A CD-ROM drive (compact disc read-only memory drive) is a type of optical disc drive that reads CD-ROMs. A CD-ROM drive is a computer peripheral that can read CD-ROMs, which are data discs that typically contain software, text, images, and other types of files.

CD-ROM drives are common in personal computers, and are also found in many other devices, such as game consoles and car radios.

CD-ROM drives can be connected to the computer through a variety of interfaces, including USB, FireWire, and Serial ATA.

The optical disc drive was invented by David Paul Gregg in 1978 and patented in …