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47ADDING A

CD-ROM, CD-R,

OR DVD-ROM DRIVE

PC users today have access to a variety of optical storage technologies that provide anunprecedented level of storage. This storage capacity is vital for the new generation ofstorage-hungry multimedia products that are appearing (especially full-screen, full-motion

MPEG video). The CD-ROM drive is the traditional optical drive technology supporting

optical discs with capacities up to 650MB. The close cousin to the CD-ROM drive is the

CD recorder (CD-R) drive. Using inexpensive CD blanks, a CD-R can record up to

1357

CONTENTS AT A GLANCE

Drive Characteristics

Installing a CD-ROM or CD-R DrivePreparing for a CD-ROM or CD-R

Installing the drive

Installing a CD-ROM drive adapter

ATAPI IDE CD-ROM installations

SCSI variations for CD-ROM and

CD-R drives

Installing the cables

Configuring the SoftwareCD-R software

Troubleshooting CD-ROM and CD-RInstallationsEffects of compression

Non-SCSI installation symptoms

SCSI installation symptoms

Installing a DVD-ROM DriveSystem considerations

Hardware installation

Software installation

Optimizing video for DVD

Further Study


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650MB of data on the fly or from a pre-compiled ISO9660 file. Now that CD-R drive

prices are affordable, the CD-R will undoubtedly be a popular addition to many desktops. Theintroduction of DVD-ROM drives in 1997 offers PC users up to 17GB or potential storage for

multimedia applications, and is largely regarded as the main successor to the CD-ROM. This

chapter shows you the characteristics to look for in CD-ROM, CD-R, and DVD-ROM drives,

and what is required for multimedia operation. You will also learn how to install typical drive

hardware and software, and deal with common installation oversights and problems.

Drive CharacteristicsBefore CD-ROM, CD-R, or DVD-ROM drive installation is covered, you must under-

stand the concepts of the CD itself. In terms of technology, the optical compact discs are

not very different from the selection of audio CDs that youve probably got in your living

room. For example, a CD is little more than a plastic disk. One surface of the disk (the

surface opposite of the silk-screened label) contains digital data encoded in the form of mi-

croscopic pits and lands that are wound in a continuous spiral pattern from disk edge to

disk spindle. Each turn of pits and lands is less than two microns (two millionths of a me-

ter) apart. For an ordinary CD (or CD-R disc), if the spiral data could be unwound and

held out straight, it would stretch for almost three miles!

In reality, the data recorded on audio and computer discs is very similarboth contain

digital informationyou can even play an audio CD in many computer CD-ROM or DVD-

ROM drives. However, you need a utility to interpret the audio CD information because the

audio CD data format is not in a form that is directly usable by the computer, such as exe-

cutable files, image files, or database files. You cannot use computer CDs in audio CD play-

ers because audio CD players lack the sophisticated data error correcting circuitry that is so

vital in computer data handling. After all, if the audio CD misses a few bits here and there,your ears will never know the difference. If your computer misses so much as a single bit,

however, your system might crash or your vital data might be irretrievably destroyed.

Digital information is read by rotating the disc and tracking a reading head along the spi-

ral data path of pits and landsvery similar in form to the way record players used to work.

Instead of a diamond stylus, a laser beam is used to detect the pits and lands. Because the

lasers light reflects differently off the pits versus the lands, they can tell where the pits and

lands are by looking at the lasers reflection from the discs surface. The pit-and-land in-

formation can then be decoded into individual bits by the drives internal circuitry.

The extracted binary information then represents executable programs, data or image

files, sound files, or video files in some established format (such as MPEG) that your mul-

timedia application can work with. You can read the contents of a CD-ROM or DVD-

ROM disk in a directory just as you would read the directory of a floppy disk or hard

drivethe drive is even assigned a drive letter (i.e., D:, E:, or F:), just like other drives inyour system. To be useful for multimedia applications, your drive must meet two impor-

tant performance criteria:

s Data transfer rate (DTR) This is the rate at which information from the disk is read into

your computer. Original (single-speed) CD-ROM drives provided a DTR of only

150KB per second. Double-speed (2) CD-ROM drives can approach 300KB per sec-

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ond while using no more than 40% of your CPUs processing capacity (30% or less

is even better). The amount of CPU capacity is important because the CPU also hasto run the rest of the computer and continue to execute the current program(s) while

the CDs data is being transferred. If the CPU has to give all of its attention to get-

ting data from your CD-ROM, the system will run very sluggishly or hesitantly. For

this reason, a computer with a fast CPU (such as a 386) is required, and a 486 is pre-

ferred. Today, CD-ROM drives can read data from a disk at 24 to 30 times the orig-

inal data rate of a floppy disk (up to 4500KB/s). CD-R drives use a split

speedusually up to 8 for reading a CD, but only 1 or 2 for writing. The ini-

tial DVD-ROM drives which are appearing on the market offer data-transfer rates

equivalent to 8 to 10 (up to 1500KB/s).

s Seek time (ST) This is the amount of time needed to locate the necessary data file or

program on the disc. Today, CD-ROM and CD-R drives can accomplish a typical seek

in about 250 ms. Seek time is important because even the fastest computer must stop

and wait for the drive to locate the needed information before it can be accessed. Aseek time of 250 ms might sound fast, but the delays add up, and can become very an-

noying over long periods of use. The total time needed to access data is the seek time

plus the data-transfer time, so faster drives are definitely better here. DVD-ROM drives

usually run a bit faster with DVD seek times of about 200 ms, but reading CDs only

needs around 130 ms.

