Windows

Firstly if you are using XP home, why do you want to restrict access to your CD-RW??
It is acomplicated process if you get it wrong or miss a step you could totally lose access to your CD-RW and have to reload your OS

BEFORE YOU ATTEMPT ANY OF THE FOLLOWING, CREATE A RESTORE POINT THROUGH SYSTEM RESTORE!!!!!!!!!
It is not possible to password protect your CD-RW drive although it is possible to restrict access. Use the following Steps.
right click on the drive, from the menu select "sharing and Security", selest the "share this drive" radio button, click the permissions button, click add, click advanced, click find now then from the list select Administrators group (if this is too many users for you, select your own account)and Systemgroup, click ok, click ok, in the permissions dialogue box click on the everyone group then click remove. click ok and the permissions for access to your CD-RW have been reastricted only to allow Administrators and your System to access that drive.
hope this helps

I can direct you to 3 websites that will help you out:

http://www.experts-exchange.com/Operating_Systems/WinNT/ Q_20325439.html

http://www.anandtech.com/guides/viewfaq.html?i=117

http://www.protect-me.com/dl/

Cheers

Hi Emmy. Open up an Explorer window, go to Tools, Folder Options, View tab, and scroll right to the bottom of the page. Uncheck the Simple file sharing option and restart your PC. Whenever you right click a folder/file, you will now get the comprehensive security list (SACL-Security Access Control List) that will allow you to individually set access control for anyone accessing that folder/file.