Unable to Access CD-ROM devices in Windows 2000/XP Professional

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to our RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

Sometimes, in windows 2000 or XP Professional, users other than the Local Administrator may not be able to access the CD-ROM devices. This will be shown very pronounced when users try burn CDs using software like Nero.

This is because of the default local Security settings in Windows XP Pro/2000 which allows only the Administrator to access these devices.

To fix this problem, the following changes are to be done to the Local Security settings:

Note: Should login as an administrator or an account with Administrative Privilege.

1. Click on Start, point to Settings, and then Control Panel.

2. Double Click Administrative Tools.

3. Double Click Local Security Policy.

4. Double click Local Policies to expand the tree.

5. Click Security Options.

6. Double- click on Restrict CD-ROM Access to locally logged-on user only.

7. In the dialog, select Enabled, then click OK.

This should help you fix the problem. But, in the process any remote users connected to the system will loose the connection to these devices.