Virtual Drive (TM)

Emulates multiple CD drives and CDROMs on a hard drive

Runs applications without any CDROM and at the super100X speed

Introduction

Features and benefits

System requirements

Installation and un-installation

Create VCD file

Setup number of Virtual Drives

Delete/Add VCD file

Edit/View

Rapid Cache

For the frequently asked questions, please refer to the Readme.txt or our homepage.


Introduction:

Virtual Drive is a CD-ROM emulation application. It creates CD-ROM images on a hard drive(or network file server) with professional compression, and adds a new virtual CD icon onto the Virtual Drive Manager program. There is no need to search for CD-ROMs, no need to load CD-ROMs into a drive, and there is no need to wait for a CD-ROM drive to start up. One no longer has to change CD-ROMs in order to run other CD applications. Just click on the CD-ROM icon and watch it run instantly.


Features and benefits:

1. Runs without CD-ROM:  Emulates CD-ROM execution on the hard drive, therefore, there is no need to insert the CD-ROM into the CD drive.

2. 100X:  Runs CD-ROMs directly on the hard drive with incredible 100X speed.

3. Great for Notebooks: You no longer have to carry CD drives on the road.  No need to waste precious batteries on CD drives.  Just load your virtual drives and you're of!  No hassles!

4. MO drives:</font> Put Virtual CD files onto a MO disk. MO drive is now a CD drive also.

5. Runs multiple CD-ROM applications at the same time: Virtual Drive can emulate 20 CD drives. No need to be limited to just one CD-ROM application.  You can have everything running simultaneously.

6. Compression: Virtual Drive incorporates a high performance compression engine. It will auto de-compress when the CD title is accessed.(de-compress on-the-fly).

7. At your fingertips: Virtual CD images are created on your hard disk so your favorite CD-ROMs are always ready to run on your computer.

8. Easy management: Virtual Drive doesn't copy hundreds of thousands of files from the CD-ROM.  Rather, it actually creates an exact CD-ROM image file on the hard drive. Only this image file needs to be created or removed.

9. 100% compatible: Virtual Drive is completely compatible with all types of CD-ROM applications.

10. Network Capability: Create virtual CD icons on a file server, allowing CD resources to be shared across a network. Also, permits instant management of CDROMs.

11. CD Array(CD Juke Box): Virtual Drive can 100% completely replace expensive CD Array or (CD Juke Box), while providing users with the following added benefits:

(1) Supports unlimited numbers of CDROMs on you server. Breaks the limitation of physical drives.

(2) Addition Network Features*: It provides, "click and play on clients", full security control for VCD images. Special monitor program for admin. Automatically VCD images update and version upgrades on clients. Easy clients' configurations...

*Note: The additional network features is available for the Virtual Drive Network version only. The network version is a Perfect CD Server Product for School, Corporate and Government Networking Systems.

12. Rapid Cache: Run your physical CDROM drive at the lightning speed.

13. Incremental Caching Technology: Uses the newest incremental technology.

14. With one click you may reconfigure Rapid Cache, without rebooting your system.

15. Rapid Cache won't use your valuable hard drive space for caching.

16. Unlimited cache size & unlimited CD-ROM drives are supported.

17. Rapid Cache is completely transparent to your system.  It won't interfere with other caching programs or memory managers.

18. CD browser: With this feature, you can see the features of your CD drive, such as: ADPCM, Audio Channels, Addressing, Interleave, and vendor information. And more, you can look into a CDROM disc, to view the copyrights, publication date, author, and tracks information.

19. CD drive performance evaluation tools.

Transfer Rate: With this tool, Rapid Cache will report the speed of your CD drive. You can test either Inner or Outer tracks, and set blocks per read to1, 16, or 32 sectors

Access Time: With this tool, Rapid Cache provides you of your CD drives access time for 1/3, 1/2 or full strokes.

Note: Performance of Panasonic 8X, SONY 24X, and TEAC 32X drives are listed along with the results of your drive. You can compare your results with the these famous CD drives..

