Quick links
Introduction
Examples
Common mistakes
Common questions
Autoexec/config page
CD-ROM help page
Introduction
This page contains additional information on how to get your computer CD-ROM properly detected and working from a MS-DOS prompt and Windows 3.x. Below is a listing of the major disc drive manufacturers and their related driver files. If you're running Windows 95 or later get your drivers from our disc drivers section.
Examples
For a CD-ROM drive to properly work in MS-DOS
and Windows 3.x, it is required that the CD-ROM drivers be loaded in the Autoexec.bat
and Config.sys. Below are examples of the format of how the drivers should be loading in your autoexec.bat and config.sys. Below is an example of a line used to load the NEC CD-ROM drive.
AUTOEXEC.BAT:
LOADHIGH=C:\Windows\COMMAND\MSCDEX.EXE /D:MSCD001
CONFIG.SYS:
DEVICEHIGH=C:\CD-ROM\NEC_IDE.SYS /D:MSCD001
Although the above is not exactly what the autoexec.bat and config.sys is supposed to look like, it will allow us to point out the below important factors.
- First and foremost, you do not want a space between the LOADHIGH or DEVICEHIGH, these are one word.
- Second, when using LOADHIGH
and DEVICEHIGH ensure you have the = immediately following these statements.
- Third, the MSCDEX line in the autoexec.bat may be in C:\DOS instead of C:\Windows\COMMAND.
- Fourth, the /D: MSCD0001 is the device name not the driver; this can be anything as long as the name matches what is in the config.sys as shown above. If these names do not match, your CD-ROM drive will not load.
- Finally, the NEC_IDE.SYS as shown in the above example is the name of the driver; this name can be anything and located anywhere. Ensure it is pointing to the appropriate location.
Common mistakes
REM
Occasionally, Windows or other software programs may place REM in front of the CD-ROM lines within either the autoexec.bat or the config.sys. This tells the computer to skip this line as the computer is booting. Ensure that this is not in front of your CD-ROM lines.
2 or more lines
Some programs or operating systems may load the CD-ROM drive line in your autoexec.bat or config.sys more than once, causing either a confliction or the improper driver to be loaded. Ensure that you only have one line loading.
LOADHIGH
and DEVICEHIGH
Mistakenly a user or a program may place the LOADHIGH command with a space within the line. If there is a space in between this, the computer will not load this line. The same goes for the DEVICEHIGH statement.
No high memory
If you are using the LOADHIGH or DEVICEHIGH statements, ensure that your computer is loading the memory manager (EMM386.exe and HIMEM.SYS).
Second, if the high memory managers are being loaded, ensure that you have enough memory to load these devices into the high memory portion of your memory.
You should receive a memory error message if not enough memory is available.
Additional switches
Some CD-ROM manufacturers may place additional switches on the CD-ROM lines while these lines may sometimes be needed for the CD-ROM to work properly; these lines may cause the CD-ROM to not load or cause an error with other drivers causing the CD-ROM drive not to load properly. If you have extra switches on either line, attempt to temporarily remove these lines to see if the CD-ROM works.
Hardware issues
While these lines may be loading properly, it could be a possibility that your CD-ROM is not working because of a hardware issue with the drive itself. Ensure that you have reviewed are CD-ROM section for possible CD-ROM troubleshooting steps and information.
Common questions
Where can I locate MSCD0001 or MSCD001?
MSCD0001 is not a driver, it is a common name of the driver. What this means is once the driver loads successfully, it will name the driver; so when MSCDEX is loading, it will look for MSCD0001 or the name of the driver instead of attempting to guess. The driver for your CD-ROM is dependent on what CD-ROM drive you have in the computer. Some of the most common driver names are located in DIFFERENT TYPES OF CD-ROM DRIVERS
Where can I get the driver for my CD-ROM?
Visit our hardware download section to obtain a generic CD-ROM driver (oakcdrom.sys) and mscdex.exe if needed. These are files used with earlier versions of Windows (Windows 95 and Windows 3.x) as well as MS-DOS.
If you are looking for a specific driver for your CD-ROM drive or a Firmware update,
see the CD-ROM driver page.
I am getting the error 'Not enough drive letters available' after loading the CD-ROM drivers, why?
This is usually caused by either the LASTDRIVE missing or not specifying enough letters for the CD-ROM to load within. Within your config.sys, add LASTDRIVE=Z before the CD-ROM driver line. |
