iTunes for Windows: Updating the firmware on your CD or DVD drive

Summary

Learn how to update the firmware on your CD or DVD drive.

Products Affected

iTunes 7 for Windows

Having outdated firmware can cause issues using CDs and DVDs with iTunes for Windows. Firmware is a type of software stored in a chip in hardware that can sometimes be updated.

Identifying drives and firmware versions

To run CD Diagnostics, follow the steps in this document.

After following the steps to run CD Diagnostics linked above, look at section three to find out more about your optical drive(s).

Here is an example of what section three might look like:

In this example there are two drives. Drive E is a Samsung DVD-ROM drive with a model designation of SD-616 that has firmware version F000. Drive F is an NEC drive with a model designation of NR-7900A that has firmware version 1.08.

Updating the firmware

If the optical drive you are using came with your computer, check with the support site for your computer for a firmware update. Typically you will need to go to the support website for the computer maker and click on a "downloads" or "updates" link, and then enter your computer model designation and operating system version to see what updates are available. Then look through the available updates for a firmware update for your optical drive. Download the updater and run it. If you need assistance applying the update, contact the maker of your computer.

If the optical drive you are using came as a separate part (was not included with a computer), check the support site for the drive maker for a firmware update. Sometimes the manufacturer is not clear in the CD Diagnostics results. In that case, you may just have to search the Internet for the drive model designation. You can usually find out who made the drive by looking through the results of such a search. Once you have identified who made your drive, go to the support website for that company. Look for a "downloads" or "updates" link, and then enter your optical drive model designation. Download the updater and run it. If you need assistance applying the update, contact the maker of the optical drive.

Verifying that the firmware was updated

  1. Run CD Diagnostics again.
  2. Examine the CD Diagnostics results. The firmware version for the drive should be the new version.
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