CD-ROM Disappearing

I had some one run the updates from Windows Update and after that, the CDROM was gone. It is not listed in My Computer or in Windows Explorer. It is not even listed in the Device manager in Normal mode. I went into Safe mode and deleted it and that did not help either. It was listed in safe mode and that is it. Plus, every time I boot the computer, it comes up with the options to go to safe mode and such. What is the cause and how can I get it back? I have been working on this all day and cannot figure it out. I am on 98 and I know that the only to get it back in 2000 pro is to reinstall and I do not want to do that. Please help me.