CD-ROM discs are read using CD-ROM drives. A CD-ROM drive may be connected to the computer via an IDE (ATA), SCSI, S-ATA, Firewire, or USB interface or a proprietary interface, such as the Panasonic CD interface. Virtually all modern CD-ROM drives can also play audio CDs as well as Video CDs and other data standards when used in conjunction with the right software.
CD-ROM drive can sometimes be a misnomer for newer drives that are capable for reading and burning DVDs, the CD's successor which is now the standard optical disc drive.
Laser optics
CD-ROM drives employ a near-infrared 780 nm laser diode. The laser beam is directed onto the disc via an opto-electronic tracking module, which then detects whether the beam has been reflected or scattered.
Transfer rates
If a CD-ROM is read at the same rotational speed as an audio CD, the data transfer rate is 150 KiB/s, commonly referred to as "1×". At this data rate, the track moves along under the laser spot at about 1.2 m/s. To maintain this linear velocity as the optical head moves to different positions, the angular velocity is varied from 500 rpm at the inner edge to 200 rpm at the outer edge. By increasing the speed at which the disc is spun, data can be transferred at greater rates. For example, a CD-ROM drive that can read at 8× speed spins the disc at 1600 to 4000 rpm, giving a linear velocity of 9.6 m/s and a transfer rate of 1200 KiB/s. Above 12× speed most drives read at Constant angular velocity (CAV, constant rpm) so that the motor is not made to change from one speed to another as the head seeks from place to place on the disc. In CAV mode the "×" number denotes the transfer rate at the outer edge of the disc, where it is a maximum. 20× was thought to be the maximum speed due to mechanical constraints until Samsung Electronics introduced the SCR-3230, a 32x CD-ROM drive which uses a ball bearing system to balance the spinning disc in the drive to reduce vibration and noise. As of 2004, the fastest transfer rate commonly available is about 52× or 10,400 rpm and 7.62 MiB/s. Higher spin speeds are limited by the strength of the polycarbonate plastic of which the discs are made. At 52×, the linear velocity of the outermost part of the disk is around 65 m/s. However, improvements can still be obtained by the use of multiple laser pickups as demonstrated by the Kenwood TrueX 72× which uses seven laser beams and a rotation speed of approximately 10×.
CD-Recordable drives are often sold with three different speed ratings, one speed for write-once operations, one for re-write operations, and one for read-only operations. The speeds are typically listed in that order; i.e. a 12×/10×/32× CD drive can, CPU and media permitting, write to CD-R discs at 12× speed (1.76 MiB/s), write to CD-RW discs at 10× speed (1.46 MiB/s), and read from CD discs at 32× speed (4.69 MiB/s).
The 1× speed rating for CD-ROM (150 KiB/s) is different than the 1× speed rating for DVDs (1.32 MiB/s).
A view of a CD-ROM drive's disassembled laser system.
The laser system of a CD Drive.
Common data transfer speeds for CD-ROM drives
DVD DRIVE TECHNOLOGY
DVD uses 650 nm wavelength laser diode light as opposed to 780 nm for CD. This permits a smaller pit to be etched on the media surface compared to CDs (0.74 µm for DVD versus 1.6 µm for CD), allowing for a DVD's increased storage capacity.
Writing speeds for DVD were 1×, that is, 1350 kB/s (1,318 KiB/s), in the first drives and media models. More recent models, at 18× or 20×, have 18 or 20 times that speed. Note that for CD drives, 1× means 150 KiB/s (153.6 kB/s), approximately one ninth as fast
DVD DRIVE SPEEDS
Internal mechanism of a DVD-ROM Drive
Internal mechanism of a drive
This mechanism is shown right side up; the disc is above it. The laser and optical system "looks at" the underside of the disc.
Referring to the photo, just to the right of image center is the disc spin motor, a gray cylinder, with its gray centering hub and black resilient drive ring on top. A clamp (not in the photo, retained in the drive's cover), pulled down by a magnet, clamps the disc when this mechanism rises, after the disc tray stops moving inward.
This motor has an external rotor – every part of it that you can see spins.
The gray metal chassis is shock-mounted at its four corners to reduce sensitivity to external shocks, and to reduce drive noise when running fast. The soft shock mount grommets are just below the brass-colored washers at the four corners (the left one is obscured). Running through those grommets are screws to fasten them to the black plastic frame that's underneath.
Two parallel precision guide rods that run between upper left and lower right in the photo carry the "sled", the moving optical read-write head. As shown, this "sled" is close to, or at the position where it reads or writes at the edge of the disc.
A dark gray disc with two holes on opposite sides has a blue lens surrounded by silver-colored metal. This is the lens that's closest to the disc; it serves to both read and write by focusing the laser light to a very small spot. It's likely that this disc rotates half a turn to position a different set of optics (the other "hole") for CDs vs. DVDs.
Under the disc is an ingenious actuator comprising permanent magnets and coils that move the lens up and down to maintain focus on the data layer. As well, the actuator moves the lens slightly toward and away from the spin-motor spindle to keep the spot on track. Both focus and tracking are relatively quite fast and very precise. The same actuator rotates the lens mount half.a turn as described.
To select tracks (or files) as well as advancing the "sled" during continuous read or write operations, a stepping motor rotates a coarse-pitch leadscrew to move the "sled" throughout its total travel range. The motor, itself, is the gray cylinder just to the left of the most-distant shock mount; its shaft is parallel to the support rods. The leadscrew, itself, is the rod with evenly-spaced darker details; these are the helical groove that engages a pin on the "sled".
The irregular orange material is flexible etched copper foil supported by thin sheet plastic; these are "flexible printed circuits" that connect everything to the electronics (which is not shown).
Repairing CD/DVD Drives
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