Windows 2000 Bugs & Fixes

CD-ROM Changer Mapped as Single Drive Letter in Windows 2000

The information in this article applies to:

• Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server
• Microsoft Windows 2000 Datacenter Server
• Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional
• Microsoft Windows 2000 Server

SUMMARY

After you install or upgrade your computer to Windows 2000, there is only a single drive letter for your ATAPI CD-ROM changer. Windows 2000 uses Removable Storage Manager (RSM) to mount, dismount, and manage all removable media. This includes discs contained in ATAPI CD-ROM changers that hold several CD-ROMs. This type of device receives only a single drive letter in Windows 2000.

The way Windows 2000 handles removable media is different from the way Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 and earlier versions handle removable media. This type of device in Windows NT 4.0 has a separate drive letter for each piece of media the device is capable of managing and swaps media automatically as each drive letter is used.

MORE INFORMATION

The management of media was offloaded from the individual device or program to RSM to facilitate sharing devices and media between programs and users. RSM can handle large tape libraries or CD-ROM jukeboxes, and keeps track of device status, media requests from programs, and media usage.

Unfortunately, these types of stand-alone CD-ROM changers do not lend themselves well to being managed in this way and require manual mounting and dismounting of discs into the single drive letter displayed in My Computer or Windows Explorer before you can use the disc.

If the CD-ROM changer hardware you have installed is fully supported by Windows 2000, each disc that is in the CD-ROM changer is mounted, read, and cataloged under the Import media pool.

If the installed CD-ROM changer device is not on the Windows 2000 Hardware Compatibility List (HCL) or is not detected as a changer device, you see only a single disc under the Import media pool, even if you have multiple discs physically loaded in the CD-ROM changer. Using the Computer Management (Compmgmt.msc) console, under Storage - Removable Storage, you should see the individual CD-ROM labels or titles for each disc recognized by RSM under:

   Media Pools

      Import

         CD-ROM (displays media label names and current library name)

Additionally, these same labels are displayed within that device's media library along with the slot location so you can choose to mount or dismount the appropriate disc. The drives also display which disc is currently loaded from the media library. You can view this information under:

   Physical Locations

      [DEVICE_NAME] (physical device CD-ROM changer library)

         Media      (displays media label name, slot number,

                    and drive number information)

         Drives     (displays drive[s], loaded media, and state)

From either of the above two locations, you can choose to mount or dismount any given disc. This is accomplished by right-clicking the disc you want to use, and then clicking Mount. Once mounted into the drive, RSM allows access to it by using the assigned drive letter or mount point for that device.

You can use the RSM.EXE command to mount CD-ROM changer discs by creating a batch file. You can modify the following sample batch file to fit your CD-ROM changer's characteristics:

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