Installing a CD-ROM or CD-R DriveGenerally speaking, the installation of a CD-ROM or CD-R drive involves the drive unit

itself, an adapter board, and a connecting cable. Many CD-ROM drives are added to

multimedia kits, such as the Diamond multimedia kit shown in Fig. 47-1. The follow-ing information is intended to explain some general guidelines and objectives for you to

keep in mindthe precise bolt-by-bolt procedure will certainly vary slightly from

computer to computer. See Chapter 7 for more detailed CD-ROM or CD-R information

and troubleshooting.

INSTALLING A CD-ROM OR CD-R DRIVE 1359


SUPPORTFIGURE 47-1 A typical multimedia kit. Diamond Multimedia Systems, Inc.


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PREPARING FOR A CD-ROM OR CD-R

As with most construction projects, advance planning is important to ensuring a smooth,trouble-free PC upgrade. Most problem upgrades occur because of limitations or incom-

patibilities between the current PC configuration and the CD-ROM/CD-R or adapter that

passed unnoticed (until it was too late and the PC was in pieces). Consider the following

guidelines when planning a new CD-ROM or CD-R upgrade:

s Think MPC There are no MPC requirements for CD-R drives, but be sure that the CD-

ROM drive is compatible with the latest MPC standards for seek time and data-transfer

rate. The host PC should also have the minimum requirements for proper MPC opera-

tion (see Appendix A). The current standard is MPC-3. If the CD-ROM (or any ele-

ment of the PC) is not adequate for MPC-3, many of the CD packages available today

will not run properly.

s Check the PCs operating system Business-oriented or less-popular operating systems

are notorious for a lack of driver support for multimedia devices, such as sound boards

and CD-ROM drives. This issue is particularly acute for more recent drives, such as

CD-R or DVD-ROM drives. If the system is using an OS other than DOS or Windows

(e.g., Windows NT, UNIX, or OS/2), the drivers needed to operate the drive will prob-

ably be incompatible. Check in advance to see that the necessary drivers for your op-

erating system are already in the box.

s Check for available drive bay(s) Youll need to mount that drive in the case. If you

have two floppy drives, you can always find an extra drive bay by removing an unused

floppy or replacing the two drives with a single, dual-drive floppy assembly that fits

in one drive bay. Most optical drives cannot be mounted vertically (especially drives

that take caddies). Remember that an external drive costs more than an internal version

and takes more desk space.

s Check the available PC expansion slots A CD-ROM with a proprietary interface willneed a free slot for the adapter board, as well as a slot for a sound board. If the drive

adapter is built into a sound board, only one slot will be required for the sound board.

If the CD-ROM is designed for SCSI, you will need a SCSI adapter (if not in the sys-

tem already) and a sound board. Also check that the adapter boards length will not be

obstructed by CPU cooling fans or other devices in the system. If the CD-ROM drive

is an ATAPI IDE drive and interfaces to the hard-drive controller, youll only need a

slot for the sound card if one needs to be installed.

In most cases, a CD-R drive will require a SCSI host adapter, rather than an IDE port or

proprietary interface, so youll need to install a SCSI adapter is one isnt already in place.

For DVD-ROM drives, you can use an available ATA-2 (EIDE) interface, rather than a

proprietary interface, but you will need a free PCI slot for the MPEG-2 decoder board. See

Installing a DVD-ROM drive.

s Check the internal power connectors Internal CD-ROM, CD-R, and DVD-ROM dri-

ves will need a standard 4-pin power cable. If there is no free cable, you will need to

add a Y cable and tap into a connector already being used. Do not split drive power

from a hard drive.



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s Check the drive mounting requirements If the drive needs rails, see that rails are in the

PC or that they come with the drive. If the drive bolts into the drive bay directly, checkthat the mounting holes will align and that properly sized screws come with the drive.

It sounds trivial now, but just wait until the PC is in pieces and the screws wont fit.

s Check the system resources A multimedia configuration typically needs two I/O ad-

dresses, two IRQs, and one or two DMA channels (one for the drive adapter port and

one for the sound boardeven if the two functions are integrated onto the same adapter

board). If the host PC is stuffed with other devices, be sure that you have the system re-

sources available before installation. A software utility or a hardware diagnostic board,

such as The Discovery Card by AllMicro, will reveal active IRQs and DMAs.

s Check for conflicts with other devices in the system For example, if a sound board is al-

ready in the PC and the CD-ROM adapter provides sound board features, you will have

to remove the original sound board or disable the new sound-board circuitry. Use caution

when deciding what to disable. Some stand-alone sound boards provide joystick ports

and MIDI capabilities that integrated CD-ROM adapters/sound boards do not. Disablingthe wrong item can inhibit other features of the PC that are important to the customer.

s Position the sound output carefully Most commercial speaker assemblies are not

shielded against magnetic fields, which can interfere with media and PC operations. If

you will be using stand-alone powered speakers, be sure to keep the speakers positioned

away from the PC or magnetic media.

s Be careful of signal cable lengths Cable lengths can be a problem in tower case instal-

lations. Often, the cable between the drive adapter and drive is too short. When in-

stalling a CD-ROM, CD-R, or DVD-ROM drive in any PC larger than a desktop, get a

longer data cable.

