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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQS);faqs.013 The CD-ROM Users Group (see above) has a diagnostic CD-ROM that will tell you how much information your drive can handle. ========================================================================== 12. Why doesn't MSCDEX work with DOS 5.0? You must use SETVER with MS-DOS 5.0, to make MSCDEX 2.20 work properly. Otherwise you will get an incorrect DOS version message. See the MS-DOS 5.0 documentation on how to use SETVER. MSCDEX 2.21 works with MS-DOS 5.0 without SETVER. ========================================================================== 13. Where can I get the latest version of MSCDEX? Call MS BBS at 206-936-4082. Choose F for file library, S UPDATES, F to list files, then D MSCDEX.ZIP to download the file. (Microsoft may have deleted this file.) You can get the latest version of MSCDEX (2.21) in a self-extracting zip archive via anonymous ftp from cdrom.com:/pub/cdext.exe. ========================================================================== 14. I bought a used drive at a garage sale. Where can I find a driver for it? NEC, Philips and Sony have BBS's where you might be able to find drivers for their drives: NEC BBS: +1 508 635-6328 Philips BBS: +1 310 532-6436 Sony BBS: +1 408 955-5107 or +1 408 372-7426 Toshiba operates a bulletin board in Compuserve. Jim Rohrer, Chief Sysop, 76702,1300@compuserve.com They promise an answer within 24 hours. ========================================================================== 15. What is the difference between `High Sierra' and ISO-9660? Not much. When the standard was first proposed, it was given the name "High Sierra'. Later it was adopted as an offical standard, with a few minor modifications, and was designated ISO-9660. Usually when someone says "High Sierra", they really mean ISO-9660. ========================================================================== 16. Where can I get a copy of the ISO-9660 standard? You can order a copy of the ISO-9660 standard from ANSI Attn: Sales 11 West 42nd Street New York, NY 10036 212-642-4900 Cost to US destinations is $50, plus $6 shipping, check or money order. ========================================================================== 17. What is an HFS disc? HFS is the Macintosh's Hierarchical Filing System. It is unrelated to High Sierra and ISO-9660 formats. Most CD-ROMs intended for the Macintosh are created in the HFS format, since HFS does support the Mac's resource and data forks and file information. There are drivers made by AsimWare (AsimCDFS) and Xetec that allows HFS discs to be read on an Amiga. There is a list of differences that the drivers contends with, such as non-standard characters and 32 character filenames (Amiga supports only 30). [ If anyone can tell me where the HFS specs can be obtained, I will include that information here. ] ========================================================================== 18. Can you give a short explaination of ISO-9660? ISO-9660 is an international standard that defines a filesystem for CD-ROMs. Almost all systems support ISO-9660. Level one ISO-9660 is similar to an MS-DOS filesystem. Filenames are limited to eight single-case characters, a dot, and a three character extension. Filenames cannot contain special characters, (no hyphens, tildes, equals, or pluses). Only single case letters, numbers, and underscores. Directory names cannot have the three digit extension, just eight single-case characters. All alphabetics are in UPPER case; some software maps this to lower case. Either the file name or the extension may be empty, but not both ("F." and ".E" are both legal file names). There is a "File Version Number" which can range from 1-32767, and is separated from the extension by a semi-colon. The file version number is ignored on many systems. Here are some examples of legal and illegal filenames: Legal Illegal Why TEST_1C.TXT TEST-1C.TXT hyphen TEST1C.TXT TEST 1C.TXT space TEST.1C TEST.1C.TXT more than 1 period README Readme not single case Subdirectories are allowed to nest up to eight levels deep. Level two ISO-9660 allows longer filenames, up to 32 characters. But many of the other restrictions still apply. Level two discs are not usable on some systems, particularly MS-DOS. ========================================================================== 19. What the heck does `Red