How to Lock Your CD-ROM Drive

The CD-ROM drive is one of the most integral components of a computer. Without it we can’t play CDs, DVDs, Blu-rays, play CD-dependent games, open documents, install programs and Operating Systems, and write files.

However, if you’re sharing your PC with others, especially at home, every user tends to exploit the CD-ROM drive. Without your knowledge, some users will use it to copy files to your PC or write files from your PC.

Also, using it too much can affect the performance and durability of the drive. As the owner of the computer, you should do something about this to limit the use of the CD-ROM drive. The only solution is to lock it.

Locking your CD-ROM drive serves many purposes. For one, locking it restricts unauthorized use. You can also lock the drive and use it as a Parental Control
for your children. If it’s busted, you can lock it to prevent other users from placing a CD into the drive.

Windows does not have a tool that locks CD-ROM drives. What you can do is download and install the CDRom-Lock software
. The program’s tray icon offers a very convenient way of locking and unlocking all your CD-ROM drives in two easy clicks.

You can get this application at http://sourceforge.net/projects/cdrom-lock.

download now

Save the setup file in your computer by clicking Save File.

save file

When the download is finished, double-click the setup file.

download complete

Select the installation language you want and press OK.

select language

The Setup Wizard will help you install the program. Click Next > and complete the setup process.

setup wizard

When the installation is done, run the software and press the Finish button.

setup complete

This is CDRom-Lock’s main interface. The default program language is German.

main interface

To change the language, click Bearbeiten and press Optionen.

options

In the Preferences window, tick English. In here, you can also set the Password protection
so that only you can lock and unlock the drive.

When you’re done with these procedures, hit the Apply button.

preferences

By default, when the software is launched, it will automatically lock your CD drive. You can’t open it using the hardware’s eject button.

cd drive

Even if you click the Eject command, you still can’t release it.

eject cd drive

You will see this error message when you’re unable to open the CD-ROM drive.

cant eject

To unlock it, tick the Unlock tickbox and press OK.

unlock

You will be prompted to enter the unlock password.

enter password

When the password is correct, the drive will be unlocked, as signified by the green circle.

cd drive unlocked
source:onlne techno tips