[RESOLVED] Why is my CD-ROM's current speed not its max?

[David Laney]

I have an Emachine 400i2 desktop computer running Windows 98 (1st ed.). My computer came new with an internal Samsung IDE CD-ROM drive (model SCR-3232). The nominal max speed of this drive is 32x, but through testing with diagnostic software, I have discovered that the current speed at which the drive is set is always 20x, whether the drive is idle or reading a disk. I would like to set the drive to read at its max speed of 32x, and in an effort to do this, I have tried unsuccessfully to use a certain speed-setting utility program--CD-ROM Tool by Naiobrin Software. My questions about this problem are: Is this discrepancy between the advertised max speed of this drive and its current speed normal or is it possibly indicative of a malfunction of the drive? If it is not due to a malfunction of the drive, then what, if anything, can I do to reset the speed of the drive to its max of 32x? Perhaps there's another speed-setting utility that might work for me.

I'd appreciate very much any answers or suggestions anyone could give me about this.

Thanks

[BarnesConsult]

The key to understanding this 'Phenomenon' is the difference between the '32x max' rating of the drive, and how diagnostic software checks the drive. When a CD-Rom is rated at a maximum speed, that is the fastest possible read at the outside of the disk. Reading the inside of the disk, the transfer rate is much lower. Therefore, the drive is spec'ed at it's maximum, but the diagnostic software gives you an average performance over the entire surface of the disk. The only way to increase this is to replace the drive. See the detailed explanation I've linked to below.


Here is a quote from: http://www.pcguide.com/ref/cd/constSpindle-c.html
"No CAV drive claiming to be 24X actually transfers at that rate over the whole disk. "


Edited - The original post had a comma at the end of the URL, causing it not to work.

[This message has been edited by BarnesConsult (edited March 21, 2001).]