Book', `Yellow Book', etc. mean? "Red Book" is the common name of the "Compact Disc Digital Audio Standard". When a disc conforms to the red book standard, it will usually have "digital audio" printed below the "disc" logo. Most music CDs conform to this standard. "Yellow Book" is the standard for CD-ROM. When a disc conforms to the yellow book, it will usually say "data storage" beneath the "disc" logo. "Green Book" is the CD-I (compact disc interactive) standard. "Orange Book" is the standard for write-once compact discs. "Blue Book" is the standard for LaserDisc. You can get the Red Book and Yellow Book from ANSI Attn: Sales 1430 Broadway New York, NY 10018 (212) 642-4900 Red Book: CEI IEC 908 Yellow Book: ISO 10149:1989 You can get the Green Book from American CD-I Association 11111 Santa Monica, Suite 750 Los Angeles, CA 90025 (213) 444-6619 [If anyone can tell me where the other standards are available, I will include that information here.] ========================================================================== 20. What is CD-I? CD-I means "Compact Disc Interactive". It is meant to provide a standard platform for mass consumer interactive multimedia applications. So it is more akin to CD-DA, in that it is a full specification for both the data/code _and_ standalone playback hardware: a CD-I player has a CPU, RAM, ROM, OS, and audio/video/(MPEG) decoders built into it. Portable players add an LCD screen and speakers/phonejacks. If you want information about Philips CD-I products, you can call these numbers: US: Consumer hotline: 800-845-7301 For nearest store: 800-223-7772 Developers hotline: 800-234-5484 UK: Philips CD-I hotline: 0800-885-885 "Discovering CD-I" is a book available for $45 from: "Discovering CD-I" Microware Systems Corporation 1900 NW 114th Street Des Moines, IA 50325-7077 1-800-475-9000 ========================================================================== 21. What is CD-ROM/XA? CD-ROM/XA is an extension to the Yellow Book Standard. A track on a CD-ROM/XA disc can contain computer data, compressed audio data, and video/picture data. Many CD-ROM drives do not support CD-ROM/XA. CD-ROM/XA extends CD-ROM by adding some of the CD-I disc features (such as using Mode 2 tracks with interleaved compressed-audio and other data). Thus CD-ROM/XA (eXtended Architecture) is often called the "Bridge" format between CD-ROM and CD-I... though the relationship is mostly the sector types. CD-ROM/XA applications still require specific code for each target platform. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- CDROM-XA specifies a `bridge format' so that a CDROM-XA disc can be read on a CD-I player as well as on a PC under MSCDEX (provided that you use a conforming (.SYS) driver. On a normal yellow-book CDROM, a data track contains only mode-1 data sectors. On a CDROM-XA, a (the) data track contains only mode-2 data sectors. A mode-2 sector can be of two formats, form-1 and form-2. A form-1 sector contains 2048 bytes of user data, together with EDC and ECC bytes. A form-2 sector contains 2324 bytes of raw data (e.g. ADPCM audio or video data). If the device driver delivers 2048 bytes of data when MSCDEX asks for it, regardless whether the sector is mode-1 or mode-2/form-1, the PC is CDROM-XA compatible. ========================================================================== 22. What are the Rock Ridge extensions? The Rock Ridge extensions use some undefined fields in the ISO-9660 standard to allow full unix-like filenames, symbolic links, and deep directories. "Rock Ridge" is named after the town in the movie "Blazing Saddles" for no particular reason. To receive a copy of the current version of the Rock Ridge specifications, please contact Bob Niland, e-mail rjn@fc.hp.com, fax 303 229 4545. You can ftp the Rock Ridge specs from cdrom.com: /pub/rockridge. For information on Rock Ridge at Sun, try rrinfo@Eng.Sun.COM or cdgroup@fantasy.eng.sun.com. For information on Unix-based premastering software supporting the Rock Ridge extensions contact: Young Minds Inc. 1910 Orange Tree Lane Suite 300 Redlands, CA 92374 714 335-1350 714 798-0488 FAX yngmnds!ayoung@ucrmath.ucr.edu Rock Ridge is expected to be approved as an ISO standard during the first quarter of 1993. ========================================================================== 23. Is a short technical introduction to these standards available? The file