Just a quick note to register my success in using the info posted here to solve my ide #1 error.

Laptop: toshiba tecra 8100
DVD-/+RW: NEC ND-6750A

Steps involved:
1. Unscrewed the top lid of the dvd-drive
2. Unlached the drive bay by poking a paper clip through the hole in the front of the drive
3. As per the first image posted by the first poster in this thread, I located pins 45 and 47 on the connector at the back of the drive.
4. VERY carefully, I used a small flatheaded jewelers screwdriver to push the pins back as far as I dared.
5. I snipped a narrow band of kitchen tin foil (3-5mm), and using normal tweezers and the flatheaded screwdriver I was able to slide the foil under the protruding pins at the back of the connector, bending the tin foil as tightly as I could around the pins.
6. Using the flatheaded screwdriver, I carefully pushed the pins into place again making sure that the tin foil did not come into contact with the neighbouring pins.
7. Looking at the connector, I saw that I had slightly bent pin 47, but I pushed it up as far as I could and inserted the bridge with no problem.

Reassembled and booted--no problems! This old laptop can even burn at a steady 6x with DVD-R!

Thanks to all here for all your tips and info!