VirtualDrive® Version 10 Personal Edition For Windows 2000/XP-SP2/Server 2003 User’s Guide
Copyright Notice No part of this publication may be copied, transmitted, stored in a retrieval system or translated into any language in any form or by any means without the expressed written permission of FarStone Technology, Inc. FarStone grants you the right to use one copy of the enclosed software program ("SOFTWARE") on a single computer.
the "Software" for more users, you will need an additional License for each user. (b) make one copy of the "Software" in machine-readable form solely for back-up purposes, provided you reproduce FarStone's copyright proprietary legends. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the "Software" may be used on the home, laptop or other secondary computer of the principal user of the "Software", and an additional copy of the "Software" may be made to support such use.
agree to be bound by its terms and conditions. You further agree that it is the complete and exclusive statement of the agreement between FarStone and you, and supersedes any proposal or prior agreement, oral or written, and any other communication between FarStone and you relating to the subject matter of this Agreement.
Chapter 1 Introduction Contents 1.1 What is VirtualDrive®? 1.2 Features and Benefits 7 7 7 Chapter 2 Installation 10 2.1 System Requirements 2.2 Installing VirtualDrive® 2.3 Uninstalling VirtualDrive® 10 10 10 Chapter 3 Starting VirtualDrive® 13 3.1 Starting VirtualDrive® 3.2 The VirtualDrive® Start Menu 13 14 Chapter 4 Backing up Data to Discs 16 4.1 Creating Data CD/DVD 4.1.1 Creating a New Project 4.1.2 Burning a Project to Disc 4.2 Backing up Images to Disc 4.3 Burning Settings 4.3.
Chapter 1 Introduction 6
Chapter 1 Introduction 1.1 What is VirtualDrive®? VirtualDrive® is a revolutionary software program that emulates the computer’s physical CD/DVD-ROM drive. You can create an unlimited number of virtual CDs (VCDs) and up to 23 virtual drives. You no longer need to insert the actual CD and wait for the disc to load - you simply double-click the VCD icon. Another great advantage is that you no longer need to swap discs while playing games that have multiple CDs. Just pre-load all the VCDs you need and enjoy.
• Fully integrated with Windows The VirtualDrive® XP-style user interface is completely integrated with Windows Explorer and the Windows Device Manager. Enable/disable CD auto-run, change CD drive letters or set your own hot-keys to run CDs. • ISO 9660 support VirtualDrive® enables you to convert VCDs to and from ISO 9660 format. • Create shortcuts for your VCDs This feature allows users to create desktop shortcuts to local or network VCDs.
Chapter 2 Installation 9
Chapter 2 Installation 2.1 System Requirements • • • • Windows 2000/XP-SP2/Server 2003 CD/DVD drive 100 MB of hard disk space 128 MB RAM or better Note: A virtual CD drive does not take any appreciable amount of hard drive space. However, 19 KB of RAM is reserved for each virtual drive when a VCD is inserted. 2.2 Installing VirtualDrive® Step 1: Close any applications that are running before starting the installation. Step 2: Insert the VirtualDrive® CD-ROM disc.
The uninstall program will remove all files created by VirtualDrive®, except the VCD files (files with the “VCD” extension). These VCD files can be deleted by using Windows Explorer.
Chapter 3 Starting VirtualDrive® 12
Chapter 3 Starting VirtualDrive® 3.1 Starting VirtualDrive® After installation, you can launch VirtualDrive® directly without restarting the computer. You can launch VirtualDrive® using either of these two methods: on the desktop; z Double-click the shortcut icon z Select Start Æ All Programs Æ VirtualDrive Æ VCD Manager. Fig.
RapidCache® Live Update recorder and the disc inserted in the recorder. Set caching configurations and view disc and CD/DVD device properties. Click LiveUpdate to check for any new VirtualDrive updates. About: Click the Company name on the right bottom of the Manager interface to view information about VirtualDrive® and FarStone. 3.2 The VirtualDrive® Start Menu After launching VirtualDrive®, a VirtualDrive® icon will be displayed in the Windows system tray near the clock.
