Valve adds external CD-ROM support to Steam Frame kernel

Valve added external optical-drive support to the Linux kernel used by the Steam Frame standalone headset after Steam Community user Aiodensghost requested the feature on Oct. 18.

A Steam Frame owner wanted to attach a detachable disc drive to the headset to watch movies and play older games, but the device had no drivers to read a disc. The Steam Frame handles VR and flat games without connecting to a separate PC and works mainly as a streaming device that can also run standalone.

Aiodensghost asked the Steam Community forums to allow an external optical drive for watching movies and installing Need for Speed: Carbon, saying the missing drivers killed their ability to install abandonware. The user’s post carried an Oct. 18 date.

gaberowe, a Valve employee, thanked the user and said the company would look into the request. gaberowe wrote “we will look into this thanks for alerting us”. Shortly after that reply, a commit enabling CD-ROM support appeared in Valve’s deckard-linux-no-oopsies repository about eight to 10 minutes later.

The user posted in the Steam Frame General Discussions forum and said the headset could not power an external player.

Rowe turned on three loadable modules in the Steam Frame’s ARM64 kernel configuration: general CD-ROM support, SCSI support for optical drives, and generic SCSI device access. The Steam Frame’s ARM64 configuration file had these features disabled before the change. Turning them on as loadable modules gave the kernel the ability to recognize optical-drive hardware without requiring Valve to write new driver code.

Valve did not write new optical-drive code; the commit switched on an existing Linux kernel feature instead of building support from scratch.

Movies and games with copy protection could require extra software. Need for Speed: Carbon would run through Valve’s Proton compatibility layer together with FEX, an x86-to-ARM translator, with old copy protection potentially causing problems.

The user wanted to install an original 2006 copy of Need for Speed: Carbon.

Abandonware means software that its creator no longer supports or sells. Such software is often abandoned because licenses have expired, and physical discs can be one way to preserve gaming history.

According to BozokMedia, Steam Frame owners do not need to buy a new drive. Any standard external USB optical drive they already own works. Valve released the Steam Frame in September using a sign-up system.

The Steam Frame VR headset is available by waitlist rather than buy off the shelf. Valve has not confirmed when an official SteamOS update will bring optical-drive support to all Steam Frame devices or whether it will bring the feature at all.

The repository change does not guarantee that every external optical drive will work. It also does not guarantee that the next Steam Frame update will include the feature out of the box.

Technically skilled Steam Frame owners can build and install the modified kernel on their own Steam Frame units instead of waiting for Valve to push an official update. Most consumers would have to wait for a standard software update from Valve.

The requesting user reported that the headset could not power an external drive and remained without a suitable USB hub able to supply enough power. The user was still searching for a USB hub with enough output. That power problem was separate from the missing drivers and remained unfixed.

Tom’s Hardware, as reported by Tbreak, says using an external drive would require a long enough cable. It would also mean holding the drive against one’s head while wearing the headset.