CD-ROM drives are very popular for playing and installing media. CD-ROM drives are classified as 5.25-inch drives because they fit into the 5.25-inch drive bays that are used in computer cases. CD-ROM drives come in many forms, including external, internal, and more.
Data Reading
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CD-ROM drives can open documents on data CDs, such as music files, pictures, word documents and other files. However, CD-ROM drives can not write information to a CD (burn) because they are read-only drives; writing information to a CD is done with a CD-R drive.
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Music Playback
CDs can be created in two forms, an audio CD and a data CD. Data CDs can only be opened by computers and other CD players. However, audio CDs can be played by any CD player, such as in most newer car stereos or a portable CD player.
Software Installation
CDs are widely used as installation discs. Whenever there is software included with a product that you buy in a store, or just the software itself, it is highly likely that it is stored on a CD. Before software could be downloaded off the Internet, it was exclusively distributed in CDs and floppy diskettes.