Why does it take so long to read media in optical drives??

[videobruce]

For the time optical media has been out, why does it still take so long, around 30 seconds, for a optical disc to be read or reconized by the O/S (2k)?
I understand it has to spin up (a few seconds) and read the TOC (a few seconds, or should be), but why should/does that take what seems forever? The whole computer is at the mercy of this process since you can't do anything else while this is taking place. Even opening another folder doesn't happen untill the O/S reads the disc.

It doesn't seem to matter if it is a plain old CD or a DVD movie. Neither does what type of drive it is or how old the drive is. Mind you, I run a 'lean' machine without the usual 30 or 40 processes running at startyup I see many other with.

I could understand when they first came out, but that was light years ago (in computer time).

Input please.

[glc]

Are your drives all running in DMA mode?

[videobruce]

They should be. Actually, I forgot where that was.
I looked at computer mgn. and found this;

[glc]

Open up the IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers, that's where you find it. Properties of each channel, advanced settings.

What's hiding in "Other Devices"? You may not have all needed drivers installed.

[videobruce]

Open up the IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers

OK, I found it. It was enabled.

What's hiding in "Other Devices"?

I don't know what that is. It's always been like this with this MB.

[glc]

Well, what's the "other device"?

[videobruce]

It's always been there. I have no idea. This MB is 1 1/2 years old. Never has been a issue AFAIK. It has to be something on the MB. I never looked into it.

Abit NF7-S V2

[glc]

When you hit the plus sign, what does it say exactly under it? Unknown device? Something else?