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Enabling a CD-ROM or DVD-ROM from a virtual machine

CD-ROM and DVD-ROM drives are added and removed using the Configuration Editor. The virtual CD-ROM or DVD-ROM is connected to the physical CD-ROM or DVD-ROM device on the host machine.

Note: A virtual machine can have at most four virtual IDE disk drives. If a host system has four disk drives, then configuring all four disk drives in the virtual machine will not leave space for a virtual IDE CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive. Even if the host computer has a SCSI CD-ROM or DVD-ROM, the drive still appears inside the virtual machine as an IDE device. If you have configured four IDE disks in a single virtual machine, you will not have room for a CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive. You can either configure your virtual machine without a CD-ROM or DVD-ROM, or you can remove one or more of the configured hard drives.

To add a CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive:

  1. Select File > Open and open the virtual machine configuration file (.cfg) you want to modify.
  2. Select Settings > Configuration Editor from Workstation.
  3. Click the + sign next to "IDE Drives" or "SCSI Devices".
  4. Select a device node where you want to create a virtual CD-ROM or DVD-ROM. For example, select the "S-M" node for an IDE drive or the "SCSI 0:1" node for a SCSI drive. If a device node is not currently configured, the description reads "Not Installed".
  5. From the "Device Type" field, make a selection:
  6. Enter the path to the physical CD-ROM or DVD-ROM device. Often, but not always, the device name for the CD-ROM is /dev/cdrom.
  7. Select the "Start Connected" option if you want the virtual machine to have access to the CD-ROM or DVD-ROM when it powers on.
  8. Click Install .

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