General questions about ASPI layers

[Jerethi]

Well... where do I start. What the heck are they for? I know I have one, but how do I check the version? There's no program group for it.

Is this something I need to periodically update? All my optical drives (For once) are all working perfectly, and I'm afraid that if I update my ASPI layers (which I'm not even sure why I need to even do it) it will throw everything off.

Can anyone enlighten me?

[Matt]

Basically, they enable software to speak a common language to your cdrw drives. Most software do not require the use of an aspi layer as they have their own / bypass it altogether. If it's working, leave it be.

[Jerethi]

Many thanks!