From ultrabooks to netbooks, computers are shedding their optical drives. If y'all nevertheless use an occasional CD or DVD, you don't accept to buy an external optical drive –  you lot can share another computer's optical drive over the network.

The ii computers must exist on the same local network to share an optical drive. This requires using the Advanced Sharing settings in Windows – in that location'southward no like shooting fish in a barrel, HomeGroup-style way of doing this.

Sharing a Drive

First, open the Computer window (click Start and select Computer) on the reckoner with the optical drive.

Right-click the drive you desire to share, point to Share with and select Advanced Sharing

Click the Advanced Sharing button in the properties window that appears.

In the side by side window, enable the Share this folder checkbox. Type a descriptive name – such as "CD Bulldoze" – for the share, and so click the Permissions push button.

Ensure that the Everyone group has Read access to the bulldoze. If you crave additional security – for instance, if you're not using a home network — you tin restrict access to specific users. Click OK to relieve your changes later on configuring the permissions.

You may want to disable password-protected sharing to make this easier, assuming you're on a secure abode network. To do so, click the Network and Sharing Heart link under Password Protection.

Click the Home or Work header, scroll downwards, and select Plow off password protected sharing to disable it. Click the Save changes button later you're done.

Afterwards yous click the OK button, your drive will be shared on the network. You'll meet its address nether Network Path in the properties window.

An icon over the drive indicates that it'southward shared. To stop sharing the drive later, get dorsum into its Advanced Sharing window and uncheck the Share this binder checkbox.

Mapping a Drive

On your other computer, open Windows Explorer and click the Network choice to view your network.

Browse to the share you created, and then right-click it and select Map network drive.

Yous can specify a drive alphabetic character for the shared optical drive and have it automatically become mapped each time you log in.

The mapped drive will appear equally its own bulldoze letter in the My Computer window. Double-click the drive, or navigate to it in whatsoever application, to access its contents over the network.

We've also covered using Paragon Net Burner, a third-party programme, to share disc drives over the network.