The present application discloses an optical drive system, including: a cartridge with a wall portion which defines a storage room to store a rotatable record medium with a light receiving surface scanned by light; and a drive device with a rotary driver, which rotates the record medium, an optical element, which irradiates the light, and a movement driver, which moves the optical element between inner and outer positions. The wall portion is provided with an outlet at the outer position. Air in the storage room is exhausted from the outlet by air flow resulting from rotation of the record medium. The outlet is divided into first and second opening regions by a movement track of the optical element. The first opening region is larger than the second opening region at an upstream position of the first opening region in a rotational direction of the record medium.