At its core, USB ODD stands for Universal Serial Bus Optical Disk Drive.
Understanding USB ODD
A USB ODD is an external device that connects to a computer or other compatible device via a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port. Its primary function is to read data from or write data to optical media, such as:
- CDs (Compact Discs)
- DVDs (Digital Versatile Discs)
- Blu-ray Discs
Unlike internal optical drives that are built directly into a computer case, a USB ODD is portable and can be plugged into different machines as needed.
Why Use a USB ODD?
While many modern computers, especially laptops, no longer come equipped with internal optical drives, there are still several reasons why someone might use a USB ODD:
- Installing Operating Systems or Software: Many operating systems and software packages are still distributed on optical media.
- Accessing Older Media: To read files, music, or movies stored on existing CD or DVD collections.
- Burning Discs: Creating backup copies of data or making audio CDs/video DVDs.
- Troubleshooting and Booting: As highlighted in the provided reference, a USB ODD can be used to boot a computer from a disc, which is often necessary for repairs, diagnostics, or fresh installations.
USB ODD in Boot Sequences
The provided reference specifically mentions the role of the USB ODD in a computer's boot sequence:
- In some situations, changes to the boot sequence may not work when the Universal Serial Bus (USB) optical disk drive (ODD), floppy disk drive (FDD), and the Storage boot options are added without making changes to the first boot device.
This indicates that when configuring a computer's BIOS or UEFI settings to boot from a different device (like a disc in a USB ODD), simply adding the USB ODD to the list of boot options might not be sufficient. You might need to explicitly set it as the first boot device or adjust the boot order priority correctly for the computer to attempt booting from the external optical drive.
In summary, a USB ODD is a practical external device for interacting with optical media, particularly useful for systems lacking an internal drive or for tasks like booting from a disc.