Valve dev adds CD-ROM support to Steam Frame kernel after user request
Commit b68e4a1 enables a pre-existing Linux kernel feature so the Steam Frame's SteamOS ARM build can read optical discs, though no official release is confirmed.
A Valve developer has added CD-ROM drive support to the Linux kernel used by the Steam Frame, according to Tom's Hardware. The change landed in commit b68e4a1 in the deckard-linux-no-oopsies GitHub repository, which the developer described as the Linux kernel sources used in SteamOS ARM for the Steam Frame.
The commit enables a pre-existing Linux kernel feature for CD-ROM drive support, and the developer, gaberowe, completed it in under 10 minutes. The request that prompted it came from a user on the Steam Frame General Discussions forum, who asked for support for an external optical drive.
In that post, the user said the Steam Frame could not power the disc drive and lacked the drivers needed to read a disc. gaberowe replied that the team would look into the request.
In October 2025, the user Aiodensghost posted in the same forum asking for external optical drive support in order to watch a movie and install 2006 abandonware such as Need for Speed: Carbon. A day later, gaberowe responded that Valve would look into it.
Optical drive support is not guaranteed to arrive in the next official Steam Frame update. Users who want it now can build and install the modified kernel themselves.
Quick answers
Which commit added CD-ROM support to the Steam Frame kernel?
Commit b68e4a1 in the deckard-linux-no-oopsies GitHub repository, described as the Linux kernel sources used in SteamOS ARM for the Steam Frame.
Will optical drive support ship in the next Steam Frame update?
It is not guaranteed to arrive in the next official Steam Frame update, but users can build and install the modified kernel themselves.