Nero DriveSpeed

Nero DriveSpeed is a lightweight software solution that allows users to limit the reading speed for every single CD-Rom drive available in their system.

Although it may sound like a thing nobody wants to do, limiting reading speed is recommended especially when trying to deal with damaged discs.

In this regard, Nero DriveSpeed boasts a very clean and simple interface, with a straightforward GUI that lets you juggle with a bunch of options.

For instance, you are prompted to choose the device whose settings you wish to change and then choose the reading speed and the spin down time. There are two predefined settings, “Silent” and “Fast”, so it's enough to hit one of these two for instant optimization.

Even if it's such a simple app, Nero DriveSpeed also comes with a separate “Options” menu that allows you to define speed settings by adding or removing some of the entries. There's a dedicated tool to auto-detect the speed settings, so it's better to use this one if you're a beginner.

And speaking of beginners, Nero DriveSpeed doesn’t include a help file, so rookies may have to search the web for specific information about this program.

It's pretty obvious that Nero DriveSpeed is able to run on all Windows versions out there without slowing down the operating system, but Windows 7 users must run it with administrator privileges to be able to save the changes.

All things considered, Nero DriveSpeed is one of the easiest and affordable ways to limit CD-Rom reading speed.