The Linux CD-ROM HOWTO

Jeff Tranter

tranter at pobox.com

v1.17, 18 July 2001

Revision History
Revision 1.17	2001-07-18	Revised by: jjt
Merged in some questions from the no longer maintained ATAPI/IDE CD-ROM FAQ by Mathew Kirsch. Added note on the Red Hat 7.1 DMA issue.
Revision 1.16	2001-07-16	Revised by: jjt
Relicensed under the GFDL.
Revision 1.15	2001-05-11	Revised by: jjt

This document describes how to install, configure, and use CD-ROM drives under Linux. It lists the supported hardware and answers a number of frequently asked questions. The intent is to bring new users up to speed quickly and reduce the amount of traffic in the Usenet news groups and mailing lists.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction

1.1. Acknowledgments
1.2. New Versions Of This Document
1.3. Feedback
1.4. Distribution Policy

2. CD-ROM Technology

3. Supported Hardware

3.1. ATAPI CD-ROM Drives
3.2. SCSI CD-ROM Drives
3.3. Proprietary CD-ROM Drives
3.4. Parallel Port Drives
3.5. PCMCIA Drives
3.6. USB CD-ROM Drives

4. Installation

4.1. Installing the Hardware
4.2. Configuring and Building the Kernel
4.3. Creating Device Files and Setting Boot Time Parameters
4.4. Booting the Linux Kernel
4.5. Mounting, Unmounting, and Ejecting Devices
4.6. Troubleshooting

5. Applications

5.1. Audio CD Players
5.2. PhotoCD
5.3. Mkisofs
5.4. ISO-9660 Utilities

6. Answers to Frequently Asked Questions

6.1. How can a non-root user mount and unmount discs?
6.2. Why do I get device is busy when unmounting a CD-ROM?
6.3. How do I export a CD-ROM to other hosts over NFS?
6.4. Can I boot Linux from a CD-ROM?
6.5. How can I read digital data from audio CDs?
6.6. Why doesn't the find command work properly?
6.7. Does Linux support any recordable CD-ROM drives?
6.8. Why do I get mount: Read-only file system when mounting a CD-ROM?
6.9. Why does the disc tray open when I shut down the system?
6.10. I have a "special" CD that can't be mounted
6.11. Do multi-platter CD-ROM drives work with Linux?
6.12. I get "/cdrom: Permission denied" errors
6.13. How do I interpret IDE CD kernel error messages?
6.14. How can I tell what speed CD-ROM I have?
6.15. My CD-ROM stopped working after Linux was installed
6.16. There are "hidden" files on a CD which I can't read
6.17. Where is the CD-ROM API documented?
6.18. Why don't I see long filenames on this Windows CD-ROM?
6.19. Is Microsoft's Joliet filesystem supported?
6.20. Does Linux support "enhanced" CDs?
6.21. Does Linux support DVD-ROM?
6.22. Does Linux support CD-RW?
6.23. How do I mount a multi-session disc?
6.24. How do I read a CD volume label?
6.25. My IDE CD-R or CD-RW drive is not working with Linux
6.26. Is the insert your brand/model here IDE CD-ROM drive supported?
6.27. I can't seem to find a driver for my IDE drive in the kernel source?
6.28. I'm having problems with my CD-ROM on Red Hat 7.1

7. References