INSTALLING THE DRIVE

As with all new peripheral installations, you must turn off and unplug the computer. Thismight sound ridiculously obvious, but you would be amazed by the number of inexperi-

enced users who injure themselves or damage their expensive system by leaving the com-

puter power on. You should also make it a point to use static controls (i.e., wrist strap and

anti-static bags) to prevent damage to the new equipment. Next, you must get into the

computer. Remove the top cover to your machine. This procedure will depend on the

number and location of housing screws in your particular system.

If your CD-ROM or CD-R drive is an internal version, you will have to locate an empty

drive bay in your computer (Fig. 47-2). Because you will need to access the drive regu-

larly, it should be mounted in an empty bay located either above or below your existing

floppy drive(s). If no empty external drive bays are available, you might have to free a bay

by relocating a non-accessible drive (such as a hard drive) to a rear bay located deep in

your machine. If simply no room is to be had anywhere, you will have to decide between

removing an existing drive or rethinking your approach and exchanging the internal drivefor an external version. Assuming that you have the space available, you will have to slide

the drive into the bay (along existing or newly installed rails) and bolt it into place. If your

drive is external, your problem is simplified to just finding space near the computers cab-

inet and plugging the external power adapter between an available power outlet and your

drive. Remember that external drives do not receive power from your system.


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INSTALLING A CD-ROM DRIVE ADAPTER

Once the physical CD-ROM drive is installed, you will need to install the drives adapter

card. An adapter card is a small, plug-in expansion board that allows the drive to interface

with your computers main bussesthis establishes the drives physical and electronic

connection to your system. Before installation, you might need to configure your adapter

board by altering jumper or dip switch settings to select an appropriate I/O address,Inter-rupt ReQuest line (IRQ), orDirect Memory Access (DMA) channel. Because all adapter

boards are designed and laid out differently, refer to the documentation enclosed with your

adapter board for more detailed configuration procedures. When you decide on resource

settings for the adapter board, note the IRQ, I/O, and DMA, and driver names on a sheet

of paper and tape the paper to the inside of the computer cover. You can also use the PC

Configuration Form in Appendix F.

Typically, adapter card installation involves choosing an available expansion slot in

your computer, removing the narrow metal cover plate for that slot, sliding the board gen-

tly into the expansion connector until it is seated completely (Fig. 47-3). Be extremely

careful when installing any adapter board! Careless or excessive force could damage the

adapter or even damage your systems motherboard. Use the screw removed with the

metal cover plate to secure the new adapter board into place and keep the blank metal plate

aside for future use.


FIGURE 47-2 Opening an external drive bay. Diamond Multimedia

Systems, Inc.

If the CD-ROM drive uses an ATAPI IDE interface (as most now do), and a sound board

is already installed in the PC, you might not need to install any other drive controller de-

vice to support the CD-ROM.


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ATAPI IDE CD-ROM INSTALLATIONS

Today, most CD-ROM drives have abandoned proprietary interfaces in favor of standardATAPI IDE interfaces, which can be shared with ordinary hard-disk drives on your exist-

ing drive adapters. When you install an ATAPI IDE CD-ROM drive, you must remember

some basic ideas. First, never interface an IDE CD-ROM with a large EIDE hard drive on

the same drive controller channel. For example, do not use the EIDE HDD as the mas-

ter device and the ATAPI IDE CD-ROM drive as the slave device. Because the older

IDE CD-ROM cannot handle the faster data-transfer modes (e.g., PIO Mode 4) used by

EIDE HDDs, the CD-ROM can interfere with the data transferoften causing one or both

devices on the channel to become inoperative. As a rule, keep the faster EIDE drives on

the primary EIDE drive-controller channel and keep the slower drives on the secondary

IDE drive-controller channel.

SCSI VARIATIONS FOR CD-ROM AND CD-R DRIVES

Although most CD-ROM drives use ATAPI IDE or proprietary interface schemes, the

Small Computer System Interface (SCSI) enjoys a great deal of popularityespecially for

server and workstation platforms. SCSI interfaces are used almost exclusively for CD-R

drives. For practical purposes here, SCSI is little more than a bus extending from an SCSI


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FIGURE 47-3 Inserting a sound board/CD-ROM adapter into an

available expansion slot. Diamond Multimedia Systems, Inc.

DVD-ROM drives use ATA-2 (EIDE) interface standards so that they can co-exist withEIDE hard drives without problems.


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host controller card plugged into your computers motherboard. The CD-ROM or CD-R

drive can plug into this peripheral bus. As you will see in Chapter 39, the advantage ofSCSI is that it is a system-level bus. In other words, the intelligence of the bus is placed

in each devicenot in the host controller. Using this approach, new and more sophisti-

cated devices can be added to a computer system without concern for the host, so no addi-

tional hardware would be needed. A common language composed of about a dozen or so

commands can be used to move data back and forth to the peripheral. Only a new device

driver would need to be written for a new peripheral.

Each device on the SCSI bus requires its own unique ID number so that the host con-

troller can identify the desired peripheral. The ID is generally determined by setting a se-

ries of dip switches in the peripheral itself. CD-ROMs and CD-Rs are part of the SCSI-2

description, and are often assigned a SCSI ID of 6. Connection to the SCSI bus is accom-

plished using a single 50-conductor cable (wide SCSI uses a 68-pin cable). The two general

implementations for the 50-pin cable are single ended and differential. The single-ended

SCSI cable is used for short distances in relatively low-noise environments, while the dif-ferential is suitable for carrying signals over longer distances.

