Yamaha Drive/F1ZE-Firmware

[allieb]

I have a Dimension 4100 computer running Windows XP Home Edition. Installed is a Yamaha CD-RW drive, model F1ZE. While looking thru the Yamaha website, I noticed that there was updated firmware for this model. I have version 1.0b and the new version is 1.0c. I downloaded the update to my desktop, but didn't install it because I wasn't sure that I needed it. So, what exactly is firmware and what does it do? Should you always update to the latest version? Also, when I open the installation file to see what it says, it states that you should "disable auto insert notification and DMA if available" I can't find that anywhere in XP. What is that and how do you find it if it is available?

Thanks for your help.

[The Tool]

DMA = Direct Memory Access

For CD-RW, I don't install the drivers, just the writing program (like Easy CD Creator 5) and everything works .