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ATA-ATAPI.COM does not provide technical support for ATA
or ATAPI products.
ATA-ATAPI.COM does not provide OS device drivers for ATA
or ATAPI products.
ATA-ATAPI.COM does not provide firmware updates for ATA or
ATAPI products.
ATA-ATAPI.COM does not manufacture ATA or ATAPI devices.
ATA-ATAPI.COM does not sell hardware or OS device
drivers.
This is the ONLY advice we can offer to you if you need OS device drivers for an ATAPI (CD, DVD, etc) device. DO NOT send email to ATA-ATAPI.COM asking us to supply the OS device drivers you need... Your email will be ignored!
First, this page is mostly for Win9x/ME/NT/2K users.
Second, why do you think you need a new or updated OS driver? If your CD or DVD device comforms to the 8+ year old ATA/ATAPI and SCSI MMC standards then you should not need new or updated OS drivers. The standard drivers that come with Windows should work just fine.
Please read each of the sections below and follow the appropriate instructions. Do not send an email to ATA-ATAPI.COM... Your email will be ignored!
Here is the quick summary of this page for those of you that do not want to take the time to read the entire page...
You have purchased a defective device *IF* you did not receive the following information with the device:
1: Installation and jumper setting instructions.
2: A floppy containing the appropriate OS drivers, OR, documentation describing where and how the appropriate drivers can be obtained.
If you do not have this information then... You have purchased a defective device... Return it to the location where it was purchased.
You have purchased a new ATAPI CD or DVD device for you system... Before you install that device do this:
1: Read the label on the device... Does it describe the device's jumper configuration? OR, read the documentation that came with the device... Does it describe the device's jumper configuration? If you can not find the jumper configuration information then... You have purchased a defective device... Return it to the location where it was purchased.
2: Read the label on the device or read the documentation that came with the device... Do you see information explaining where you will find the OS drivers for this device? OR, was a floppy diskette packaged with the device and does that floppy diskette contain this information and/or the OS driver files? If your new device conforms to the 8+ year old ATA/ATAPI and SCSI MMC standards then you should not need any new OS drivers for Windows... Windows should recognize and use the device without any problems. However... If you follow the steps below AND then you find that you need new or updated drivers AND: a) you can not get the OS driver information from the location where the drive was purchased, or b) you can not find the OS driver information at the device manufacturer's web site then... You have purchased a defective device... Return it to the location where it was purchased.
Follow the installation instructions you received with the device and install the device into your system.
The next time you boot your system the BIOS and Windows should recognize the device and install or update the appropriate OS drivers.
If your new device now works with your favorite applications then you are done.
If you do not have the requried OS driver files OR your device does not work then continue reading below and find the section that best describes your problem.
The motherboard BIOS did not recognize the new device. Do this:
1: Check the power and signal cables... Are they properly installed?
2: Check the device's jumpers... Are they properly set?
3: Check the BIOS setup... Is the ATA/IDE channel for the device enabled? If the BIOS has an automatic ATA/IDE device detection option you may want to try it.
If the BIOS still does not recognize the device you need better help than this web site can give you. You should seek technical support from the location where you purchased the device or from the manufacturer of the device. The worst case is this... The device is defective... Return it to the location where it was purchased.
If the BIOS recognizes the device but Windows does not recognize the device then either: a) the device probably does not comply with the 10+ year old ATA/ATAPI and SCSI MMC standards (therefore it is defective), or b) some software bug in the OS drivers exists.
You may be able to get updated Windows drivers via the Microsoft web site or via the "automatic update feature" found in some versions of Windows.
The worst case is this... Return the device to the location where it was purchased and get a different device that is known to work with your version of Windows.
You find that you need a new or updated OS driver for you DOS based OS installation or OS recovery diskette. That diskette, normally a bootable DOS diskette, needs two driver files in order for DOS to recognize a CD device.
Before you continue, make sure the BIOS recognizes the device (see above).
Your DOS diskette will require the following:
1: The appropriate *.SYS drive file for you CD or DVD device. You may find this file (ATAPICD.SYS, OAKCDROM.SYS, IDECD.SYS, etc) in the "\windows\command" directory on a Win9x system. If you did not receive this file when you purchased the device, or, if you are unable to find this file at the device manufacturer's web site then... You have purchased a defective device... Return it to the location where it was purchased.
2: The diskette must have a CONFIG.SYS file that includes the line "DEVICE=xxx.SYS yyy" where xxx is the name of the device specific *.SYS file and yyy are the appropriate options for the OS driver file. You will also need the documentation describing the command line options used by this driver. If you can not find this documentation then ... You have purchased a defective device... Return it to the location where it was purchased.
3: The MSCDEX.EXE file. You may be able to find this file in the "\windows\command" directory on a Win9x system. But you should be able to find this file at the same location where you found the *.SYS file. If you can not find this file then... You have purchased a defective device... Return it to the location where it was purchased.
4: The diskette must have a AUTOEXEC.BAT file that includes the line "MSCDEX yyy" where yyy are the appropriate options for your device. You should have received documentation for how to set up MSCDEX in the *.SYS file documentation. If not, search around on the Internet for MSCDEX and you will find several sites with good information and documentation on MSCDEX.
The best advice or suggestion at this point is this... You have purchased a defective device... It is defective because it is broken OR it did not come with the required documetation OR it does not comform to the 8+ year old ATA/ATAPI and SCSI MMC standards... Return it to the location where it was purchased and get a device that is known to operate with your OS and your favorite applications.
Page updated 30 Mar 2008.