As with conventional adapter installations, the host computer should be turned off and

unplugged before being opened to receive the drive. Under no circumstances should you

attempt to install host adapters or drive cables while the computer is running. The SCSI

host adapter board must be installed in an expansion slot on the host systems motherboard

(if it has not been done already). Most SCSI host controllers come with their own instal-

lation and setup instructions, but remember several common guidelines. First, an address

location, interrupt number, DMA channel, and SCSI BIOS address will have to selected

for the board. This is typically accomplished by setting one or more jumpers or dip

switches. The board should be inserted evenly and completely into its expansion slot, then

screwed securely into place by its board bracket.

Carefully unpack the CD-ROM or CD-R drive from its packing materials and locate the

drives ID selector jumpers or dip switches. The selectors are usually located on the rearof the drive next to the SCSI cable connector. There might also be a parity selector as well.

Parity is a means of error checking, but it is usually disabled at the factory, since the use

of parity is not standard among SCSI devices. If all SCSI devices in the system support

parity, it can be enabled for all devices. Otherwise, it must be disabled for all devices. The

drives ID might be set to some low number, such as 1 (often a factory default). Because

low ID numbers have higher priority on the SCSI bus, low numbers are ideal for slower

devices, such as CD-ROMs or CD-Rs. Making the slower device a higher priority pre-

vents faster peripherals from hogging the bus. Remember that bootable SCSI hard drives

are assigned an ID of 0, and a second SCSI hard drive is typically set to ID 1. As a result,

you should set the CD-ROM or CD-R between 2 and 6 (start with the lowest available ID

in the SCSI chain). You need not worry about such things as address, interrupt, or DMA

for the drive, because those are hardware-level concerns assumed by the host controller

board.

If the drive is internal, you should mount it into an available drive bay and secure it into

place. If the drive is external, locate it in a convenient place near the host computer. Con-

nect the power cable to the drive (but do not apply power yet) and attach any ground straps

that might be required. Attach the SCSI bus cable from the host controller board to the

drive. If the CD-ROM or CD-R is the last internal device in the sequence, attach any ter-



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minator module to the SCSI bus cable. If the drive is external, you might have to remove

the cables terminator module. Remember that even though this is a SCSI installation, youwill need to load device drivers.

INSTALLING THE CABLES

A ribbon cable connects the drive to its host adapter. This is the signal (or data) cable.

Gently install the cable and be very careful to keep the proper pin orientation. Otherwise,

you might wind up reversing one end of the signal cable. Signal reversal is rarely damag-

ing to the drive, but it can prevent the drive from working. Many connectors today are

keyed to prevent accidental reversal. Remember that only digital information is passed

along the data cable. Audio, however, must be passed to the sound board through a small,

shielded audio cable. Many multimedia kits supply this audio cable, which plugs directly

into the sound boardwhich often doubles as the CD-ROM adapter. Because CD-R dri-

ves can read audio CDs, they also need an audio cable between the drive and sound board.Finally, connect an available power cable from the system into the drive. Most internal

CD-ROM and CD-R drives use the same power cable configuration as hard and floppy

drives. You should be able to locate an extra drive power cable (a 4-pin Molex-type con-

nector) and attach it to your drive. Power cables are keyed, so accidentally reversing the

power is impossible. If all 4-pin power connectors from your supply are in use with other

drives, you can use a Y power cable with an existing power cable to tap an extra con-

nector for the CD-ROM or CD-R drive. You might connect your external speakers to the

sound card, if it has not already been done. Figures 47-4 and 47-5 illustrate the cabling be-

tween a drive and adapter.


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FIGURE 47-4 Connecting cables to the CD-ROM drive. Diamond Multimedia

Systems, Inc.


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Configuring the SoftwareIn addition to hardware installation, you will have to install at least two pieces of software

before you can use the CD-ROM drive. Locate the device driver disk supplied with the

CD-ROM drive. Insert the disk in your floppy drive, change to that drive, then start the in-

stallation program supplied on the disk (see the disk label for the appropriate setup name).Follow the setup programs instructions to install the required device drivers and perform

any additional system configuration, as requested.

Typically, the installation diskette will copy two files to your system. MSCDEX.EXE

(Microsoft CD Extension) is a required device driver for all CD-ROM and CD-R installa-

tions so that the drive will work with DOS. MSCDEX.EXE assigns the drive letter to the

drive and allows your computer to treat the CD-ROM or CD-R drive, just like any other

drive in the system. MSCDEX is typically added to AUTOEXEC.BAT. There will also

be at least one low-level device driver (usually a file with a .SYS extension) that is drive-

specific, and controls the flow of information between the drive and adapter board. The

low-level device driver is added to CONFIG.SYS.

After installation is finished, reboot the system so that the new drivers can be loaded and

the new system configuration will take hold. You should now have access to your new

CD-ROM drive. Install a CD, switch to the drive (i.e., D: ), and type DIR

to view the CDs file directory.

When using the CD-ROM through Windows 3.1x, you will also need to install an MCI

(Multimedia Control Interface) driver in the Drivers dialog box under the Windows con-

trol panel. This will allow Windows to play CD audio. After the driver(s) are installed,

you will have to exit Windows and re-start it for the new drivers to take effect. If you will


FIGURE 47-5 Connecting cables to the host adapter. Diamond Multimedia Systems, Inc.


