CD-RW Drivers

A CD-RW is a hardware device that can read and write compact discs (CDs), and with special CDs it can erase data and re-write over the disc many times. The drive may be internal (installed inside the computer case and connected directly to the computer’s motherboard) or it may be external (sits outside the computer case on its own and generally communicates with the computer via a USB or FireWire Cable. In either case, there are a multitude of CD-RW manufacturers and types of drives which means there are as many drivers as well.

The driver is an .inf file (a sort of text file) that tells the operating system what files are needed (generally .dll or .sys files) to operate specific functions of the CD-RW drive. A typical driver file may be called something like CDRW.inf. Inside this file there is text that tells the operating system which file to use for each function of the drive. For example, inside CDRW.inf their may be an instruction line that says [CDRW_copyfiles] cdrom.sys,

redbook.sys, and imapi.sys. This tells the operating system to uses the cdrom.sys file to operate the functions of the drive, to use the redbook.sys file to understand the format of the compact disc, and to use imapi.sys a Microsoft Windows component that allows the creation and burning of single-session, multi-session, and bootable discs. There are usually a vast number of text lines in every driver that instructs the operating system on how to handle every task of the CD-RW drive. Each manufacturer of a CD-RW drive creates the driver for their machine. The drivers are usually shipped with the CD-RW drive in the form of a CD. Once the drive is installed or connected to the computer, the driver needs to be installed so that the computer and drive can work together as a team (some operating systems, like Windows for example, provide a vast data bank of manufacturers drivers with their system program).

CD-RW drives were once a luxury add-on component of computers primarily being limited to desktop or tower computers. Today however, CD-RW drives are a basic integral component of most PCs and laptops alike. CD-RW drives may be used to store almost any type of computer data from document, graphic, video, and sound files to entire programs. In addition to storing information, CD-RWs can also read stored data, and transfer it to the computer for interpretation.

Probably, two of the most common type of Windows error messages related to CD-RW drivers are: 1.”There is no disc in the drive. Please insert a writable CD into the drive;” and 2.”Drive not accessible, incorrect function.” These errors can occur if the device driver is not recognized or is corrupted. This problem can often be corrected by installing or re-installing the most recent drivers for the drive. The best way to ensure you have the latest CD-RW device driver is to check the manufacturer’s web site support area.