How do I burn FLAC files to CD?

WINDOWS USERS:
1. Extract your FLAC files to WAV; simply drag all your FLAC files onto the FLAC front-end software and click the DECODE button.
2. Drag the WAV files onto your favorite CD burning software.
3. If you are using the latest version of Nero CD burning software, you can skip the conversion step. Make sure you have installed the proper FLAC software with the FLAC plugin for Nero. Drag the FLAC files for each disc onto Nero and burn your CDs according to Nero's instructions.

MAC OS X USERS:
1. Make sure you have OS X (10.2 or later) and the latest FLAC software.
2. First you must expand your downloaded FLAC files to AIFF. You can do this using one of 3 applications: MacFLAC, FLACer, or MacAmp Lite.

To use MacFLAC:
1. Launch MacFLAC. NOTE: If this is the first time that you have used MacFLAC, you should set the Output Format to AIFF.
2. Drag your FLAC files onto the MacFLAC icon in your application dock to expand the files to AIFF.
3. You can now preview the files before burning them to CD. Double-click on any of the AIFF file icons to play them in the Quicktime player, or drag the AIFF files into the iTunes library to create a quick playlist for preview purposes.

To use FLACer:
4. Launch FLACer. NOTE: If this is the first time that you have used FLACer, you should set the Output Format to AIFF.
5. Drag your FLAC files onto the FLACer icon in your application dock to expand the files to AIFF.

To use MacAmp Lite:
6. Launch MacAmp Lite.
7. Open Window -> Plugins -> Output and check the box next to AIFF Writer.
8. Drag your FLAC files into MacAmp Lite and click PLAY.

9. Finally, to burn your CDs, import the AIFF files into your CD burning software in the proper order and burn your CDs according to the instructions for your CD burning software using Disc At Once (DAO) to ensure that there are no 2 second gaps between the tracks.

How do I listen to FLAC files?

WINDOWS USERS:
1. Install Winamp and the FLAC plugin for Winamp, which comes with the FLAC Front-End installer.
2. Drag your FLAC files onto Winamp and enjoy!

MAC USERS:
1. You may use MacAmp Lite X (1.5b) to play your FLAC files on OSX. Simply install and launch MacAmp Lite and queue up your FLAC files and enjoy!
2. Look here for links to download MacAmp Lite.

Why can't I print the labels correctly?
All the CD labels, tray inserts, and booklets are in Adobe Acrobat format (PDF). The labels are designed for Neato label templates. Please make sure you have Adobe Reader 6.x or later (available for free at http://www.adobe.com).

Please adjust your print settings in Adobe Reader as follows:
1. Page Scaling: NONE
2. Auto Rotate and Center: CHECKED

General

How much does it cost?
The price of album is based on format. The two available formats are: MP3 (standard) and FLAC (premium).

What do I get?
After completing the purchase process you may download the entire album in the format you've chosen. For those who wish to burn the album to CD, we have created printable PDF files for the CD labels, booklet and tray liner. The color files are printable on ink-jet and laser printers, and use NEATO templates.

What's the difference between MP3 and FLAC formats?
We have chosen two of the most popular audio formats among the online community: MP3 files are the standard format, and FLAC files are the premium format. With both MP3 and FLAC files you can continue to use your favorite audio applications and CD burning software. The standard MP3 files, encoded at 192 kbps (near-CD quality) are easy to download, easy to burn to CD, easy to transfer to portable players and sound great. However, MP3 files are compressed and therefore may not sound quite as good as the original source recording to a critical ear. MP3 files are versatile enough to use on both your computer and home stereo system. Many portable players that play digital music files can only play MP3 files. For fans who desire higher fidelity, we also offer a premium format.

FLAC is a "lossless" compression which means that the source audio file is compressed, but without sacrificing any of the audio information contained in the master recording. An extracted FLAC file sounds identical to the original source (44.1 kHz, 16 bit stereo). The hi-fi FLAC files are much larger files and will take longer to download. These files are for audiophiles who want the best sound quality. FLAC files may be burned directly to CD on a PC running Nero CD Burning software with the FLAC plugin, while Mac OS X users must extract () FLAC to AIFF files to burn CDs or to listen to the files. You may listen to FLAC files with a special plug-in for Winamp (PC). Be sure to check compatibility with your favorite software or portable player. New to downloading? We recommend starting with the standard MP3 format.

Please note that there is currently no FLAC software for any Mac OS prior to OS X.

Why is FLAC more expensive than MP3?
FLAC downloads are more expensive because they cost more to deliver to you. A song compressed in FLAC is typically five or more times the size of a song in MP3, and therefore costs substantially more to deliver over the Internet.

Can I use a dial-up modem or do I need a cable modem or DSL?
The rule of thumb is the faster the better. You can download on a dial-up modem, but it may take about 12 hours or more for the album in standard MP3 format. On a cable modem or DSL it typically takes between 15 minutes to a half-hour to download the album in MP3 format.

Can I download content I've purchased from multiple computers?
Yes, you can download files from a computer other than the one you originally purchased on.

You will have 72 hours from the time you start downloading to completely download each song.

Can I get a refund?
Yes, but only if it can be proven beyond reasonable doubt that the purchace was not done by yourself and hence it was fraudulent.

Technical

What are the recommended specs for enjoying Crackdust Downloads?
Please note: we do not recommend downloading FLAC files on a dial-up modem. If you are on a slow connection, please purchase MP3 files instead of FLAC.

Windows
Windows 98SE, 2000, ME, XP, Vista or later
128 MB RAM
10 GB Hard Drive (a larger hard drive is optimal)
Pentium III 750MHz or faster (or equivalent)
Cable Modem or DSL
Internet Explorer 5.5 or later

Mac OS
Mac OS X (10.2) or later
128 MB RAM
10GB Hard Drive (a larger hard drive is optimal)
Cable Modem or DSL
Internet Explorer 5.1 or later

Unix
Chances are you don't need our advice.

How do I burn my Downloads to CD?

MP3
If you have access to a CD player that can play MP3 files, all you need to do is create a data CD of the MP3 files in the proper order and play it in your CD player. However, many CD players can't play MP3 files from a data CD. Therefore, you will need to burn an audio CD from the MP3 files. Most CD burning software allows you to burn MP3 files as audio discs directly. Older software may require you to convert the MP3 files to .wav files manually. For PC users, we recommend Nero for your CD burning needs, though plenty of good alternatives are available.

FLAC
Using the appropriate software for your operating system, uncompress each of the FLAC files into WAV files. The .wav files are what you will need to burn an audio CD that can be played on most CD players. Keep in mind that not all CD burning software can burn WAV files. Be sure to check compatibility with your software. After the WAV files are extracted, burn them using the Disc-At-Once (DAO) option in your favorite CD burning application. For PC users, we recommend Nero (http://www.ahead.de/) for your CD burning needs, though plenty of good alternatives are available.

Can I copy songs onto my portable player?
Yes, MP3 files may be freely transferred onto your favorite portable device. FLAC files have to be uncompressed and converted into other file types (i.e. WAV or MP3 files) to be playable on a portable player. Use the software that came with your portable player to copy Downloads onto your player.

Links

Need Further Assistance?
Contact Crackdust.com Customer Service

General Information and Software
http://www.cdrfaq.org

FLAC
FLAC installers for Windows, Mac OSX, and Linux

Stand-Alone FLAC Plugin for Nero (Windows)
FLACer (Mac OSX)
MacAmp Lite X 1.5b (Mac OSX)

CD Burning
Nero (Windows)
iTunes (Mac)

MP3 Players
Winamp (Windows)
iTunes (Mac)