This is a continuation of the thread I started here: http://forums.parallels.com/thread8763.html
The problem is essentially that if I boot a Linux virtual machine in Parallels (build 3188) running the newer flavors of kernel version 2.6.20, the virtualized optical drive does not work. I wanted to blame this on Parallels, but the fact is that the optical drive works just fine with early versions of the 2.6.20 kernel and 2.6.19 and lower. So, it must have been a kernel change that caused the problem.
I am specifically having the issue in Ubuntu Feisty Herd 5, Ubuntu Feisty Beta, and Fedora 7 test 2 and test 1.
I filed a bug report with Ubuntu here: https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source....20/+bug/95830
I am hoping it gets looked at since the issue will likely affect other Parallels users who run Linux VMs.
Speak up if anyone else has this problem or if you have an Intel Mac to test the problem with.



