Solution:
1) Boot disk for Win98 SE should have an option to boot with CD-ROM. If its not there then you will have to find a floppy that has it. I know Windows Me and Win98 SE have it for sure
or
2) go to this site
www.driverguide.com and download MS-DOS drivers for CD-ROM and install them when you are in dos
or
3) use windows NT or XP to boot from CD-ROM. i would suggest installing win XP, unless laptop is very slow.
