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Q1. I need a Win95 [or Win98, WinNT, Win2000,
WinME] driver for my CD-ROM drive model Xxxxxx manufactured by
Yyyyyy, but I haven't found it on the manufacturer's web site.
Can you help me?
A1. Most of the drivers you can get from the
manufacturers' sites are for plain DOS only. Windows 95/98/NT/2000/ME
has a built in generic driver for ATAPI compliant CD-ROM drives.
If you have an ATAPI drive you don't need a driver for Windows.
If you have a SCSI drive, read Q5.
If your drive isn't ATAPI neither SCSI you are out of luck.
If Windows doesn't recognize your ATAPI drive the possible
reasons are:
- Hardware failure. Solution: buy a new drive, it doesn't cost
so much.
- The drive's data cable or power cable (inside the case of your
PC) is not well connected. Solution: open the case and check the
cables (you do it at your own risk, of course).
- BIOS misconfiguration
- Windows misconfiguration (it can happen, for example, if you
have just changed the mother board of your PC). Solution: try to
force new hardware recognition from the Control Panel. If the New
Hardware wizard finds some new hardware but not your drive,
reboot and run it again until it says that no new hardware has
been found.
- Windows 95 hasn't recognized your IDE controller. Solution:
Read this
document by Intel.
Q2. I need a DOS driver for my CD-ROM drive
model Xxxxxx manufactured by Yyyyyy, but I haven't found it on
the manufacturer's web site. Can you help me?
A2. Many manufacturers offer a single driver for
all ATAPI drives they build. If this is not your case, try the
driver for another ATAPI model of the same manufacturer: they
often works. If your drive is not ATAPI you are out of luck.
Q3. I need a DOS driver for my CD-ROM drive
model Xxxxxx manufactured by Yyyyyy, but the manufacturer is not
listed in your page. Can you help me?
A3. It could be a new manufacturer or it hasn't
a web site. Try to locate it with a good search engine like
Google. If you find it,
let me
know its URL so that I can add it to my page; if you don't find it,
try a generic ATAPI driver like this one
by Acer (it supports up to 8 drives and requires only 5 kB of RAM, so you
could decide to use it in any case).
If your drive is not ATAPI you are out of luck.
Q4. What is ATAPI?
A4. It's a standard for CD-ROM drives. All
common IDE (i.e. non-SCSI) drives are ATAPI compliant (except
some very old model running at 1x or 2x).
Q5. I have a SCSI CD-ROM drive.
Can you give me a driver for it?
A5. All the CD-ROM related software I have is
listed here. However, you need a driver for the SCSI interface,
not for the drive. Visit the site of the SCSI card manufacturer.
Q6. I have a CD recorder.
I can read from it but I cannot write to it. Need I a driver?
A6. No, you need a burning software that
supports your drive. The most famous are
Easy CD Creator and
Nero.
Q7. How can I know the manufacturer of my CD-ROM
drive?
A7. There are 4 ways:
- Recent BIOSes display it at startup.
- If Windows 95/98/NT/2000/ME recognizes your drive, right-click
on My Computer and choose Properties: the drive is listed among
the installed devices.
- Use the ATAINF program (see below).
- Open the case (you do it at your own risk, of course) and read
the label on it.
Q8. I have a desktop PC [or a laptop] made by
Xxxxxx. Can you give me a driver for its CD-ROM drive?
A8. All the CD-ROM related software I have is
listed here. However note that the manufacturer reported on the
case of the PC is often different from the CD-ROM drive's one.
Try to visit the web site of the PC manufacturer or refer to the
other questions above (especially to Q7,
Q1 and Q3).
Q9. I have a CD-ROM drive with no brand name
on it. Can you help me to locate a driver for it?
A9. To determine the manufacturer of your drive refer to
Q7, then refer to the other questions above to locate
the driver. However, if you are searching for a Win9x/NT/2000/Me driver,
read Q1; if you are searching for a DOS driver and you
didn't success in determine the manufacturer, try this
generic ATAPI driver by Acer.
Q10. What is the firmware?
A10. It's a special driver installed in the
device's own memory (not in the hard disk). All drives have a
firmware and it works in conjunction with the "normal"
driver. CD recorders let you upgrade their firmware; you should
upgrade it only if you are experiencing some problem and only
after having carefully read the instructions provided by the
manufacturer. While many generic ATAPI drivers are available, no
generic firmware exists, so be sure to pick up the right firmware
for your model.
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