There are two types of Compact Disk drives available for PCs.
CD-ROM (read only memory) is the older type. As the title implies it can only read CDs. It can read any standard CD and most CD-R type disks. It may be able to read some types of CD-RW disks too. A 24x CD-ROM unit costs about $30.
CD-RW (ReWritable)units can read and write CD-R and CD-RW type disks. It can also read standard CD type disks.
A 24x10x40 CD-RW unit costs about $115. The 24x10x40 means the unit can write at 24x, re-write at 10x and read at 40x, where x is 150Kbytes/sec.
CD-ROM (read only memory) is the older type. As the title implies it can only read CDs. It can read any standard CD and most CD-R type disks. It may be able to read some types of CD-RW disks too. A 24x CD-ROM unit costs about $30.
CD-RW (ReWritable)units can read and write CD-R and CD-RW type disks. It can also read standard CD type disks.
A 24x10x40 CD-RW unit costs about $115. The 24x10x40 means the unit can write at 24x, re-write at 10x and read at 40x, where x is 150Kbytes/sec.