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not be playing audio, you can generally omit the driverthe CD-ROM will still be acces-

sible under Windows, but no audio will be available. When working with Windows 95,the CD-ROM might be automatically detected as a Plug-and-Play device, or added manu-

ally (along with protected-mode drivers) through the Add New Hardware wizard.

CD-R SOFTWARE

As a rule, CD-R drives lack the real-mode (DOS) support that has been the hallmark of

CD-ROM drives. In most cases, the CD-R drive is supported only under Windows/Win-

dows 95 using protected-mode drivers. Once the CD-R drive is installed and connected to

the SCSI host adapter, youll need to run the installation utility that accompanied the drive,

or use the Add New Hardware wizard under Windows 95.

Troubleshooting CD-ROMand CD-R InstallationsIn spite of the best efforts and all of the documentation on hand, there will be occasions

where the installation of a new CD-ROM or CD-R is fraught with problems. Any incor-

rect or omitted step in hardware or software installation can spell trouble. The following

section shows you some of the more common problems that can arise during CD-ROM or

CD-R installation, and gives you the information needed to resolve those problems.

EFFECTS OF COMPRESSION

Stacker, DoubleSpace, and DriveSpace are very powerful and effective utilities for in-creasing the effective space on your hard drive. However, adding compression to a system

after the CD-ROM or CD-R is installed might cause some problems for the drive. Fortu-

nately, the problem can be corrected fairly easily. You see, a compressor creates a new

logical drive on the existing hard drive. Therefore, a new drive letter will be required. If

your original hard drive is C:, the compressor will often assign D: as the new drive. If the

CD-ROM or CD-R is already assigned to D:, however, the drive letter will conflict. If you

are in the process of installing a compressor and have the chance to enter a new drive let-

ter, use a letter other than the CD-ROM or CD-R (or any other drive in your system). If

the compressor installed with its defaults and absconded with your CD-ROM or CD-Rs

drive letter, you can alter the drive letter with the command-line switches of the low-level

driver and MSCDEXoften with MSCDEX alone. Keep in mind that you might also

need to alter the LASTDRIVE setting in your startup files. Also remember that youll

need to adjust the drives configuration under the Windows 95 Device Manager.

NON-SCSI INSTALLATION SYMPTOMS

Symptom 47-1. The computer does not initialize This symptom assumes that

you have proper power connected to the computer and that the power switch is on. If the

TROUBLESHOOTING CD-ROM AND CD-R INSTALLATIONS 1367

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systems power light comes on, but there is no system activity (or the system begins its mem-

ory test and initialization, but freezes or hangs up), the problem might be in the drivesadapter board. Turn off all power to the system, open the computer, and check it again to see

that the adapter board (and all available expansion boards) are inserted properly and com-

pletely. Also doublecheck the boards configuration to be sure that its base I/O address, IRQ

line, or DMA channel do not conflict with other devices that might be present in your system.

You might have to remove the adapter board to check its configuration settings. Finally, dou-

blecheck the data cable running between the drive and adapter board. If one end of the cable

is reversed, the confused flow of data might be enough to freeze some computer designsit

really depends on your adapter board and computerbut it is always worth a second look.

If you are unable to resolve the problem with the new drive installed, try disabling the

drive by removing the adapter board and data cable. You might leave the actual CD-ROM

or CD-R drive in its drive bay, but you should also disconnect the drives power cable. If

the system then initializes normally (although you will see errors when the system tries to

load the drives device drivers), you will know the problem lies in your CD-ROM or CD-Rinstallation. Try a new adapter board.

Symptom 47-2. The computer fails to recognize the CD-ROM or CD-R drive

The typical causes of this problem relate to the device drivers that must be loaded to support

your CD-ROM or CD-R. One or more device drivers might not be loading properly. If a dri-

ver fails to load or loads improperly, the drive will not operate properly (if at all). Check that

the Microsoft MSCDEX.EXE device driver is installed in your system and that it is located in

the path called out in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file. If the driver is in a different path, adjust

the calling line in AUTOEXEC.BAT. If the driver is not found, copy the driver to the loca-

tion called out in AUTOEXEC.BAT, or re-install the CD-ROM/CD-R device driver software

from scratch. If you make any changes, be sure to reboot your computer to affect the change.

Next, check that the manufacturers drive-specific device driver (usually with a .SYS ex-

tension) is installed in the system and that it is located in the path called out in your CON-FIG.SYS file. If the driver is in a different path, adjust the calling line in CONFIG.SYS.

If the driver is not found, copy the driver to the location called out in CONFIG.SYS, or re-

install the CD-ROM/CD-R device driver software from scratch. If you make any changes,

be sure to reboot your computer to effect the change. When dealing with CD-ROM or CD-R

drivers, the command-line switches for both drivers must match in order to address the

drive properly. Check the command-line switches for the low-level driver and MSCDEX.

The problem might also be with your drives host adapter board. Turn off all power to

the system, open the computer, and check again to see that the adapter board (and all avail-

able expansion boards) are inserted properly and completely. Doublecheck the boards

configuration to be sure that its base I/O address, IRQ line, or DMA channel do not con-

flict with other devices that might be present in your system. You might have to remove

the adapter board to check its configuration settings.