ftp.apple.com(130.43.2.3): /pub/cd-rom/cd-rom.summary gives a short techie introduction to compact disc technology. ---- There is a good short general article on CD-Rom and its's many variations (CD-XA, CD-I, CDTV, PhotoCD) called MULTIMEDIA IN A MUDDLE by Barry Fox in the New Scientist (London, ISSN# 0262-4079) vol. 131 no. 1787 (Sep 21, 1991) pp.35-38 ---- There is a very good article by Bill and Lynne Jolitz "Inside the ISO-9660 Filesystem Format" in the December 1992 Dr. Dobbs Journal. Detailed source code examples are provided. They are planning followup articles covering Rock Ridge, CDI and CDROM-XA. ---- There is a good brief explaination of all these standards in the paper "Compact Disc Terminology" Nancy Klocko Disc Manufacturing Inc. 1409 Foulk Road, Suite 202 Wilmington, DE 19803 1-800-433-DISC Here is some information from the paper: Standards: Red Book == CD-Audio Yellow Book == CD-ROM Mode-1 is for computer data Mode-2 is for compressed audio data and video/picture data CD-ROM/XA == an EXTENSION to Yellow Book and defines a new type of track. CD-ROM Mode 2, XA Format, is used for computer data, compressed audio data, and video/picture data. A CD-ROM / XA track may interleave Mode 2 compressed audio and Mode 2 data sectors. Additional hardware is needed to separate these when playing the disc. The hardware is programmed to separate the audio from the data, decompress the audio and play it out through the audio jacks. At the same time, the hardware passes the data to the computer. NOTE: Additional hardware is needed to play a CD-ROM / XA disc. Several vendors offer an XA interface board that will allow an existing CD-ROM drive to play CD-ROM / XA discs. Green Book == Compact Disc Interactive (CD-I) Orange Book == Recordable Compact disc Standard Part I - CD-MO (Magneto Optical) Consists of optional Pre-Mastered (READ-ONLY) area and a Recordable (re-writable) user area. Part II - CD-WO (Write Once) Orange Book Part II also defines a second type of CD-WO disk called a "Hybrid Disc". This disc consists of a Pre-recorded Area and a Recordable Area. The Pre-recorded area is a READ ONLY area where the information is manufactured into the disc. (This area is written per the Red, Yellow, and Green Book specifications, and can be played on any CD-Player.) The Recordable areas are where additional recordings can be made in one or more sessions. Only the first session on the disc is readable by todays CD-Players; additional software will be needed to read the additional sessions. A TOC (Table of Contents) is written during each recording session. Disc will have multiple TOCs, one for each recording session. Photo-CD is an example of a "Hybrid Disc". CD-Bridge Disc The CD-Bridge Disc defines a way to add additional information in a CD-ROM / XA track in order to allow the track to be played on a CD-I player. the result is a disc that can be played on both a CD-I player connected to a TV set and on a CD-ROM / XA player connected to a computer. An example of a CD-Bridge Disc is the new Photo-CD disc. The Photo-CD disc will be playable in CD-I players, Kodak's Photo CD players and in computers using CD-ROM/XA drives. Photo-CD The Photo CDs will be Mode 2 Form 1 sectors per the CD-ROM / XA specifications. The disc will be written per the Orange Book Part II "Hybrid Disc" specifications. This will allow photographs to be written to the disc in several different sessions. Additionally, the disc will use the CD-Bridge disc format to allow the disc to be readable by both CD-I and CD-ROM / XA players. The photographs written to the disc in the first session will use the ISO 9660 format. These photographs will be readable with the existing CD-ROM / XA players connected to a computer running new software written for the Photo CD picture structure. Additionally, the photographs will be displayable on CD-I Players and Photo CD Players connected to a TV set. Photographs written to disc after the first session will be displayable on CD-I Players and Photo CD players. New software and/or firmware will be needed to read these additional photographs with existing CD-ROM/XA players. ========================================================================== 24. Are there any ftp sites with good stuff related to CD-ROMs? A couple of sites with cdrom related stuff are cdrom.com (192.153.46.254): /pub [ This site is maintained by me. ] cs.uwp.edu (131.210.1.4): /pub/cdrom ========================================================================== 25. How do I write an MSDOS program that can access a cdrom using MSCDEX? The MSCDEX interface documentation is available on the Microsoft Programmer's Library CD-ROM. This also has detailed specifications for drivers that talk to MSCDEX. It even provides solutions to a number of sticky problems. The file mscdex21.zip contains Microsoft's info on how to talk to the CD-ROM extensions (MSCDEX.EXE) and a sample DOS application which is crude but effective in playing audio tracks. This file is available via anonymous ftp from ftp.cica.indiana.edu:/pub/pc/win3/uploads/mscdex21.zip or cdrom.com:/pub/mscdex21.zip. MSCDEX programming information can be found in INTER31?.ZIP. Ralf Brown's interrupt bible. The information is very complete. The interrupt list is available via anonymous ftp from Simtel20 (wsmr-simtel20.army.mil) or from the mirror site wuarchive.wustl.edu: /mirrors/msdos/info/inter31?.zip. There is a book by Ray Duncan (Microsoft Press) detailing all extensions to Dos (XMS, LIM EMS, MSCDEX etc..) which should be available in book stores. The title is "MS-DOS EXTENSIONS" ISBN 1-55615-212-4. ========================================================================== 26. How do I mount an ISO-9660 disc on a Sun? Su to root and run this command, # mount -r -t hsfs /dev/sr0 /cdrom or even better, put the following line in your /etc/fstab /dev/sr0 /cdrom hsfs ro 0 0 and then run # mount /cdrom Don Trimmer, of Delta Microsystems, has written a program that allows safe mount/umount operations without requiring super user permissions. You can get his program by anonymous ftp from cdrom.com:/pub/mount.c ========================================================================== 27. How do I use a cdrom with OS/2? What you need to do to make your cdrom drive work under os/2 is: 1) make a bootable msdos floppy disk which is configured so that you can use the cdrom after booting from this floppy. 2) copy the files fsaccess.sys and fsfilter.sys onto the floppy and then add DEVICE= statements to the CONFIG.SYS for the floppy. 3) copy the floppy disk to the os/2 hard disk using the VDISK command. 4) create an icon with the "boot from drive" option set to the name of the file created by the VDISK command. 5) Click on the icon. ----- OS/2 has builtin support for IBM drives, and for SCSI third party drives. The Sony CDU 541 works well. What you need to do if you don't have one of the supported drives, is use the OS/2 command VMDISK to create a bootable "diskette image" on your hard disk. On the diskette image file, you will copy a CONFIG.SYS file, an AUTOEXEC.BAT, and the drivers you require for your CDROM. This feature allows you use any driver with OS/2. The down side is that you can't access the device in the image box from any OS/2 window. You have to use the bootable image box to copy files back and forth between the image box and any other. If you have one of the supported drives, you can access it from any box. ------- The VMDISK technique is only needed for unsupported, mainly non-SCSI drives. Some unsupported SCSI drives, such as the NEC CDR-84, work fine with OS/2 The only thing to do in order to make some unsupported SCSI CD-ROM drives work (as a data CD-ROM, MM is another problem) is to patch the vendor ID string into \OS2\CDROM.SYS. Simply replace "TOSHIBA " by "NEC ", etc. i.e. with blank-padding to eight characters. This is known to work with NEC and SONY drives. It does not work with some Matsushita (Panasonic) drives. ========================================================================== 28. Which CD-ROM Drives will work with MicroSoft Windows-NT? The Microsoft(R) Windows NT(TM) operating system is designed to support a broad range of hardware. This is a preliminary list of hardware that we have run Windows NT on to date. This is a subset of the hardware we expect to support in the final product. The following hardware has undergone preliminary testing for this release. We have not tested every machine and/or device in all possible configurations. Microsoft makes no warranties express or implied in this document. disk controllers: 100% Register Compatible with WD1003 - ESDI, IDE, WD1003 Compaq Intelligent Drive Array SCSI(R) Adaptec AHA-1540b, AHA-1542b, AHA-1640, AHA-1740 Future Domain TMC-845, TMC-850, TMC-850M(ER), MCS-700 (7), TMC-1660 (7) TMC-1680 (7), TMC-7000EX IBM SCSI Host Adapter (10) Maynard 16 Bit SCSI Adapter (11) NCR 53C700 Olivetti ESC - 1 Adapter Built-in SCSI on MIPS ARC/R4000 systems from : Acer, MIPS and Olivetti CD-ROM devices: CD Technology CD Porta-Drive T-3301 Chinon CDX-431 Denon(R) DRD 253 Hitachi(R) CDR-1750S NEC Intersect CDR-73(M), Intersect CDR-84 Pioneer(R) DRM-600 Sony(R) CDU-541, CDU-6211, CDU-7211 Toshiba XM-3201, TXM-3301 (7) A driver that supports both Setup and File I/O for the Future Domain MCS-700, and TMC-16X0 series controllers will be posted to CompuServe in the WINNT forum, Lib 2 "Fixes and Updates". (10) Earlier versions of this controller have proven to have problems with various CD-Rom drives. The Chinon CDX-431 and NEC Intersect CDR-73 are known to work with this version of controller. (11) The Maynard SCSI Adapter can be used as a general purpose SCSI controller for all tasks but graphical setup. ========================================================================== 29. How do I read an audio cd track as digital data? Most CD-ROM drives cannot decode audio information. There are firmware and data path reasons why it doesn't work. The drive vendors could make drives that allow this feature. There are only two drives with the capability to read audio tracks as date. One is the AppleCD 300, and the other is the CD-ROM drive sold by Silicon Graphics for use with their Indigo workstation. The SGI drive is a modified Toshiba 3301B. Both Sony and Toshiba may support reading audio (red book) CD's on their next generation drives (the dual speed ones), at least, as an option. ========================================================================== 30. Why do CD-ROMs cost so much? Here are several answers, take your pick: A. Because too many people are willing to pay the high prices. B. They are not really very expensive when you consider how much data they contain. Even the most expensive CD-ROMs are often cheaper than the least expensive floppies when you figure the cost per byte. C. Because there isn't enough competition. The prices will come down when more people buy drives, and more CD-ROM titles are available. ========================================================================== 31. Why do all the bundle deals require me to buy a drive? What if I already have a drive? Many disc producers sell outdated or surplus discs at steep discounts to be bundled with new drives. The theory is that the new drive owner will find the discs useful, and order the latest version at full price. There are some bundle deals that do not require you to buy a new drive. For instance, the CD-ROM User's Group (see above) has a bundle of ten discs for $99. ========================================================================== 32. Are alt.cd-rom archives available anywhere? I don't know if there is an ftp site anywhere that archives alt.cd-rom, but you can retrieve old articles via email: For a list of files available, send the message INDEX CDROM-L as the first line of your e-mail message to: LISTSERV@UCCVMA.BITNET or the Internet form of address: LISTSERV@UCCVMA.UCOP.EDU To retrieve an archived message, send the e-mail message GET CDROM-L LOGyymm or SENDME CDROM-L LOGyymm as above where yymm is the year and month of the archive wanted. e.g. LOG9110 = Log of October 91 messages. ========================================================================== 33. What is the shelf-life of a CD-ROM? If a CD-ROM is not manufactured properly, the lifetime can be very short, perhaps only a few years. This can happen if the edge of the disc is not properly sealed, and oxygen reaches the metal surface. If the disc is manufactured properly, it will last a very long time. Most CD-ROMs should last for more than a human lifetime. Philips has proposed new standards for testing CD-ROMs that are expected to result in discs that will enjoy a life span of more than a thousand years. For more information see Fox, Barry "CD Makers Perform in Unison to Stop the Rot" New Scientist 134(1815) (April 4, 1992):19. The laser used in a CD-ROM drive is very low power, and does not harm the disc in any way. Reading the disc will not shorten the lifetime. ========================================================================== 34. How should I handle my CD-ROMs? How do I clean them? The following guidelines represent the current thinking for the care and handling of CD-ROM discs, by a number of CD-ROM disc and drive manufacturers. The validity