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From: jcmorris@mbunix.mitre.org (Morris)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc,comp.misc,comp.periphs
Subject: Re: CD-ROM Device Drivers
Summary: Sony owes you one
Keywords: CD-ROM, Microsoft, Sony
Message-ID: <95333@linus.UUCP>
Date: 9 Feb 90 22:04:42 GMT
References: <764@ntmtv.UUCP>
Sender: news@linus.UUCP
Organization: The MITRE Corp., McLean, VA
Lines: 30

In a recent article ron@ntmtv.UUCP (Ron Barry) writes:
>
>We have been in possession of a Sony CD-ROM Drive Unit for some time, along
>with a Microsoft Programmer's Library CD.  Unfortunately, we have no
>device driver(s) for the CD-ROM.  Microsoft says that it should have been
>supplied by Sony, and Sony says that it should have been supplied by
>Microsoft.  

As I understand it, the drive vendor is responsible for supplying *all*
the interface software, including both a device driver and a copy of Microsoft
CD-ROM Extensions (MSCDEX).  As the end customer, you shoulnd't have to go
to Microsoft for anything other than the application disk and its unique
software (Programmer's Library in this case).

Microsoft supplies the drive vendors with a copy of MSCDEX which they
include with the drive; the vendor is responsible for writing and
delivering the drvice driver.  There's no way Microsoft could supply
the driver because by definition the driver is interfacing with the drive
vendor's unique interface.  MSCDEX hooks into the DOS system to provide
the image of a disk drive and uses generic calls to the driver in order
to read the disk; the driver fields these generic calls and issues the 
appropriate IN and OUT instructions to negotiate with the vendor's interface
card.

If you bought the unit as the original retail purchaser you should talk
to the store (and to Sony's regional or national management if necessary);
if it came from some other retail user then that's where you need to go
for the support software.

Joe Morris