The Multi-Boot Configuration Handbook

CD-ROM and DVD-ROM Filesystems

Hard disks aren't the only media on which filesystems are used. Removable disks, including floppies, magneto-optical disks, and Zip disks, can use the same filesystems as hard disks. In some cases you must take special steps to use a removable disk with certain filesystems; for example, OS/2 provides no easy way to use HPFS on floppies, although the task can be accomplished with some ingenuity or special utilities.

CD-ROM and, now, DVD-ROM (Digital Versatile Disc ROM) media are an exception to this rule. These media possess unique characteristics that make the use of special filesystems desirable. For example, these media are essentially read-only, although CD Recordable (CD-R) and CD Rewritable (CD-RW) technology ...