and usefulness of most of these guidelines have not been substantiated by government testing and therefore are presented for information only. Wash your hands before contact with the disc. If available, wear lint-free cloth gloves, finger cots, or talc-free latex gloves. If you must wipe the disc, do so with a soft, dry, lint-free cloth in a radial motion- that is from the inner to the outer hub- not in a circular motion around the disc like you might do for a phonograph record. The most devastating scratches are those which occur along a radius of the disc which can obscure a long stream of pits. Certain cleaning agents and solvents can damage the discs. Some of these include: gasoline, paint thinners, benzine, acetone, carbon tetrachloride, chlorinated cleaning solvents, ammonia, and household detergents which contain ammonia. Do not clean with a water soaked cloth. The use of Isopropyl alcohol, the ingredient in many commercial CD cleaning products, as well as certain waxes and acrylic liquids, is still questionable. Do not clean the label side of the disc. Use of a CD-ROM caddy is highly recommended during transport and operation. Limit the amount of physical contact with the disc. Always handle the disc by the outer edge and/or the inner (hole) edge. Never touch the data surface. Discs like to "live" in the same conditions that people do; that is: They don't like to be manhandled They don't like exposure to temperature extremes They don't like exposure to excess humidity They don't like exposure to high intensity UV light Ron Kushnier, Chairman Compact Disc- Reliability & Integrity of Media Working Group of The Special Interest Group on CD-ROM Applications and Technology Code 5053 Naval Air Warfare Center Warminster, PA. 18974 (215) 441-1624 FAX (215) 441-7271 ========================================================================== 35. Which drives will work with Kodak Photo CD? According to Kodak, the following drives are compatible: Magnavox CDD461 Sony CDU-6205 CDU-535 NEC CDR-73 CDR-37 The NEC CDR-83 is probably OK, too, but there are problems with the NEC CDR-74 and CDR-84 drives. To view more than just the first recorded session, you need a multisession drive. Apparently these drives are single session only. ========================================================================== 36. What is a multisession CD drive? A CD has an "index" area which contains track details; this is what is read when you first stick an audio CD into a player. Photo-CDs have a separate index area each time they are written (because it is impossible to "update" the index area). A multisession drive is one that knows to look for multiple index areas. The full details are contained in the Philips/Sony/Kodak "Orange Book" standard for writable CDs. The issues of CD-WO and how multsessions are recorded are addressed in the European Computer Manufacture Association (ECMA) new standard ECMA 168, which became a standard in June of this year. The title of the standard is "Volume and File Structure of Read-Only and Write-Once Compact Disc Media for Information Interchange". This standard expands upon the ISO-9660 CD-ROM standard. ========================================================================== 37. How does Photo CD work? In a nut shell, 35mm film (negative, slide, B&W, internegative) is scanned by an image scanner and transfered to XA-formatted CD-ROM discs. These discs are manufactured by burning (writing) -- not by pressing. Each scanned image on the disc is kept in five resolutions. These five resolutions are called: Base/16, Base/4, Base, 4Base, and 16Base. As examples, Base/16 is one sixteenth the resolution of the "Base" image, and 16Base is sixteen times the resolution of "Base". (These are not simply larger picture elements. There are in increased number of scan lines.) The 4Base and 16Base images are are compressed using Huffman encoding. You need the decompression software to pull the higher resolutions out of the image. You would typically need these higher resolutions if you want enlargements or if you intend to use an HDTV as a display device. ========================================================================== 38. Where can I get some information about the Kodak Photo CD? To learn more about Photo CD products or other KODAK desktop color imaging products, contact Eastman Kodak Company at 1-800-242-2424 Ext 51 or 716-724-1021, ext. 53.