CD-ROM Settings Panel

Choose: VM > Settings > Hardware > CD-ROM

Multiple virtual machines can connect to the DVD-ROM or CD-ROM drive, or an ISO image file, on the Workstation host at the same time, unless a virtual machine is configured to exclusively use the drive.

To disable or enable access to a CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive while a virtual machine is running, choose the drive from the VM > Removable Devices menu.

You can change some configuration settings for a CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive while the virtual machine is running. Some settings can be configured only when the virtual machine is powered off, and you must power off the virtual machine if you want to add or remove a CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive. You cannot configure or remove the drive while the virtual machine is suspended.

You can set the following options in the Device status section:

•	Connected — Use this check box to connect or disconnect the drive or ISO image path while the virtual machine is running.

•	Connect at power on — Select this check box if you want the drive or ISO image path to be connected automatically whenever you power on the virtual machine. You can change this setting when the virtual machine is powered on or powered off.

You can make changes to the following options in the Connection section when the virtual machine is powered on or powered off:

•	Use a physical drive — Select this setting if you want the virtual machine to use a physical drive on the host computer. Use the drop-down list to specify whether you want to use a specific drive or let Workstation auto-detect the drive to use.

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Connect exclusively to this virtual machine — This option is only relevant when legacy emulation mode is disabled. Selecting this check box allows only this virtual machine to use the host’s physical device for writing. The host continues to share the device with the virtual machine, and the host applications are able to open the device for reading while the virtual machine is running. Other virtual machines cannot use the device.

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Legacy emulation— Selecting this check box causes the virtual hardware to work as it did in the prior release of Workstation. By default, Workstation attempts to make available the advanced features of your drive, but in some cases this might cause the drive to not work with your virtual machine. Checking this option reverts Workstation to the prior emulation mode for CD-ROM drives.

•	Use ISO image — Select this setting if you want to use a CD-ROM image file. Click Browse and locate the ISO image file you want to use in the virtual machine.

Advanced CD-ROM Options Dialog Box

You can make changes to the Virtual Device Node options only when the virtual machine is powered off. Use these settings to select which SCSI or IDE device identifier to use for the drive. For example, if you select SCSI 0:2, the guest operating system sees the drive as ID 2 on controller 0.

It does not matter whether the physical drive is IDE or SCSI. For example, if your physical CD-ROM drive is an IDE device, you can still select a SCSI node. In that case, the virtual machine sees the drive as a SCSI device.