How to Turn Off CD/DVD Emulation Software

CD and DVD emulation software can be useful for creating virtual drives that your computer detects as actual disc drives. This software may occasionally conflict with other software, however, and you may be prompted to temporarily disable your emulation software. The best way to shut down the actual software varies among titles and publishers, but there are fail-safe ways to shut down the virtual drives if you can't find out how to deactivate the software.

Instructions

1. Look in the System Tray in the bottom right corner of the computer screen for an icon representing the emulation software or your virtual drive. If you don't know what this icon looks like, look for any icons that appear new to you. Position your cursor over any icon to see its name. If you can find an icon for the software, right-click on it and scan the options on the menu that pops up. There may be a command that will shut down the software or the drive. If not, proceed to the next step.

2. Click the "Start" button in the bottom left corner of the screen and browse through the software listed in the Programs menu. If you see your CD/DVD emulation software listed, look in its folder for a setup program or an options utility. If you find one, launch it and see if the software can be shut down from within that utility. If not, proceed to the next step.

3. Press the "Ctrl," "Alt" and "Delete" keys simultaneously to open the Task Manager. Click the "Applications" tab and see if the emulation software is listed as an active program. If it is, right-click the program and select "End Task" from the pop-up menu. If not, proceed to the next step.

4. Click the "Processes" tab on the Task Manager. Scan the list of processes to see if any of them are obviously related to your computer's emulation software or virtual drives. If you aren't sure if a process is related, don't do anything to it. But if you are sure you've found the process behind your emulation software, right-click it and select "End Process" from the pop-up menu. Otherwise, proceed to the next step.

5. Click the Start button and select Run. Enter devmgmt.msc in the blank field and click the "Run" button to launch the Device Manager. Expand the "CD/DVD Drives" category in the Device Manager to reveal the adapter for each physical and virtual disc drive on your computer. Right-click on the virtual drive and select "Disable" from the pop-up menu to bypass the emulation software entirely and shut it down.

References

• Windows XP for Dummies, Andy Rathbone, 2004
• PCs for Dummies, Dan Gookin, 2007
• Microsoft.com