Virtual CD/DVD Tower and Peer Networks
A Virtual CD/DVD Tower can be used in a Windows 9x Peer-to-Peer network environment. These same procedures may also be used to enable peer-sharing concurrently with an existing Client/Server environment (such as NT or Novell)

First enable the sharing properties of the workstation that will be physically attached to the Virtual CD Tower.

1. Right-click on Network Neighborhood.
2. Select Properties.
3. Click on the "File and Print Sharing" button.
4. Place a check mark in the box next to "I want to be able to give others access to my files".
5. Click on OK.

Physically attach the Virtual CD/DVD Tower to the peer workstation that has network sharing enabled. This involves installing the Adaptec 2920 PCI SCSI card, connecting the cabling to the Virtual CD Tower, and turning on the PC.

Using My Computer or the Windows Explorer, right-click on the physical device that is to be shared (ex: the CD, DVD or the hard drive of the Virtual CD Tower)

1. Select Sharing
2. Select "Shared As" and enter the share name (how the device will be labeled or "seen" across the network).
3. Click on Apply.
4. Click on OK

Now move to the other network computers (the peers) that will be accessing the Virtual CD Tower

1. Install a licensed copy of Virtual CD-ROM software. After the software has been installed and the computer must be rebooted.
2. After reboot, double-click on My Computer.
3. Double-click on Control Panel.
4. Double-click on System.
5. Select the Performance tab.
6. Click on the File System button.
7. Select the CD-ROM tab.
8. Change the drop-down box next to "Optimize access pattern for". Select the "No-read ahead" option. Click on OK. Click on OK to close the previous screen.
9. Reboot the computer when prompted.

Attach each peer workstation to the shared device by double-clicking on Network Neighborhood

1. Double-click on the peer computer to which the shared device is attached.
2. Right click on the share name of the shared device
3. Select "Map Network Drive". Choose a drive letter to assign to this mapping. If this assignment if to be permanent (i.e. assigned every time the computer is rebooted) place a check mark in the box next to "Reconnect at logon".
4. Click on OK.
5. The mapping is now complete and the device is shared. Any open windows may be closed.

Use the shared Virtual CD-ROMS

1. Open the Virtual CD-ROM program window.
2. Click on the Binocular icon, or select Edit and Find.
3. Select the drive you wish to search (mapped in a previous step).
4. Click Find Now. Each Virtual disc on that drive will be listed in the window.
5. Highlight the discs you wish to access and click on "Add All". The icons will now be presented in the right side of the Virtual CD-ROM window.
6. Drag-and-drop to mount a disc in a drive bay.