I want to use a script from Windows PE to identify if a PC has a DVDRW or CDRW installed, if it has then I want to add the CD burning software to the install list in GUI Run once.

anyone any idea on how I can achieve this?

Thanks

You may want to investigate WMI - documented on Microsoft.com. If you use the 1.5 or 1.6 versions of WinPE, you should be able to include WMI and discern whether a drive is there or not - and generate a custom GUIRunOnce dependent upon that.

My objectives were to

identify if there was a DVDROM installed and install PowerDVD, and

identify if there was a DVDRW/CDRW installed and install Nero

I've considered WMI, but when I query the CDROM's on my PC, my DVD-ROM is listed as JLMS XJ-HD166S

If this is the case with most DVD drives, i don't think the script will be able to recognise if a JLMS XJ-HD166S is a DVDRW or just a DVDROM

Something like Nero Info tool, that can identify actual capabilites of the drive would be ideal

After doing a lot of research on the net, I discovered that a CD drive can be identified by issuing SCSI MMC (multimedia commands) to the device.

I found various GUI tools that could identify a CD drive and its capabilities, but none were suitable for my purpose.

Then I found information at the Bustrace website on the windows SCSI pass through interface.

I decided to investigate the SCSI pass through interface further and as luck would have it, I came accross this EnumCD. Knowing a little C/C++ I decided to modify the program so it can export the CD-Drives capabilites as XML. Which would allow me to use this in my HTA to auto select installation of CD writing software such as nero.

Attached is a sample of the exported data, I'm not an XML guru, so if anyone wants to suggest a better structure for the data, please feel free

Also attached is the EnumCD.exe program file, and source code (again if anyone wants to correct me or inform me of a better way to acheive something, please do)

Hope someone will find this of some use.

EnumCD.exe

CDRoms.xml

EnumCD.rar

so wait a minute here, what are you trying to do? what are the purpose of these files and where do i put them / execute them from my winPE dvd?