And just to let you know, DVD Rom is the one that was company fitted.

Try a full system restore. It could also be a hardware problem with your optical drive (i.e your cd/dvd drive).

Didn't work.

How do I know if it is hardware problem?

If you can't see the icon in My Computer then the CD is not communicating. You can see the light flashing when you trun the c on - that means there is power getting to it. Turn thecomputer OFF. Open the case and make sure the IDE cable is plugged in firmly on both ends - System board AND the back of the CD ROM. Pull them out and plug in again. Sometimes they can work themselves loose. If that doesn't work then try replacing the whole cable

Thanks mate. I have tried that too. Didn't work. Guess I will have to take it to a technician.

And just to let you know, I am from Auckland to

UPDATE:: I just plugged in my mp3 player to USB port. Even the "Removable disk" icon didn't show up. MP3 stated charging as soon as I plugged it in which indicates it is connected properly. What does this suggest? Any ideas?

Thanks. .

[##] is just a marker in the instructions....
I'm going to guess that something has corrupted a few registry entries for you. For a start, try this: go start > run, type devmgmt.msc and OK. Is there a yellow icon beside the DVD and USB entries? Expand the DVD/CD entry, highlight your DVD drive, [##] and go Action, select Scan for h'ware changes. Nothing more than a brief msg box should open. Do the same for your USB Controllers. Anything work now?
Yes? ...great.
No? ... well, that happens. Follow the instructions again to [##]. Now rclick your DVD drive and select Uninstall and follow through.
In the run box type regedit, OK. Navigate to this subkey:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}
Highlight that subkey by lclicking it - in the right pane if you see Upperfilters and/or Lowerfilters then rclick on those names and Delete them, and close the Registry window. Reboot your pc. DVD working? Good, now update the DVD drivers...

The USB missing is helpful. This icon missing is sometimes due to a mapped drive being present.
Have you got any "Mapped drives". If yes, then rename the mapped drive to say "K" (Use Disk Management in Administrative tools), and have another look for the icons.
Also, can you see your CD/DVD in Device manager Control panel> system > Hardware > Device manager?

You are in Auckland? Did you feel the earthquakes last night?

Guess what, CD/DVD is completly missing in Device manager. Is this weird?

I did that registry part couple of days ago after checking on Microsoft website.

I don't even know what mapped drives are - sorry!

No, luckily I didn't feel the quakes. I heard that they were mainly in north part of Auckland. I reside in south Auckland.

Thanks for your replies.