20. Easy Setup: Can be easily installed in 1 (one) minute.


System requirements:

PC running with Windows 95

2 MB free hard drive

A CD-ROM drive


Install Virtual Drive

Step 1: Insert Virtual Drive CD-ROM into CD drive(example D:)

Step 2: Click "Start" button, select "Run" command and then key in "d:\setup" into the "Open" field

Step 3: Click "OK", follow the instructions on your screen to complete the installation of Virtual Drive.

Remove Vitual Drive

Step 1: "Uninstall Virtual Drive" in "Virtual Drive" program group.

Step 2: Follow the instructions on the un-installation program to completely remove Vitual Drive.

Note: You must reboot to completely remove Virtual Drives from your system.


Create VCD file

After you have successfully installed Virtual Drive program, double click on the "Virtual Drive" icon to run Virtual Drive Manager. Click the "Create" button on the Virtual Drive Manager Windows toolbar; the build VCD window will be displayed:

Comments on VCD window:

Source:  CD-ROM drive that you put in the original CD-ROM. (For example, D:)

Hard drive:  the hard disk used to save Virtual CD image file

File:   The name of Virtual CD image file

Description:  Description of this virtual CD, it will be displayed under the virtual CD icon on the Virtual Drive Manger window.

Default drive: When you double click on this virtual CD icon, Virtual Drive Manager will insert it into this drive.

Compression: Compress CD-ROM data or not, and specify the compression method.

After creating a virtual CD, Virtual Drive Manager will add a new icon to its virtual CDs window. Double click on the icon. Virtual Drive will insert it into the default virtual CD drive, and then you can access this CD, as if it was the original physical CD.

Click on right button, you will get the properties window. It displays the properties of this virtual CD disk.


Setup the number of Virtual CD drives

Click on "Setup number of CD drives" from the "File" menu. Key in the number of Virtual Drives to create, and then click on "OK" button.

Note: you need to reboot to activate the number of CD drives.


Delete VCD file:

Click on "Delete VCD file" from "File" menu. You will get a dialog box.  Press "Delete All" button on the dialog to remove both the VCD icon and its corresponding image file from Virtual Drive Manager. Press "Delete Icon" to remove the VCD icon from Virtual Drive Manager.

Press "Cancel" to cancel this operation.

Add a VCD file

If you already have a VCD file created on your hard drive, or if you want to use a VCD file transfered from another computer, or if you wish to use the VCD file stored on the network file server, you can use "Add VCD file" to add an icon into Virtual Drive Manager.

Select "Add VCD file" from the "File" menu, click on the appropriate VCD file from the file selection dialog box, click on "Ok". Virtual Drive Manger will add a new icon for this VCD image file.


Edit(Insert/Eject)

Click on the VCD icon first, click on the Virtual drive and then select "insert" from the "File" menu. Virtual Drive Manager will insert the selected VCD into the virtual CD-ROM drive.

Note: If the inserted CD-ROM incorporates an autoplay feature, it will play immediately.

To Eject a VCD from a virtual drive:

Click on the virtual drive, select "Eject" from the "File" menu.

View:

You can change the display mode, show toolbars or not, or select the size of a VCD icon by selecting from functions provided in the "View" menu.


Rapid Cache

Rapid Cache is a unique CD-ROM caching utility program. It has an efficient "Incremental Caching" Algorithm. It features a dynamic cache management system, that allows you to instantly reconfigure Rapid Cache without rebooting the system. Rapid Cache offers both unlimited cache drives & unlimited cache size, CD browser, CD evaluation tools.

Rapid Cache Features:

1.	Make any current CD-ROM drive run at the lightning speed.

2.	Uses the newest incremental technology.

3.	With one click you may reconfigure Rapid Cache, without rebooting your system.

4.	Rapid Cache won't use your valuable hard drive space for caching.

5.	Unlimited cache size & unlimited CD-ROM drives are supported.

6.	Rapid Cache is completely transparent to your system.  It won't interfere with other caching programs or memory managers.

7.	CD browser lets you see the features and capabilities of your CD drive(s).

8.	Performance evaluation tools test the speed (transfer rate and access time) of your CD drive(s). You can test for Inner/Outer tracks, 1/3, 1/2 or full strokes, and compare your result with Sony, Panasonic and Teac CD drives.

Please refer to the users guide for details.