freac freezes when ripping cds

[Onlykievv]

Describe the bug as the title says,I use freac to rip cds to ogg,the problem is that at random times the program freezes without displaying any warning or something similar.

To Reproduce Steps to reproduce the behavior:

1. Go to 'add cd content to list'
2. Click on 'start process buttom'
3. See error

System (please complete the following information)

• OS: Arch Linux
• CPU: Intel i5-4570
• RAM: 8 GB

[MaximumFish]

I have the same problem on Mint 22.1 using both 1.1.7 and the latest continuous build (20250619). Sometimes I can get through 4 or 5 discs before it freezes and other times it'll take multiple attempts to do a single disc. There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to it.

I'll give the 32-bit version a go when it next happens I think...

[dbry]

I've been getting the same thing. Happens about once every 5 CDs or so, with or without cdparanoia mode.

The 32-bit and 64-bit appimage versions seem about the same (that's all I've tried).

Client:  fre:ac - free audio converter
Version: v1.1.7 (20250504) (x86-64)

System:  Linux Mint 22 (Linux 6.8.0-71-generic)
CPU:     Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-4690K CPU @ 3.50GHz
RAM:     31.5 GB

00:00:00.003 Starting conversion process...
00:00:00.003     Selected encoder:     WavPack Audio Encoder
00:00:00.003     Parallel processing:  Enabled (up to 4 threads)
00:00:00.003         SuperFast mode:   Enabled
00:00:00.003 
00:00:00.003     Output settings:      Multiple files
00:00:00.003         Filename pattern: <albumartist>/<album>/<track> <title>
00:00:00.004 
00:00:00.046     Using drive:          device://cdda:0/
00:00:00.046         Drive model:      HL-DT-ST BD-RE  GGW-H20L YL07
00:00:00.046         Device path:      /dev/sr0
00:00:00.046         Read offset:      667 samples
00:00:00.047 

Thanks for a great program Robert! This is the best ripper I found so far for Linux. Being able to rip super quickly and only use cdparanoia mode when the AccurateRip fails is great. And ripping directly to WavPack wth tagging is required, of course... 😸

[ljpp]

I am running Fedora 42 and fre:ac Flathub release 1.1.7.

I can confirm that fre:ac does indeed occasionally crash during ripping, but I have also seen in when accessing local files or folders via fre:ac user interface.

Other than that, this is prolly the best CD ripper around. The Compact Disc is trending, being vintage-cool, so it is very important there is a multi-platform ripper app under active development and maintenance.

[mjheimy1-maker]

Ja hallo, ich habe genau dasselbe Problem manchmal bleibt es einfach nur stehen und nach kurzer Zeit zeigt das buntu dann an ob man warten möchte oder das Programm zwangsweise beendet. Wenn man wartet kann es sogar sein dass man auch Ubuntu nicht mehr Bedienen kann man hat dann einen schwarzen Bildschirm und kann eigentlich gar nichts mehr tun außer den Rechner abschalten. Wird es von Dir zu bald eine Lösung geben? Oder gibt es bereits eine Lösung?

Viele Grüße Matthias

[psyca]

Same here with Lubuntu 25.10, fre:ac Appimage 20251001 64-bit. It ripps some tracks and freezes after a while. Tested different CDs... converting to opus and/or mp3.

[psyca]

Sometimes the drive has also problems reading tracks. To proof, that it is an drive error i tried "Asunder" to rip CDs. Somehow Asunder doesnt freeze and read all tracks without problems. Maybe its an problem with the cd reader plugin which is included in freac? Converting files into an another format does work without problems.

[cpilson]

+1 for Ubuntu 24.04.3 LTS.

Out of curiosity, have others in this thread (@Onlykievv @MaximumFish @dbry @psyca) found this link that talks about turning off Enable parallel processing? I've just turned this OFF and will see if the program continues to randomly hang/freeze.

Update: this isn't a complete fix, but the experience is significantly-improved.

[dbry]

Wow, thanks @cpilson !

I turned off parallel processing and just ripped 15 CDs straight with no hangs. I can't really be sure yet, but that would have been almost impossible before changing the setting.

The ironic thing is that I am encoding to an easy setting for a single format, so parallel processing would not have even been needed or used. But apparently something is still happening. I would suggest trying running with the thread sanitizer @enzo1982 ... 😄

[dbry]

Update on this. I ripped another 20 CDs or so and this time I did have one hang/freeze, so the problem is not completely resolved by this.

However, I can deal with a freeze once an evening or so. Before it would sometimes happen twice on the same CD and I ended up staring at the screen like an idiot while it worked. Now I can wander off and do other things (like fetch artwork).

Thanks again, and thanks Robert for a great program!

[cpilson]

Update on this. I ripped another 20 CDs or so and this time I did have one hang/freeze, so the problem is not completely resolved by this.

However, I can deal with a freeze once an evening or so. Before it would sometimes happen twice on the same CD and I ended up staring at the screen like an idiot while it worked. Now I can wander off and do other things (like fetch artwork).

Thanks again, and thanks Robert for a great program!

My experience is similar, except I've not run into a freeze/hang since turning off parallel processing.

In the larger context, I'd still suggest this is very much a bug, and this workaround isn't a complete fix, but it does greatly-reduce the number of freezing/hanging that one runs into and lets the software shine!

[Onlykievv]

+1 for Ubuntu 24.04.3 LTS.

Out of curiosity, have others in this thread (@Onlykievv @MaximumFish @dbry @psyca) found this link that talks about turning off Enable parallel processing? I've just turned this OFF and will see if the program continues to randomly hang/freeze.

Update: this isn't a complete fix, but the experience is significantly-improved.

you are right, it has improved a little