Enter New Serial Number: Click to enter a new serial number to activate VirtualDrive® when it is not available. Note： A serial number can only be used on one computer on a LAN. If a serial number is used to install this program on a second computer on a LAN, the installed program will not be available. You can purchase another serial number and enter it to activate VirtualDrive®. Exit: Click to exit the VirtualDrive® program.
Chapter 4 Baking up Data to CD/DVD Chapter 4 Backing up Data to Discs 4.1 Creating Data CD/DVD Click Make Data CD/DVD will launch the CD/DVD Burning Manager (shown below), where you can create various types of discs such as Audio CD, MP3 CD, Mixed-mode CD, CD Extra, or UDF CD. CD/DVD Burning Manager 4.1.1 Creating a New Project To start creating any kind of disc, you should first create a project. You can then burn a project onto a CD/DVD disc or to a VCD.
Starting a New Project To start a new Data CD/DVD project, choose any of the following options from the CD/DVD Burning Manager: y Select File Æ New Æ Data CD/Data DVD. y y , then select Data CD/Data DVD. Click the small triangle on the New button Right-click on any part of the Project Pane, then choose New Æ Data CD/Data DVD. Tips: When you open a multi-session disc in Windows Explorer; you can see the content of the last session only.
4.1.2 Burning a Project to Disc 1. Set the Default Recorder to the physical drive. 2. 3. Click Burn . Choose the burning settings and click Burn to begin burning. (Note: For instructions on how to deal with the warning dialog, and on how to configure the burning settings, please refer to section 4.3 Burning Settings.) 4. Click OK to end the burning process. 4.2 Backing up Images to Disc The Backup Image function allows you to burn an Image file (VCD) or several Images directly to a recordable disc.
Below is a detailed description of the options in the Burning Setup dialog box: y Recorder: Show the name of the recorder to be used to burn the disc. Click Device Info to view detailed information about the recorder. y Write Method: Select a write method from the dropdown menu. The write methods include DAO, SAO, TAO, and Raw. The available method may differ depending on different operations. E.g. If you perform Restore Burn an Image, the only available choice here is RAW.
Chapter 5 Multimedia Creation 20
Chapter 5 Multimedia Creation 5.1 Creating an Audio CD An Audio CD is a compact disc (CD) that can be played by both an Audio CD player and a computer CD-ROM drive. The CD contains audio tracks only and no computer data. With VirtualDrive Pro, you can make your own Audio CD by recording tracks from other Audio CDs, from audio files (MP3, WAV or CDA files) on the hard disk or from the Internet. To create an Audio CD: Select Create an Audio CD from the Multimedia page on the VirtualDrive® Manager.
Chapter 6 Working with VirtualDrive® 22
Chapter 6 Working with VirtualDrive® 6.1 How to make an Image An Image file (with .VCD extension) is actually a Virtual CD or VCD that can be inserted into a virtual CD drive. There are two ways to make an Image file: building from a real disc and burned from a disc project created in CD/DVD Burning. 6.1.
3. Select the CD read method and use data compression if desired. Extraction” is successful for most CD formats. The default read method “Intelligent In most cases, you can use the “Intelligent Extraction” read method to build your Images. But if you know which protection is on the CD, you can choose to build with that protection by using Other Protected CD type. Using data compression will save hard disk space but will also require a longer Image build time. 4.
6. When the Image has been successfully built, click OK and then click Finish to close the Image Build window. Case 2: Building an Image from an Audio CD If you are building an Audio CD, follow the steps below: 1. Insert the disc to be built. Select the corresponding physical CD drive. Verify the disc type and general information of the inserted disc. You can preview the disc content in the Preview area on the right side. Click Next to continue. 2.
Select the Preview Track ‘Play’ button preview track’s volume level. to listen to the track. Select Volume to set the to set quality and audio compression Click the Select Wave Format button format. There is a range of recording quality settings provided by the Windows operating system. You can save your own custom audio settings by selecting the Save As button. Audio settings Step 1: From the Format list, select an appropriate audio compression format.
time you open the Sound Selection window, the given name will be presented as a choice in the Name selection box. 4. Select Next to begin the build process. Please refer back to steps 4 - 6 in case 1 Building an Image from CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, Video CD, DVD Video or Photo CD. Case 3: Building an Image from a Mixed Mode CD If you are building a Mixed Mode CD, follow the steps below: 1. Insert the disc to be built. Select the corresponding physical CD drive.