Symptom 47-3. The CD-ROM or CD-R drive will not read a CD correctly As

a sanity check, be sure that a CD is indeed inserted in the drive in its proper orientation

(usually silk-screen side up). Also, be sure that the CD in the drive is the right kind of disk.

For example, an audio CD cannot be accessed for programs and data files, like a computer-

compatible CD. Try accessing the disk a number of times before giving up. Try remov-



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ing and reinserting the disk several times as wellinexpensive drives do not always cen-

ter the disk very well.Once you know that the disk is appropriate and installed correctly, the problem might be

in the adapter board or the data cable. The problem might be with your drives host

adapter board. Turn off all power to the system, open the computer, and check again to see

that the adapter board (and all available expansion boards) are inserted properly and com-

pletely. Doublecheck the data cable running between the drive and adapter board. If the

cable is loose or if one end of the cable is reversed, data will not flow properly from drive

to adapter. Doublecheck the boards configuration to be sure that its base address, inter-

rupt line, or DMA channel do not conflict with other devices that might be present in your

system. You might have to remove the adapter board to check its configuration settings.

Symptom 47-4. The drive is recognized, but no audio is produced Re-

member that a CD-ROM or CD-R is generally a data-only devicethe analog signals pro-

duced by CD audio must be routed to a sound board. Be sure that the thin, four-wire audiocable is connected between the CD-ROM or CD-R drive and the sound board. Adjust the

sound boards volume control to achieve an adequate output. You could also plug in at the

drives headphone jack. Adjust the CD-ROM headphone volume control for an adequate out-

put. If your amplifier/speakers are not producing sound from the sound board, try using head-

phones in the drives headphone jack. If sound emanates from the headphones, but not from

the sound board, the sound board might be faulty or the cable carrying the audio signal to the

sound board might be disconnected or faulty. If the audio is absent under Windows/Windows

95, check to see that the necessary driver(s) are installed under the Control panel.

SCSI INSTALLATION SYMPTOMS

If CD-ROM hardware and software are both installed properly, you should see several boot

messages during system initialization. These are some typical messages for an NEC system:

NECCD: NEC CDROM Driver version 2.20a (low-level CD-ROM driver)

SCSI Host Adapter Detected at Address (address)h (SCSI adapter driver)

Device (device ID) Read only optical device (Removable media)

MSCDEX version 2.20 (DOS MSCDEX driver)

Copyright (copyright date)

Drive(drive letter):=Drive:NECCD unit (SCSI ID#)

If these messages are displayed during system initialization, you should be able to access

the drive just as you would any floppy or hard drive. Insert a CD into the drive, then

switch to the drive by typing the letter of the drive from the DOS prompt (i.e., D: ). If you type DIR for a directory, you should see a complete directory list-

ing of the disks contents. A successful directory listing will suggest that the drive is

installed properly and ready for service. If the drive does not respond properly during an

application program, there might be other problems with the disk or drive.

Symptom 47-5. You see the following message when attempting to list a

directory: Not ready reading drive (drive letter): A communication problem


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is occurring between the SCSI host controller and the CD-ROM or CD-R drive caused by

an undesirable SCSI ID for the drive or excessive bus speed at the ISA bus. Your first stepshould be to power down the computer and check that the drive is connected properly to

the SCSI host controller. Also be sure that the CD is inserted into the drive with the right

side facing up. If problems continue, change the drives switch settings to select a new

SCSI device number. Reboot the computer and try the directory listing again. If the error

message persists, you might need to try several different SCSI device ID numbers. If a

new SCSI number does not correct the trouble, the bus speed of the computer might be at

fault. ISA bus speed should generally not exceed 8.33MHz, so take the computer out of

its turbo or high-speed mode and try the directory again.

Symptom 47-6. You see the following message when attempting to list a

directory: CDROM not High Sierra or ISO 9660 format This error code (or if

your bundled softwares SCSI test program fails to detect a host adapter) suggests a mem-

ory conflict in your systemmore than one device is attempting to use the same memoryaddress(es). Conflicts are typically caused by expanded memory managers (e.g.,

EMM386, QEMM, 386MAX, etc.). Check your CONFIG.SYS file for the presence of a

valid memory manager. You should see a device driver line, such as:

device=c:\qemm\qemm386.sysdevice=c:\dos\emm386.exe

Try adding parameters to your memory managers that will exclude the addresses used by

your SCSI host adapter. You need to know the active addresses of the SCSI host adapter

card from the settings of its configuration switches. Each setting should define a range of

addresses (e.g., CC00 to CDFF, C800 to C9FF, DC00 to DDFF, D800 to D9FF, etc.). Re-

fer to the documentation for your SCSI host adapter for more information. Once you know

the address range of your adapter, add exclusion parameters to your CONFIG.SYS file:

device=c:\qemm\qemm386.sys (parameters) exclude=aaaa-bbbbdevice=c:\dos\emm386.exe (parameters) x=aaaa-bbbb

(where aaaa andbbbb are hexadecimal addresses). Reboot the computer and try the CD-

ROM or CD-R drive again. Other possible sources of conflict exist in the use of memory

shadowing or disk caching, which are enabled through your system CMOS setup program.

Access your CMOS setup and set all disk caching, BIOS shadow, Shadow RAM,

Video BIOS Shadow, or any shadow options to the DISABLE condition. Reboot the

computer and try the CD-ROM again.

