CD-ROM's

The CD-ROM Drive

 A basic understanding of how to connect CD-ROM droves to the computer will help you troubleshoot such eventualities.  This section will deal only with IDE type drives

What you need to know about IDE Connections and their Jumper Settings
-  Integrated Drive Electronics
-  Most consumer hard drives, CD-ROM/Burner/DVD drives, and internal ZIP drives are IDE devices
-  An IDE cable can connect to a maximum of 2 devices, of any combination.
-  All IDE devices have a series of six jumper connectors on their back ends.  These are set in three rows of 2 vertical connectors.
-  One set of two connectors is labeled "Master" (MA).  One is labeled "Slave" (SL),  The third is labeled "Cable Select" (CS).
-  See below left for an example of the jumper connector labeling.

-  The jumpers must be set correctly if the computer is to distinguish between the two devices on a single cable.
-  If there is one device on a cable, it has to have a jumper covering the two connectors labeled "Master" (MA).
-  If there are more than one device on a single cable, one has to be the master, and one has to be the slave.
-  In the above right figure, the connectors labeled "SL" have a jumper covering them.  This device is labeled as a slave.
-  The figure below provides a summary of IDE connections and jumper setting rules. 

The cable select setting is rarely seen here.  Both devices must be set to "CS", and a special cable must be used.

top   <<<  1st IDE device.  Can be the hard drive, CD-ROM, or ZIP drive. <<<  2nd IDE device on the same cable.  Can be any of the above listed devices. -  If there is only one device on the cable, it will be jumpered as the Master. -  If there are two devices on the cable, one must be the Master, and the other must be jumpered as the slave. -  If one of the devices on the cable is a hard drive, it should be the master. -  If both devices on the drive are CD-ROMS, the faster one should be the master, EXCEPT...... -  If one of the CD drives is the burner, set the other drive to master, and the burner to slave. -  One reason the CD-ROM might be malfunctioning is that it may not be jumpered properly.  Always check the jumpers. (Notice that Pin 1 is specified.  The bolded stripe at the right edge of the cable represents the red stripe which must be oriented towards Pin 1)   <<<  The IDE cable connects to one of the 2 IDE controllers on the motherboard.

The burner will not function as a burner until CD burning software is installed.

Installing USB burners/DVD-ROMS
-  Installation is just like any other USB install.
-  Insert the USB cable into the computer and allow for a detection
-  The system will install USB drivers for the particular device, but.........
-  The burner will only be seen as a CD-ROM unless it is in Win XP, or until you install CD-Burning software!
-  The DVD will function as a DVD only in Win XP or Windows with Media Player 8.  In previous versions of Windows, you need to install DVD playback software!