firmware

[tanerb]

what actually does a firmware do? I saw that there is a firmware available for my nec nd 3530A 102B dvd writer, but not sure if i should do it or to be honest what will i gain by doing it?

[ZippyP.]

Firmware is the programming or code that tells your writer how to operate, it's like a built-in software. You would update your firmware if your writer is not recognizing some disks or is having some other problems. Some people use "hacked" firmware so that they can write at higher speeds or play DVD's from other regions. If your writer is not having any problems then there really is no need to upgrade as there always is a small risk of something going wrong during the installation. If it's not broke......

[ebenton]

The firmware code is written directly into a chip in your DVD drive, as opposed to somewhere on your hard drive. The software installed when flashing your drive like this is called firmware, a term that implies that it exists somewhere between hardware and software. Since it is software written onto your DVD drive hardware, the DVD drive doesn't need to read the computer's hard drive every time it runs to know how to operate, so it gets this "firmware" term. If it were only written to your hard drive, it would be software.
Like ZippyP said, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.