I have an external CD RW Drive, but it is usb2, and my laptop won't boot from a USB connection I have tried to boot off my Western Digital external HDD that has a copy of my Microsoft XP OS CD Rom on it. Booting from USB isnt an option unless someone knows a workaround. As far as fabricationg a NON USB external cd drive, I dont have the tools, equipment ,supplies, technical savy, or desire to build one. I suppose if all I am needing to do is read off a drive to instal my OS, I can pick up just a good ol' fashioned CD ROM 'read only' new drive for little of nothing that would fit the port on my Inspiron, and try booting from that. That way if my DVD CD Drive IS FUBAR, I will know, I will be able to load XP and then shell out the Clams to replace the DVD RW. Does that sound viable ?