5. Select Next to begin the build process. Please refer back to steps 4 - 6 in case 1 Building an Image from CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, Video CD, DVD Video or Photo CD to complete the operation. 6.1.2 Making an Image from a Project You can make an Image (VCD) from a CD/DVD project created in the CD/DVD Burning program. To make an Image from a project: 1. Launch the CD/DVD Burning program either from Backup Æ Make Data CD/DVD or Multimedia Æ Create an Audio(MP3) CD 2. Open a project. 3.
(Optional) You can set a password for Image files. The password will be required if you attempt to insert the Image or view the content of the Image. (Optional) If the CD does not have an auto-run file, you can specify a program to run when the Image is inserted. You can use the Browse button to locate the executable program. Using data compression will save hard disk space but will also require a longer Image build time. 7. A dialog box will display the attributes of the Image about to be created.
Export any file in a multi-session VCD and store it on the hard disk. (Note: Some files in a multi-session disc cannot be seen or accessed through Windows Explorer.) Export tracks from an audio VCD, Mixed-Mode CD or CD-Extra such as *.wav files, and store them on the hard disk. Properties: View the properties of the selected file. ¾ 6.2.
You can create as many cabinets as you like. And cabinets are easy to manage. You can easily add or delete a cabinet at any time. To add a new cabinet, use any of these methods: Method 1: Select File from VCD Manager, and then select New Cabinet to open the New Cabinet window. Type a name and any description and click Create to continue creating the next cabinet. Method 2: Right-click on any cabinet icon in the left pane of the VCD Manager and select New Cabinet to open the New Cabinet window.
Method 10: Specify a hot-key for inserting a VCD file. 6.2.5 Ejecting a VCD There are several different ways to eject a VCD file. Method 1: Click on the loaded virtual drive and then select Edit and Eject. Method 2: Drag and drop the loaded virtual drive to anywhere in the right pane. Method 3: Right-click on the loaded virtual drive and then select Eject. .
Open the VCD Properties window and select the Setting tab. Use the browse button to select the location of the program. Changing the Creator’s Name Open the VCD Properties window and select the Setting tab. Type the creator’s name in the Author box. Changing the Default Virtual Drive Open the VCD Properties window and select the Setting tab. Click on the Default Drive dropdown box and select a new default drive. Using Hot-Keys to run VCDs Open the VCD Properties window and select the Setting tab.
6.2.8 Setting a Password for a VCD VCD Manager allows users to set a password for VCD files. The password will be required if you attempt to insert the VCD or view the content of the VCD. Right-click on a VCD file in the VCD Manager tray and select Password from the dropdown menu to set password for the VCD file. 6.2.9 Extracting Files from VCD Users can obtain files from the VCDs without inserting them into the virtual drive.
Click the Drive drop button and select a virtual drive with the desired VCD inserted, or select the physical drive with an existing disc inserted. You can preview a track. To preview a track, select one track by title, and click the Play button. Note: Clicking this button will eject the disc. The other controls are similar to any audio player. Before extracting a track, you can set wave format settings for the MP3 file by clicking the Select Wave Format button.
Name: You can determine what kind of file to search by selecting a file format in the Name dropdown menu. You can also choose to search subfolders by checking Search Subfolders. Path: You can specify a drive to search by choosing a drive in the Path drop menu. path, click on the browser b utt on To select a detailed t o op en W ind ow s Ex p lor er. Step 2: Select Search. The files being searched will be displayed in the window.
6.2.14 Changing a Drive Letter You can change the drive letter for any drive on your system, including the physical drive. Right-click the desired virtual drive and select Edit Drive to change the drive letter. 6.2.15 Setting Auto-Run for a Drive You can enable the auto-run function for the selected virtual drives, or for all (virtual) drives. Right-click a virtual drive and select Auto-Run to enable the auto-run function for it.
Show Control Tip text: Sets whether to display the 'control tips' pop-up text when the mouse pointer hovers over a toolbar button. Flat buttons: Merges the toolbar button outline into the toolbar. Select Buttons: Choose Select Buttons to open a dialog box offering a range of alternative buttons. From here you can add, remove or change the order of the buttons on the VirtualDrive® toolbar. Animation ON/OFF Turn the VCD Insert/Eject animation ON or OFF.
