It would help a little if you mentioned the make and model of your laptop.
For example, a Dell laptop might not have came with a CD-ROM drive, but it has a modular bay, out with a A: drive in with the CD-ROM. They also come with a FDD cable which enables you to hook the A: drive externally to the parallel port while the CD-ROM drive is in the bay.
Even if you bought the Dell in my example above used, you might still be able to pick up the CD-ROM module from either Dell or someplace like eBay.
Any specifics you'd care to give us?
For example, a Dell laptop might not have came with a CD-ROM drive, but it has a modular bay, out with a A: drive in with the CD-ROM. They also come with a FDD cable which enables you to hook the A: drive externally to the parallel port while the CD-ROM drive is in the bay.
Even if you bought the Dell in my example above used, you might still be able to pick up the CD-ROM module from either Dell or someplace like eBay.
Any specifics you'd care to give us?