ok i have a gateway 2300 and im trying to get the cd-rom to work but it keeps saying e:\ is not accessible The device is not ready im trying to fix so i dont have to scrounge the internet to find a new one -mike

So you put a known good cd in it, click the cdrom icon in My Computer and get the not accessible error? What is the model # of the cdrom? The cdrom is probably bad but there's a few things you can do. Verify its cable is in good condition and tightly connected. From a practical standpoint you can't fix a broken cdrom. The best you can do is clean it out and hope that was the problem. Opening the cdrom brings the likelihood you won't be able to get it back together but if you do open it up (for most older cdroms): Power up the PC and push the button to extend the cd tray. Turn off the PC so the tray is still open. Remove the cdrom from the computer. Push in the tabs on the cdrom faceplate to remove it from the cdrom and slide it forward. Remove the 4 screws on the bottom of the cdrom. This should leave its cover loose. Remove the cover. You may have to jiggle it or ever-so-slightly pry it up. (At this point you may be tempted to pull the tray all the way out. It's best to leave it as it is as sometimes you'll have a hard time getting everything aligned when you put it back in. It should be safe to slide it back and forth, when necessary, while cleaning the cdrom.) With a can of compressed air, or several Q-tips and some windex, clean out the dust. You will need the Q-tips to remove old lube or dust-encrusted lube. You'll probably need to use a paper towel and windex to clean any remaining dust or grime from the cd tray and cdrom cover. Relube the bars the laser assembly slides on. If you cleaned the lube from the cd tray relube that also. You can use a dab of axle grease or even some petroleum jelly (vaseline) on a Q-tip. Don't use thin oils like WD-40 or 3-in-1. And above all DON'T OVERDO IT. Lastly with a Q-tip and windex or alcohal clean the laser lens. It's best to roll the Q-tip over the lens. Do it 2 or 3 time to make sure no residue remains. Then reassemble the cdrom, put it back in the PC and see if it works.

Is it recognised in BIOS ??? If so is it recognised in Device Manager ??

in device manager

Before you go to the trouble of removing the drive etc, check to see if the problem is hardware related, or software (Windows problem) related. Boot with a Win98SE Boot Disk* choosing "With CDROM Support" and check the drive(s) in MSDOS. Insert a Windows CD into the drive(s) and at the A:\> prompt, type in dir/a/-p %cdrom%: (or dir/a/-p x: (where x: is the device letter assigned to the drive(s) during the boot process) and hit Enter. If you get a directory listing, the hardware aspect of the drive(s) is OK, and the problem lies within Windows. * The above bootdisk image file is a self extracting file and has to be executed (run) from a running Windows machine in order to create the actual startup diskette on one of your floppy disks. (This image file produces the same bootdisk which 98SE creates.) This downloaded image file will format the floppy disk to ensure its integrity, write the files to the disk, then verify the file write, so it'll take a minute or three to create the bootdisk. Ensure the floppy drive is set as the first boot device in the bios. It's a good day when you learn something