Available commands are: 1. Vdrive /I [@cmd] [/M] [/NA] => Insert VCD 2. Vdrive /E [/M] => Eject VCD If successful, returns 0, otherwise 1. 3. VDrive /drive: Returns the number of virtual drives available Note: Commands shown in square brackets [ ] are optional. 4. /I Insert a VCD 5. /E Eject a VCD 6. [/M] Show message 7. [@] Run a program on the VCD.
Example: Vdrive E: "C:\VCDCollection\Age of Kings" /I @E:\Age.exe 6.3 Converting between ISO 9660 Image Files and VCD Files You can convert an ISO 9660 image file into a VCD file as well as convert a VCD file into an ISO 9660 CD file. Step 1: Select ISO Conversion on the VirtualDrive page form the VCD Manager. Step 2: Select the file browser button to open the Windows file browser and locate the ISO or VCD file. Step 3: Select the desired ISO file, and then select Open to continue.
Chapter 7 VirtualDrive® Utilities 41
Chapter 7 VirtualDrive® Utilities 7.1 Erase Disc The Erase Disc function enables users to delete the data on a re-writable CD/DVD (CD-RW, DVD-RW, DVD-RAM, DVD+RW). To erase a disc: 1. Insert the disc you want to erase in the disc drive. 2. Click Erase Disc on the Utility page from the VirtualDrive® Manager interface. 3. Choose the CD recorder with a re-writable disc inserted. 4. Choose an erase mode from the dropdown menu.
There are two buttons on the top right side of the Device Info page: Refresh current device information. Save your current device information as a text file on your hard disk. There are two tabs on this page, Device Info and Disc Info. Device Info On the Device Info tab (show above), you can view the detailed information about a CD/DVD device (including a virtual drive) on the left. You can also view the disc formats that are readable or writable on this drive in the area on the right side.
7.3.1 RapidCache® Features • • • • • • RapidCache® does not use your valuable hard drive space for caching. RapidCache® uses the latest incremental caching technology. RapidCache® makes your CDs or VCDs run at “lightning” speed. RapidCache® provides one-step cache mode reconfiguration, without having to reboot your system. RapidCache® is completely transparent to your system. Therefore it will not conflict with other caching programs or memory managers.
Max caching mode Min caching mode No caching mode Maximum caching mode reads whole data blocks into the cache buffer together with the relevant index and directory files. Minimum caching mode will read only directories and index files into the cache buffer. Minimum caching mode is recommended if you set the cache size to less than 514 KB in RapidCache®. Allows Windows to handle all caching activity.
Chapter 8 Appendix 47
Chapter 8 Appendix 8.1 FAQ Q1: Can I use VirtualDrive for playing digital CD audio? Yes, you can play digital audio with VirtualDrive. However, you must keep it in your mind that the building process must strictly comply with these 2 rules: (1) audio CD must be built as the following: PCM wave format, 44.100kHz, 16kBit/s, stereo, 172kb/s (2) all sound tracks must be included into virtual CD.
Q3: Does the building time vary depending on the quality of the real CD-ROM drive? The reading speed of CD-ROM drives produced by different manufacturer diverse varies a lot due to their error-correction ability and other mechanisms. Therefore, the building speed mostly depends on the quality of CD-ROM drive instead of VirtualDrive program.
b. Build this game CD by using intelligent extraction. Q12: Why the maximum number of virtual drive is 23? There are 26 letters in alphabet. We suppose that A: and B: are floppy drives on your computer, C: is the entire hard disk, and therefore there are 23 letters left (D-Z), each one can be assigned to a drive. So you can create at most 23 virtual drives. Note: VirtualDrive install/uninstall program will not replace or remove these two files.
Windows 2000/XP/Server 2003 only (1) Right click on ‘my computer’ from desktop, select manage --> disk management . (2) Make sure which one is virtual drive. (3) Right click on virtual drive icon, select ‘change drive letter or paths’ from the drop menu. Q19: Why does the system always prompt me that the version of wnaspi32.dll is incorrect once I run virtual CD in VirtualDrive? You need the newer version of ASPI32 to run virtual CD on Win98/Me. To correct this error, just download ASPI32 from http://www.
