Most optical drives today are combo CD/DVD drives that support DVDs and all the CD formats: CD audio, CD-ROM, CD-R and CD-RW. The speeds of the drives are rated by their CD-ROM and DVD transfer rates.

You have it way easier these days, but back in the day, when you wanted to play a game on your PC, you had to take a similar ...

Optical drives no longer come pre-installed in most PCs and laptops, yet they’re still indispensable for many users. Whether for playing old DVDs, installing ancient software from CDs, or burning data ...

Optical drives are still practical for many users, whether to play old CDs and DVDs, install software, or create backups—especially with modern laptops, which are usually supplied without a drive.

A CD-ROM drive can be used as a stand-alone unit for playing digital audio CDs without interfacing with a computer. The stereo output of CD player available at the audio jack can be amplified using ...

ok, I got a Sony VAIO SR laptop(the kind without a floppy or CD drive built in) <P>I'm a pretty big fan of roller coaster tycoon, star craft and UT. Unfortunately all of them ask for the install CD ...

it'll wear out just as fast as a cdrom drive will. there are different lasers for reading and writing (I'm 75% sure on this one) <BR><BR>oh, and pc world has not been a good source for about the last ...

When you’re troubleshooting your computer or installing a new operating system, you may need to “boot from a disc” or USB device (like an external hard drive or flash drive). Here’s what that ...

Mac desktop and MacBook owners are used to living without a CD or DVD drive, but there are occasions where access to one could be handy. AppleInsider explains how to remotely access the CD or DVD ...

In the era of digital streaming, the market is full of wireless speakers that will play content from your smartphone or pull it down from the Internet directly over WiFi. But if you’re feeling a bit ...

A cable used to send audio CD sound to the computer's sound card. When playing audio CDs, CD-ROM drives output analog sound to both a headphone jack and external connector just like a CD player. This ...

The last Apple Mac to ship with an optical CD or DVD drive was a 13in MacBook Pro, originally released in June 2012, but on sale until October 2016, when Apple discontinued that model, more ...