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If you have at least 8MB of RAM, increasing the number of memory buffers in the MSCDEX driver in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file can improve your drive performance. Add the "/M:xx" flag to the end of the statement, if it's not already there, and replace xx with a number between 8 and 12, depending on how much memory you have.
If you're using a CD-ROM drive under Windows 95, you're in luck: Win95 has a built-in cache for improving CD-ROM performance. While the cache pattern can be optimized based on the speed of your CD-ROM, Win95 usually misidentifies the drive at installation. You can change this setting by going into Control Panel/System/Performance/File System.../Advanced/CD-ROM and optimizing the pattern for your drive speed. You can also adjust the supplemental cache size; if you have at least 8MB of RAM, try setting this as high as possible. You can always bring it back down if your system performance degrades.
CD-ROM drives are automatically assigned a drive letter on installation, usually D: or E:. If you're using MSCDEX, the "/L:x" flag determines which letter gets assigned to your CD-ROM drive, where "x" is the drive letter. You can add or modify this flag with the letter of your choosing. If you're using Windows 95, you can do this by going to Control Panel/System and clicking on the Device Manager tab. Expand the CDROM {no hyphen?} list, double-click on the drive you wish to change, and click on the Settings tab, as in figure 1. At the bottom, you can specify start and end drive letters to assign to the drive.
The AutoPlay feature of Windows 95 allows CDs to automatically start up when inserted in the drive, or for audio CDs to start playing. If for any reason you want to disable this feature, you can find it in the properties for your CD-ROM drive under Control Panel/System/Device Manager. Click on the Settings tab and uncheck the box that reads, "Auto insert notification," turned on by default. After restarting your computer, CDs will no longer start up automatically.
Windows 95 ships with full-function audio CD player software that features Random, Continuous and Intro play modes. You can also edit the play list and type in the names of your CDs, and it will display the artist and song information as it plays. By default, it will automatically launch when you insert an audio CD, but you can also find that program under Programs/Accessories/Multimedia/CD Player.
Bring Your Own Player
Before you upgraded to Win95, you may have been using a CD player that you like better, and you have already entered the track names for your entire CD collection. In that case, you can have your application, rather than the built-in applet, launch when you insert a music CD. While inside any file or Explorer window, go to the View menu and select the Options... command. Click the File Types tab, find AudioCD in the list of registered file types, and click the Edit button. Double-click on Play in the list of actions, and under the header "Application used to perform action," replace Cdplayer with the full path and file name of your favorite CD application.
You can improve your CD's performance by using SMARTDRV.EXE in DOS 6.2x, or Norton Utilities' Speedrv. Just add a line to your AUTOEXEC.BAT file to launch either of these caching utilities on startup.
If you can't get any sound out of your internal CD-ROM drive, it may not be connected to your sound card. Many sound cards have a three-to-five prong connector that serves as a direct audio input from an internal CD-ROM; in the mixer software for the sound card, this is labeled CD. If you don't have one of these cables, you can usually purchase one at a computer store or directly from your sound card manufacturer. Make sure you specify the model of both your card and CD-ROM, and check how many pins are at each end, because this can vary from card to card. A less elegant but functional solution is to plug one end of a stereo mini-jack cable into the headphone port of the drive, and the other end into the line in port on the sound card. You can then adjust volume through the Line In control in your mixer software.
Whether you bought your CD-ROM two years ago or just took it out of the box, chances are good that the drivers that came with it have been updated. You should check periodically with the manufacturer to make sure you have the latest version. You can usually obtain new drivers from an electronic bulletin board system, World Wide Web site or online service. Check in the product manual for the appropriate phone numbers and addresses. If you don't have a modem, call the manufacturer and request an update.
Many CD-ROM drives can operate in both horizontal and vertical positions, but some can't. Before skewing your drive, check in the manual to make sure it can operate properly in the vertical position.
As trivial as it sounds, dirt and fingerprints can have drastic effects on the readability of CDs, particularly those containing data. Make sure your CD surface is free of dust or smudges, and try to handle discs either by the edges or the center hole.
If you're adding a CD-ROM drive to your system, you may not need to add an extra interface card. For example, a sound card already in your system may have the necessary connectors to drive your internal CD-ROM. If your new drive is a SCSI device, make sure you don't already have a SCSI card in your system that you could chain it to. And if you haven't bought your CD-ROM yet, consider which model will work with the equipment you already have.
If you're having trouble with drive letters, make sure the LASTDRIVE= statement on your CONFIG.SYS file is set high enough to accommodate all of your logical drives. Unless you're using a Novell network, setting it to Z should fix any problems.
If your drive gets stuck and won't release your disc, it isn't gone forever. Most CD-ROM drives have a manual eject hole located somewhere on the front. Straightening out a paper clip and pushing it into the hole will force the CD out.
CD-ROM drives are notoriously difficult to install, usually because of resource conflicts. The best way to correct installation problems is to avoid them entirely by diagnosing your system before installation. Make a list of all the devices in your system and determine what IRQs, DMAs and I/O addresses are being used. MSD.EXE, included with DOS, can be a useful diagnostic tool in sniffing out this information. Once you have an idea what you're dealing with, find out what resources the CD-ROM is going to need. If you anticipate any conflicts, change the appropriate settings ahead of time, either on the drive or on the components you already have.
If you are writing a CD-ROM install routine and you have files that you want to run from the CD-ROM, make sure that Compress File is turned off and that Do Not Copy To Destination and Do Not Archive are turned on under Source File Setup. For files you want copied from the CD-ROM to the hard disk, Compress File, Do Not Archive and Do Not Copy To Destination should all three be turned off.
With an external CD-ROM, you might find that you cannot print directly from the CD, but that if you copy the same file to your hard disk, you can print it just fine. If you have this conflict, open Control Panel, select Printers, click on Connect and check the checkbox marked Fast Printing Direct to Port.
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