Last-ditch sources of conflict can occur in the various computer peripherals (such as

your 16-bit video card, modem card, scanner card, etc.). If your SCSI host adapter address

range overlaps the address(es) of any other board, your system can encounter problems.Check the address settings of each installed peripheral and move that peripherals address

out of range of the SCSI controller and modify the address (if necessary) in the periph-

erals setup or configuration program. As a check, you might wish to simply remove the

peripheral to see if the problem goes away. Once you make a change, reboot the computer

and try the CD-ROM or CD-R drive again.



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Symptom 47-7. You see the following message during initialization: No

SCSI host adapter(s) detected Your system cannot find the SCSI host controllerboard. This might be caused by faulty I/O, IRQ, or DMA settings on the host controller it-

self or a memory conflict in hardware or software. Begin your investigation by powering

down the computer and checking the host controllers resource settings. Use your docu-

mentation for the host controller and carefully verify each jumper or dip switch setting. A

missing or improperly configured jumper can render the controller inoperative. Reset the

controller board, if necessary, then reboot the computer.

If the problem persists (or if you cannot find faulty controller settings), you might be en-

countering trouble because of memory conflicts. Possible sources of conflict exist in the

use of memory shadowing or disk caching, which are enabled through your system CMOS

setup program. Access your CMOS setup and set all disk caching, BIOS shadow,

Shadow RAM, Video BIOS Shadow, or any shadow options to the Disable condi-

tion. Reboot the computer and try the CD-ROM or CD-R drive again.

Sources of conflict can also occur in various computer peripherals (e.g., your videocard, modem card, scanner card, etc.). If your SCSI host adapter address range over-

laps the address(es) of any other board, your system can encounter problems. Check

the address settings of each installed peripheral and move that peripherals address out

of range of the SCSI controller and modify the address (if necessary) in the peripherals

setup or configuration program. As a check, you might wish to simply remove the pe-

ripheral to see if the problem goes away. Once you make a change, reboot the com-

puter and try the CD-ROM or CD-R drive again. Finally, if the system simply refuses

to acknowledge the SCSI controller, you might wish to replace the SCSI host con-

troller.

Symptom 47-8. You see the following message during initialization: No

xxxCD functions in use First, be sure the CD-ROM or CD-R is powered on before

the computer starts to initialize. The CD drive must be available to the SCSI host con-

troller for the CD-ROM/CD-R device driver MSCDEX to be loaded into memory. If the

drive is turned on as expected and the MSCDEX driver will not load, check to see that the

device driver is listed in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file:

C:\SCSI\MSCDEX /D:xxxCD /M:10 /L:(drive letter)

or:

C:\CDMENU\MSCDEX /D:xxxCD /M:10 /L:(drive letter)

If your AUTOEXEC.BAT file is set up as expected, check to be sure that the CD device

driver (MSCDEX in this case) is actually present in the desired sub-directory. If the driveris missing (even if it is present in the wrong sub-directory), the driver will not load. Copy

the driver to the appropriate sub-directory or change the path specification to the driver in

the AUTOEXEC.BAT file. It is also generally recommended that your calling line appear

first in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file. If the problem persists, try moving the calling line to

the first line. Reboot the computer and try the drive again.


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Installing a DVD-ROM DriveNow that youve seen the essentials of CD-ROM and CD-R installations, its time to coverthe complete installation of the Creative Labs PC-DVD package (retail $400). The kit

comes complete with a Matsushita EIDE DVD-ROM drive, MPEG-2 Decoder board,

video loop-back cable, CD audio cable, line input audio cable, and IDE (40-pin) data ca-

ble. The actual installation process can take less than an hour, but your installation might

be longer, depending on how much hardware you re-arrange (see Chapter 14 for more de-

tailed information on DVD-ROM drives and troubleshooting).

SYSTEM CONSIDERATIONS

Before you start any DVD installation, youll need to meet some basic requirements.

DVD installation requires a 90MHz Pentium PC with at least 16MB of RAM running

Windows 95. At least 4MB of hard drive space will be needed for DVD drivers and ap-

plication software, and your systems motherboard must have at least one PCI bus slot

available for the MPEG-2 decoder board. Finally, one open external drive bay should be

available for the DVD-ROM drive itself.

Consider two other issues before starting the installation. Check your existing

CD-ROM drive (theres almost certainly one in your system). Ideally, youd like to re-

move the CD-ROM and install the DVD-ROM in its place. However, you might want

to keep the CD-ROM in place if you use CDs (such as Photo CDs) that you know the

DVD-ROM drive will not support, or if you want to continue using DOS-based CDs.

The DVD software and drivers do not support DOS, so you would lose all CD capabil-

ity under DOS by removing the CD-ROM (thats one point that the DVD documenta-

tion leaves out).

Consider your DVD drives interface. SCSI drives are rather straightforward because

you can simply set the drive ID, then connect the drive directly to the SCSI cable (you

might need to re-terminate the SCSI cable). EIDE drives are a bit trickiermost PCs to-

day offer two IDE portsa primary EIDE port that can support two EIDE devices and a

secondary IDE port that can also support two devices. If you can, install the EIDE DVD-

ROM as the slave device on the EIDE port (along side your hard drive). However, if

you have two EIDE hard drives in the system, you should make the DVD drive the mas-

ter device on the secondary IDE port. You might recall that older CD-ROM drives could

present problems when used with hard drives, but DVD-drives use more current interfacesand should not interfere with an existing hard drives operation.

