CD drive question

  • Thread starter Thread starter Mxsmanic
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Mxsmanic

Is there any way to keep my CD-R and DVD drives from winding up every
time I open Windows Explorer? What makes Windows decide to start the
drives? They take 10 seconds to wind up (sounding like a jet engine
the whole time), and Windows won't expand a file tree until they come
up to speed. There must be some way to turn this off. I don't think
it's a hardware issue.
 
If its only ten seconds what does it matter?
Click to expand...

it's annoying and disrupts workflow.

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Mxsmanic said:
Is there any way to keep my CD-R and DVD drives from winding up every
time I open Windows Explorer? What makes Windows decide to start the
drives? They take 10 seconds to wind up (sounding like a jet engine
the whole time), and Windows won't expand a file tree until they come
up to speed. There must be some way to turn this off. I don't think
it's a hardware issue.
Click to expand...

download TweakUI (google for it),

run TeakUI

go to My Computer, Drives,

untick your CD and DVD drives hit OK.

simple

dj
 
Is there any way to keep my CD-R and DVD drives from winding up every
time I open Windows Explorer? What makes Windows decide to start the
drives? They take 10 seconds to wind up (sounding like a jet engine
the whole time), and Windows won't expand a file tree until they come
up to speed. There must be some way to turn this off. I don't think
it's a hardware issue.
Click to expand...

Take the CDs/DVDs out?
 
If its only ten seconds what does it matter?
Click to expand...

A great many programs open an Explorer tree to find files, browse for
a file, etc., so it matters a great deal.
 
Shep© said:
Take the CDs/DVDs out?
Click to expand...
* Click Start, click Run, type GPEDIT.MSC to open Group Policy in
the Microsoft Management Console.
* Double-click Computer Configuration, double-click Administrative
templates, double-click System, and then click Turnoff autoplay.
* The instructions on your screen describe how to configure this
setting. Click Properties to display the setting dialog.
* Click Enabled, and choose CD-ROM drives, then click OK, to stop
CD autoplay.
Graham
 
Mxsmanic said:
Is there any way to keep my CD-R and DVD drives from winding up every
time I open Windows Explorer?
Click to expand...

Empty them.
What makes Windows decide to start the
drives?
Click to expand...

Because when there's something in them there's something to 'explore'.
 
A great many programs open an Explorer tree to find files, browse for
a file, etc., so it matters a great deal.
Click to expand...

Set up a server with the drives in it, networked.

Leave the CDs out of the box, access them virtually with
something like Daemon Tools or VirtualCD, etc. Daemon Tools
is among the best at doing so, but maybe someone knows of
one even better?
 
Shep© said:
Take the CDs/DVDs out?
Click to expand...

The CDs have to be loaded for the two games I have. It's a lot of
trouble to dig them out and load the CD drives each time I want to
play the games, and I don't use the drives often for anything else, so
I prefer to just leave the CDs there.
 
kony said:
Set up a server with the drives in it, networked.

Leave the CDs out of the box, access them virtually with
something like Daemon Tools or VirtualCD, etc. Daemon Tools
is among the best at doing so, but maybe someone knows of
one even better?
Click to expand...

The games that reference these CDs check to ensure that they are
indeed inserted in local drives.
 
graham said:
* Click Start, click Run, type GPEDIT.MSC to open Group Policy in
the Microsoft Management Console.
* Double-click Computer Configuration, double-click Administrative
templates, double-click System, and then click Turnoff autoplay.
* The instructions on your screen describe how to configure this
setting. Click Properties to display the setting dialog.
* Click Enabled, and choose CD-ROM drives, then click OK, to stop
CD autoplay.
Click to expand...

Autoplay is already turned off.
 
The games that reference these CDs check to ensure that they are
indeed inserted in local drives.
Click to expand...


Is that just a theory about why it wouldn't work or have you
actually tried it? I rip games to ISOs to play without the
disc whenever possible.. hate fooling with CD/DVD/etc when
it can be avoided. Occasionally "whenever possible" means
finding a no-cd crack though that's typically when the
entire game installs to the HDD and it only checks the CD
just to confirm you have it.

FWIW, soon Daemon Tools v.4 will be released, should be even
better at emulation at that point.
 
kony said:
Is that just a theory about why it wouldn't work or have you
actually tried it?
Click to expand...

There are entries in the knowledge base for the games that say they
may crash if an attempt is made to get around a local, physical drive.
 
The CDs have to be loaded for the two games I have. It's a lot of
trouble to dig them out and load the CD drives each time I want to
play the games, and I don't use the drives often for anything else, so
I prefer to just leave the CDs there.
Click to expand...

Ah!Now you tell us<grin> :)
Click here,
http://www.gamecopyworld.com/
 
There are entries in the knowledge base for the games that say they
may crash if an attempt is made to get around a local, physical drive.
Click to expand...

Well... that sounds sufficiently vague enough that it is
worthless for making any determination. Just throw in the
disc and rip it to one of the Daemon Tool's supported
formats. I don't recall the entire list of formats though
but Google for their 'site, it should list them.
 
kony said:
Well... that sounds sufficiently vague enough that it is
worthless for making any determination. Just throw in the
disc and rip it to one of the Daemon Tool's supported
formats. I don't recall the entire list of formats though
but Google for their 'site, it should list them.
Click to expand...

That's a lot more trouble than I want to go to, and I generally
conform to vendor requirements for use of licensed software, so if
they need the CD in the drive, I'll keep it there (although these
games are so inexpensive that I wonder why anyone would pirate them to
begin with).

I used TweakUI to remove the drives from Explorer. I hardly ever
examine the CD drives directly so I don't really need them in Explorer
most of the time.
 