HARDWARE INSTALLATION

The hardware process basically consists of four steps: install the drive, cable the drive, in-

stall the decoder board, and cable the decoder board. Once the hardware is in place, you can


Before you attempt any new drive installation on your PC, be sure to perform a complete

system backup of your entire system first and keep a bootable floppy diskette handy in

case of emergencies.


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then install the drivers and application software. If youve ever installed multimedia kits

of CD-ROM drives and sound cards, then installing a DVD-ROM kit should be a snap.

Install the drive Mount the DVD-ROM drive in an open drive bay, and secure it into

place with four screws. As with all drives, be sure not to overtighten the screwsthis

could warp the drive just slightly and throw it out of alignment. Also check the jumpers

on the rear of the drive. If the drive is SCSI, set the jumpers for the proper SCSI ID. For

EIDE drives, set the drive as either master or slave. If you plan to run the drive along

side a hard drive, set the DVD drive as slave. If you plan to run the DVD drive on its

own controller port, set the DVD drive as master.

Cable the drive Typically, three cables must be connected to the DVD-ROM drive: a

drive power cable, a data cable, and a CD audio cable. You can use any 4-pin drive power

cable, but do not use a power cable from a Y splitter. Splitting your power this way can

sometimes cause erratic drive behavior. For slave drive configurations, you can connect

the existing 40-pin signal cable to the data connector on the back of the drive (one end of

the cable connects to the drive controller, one end connects to the hard drive, and the third

unused connector attaches to the DVD drive. For master drive configurations, you can

use the 40-pin cable that came with the DVD package. Finally, connect the CD audio ca-

ble between the DVD drive and the CD audio connector on your sound board. If you plan

to leave your existing CD-ROM in place, and play any CD audio from the CD-ROM drive,

dont connect the DVD drives CD audio connector.

Install the decoder board Once the drive is in place, your next step is to install the

MPEG-2 decoder board. You do not need to configure the decoder board firstrather

than jumpers, the decoder is configured through software. Find an unused PCI bus slot

and mount the boardyou might need to remove one of those little metal plates from the

expansion slot opening first. You can use the little screw from that metal plate to secure

the decoder board into place. Be sure that the board sits evenly and completely in its bus

slot. Never force an expansion board.

Cable the decoder board The last step is to interconnect the MPEG-2 decoder board

with the other devices in your system. In general, you have to make three connections.

Disconnect the monitor from your video board and attach it to the decoders monitor con-

nector. Use the loop-back cable to attach the video signal from your video board to the de-

coders video input connector. Then use the sound cable to connect the decoders audio

output to the line input jack of your sound board.

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When working inside your PC, remember to keep the system turned off and unplugged.

You should use a properly grounded anti-static wrist strap to remove any electrostatic

charges from your body, but you should at least touch the PCs metal chassis regularly

during the installation process.

Remember to align pin 1 on the signal cable with pin 1 on the DVD drive. You can iden-

tify pin 1 on a ribbon cable by the red or blue stripe that runs along the cable.


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SOFTWARE INSTALLATION

Notice the lack of jumpers on the MPEG-2 decoder board. The decoder packaged with theCreative Labs PC-DVD kit is configured exclusively through softwarethis simplifies the

hardware installation process and reduces the chances of hardware conflicts resulting from

incorrectly set jumpers. The software installation process involves three phases: installing

the decoder drivers, installing the DVD-ROM drivers, and installing the DVD applications.

The first time you reboot your PC after the hardware installation, Windows 95 will au-

tomatically detect the new PCI MPEG decoder hardware. It wont identify the hardware

exactly, but it will identify the hardware as a PCI Multimedia Device. Insert the driver

diskette into your floppy drive and elect to install the driver from the diskette provided by

the manufacturer. Windows 95 will install the decoder board drivers, and configure the

board. When Windows 95 asks you to restart the system, chooseNo.

The next step is to install the DVD-ROM drivers. Choose Start, then Run, then type

A:/SETUP. ClickOK. The setup routine will install the drivers for your DVD drive, and

configure it appropriately. When the installation is complete, Windows 95 will ask you

again to restart the computer. This time, remove the driver diskette and select OKto restart

the computer. The next time Windows 95 starts, your DVD drive and decoder board

should be active.

The last step is to install any DVD applications (such as a DVD control panel or DVD-

Video player). The applications will usually be on a separate floppy disk. Insert the

floppy disk, clickStart, thenRun, then type A:/SETUP. Then, just follow the instructions.

OPTIMIZING VIDEO FOR DVD

DVD works best using a resolution of at least 800 600, and a high color (16-bit or 65K

color) mode. If your video card will support even higher resolutions or color depths, feel

free to use them. Use your Display icon under your Windows 95 control panel to adjust

the video configuration as needed.

Further StudyThats it for Chapter 47. Be sure to review the glossary and chapter questions on the ac-

companying CD. If you have access to the Internet, take some time to review the CD-

ROM, CD-R, or DVD-ROM upgrade these resources:

Creative Labs: http://www.creaf.com

Diamond Multimedia: http://www.diamondmm.com

HiVal: http://www.hival.com

NEC: http://www.nec.com


This section describes the installation of one DVD kityour own software installation re-

quirements might be different. Always read your installation instructions thoroughly.

syst mtce and support

Documents