That's a lot more trouble than I want to go to, and I generally
conform to vendor requirements for use of licensed software, so if
they need the CD in the drive, I'll keep it there (although these
games are so inexpensive that I wonder why anyone would pirate them to
begin with).
Click to expand...

Hmm, OK. I usually make it a point to rip any
copy-protected CD because it pisses me off when they
restrict fair-use and when they expect paying customers to
have to mess with a CD just so THEY don't have to deal with
as many piracy occurances. I'd rather they just used unique
installation verification key or something like that that
had to be confirmed every time the game ran- but there are
potential problems with that approach too.

It's not a lot of trouble though, just pop the CD in once
and rip it while you get on with other work. More trouble
to wait on a CD access or explorer access, or have to
shuffle around discs when you need the drive for something
else, IMO.


I used TweakUI to remove the drives from Explorer. I hardly ever
examine the CD drives directly so I don't really need them in Explorer
most of the time.
Click to expand...


How do you install anything, using "autorun"? I won't want
that as allowing a disc to run by itself removes a layer of
protection, if a disc had a virus or that disc decides to
install some kind of cripping feature (like some audio CDs)
that's meant for (interferes with?) not only that disc's
contents but anything else you could be doing on the system.
 
kony said:
Hmm, OK. I usually make it a point to rip any
copy-protected CD because it pisses me off when they
restrict fair-use and when they expect paying customers to
have to mess with a CD just so THEY don't have to deal with
as many piracy occurances.
Click to expand...

I don't see how fair use enters the picture here.

It's reasonable to require some sort of token on the PC to prevent a
program from being used illegally. I just question the wisdom of
making the token a CD or a dongle. Dongles are extremely irritating.
I'd rather they just used unique installation verification
key or something like that that had to be confirmed every
time the game ran- but there are potential problems with
that approach too.
Click to expand...

The problem is, short of burning a custom CD for every customer who
buys a program, there's no way to protect it other than to examine
some sort of hardware token that cannot be forged. Even then, the
program must either have special OS privileges of its own that allow
it to directly interrogate hardware (extremely unwise and dangerous)
or it must run on a trusted platform that will allow it to interact
with tokens and will prohibit spoofing. Neither of these is really an
acceptable solution.
How do you install anything, using "autorun"?
Click to expand...

I have to make the drive visible in Explorer again, then double-click
on the setup program on the CD. I have autorun disabled because I
don't like to have anything that runs without me explicitly asking it
to run.
I won't want that as allowing a disc to run by itself removes a layer of
protection, if a disc had a virus or that disc decides to
install some kind of cripping feature (like some audio CDs)
that's meant for (interferes with?) not only that disc's
contents but anything else you could be doing on the system.
Click to expand...

I agree. Games are notorious for that, and even some professional
software that should know better (such as Adobe's CS suite of
products) do such things. I consider that vandalism.

I noticed something strange yesterday. In both Microsoft Train
Simulator and SimCity 4 Rush Hour, I see the _same_ mysterious splash
screen, with a picture of a bridge on it, before the games actually
run. I suspect it's some sort of security mechanism but I don't know
how it works. What really worries me is that I don't know what it has
installed. I don't like having things installed behind my back.
 
I don't see how fair use enters the picture here.
Click to expand...

I buy a game with the expectation to be able to use it for
it's intended purpose- the code to play a game. I don't
agree beforehand to do *anything* the box doesn't clearly
disclose. I can't just return games after disagreeing with
a EULA because most retailers won't accept returns for
refund. Their copy protection interferes with my desired
use of the product.
It's reasonable to require some sort of token on the PC to prevent a
program from being used illegally. I just question the wisdom of
making the token a CD or a dongle. Dongles are extremely irritating.
Click to expand...

So are CDs, it's a subjective call. Also subjective is
whether it's reasonable to require some sort of token if
they can't implement it any better. Good ideas only remain
good if they can be executed well.

The problem is, short of burning a custom CD for every customer who
buys a program, there's no way to protect it other than to examine
some sort of hardware token that cannot be forged. Even then, the
program must either have special OS privileges of its own that allow
it to directly interrogate hardware (extremely unwise and dangerous)
or it must run on a trusted platform that will allow it to interact
with tokens and will prohibit spoofing. Neither of these is really an
acceptable solution.
Click to expand...

I agree with this, but only until it means several pieces of
software require additional bits of hardware or discs. It's
not a reasonable solution (IMO) on a PC which is meant to
run multiple things... most of those things presumably
licensed. We can't very welll extend excuses for game
developers that don't extend to ALL software, and people
definitely don't want to have to fool with a disc every time
they (run the OS, or office, or whatever-else).

I have to make the drive visible in Explorer again, then double-click
on the setup program on the CD. I have autorun disabled because I
don't like to have anything that runs without me explicitly asking it
to run.


I agree. Games are notorious for that, and even some professional
software that should know better (such as Adobe's CS suite of
products) do such things. I consider that vandalism.
Click to expand...

.... or simply "unauthorized use of a system", since we don't
agree to let a product do *whatever some coder decides they
want to do* rather than only that expected per the core /
described software function.
I noticed something strange yesterday. In both Microsoft Train
Simulator and SimCity 4 Rush Hour, I see the _same_ mysterious splash
screen, with a picture of a bridge on it, before the games actually
run. I suspect it's some sort of security mechanism but I don't know
how it works. What really worries me is that I don't know what it has
installed. I don't like having things installed behind my back.
Click to expand...

If they rquire the game CD, I'd expect they simply check it,
are just an overbloated way of implementing that. Probably
some registry keys or hidden files too, but since those
things are more easily reproducible, are then less
significant.
 
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